TOURIST TOURISM PLACES OF KASARAGODE
Bekal
Bekal, situated on the seashore of Pallikkara village, is an important place of tourist interest in the district. It lies 12 kms. south of Kasaragod town. According to Bekal Rama Nayak, a local Kannada writer, the word, Bekal is derived from the word Baliakulam, meaning Big Palace. The place is said to have been the seat of a big palace in the past. The term Baliakulam got corrupted as Bekulam and later as Bekal.
It was usual in older days for every royal palace to be protected by a fort. The Bekal fort might have, therefore, existed even from early days of the Chirakkal Rajas. While giving a description of the Kolathiri Kingdom in his Kerala History, K.P. Padmanabha Menon writes; "The eldest of the male members reigned as soveriegn Kolathiri. The next in succession, the heir apparent, was the Thekkelamkur. The residence assigned to him was the Vadakara fort. The third in succession was the Vadakkelamkur in charge of Vekkolath fort. This V(B)ekkolath fort is identified by some scholars as the present Bekal".
H.A. Stuart, in his Handbook of South Canara (1985), makes this observation: "….. Several forts were built by the Shivappa Nayaks of Badnore between 1650 and 1670 A.D. The two forts of Bekal and Chandragiri were originally under the Kolathiri or Chirakkal Rajas until the time of Shivappa Nayaka's invasion. Perhaps, the Bednore rulers might have rebuilt and improved it".
The Bekal fort, which is of great historical and archaeological interest, is the largest and best preserved of its kind in the district and the land on which it is situated, runs into the sea with fine bay towards the south. According to the South Canara Mannual, Bekal fort fell into the hands of Haider Ali in 1763. It housed the Huzur of Canara during Tippu's time and the remains of a gallow reminiscent of the days of Mysorean occupation were seen here till a few years back. After the overthrow of Tippu Sultan in 1799, Bekal was incorporated into the dominions of the English East India Company. The erstwhile Kasaragod taluk of South Canara district was known as Bekal for more than half a century.
The Bekal fort is now under the Archeological Department of the Government of India.
There is a Travellers' Bungalow, maintained by the Public Works Department of the State Government within the Bekal fort. The natural scenery at Bekal is alluring and makes a visit to the place an exhilerating experience. There is a recently renovated temple dedicated to Hanuman, at the entrance to Bekal. An old mosque is also situated very near the fort and this is believed to have been founded by Tippu Sultan.
It was in the year 1992 the central government declared Bekal Fort as a special tourism area. It was with the intention of transforming BekalFort into international tourism centre that in the year 1995 the government formed Bekal Tourism Development Corporation.
It is in Chemmanad, Udma, Pallikkara and Ajanur Panchayats that of the Bekal tourism project is implemented. At present the corporation is engaged in arranging basic facilities for the project. Corporation has decided to acquire 278 hectares of land for Bekal development.
Plans for bettering and increasing basic facilities will be implemented in the four panchayats where Bekal tourism project is implemented. Water supply scheme for the entire people of Pallikkara, Udma, Ajanur and Chemmanad will be implemented. In the first phase, programmes like waste incineration, road construction and installation of street lights will also be carried out.
B.R.D.C. has programme to develop other tourist centres of the district as part of Bekal project. Two House boats have already started functioning at Valiyaparambu this year itself. Boats clubs will be established at Bekal and Chandragiri soon. A Bekal facility centre was established in 1998 near Bekal Fort. In the facility centre there is an information centre.
http://kasargod.nic.in/tourism/bekal.htm
Chandragiri
Chandragiri lies three kms. south of Kasaragod town. It has a large square situated high above the Chandragiri river on its southern bank. The fort it said to have been built in the 17th century by Sivappa Nayak of Bednore, who established his authority over the area and built a chain of forts. The Chandragiri river, on the bank of which it rises, marked the traditional boundary between Kerala and the Tuluva Kingdom. There is a beautiful bridge over the Chandragiri river at Tekkil, five miles from Chandragiri. A mosque is situated nearby and the view of the bridge with the mosque in the background is one of the most attractive sights on a drive along the NH 17 from Kannur to Kasaragod. A long railway tunnel passes through Chandragiri. A boat club has been recently started here.
Cheruvathur
Cheruvathur is an important place on the NH 17. The former Mangalore-Cheruvathur coast road starts from Mangalapuram, the headquarters of the South Canara district and runs through the coast line, till it reaches Cheruvathur.
The Kunniyur family in Kuttamath Amsom near Cheruvathur has produced a number of illustrious scholars who have contributed greatly to Malayalam literature.
