Palakkad Town, the administrative headquarters of the
Palakkad District, is a beautiful town located at the foothills of the mighty
Western Ghats, in
Kerala. It is just 21 km away from Kerala state's border with
Tamil Nadu.
Palakkad derived its name from the words: pala (tree) and kadu (forest), indicating that this place was once a thick forest covered with the sweet scented flowers of the pala trees. Steeped in history, the city has had settlements from the Paleolithic age; a fact substantiated by the discovery of megalithic relics from this region.
The earlier history of the town is shrouded in anonymity. It is believed that the region was under
the Pallavas in the 2nd century. Later it came under the rule of Kollengode Raja and Sekharivarma Raja of Palakkad. The region was annexed by
Hyder Ali in the 18th century. After the defeat of
Tipu Sultan, the city became the part of the East India Company’s empire.
The climate is generally warm. A 32 km long gap in the Western Ghats, named ‘Palakkad gap’, exerts a dominant influence in the climate of the district.
Major tourist attractions in and around the town include Tipu’s fort, Malampuzha Dam, Loknayak JP Smrithi vanam and Deer Park,
Killikurrussi Mangalam, Meenvallam and Kanjirapuzha Dam.
The nearest airport is at Coimbatore (55 km). Cochin International Airport is 120 km away. Palakkad is a major rail head in the
Southern Railway. There are regular trains connecting the town with Chennai, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. It is also well-linked by motorable roads with all major towns and cities of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
