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Kerala Must See


Calicut is the anglicised form of Kalikut. The Arabic for the Malayalam , Kozhikode. It is also called the Cock Fort. According to the historian, K.V Krishnan Iyer, the term means koyil (Palace) Kodu (Fortified). Anyhow, it is a historical town with a hoary past. From time immemorial, the city attracted travellers, with its charming physical features and prosperity. Even today , the glory that was Calicut has not faded. The political history of Kozhikode is a story of treacherous and ill conceived conspiracies hatched by the Western powers. Vasco De Gama landed at Kappad in May 1498, as the leaders of a trade mission from Portugal and was received by the Zamorin himself.

The history of Kozhikode district as an administrative unit begins from January 1957. When the states of the Indian Union were reorganised on linguistic basis on 1st November, 1956, the erstwhile Malabar district was separated from Madras state (Tamil Nadu) and added to the new unilingual state of Kerala. But malabar district was found to be too uniwieldy for administrative purposes. Consequently the state government ordered the formation of three districts with certain changes in the boundaries of some of the taluks. The Kozhikode district thus came into existence on 1st Jnauary 1957,orginally consisting of five taluks, Viz, Vadakara, Koyilandy, Kozhikode, Ernad & Tirur. With the formation of malapuram district on 1st june 1969 & Wayandu on 1st November 1980, kozhikode district now consist of one revenue division , three taluks, twelve blocks, 77 panchayats and 117 villages.

PLACES OF INTEREST IN AND AROUND KOZHIKODE

» S.M Street
Sweat Meat Street, popularly known as SM street with its cross raods , is the busiest shopping spot of kozhikode . The name derived so as a result of the presence of numerous sweet meat stalls. Old bakery shops here known for the famous Kozhikodan Halwa and Banana Chips.

» Beypore
Beypore town is about 9.65 Kms from Kozhikode at the mouth of the Beypore River. The Place was formerly known as Vaypura and Vadaparappanad. Tippu Sultan named the town "Sultan Pattanam" .It is one of the imporatant ports of Kerala and naturally an important trading centre.It is famous for it's boat buliding yard where mammoth country crafts known as "Urus" are being bulit.It is a major fishing harbour of kerala. there are two man made extensions to the sea to facilitate easy acces for fishing boats. This is an ideal place for outing.

» Vadakara
This ancient place is now the headquarters of the taluk as well as of the municiplaity of that name. There is ruined fort in the town. vadakara was the scene of many exploits of Tacholi Othenan, the hero of htee ballads of north malabar (Vadakkan Pattukal) Five kms south east of Vadakar in Memunda amsom, is the Lokanarkavu which hass three rock-cut caves in its vicinity. Annual ceremonies are conducted in memory of "Othenan" whose bith place is Manikoth near Meppayil. Vadakara is also called becasues of its location just north ( Vadakku) of kotta river. the Orkattery cattle fair is held between fabruary at Orkattery 6.45 kms from vadakara.

» KrishnaMenon Museum
Situated adjacent to the Pazhassi Raja Museum, the art gallery houses painting of Raja Ravi Varma among the other collections.. The museum has a section dedicated to VKKrishamaenon. The personal belongings and souvenirs gifted by this world leader are exhibited here.

» Feroke
Feroke is the cradle of the tile industry in Kerala. The rapid rivers from the Western Ghats after passing through forest carry the clay which is the raw-material for tiles, pottery and ceramic wares. There are more than a dozen tile factories in Feroke alone

» Kallai
Kallai was known as the world's best timber trading centre. Even now, it is the place for timber trade in Malabar.

» Kappad
On 27th May 1498, Vasco-De Gama landed here with three vessels and 170 men. If you travel 16 Kms north of Kozhikode by kannur road, a small road near Tiruvangoor health centre guides you to this beach of historical inportance. A monument is here to commemorate the historical landing. An ancient temple on a hillock, facing the deep sea, is an added attraction.

» Science Centre & Planetarium
Calicut now wins a place in the Planetarium map of the world. Regional science centre Calicut houses a 250 seater Planetarium fitted with a sophisticated Zeiss projector. The Science centre abounds with puzzles which make mathematics easy. An array of rolling balls move in a circuitous path and perform acrobatics. They ring bells, generate electricity and play musical chimes on their way. Parabolic reflectors carry whispers from one end of the park to the other end. Objects float in space defying gravity. Chemistry brings magic at home. The Science Centre unravels mysteries, explains things which otherwise would be called supernatural.

» Thusharagiri
Thusharagiri is situated 55 kms away from Kozhikode City and the 'Green Splender' considered as the major tourist destination in Malabar region with four water falls right in the middle of the forest. The waterfalls and streams amidst the hilly regions are really a feast to eyes.