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Palakkad is one among the 14 districts of Kerala.head Quarters is Palakkad town. This is the biggest among the districts in area. This ranking was made on 2006. Before that Idukki was the biggest.
Bharathapuzha is the biggest river flowing through the district. The main entrance to western ghats is the ‘Walayar Churam’ in Palakkad. Because of this churam, Palakkd has a different climate than that of other districts of Kerala; similar to that of Tamil Nadu here also is a dry climate.
The first royal family of Palakkad was “Nedumporayooru Swaroopam”. In AD first century Palakkad was known as “Porainaadu”. In 1363 Palakkad was invaded by the Zamorin of Calicut. Komiachan, the then royal head of Palakkad saught the help of the King of Mysore. On arrival of Mysore Army the Zamorin left Palakkad. Later Hyderali concurred Palakkad. The Palakkad fort was constructed by Hyderali’s son Tippu Sulthan in 1766-77. During the British Rule Palakkad was part of the Malabar District under.
Madras province. After Independence it formed part of Madras state. In 1956 ,when state of Kerala was formed Palakkad became an independent district as part of Kerala state.Palakkad district was formed on 1st of January 1957.The then Malabar district was divided into three to form the districts of Palakkad, Kannor and Calicut.. Chittor Thaluka which was part of Thrissur district got joined to Palakkad and Chavakkad which formed part of Malabar was given to Thrissur.Palakkd have the claim of having the most ancient and rich cultural heredity.
Origin of Name
‘Pale’ meaning barren rock land and Kadu meaning forest area joined to form the name Palakkad is a strong presumption about the name of the place. There is a Jain temple in Palakkad which supports that once Jainism was prominent here. Jains who had the “Pali” culture and Palu language was once the residents of this place and hence the name Palakkad; is another opinion about the origin of name. Other than this another argument is that once in this area there was plenty of “Pala” trees and hence got the name Palakkad.
The district is 4480 square kilometers in area. Thruthala, Pattambi, Ottappalam, Sreekrishnapuram, Mannarkkadu, Attappadi, Palakkad, Kuzhalmandam, Chitoor, Kollangodu , Nenmara Aalathoor , Malampuzha are the 13 block panchayaths coming under Palakkad Zilla Panchayath. Under this 13 block panchayaths there are 91 grama panchayaths and 162 villages. Palakkad, Ottappalam, Shornoor, Chittor- Thathamangalm are the 4 municipalities. The local bodies of the district are spread among the four Thaluka of Chittoor, Aalathoor Ottappalam and Shornoor. Palakkad Zilla panchayath had 29 divisions in total.
The district comes almost to the middle of the state on eastern side sharing border with Tamil Nadu. The main cultivation is paddy. Palakkad is also known as the “Rice bowl” of Kerala. The district can be geographically divided as Mountains, Hills, Slopes and Planes. The district has no coastal lines.
Palakkad is the place which was invaded by Tippu Sulthan and Hyderali..The ancient fort constructed by Tippu Sulthan is still there. The father of Malayalam Language Thunchathu Ezhuthachan is believed to spent his last time inChittoor , Palakkad. Mahakavi P.Kunjiraman Nair made Palakkad as his second home town Killikkrissimangalam the birth place of Kunjan Nambiar who protested against the social injustice through hissatirist poetry, is in Palakkad District.
The starting of Rate School was one among the major mile stones in the educational history of Palakkad.In 1866 Rate School came in Palakkad which later and became the Govt. Victoria College. In 1858 Malabar Basel Mission also started many educational institutions in Palakkad.In 1888 a Sanskrit school was started by Punnassery Neelakanta Sharma a great scholar in Sanskrit which later got upgraded as the Government Sanskrit College in Pattambi.
Important Places
Silent valley
Silent valley could talk about 5 crores of years of evolutionary history. Guantana land got shattered and joined with Indian continent of Asian mainland and Silent valley is the rain forest formed at the joining place. In other words, the Silent valley encloses the precious and vast eco diversity which was formed as a result of long years of evolution.
Nelliampathy
Not only for Palakkad, are Nelliampathy Hills the beauty to the whole of Kerala. From the Nemara of Palkkad the journey to Nelliampathy is a feast to the eyes. It is a heavenly experience reaching here on the top leaving the Hair pin curves. Literarily this is the Ooty of Kerala. Here visitors are gifted with boating in Pothundi dam.
Malampuzha
Malampuzha dam is built across the river Malampuzha. This is 8 kilometers away from Palakkad. The dam is 23.13 square kilometers in area. This is the second biggest dam in Kerala.
Palakkad fort
The fort known as “Tippu’s Fort: is situated to the heart of the town Palakkad. This is one among the well maintained forts in India.
Commercial Establishments.
The main shopping areas of Palakkad , Joby’s mall and Big Bazar are situated to the heart of the town. The main gold merchants are Malabar Gold,Kalyan Jewellers, Bhima, Joseco, Alukkas and Akshaya Gold. In textiles, Kalian , Nedungadi Paradise and M.K Silks are the leading names.