Palakkad or Palghat is one of the 14 districts of Kerala state in South India. The city of Palakkad is the district HeadQuarters. Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by Malappuram District, southwest by the Thrissur District and on the east by Coimbatore District of Tamilnadu. The district is 13.62% urbanised. The district is nicknamed "the ganary of Kerala".The district of palakkad known as the granary of kerala, is a land of valleys, hillocks, rivers, forests, mountain streams, dams and irrigation projects. Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of Palakkad Gap, in the Western Ghats. Situated at the foot of the western ghats, this is the gateway to kerala from The north.
In earlier times, Palakkad was known as Palakkattussery. Some emytologists trace the word "Palakkad" from the word Palai nilam, which means dry lands. The commonly held belief, however, is that the name is a fusion of two malayalam words Pala (alsteria scholaris), a tree that is found abondantly in Palakkad and kadu which means forest which goes to prove that this place was once a beautiful stretch of forests covered with the sweet scented flowers of the pala tree.
HISTORY:
In earlier days, Palakkad along with the most parts of Kerala were under the rule of the Chera Kings (Perumals). With decline of Chera dynasty, parts of this district were ruled by Palakkad Rajas who were believed to be the branch of Zamorians (Samudri rajavamsam) of Calicut who later declared independence. Some part were under Kollengode Rajas of Vengunad and the Valluvanad part of the district were ruled by Valluvakanathiris (who are considere to be the descandants branch of Pallava dynasty who might have ruled parts of Kerala at an earlier date).
GEOGRAPHY:
To the east lies the Coimbatore District of TamilNadu. It is a predominantly rural district. Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of Palakkad Gap in Western Ghats. The total area of the district is 4480 sq. km. which is 11.5% of the state's area. Out of the total area of 4480sq. km. about 1360sq. km. of the land is covered by forests. Most of the district fall in the midland region (elevation 75-250m), expect Nelliyampathy - Parambikulam area in the Chittur in the south and Attapadi - Malampuzha area in the north which are hilly and fall in the highland region (elevation & gt; 250m). Some of the notable peaks in the district are Anginda(2325m), Karimala (1998m), Nellikotta or Padagiri (1585m) and Karimala Gopuram (1439m).
The climate is hot and humid for most part of the year. Palakkad is one of the hottest palces in Kerala. There is sufficient rainfall. The district is blessed with small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. A number dams have been built across these rivers, the largest being Malampuzha Dam. The largest volume in capacity is the Parambikulam Dam.