Edneer mutt
Situated on the Kasaragod-Puthur road, about eight kms. north east of Kasaragod town, this ancient mutt is a reputed seat of learning. It attracts devotees from all over Kerala, Karnataka and other states.
This belongs to the Thotakacharya (one of the four disciples of Sankaracharya) tradition. Vadakke mutt in Trissur was established by a disciple of Thotakacharya. The Swamiji of this mutt was the founder of Padinjare mutt in Trichambaram and Edneer mutt was established by the swamiji of Trichambaram. At present the mutt is renowned for the encouragement it gives to art and culture.
Govinda Pai memorial
Manjeshwaram is renowned as the native place of M. Govinda Pai (1883-1963), one of the greatest Kannada poets of modern times. He has enriched Kannada literature and poetry. He was conferred the title of "poet laureate" by the erstwhile Government of Madras. He was also a nationalist, historian, dramatist and linguistic.His residence in Manjeshwaram is maintained as a memorial and the Government of Kerala has established a first grade college dedicated to his memory.
Hosdurg fort
The Hosdurg fort with its round bastions, looks imposing from a distance. Several public offices are located within its premises. There is a famous temple attached to the fort which is known as Karpooreshwara temple. The fort is a major attraction for tourists. In Kanhangad, there are two churches; one Catholic and the other a Protestant. There are also a number of mosques here.
Kammatamkavu
An evergreen forest of about 50-60 acres, with a perennial stream, is a centre of worship connected with the Kammatam Bhagavathi Temple.
Kanhangad
Kanhangad, the headquarters of the Hosdurg taluk, is 33 kms. south of Kasaragod. It has an area of 32 sq. kms. and a population of 23,621. Kanhangad has the reminents of a large fort built by Somasekhara Nayak of Ikkeri (1714-39). It is locally called Hosdurg (hosa, new and durg, fort) and it is after this fort that the Hosdurg taluk derives its name.
Kanwatirtha Beach resort
The clean and neat 3-4 kms. long beach and the swimming pool like lake, half a km. long and proportionately broad, formed by sea water, are gift of nature.
Kasaragod town
Kasaragod municipal town is situated on the banks of the Chandragiri river and is 31 m. above sea level. Kasaragod is an important business centre. Arecanuts and copra are the main trade.Pepper, copra and cashew-
nuts are the important commodities transported from here. One of the important local industries is cloth cap making, which is the main means of livelihood of a large number of Muslim women. The caps manufactured at Kasaragod are exported to Zanzibar and other African countries.
Kasaragod is one of the minor ports of the district. The port is located on the eastern bank of the backwaters formed by the Chandragiri river, which is separated from the sea by a sand spit of about one kilometer length. Schooners do not call at this port but anchor outside the bar. Being the district headquarters, Kasaragod is a fairly developed urban centre. There are a number of educational institutions in the town. The Government College, Kasaragod, established in 1957, is the premier educational institution of the place.
Kottancheri hills
This rain forest near Panathur, is a beautiful picnic centre which is also ideal for trekking. 'Talakkaveri', in the Brahmagiri mountains of Coorg, is quite near Kottancheri Hills.
Kottappuram
The place derived its name from the mud fort built by the Nileswar Rajas and later annexed by the Bednore Nayakas in the 18th century. A Juma Masjid and a Hindu shrine stand close by.
Kudlu
It was at Kudlu in the suburbs of Kasaragod, where the famous eight day discourse between Madhavacharya, the great Dwaita philosopher and Trivikrama Pandit, the famous Adwaita scholar, took place. The discourse held in the presence of king Jayasimba of Kumbla, ended in the victory of Madhavacharya and the acceptance of the Dwaita philosophy by Trivikrama Pandit.
Kumbla
Kumbla, which is situated 13 kms. north of Kasaragod town, was the seat of the Rajas of Kumbla who once held sway over the southern part of the Tuluva country which included the present Kasaragod taluk. The town stands on a bold peninsula in a lagoon seperated from the sea by a sand spit and connected to it by a narrow channel. In 1514, Duarte Borbosa, the Portuguese traveller, visited Kumbla and he had recorded that he had found the people exporting a very bad quality brown rice to Maldives in exchange for coir, from the small port here. Early in the 16th century, the port paid a tribute of 800 loads of rice to the Portuguese.
When Tippu captured Mangalapuram, the Kumbla Raja fled to Thalassery; but he returned in 1799 and after an unsuccessful bid for independence, submitted to the English and accepted a small pension of Rs. 11,788 per annum in 1804.
It was in Kumbla that Parthishubha was born in the 18th century and composed all his Yakshagana Prasangas which earned for him the title, 'Father of Yakshagana'.
Maipady palace
Once, the present Maipady was the seat of the Kumbla Rajas. The palace is about eight kms. from Kasaragod on the Kasaragod-Perla road and within three kms. from Madhur.
Manjeshwaram
Manjeshwaram lies in the northern most extremity of Kerala and is a place of historical and religious importance. According to Manjula Kshetra Mahatmya, a legend which deals with the history of the place and describes the pilgrimage undertaken by Virupaksha, a Gowda Saraswatha Brahmin saint, this village was known as Manjula Khetra, Manjukhetra or Manjarisha. The southern portion of the town stands on a plain and the northern portion, on a steep bank which overhangs the river. These two portions were held by the Jain Bangara Raja and the Vittal Raja respectively, until Tippu Sultan hanged the former and forced the latter to take refuge with the English at Thalassery. Manjeshwaram has been for long, the seat of a flourishing community of a Gowda Saraswatha or Konkini Brahmins. There are two old Jaina Bastis at Bangra Manjeshwaram on the southern bank of the Manjeshwaram river.
Nileswaram
Nileswaram, which is the abbreviated form of Nilakanta Iswar, was formerly the seat of the Nileswaram Rajas who belonged to the family of Kolathiris. It was annexed by Somasekhara Nayaka of Bednore in 1737 after a struggle of twelve years in which the French and the English took part. When the Bednore Nayaka invaded the territory, the Nileswar Raja obtained the aid of the English who had their factory at Thalassery. In 1737, a treaty was signed by which the Bednorians agreed not to advance south of the Valapattanam river and the English obtained commercial concessions including the monopoly of pepper and cardamom in those portions of the Kolathiri dominion, which were occupied by the Bednore people.
The fort at Nileswaram, however, remained in the hands of the Raja and he allied himself with the French who held the fort on his behalf till 1761. In the meantime, Bednore was captured by Haider Ali and the Raja remained in power at Nileswaram till the territory was annexed by the English in 1799 and the Raja was forced to submit and accept a pension. Among the temples of the place, mention may be made of the Sri Kottappuram Vettakorumakan temple, Mannampurathu kavu, Pallikkara Bhagavathi temple and the Thaliyil Neelakanta temple.
Nityananda Asramam
There are two notable ashramams in Kanhangad,viz.,the Nityanandasramam and the Anandasramam. The former, which is situated on the hillock about half a km. south of the Hosdurg taluk office, was founded by Swami Nityananda.The spot was at first part of a forest area. Here Swami Nityananda constructed 45 guhas (caves) in a mountain slope. There is a temple built in 1963, after the style and design of the famous Somanatha temple in Gujarat. A full size statue of Swami Nityananda in sitting posture made of panchaloha is one of the attractions of the ashramam.
Anandashramam, situated about five kms. east of the Kanhangad Railway Station, was founded in 1939 by Swami Ramadas, a great Vaishnava saint of modern times. The main ashramam and other buildings have a beautiful setting in the midst of shady mango, coconut and other groves. There is a hill to the east of the ashramam, to which the devotees retire for quiet meditation and from its west, the surrounding extensive landscape can be seen in its natural grandeur. The spot at the highest point of the hill is so fascinating that the devotees, who go up the hill and sit silently, are blessed with deep peace and tranquility.
Povval fort
This is an old fashioned fort on the Kasaragod-Mulleria route, about 10 kms. from Kasaragod.
Posadigumpe
Posadigumpe is an ideal picnic centre, located on a hillock, 487.68 metres above sea level in Dharmathadka, about 18 kms. east of Mangalpady. On top of it, one can see the Arabian sea and the vast arecanut gardens of Kasaragod, extending up to Mangalapuram city and to Kudremukh.
Ranipuram
The former Madathumala has taken this new name recently. Lying 780 metres above sea level, it is only 9 kms.from Panathur, which is 48 kms. east
of Kanhangad .The extensive forest of Madathumala merges with the forests of Karnataka.The natural beauty is comparable only to Ooty. This place is quite ideal for trekking.
Tulur vanam
Also known as Kekulom (the eastern place), Tulur vanam is four kms. east of Panathur. The temple here is consecrated to Kshetrapalan and Bhagavathi. The eight day annual festival commencing from Sivarathri, attracts large crowds from all over the district, as well as from Coorg.
Valiyaparamba
Separated from the mainland by backwaters, this fishing village is an island with the Arabian sea as one of the borders and is an ideal picnic centre.
Veeramala hills
This hill top with ruins of a Dutch fort, built in the 18th century, is a picnic spot from where the natural beauty of Kariangot river and surroundings can be enjoyed. The Cheruvathur-Kariangot portion of NH 17 runs paralleled to the hill near Mayica, Cheruvathur
