Kannur

Our next tourist destination is Kannur also recognized as Cannanore located in Kerala State, India. Kannur is the spot placed at 518 kms distance in north direction of capital Trivandrum.  At the time of British rule, Kannur city was identified as Cannanore (the old name of city). Kannur is placed on 6^th place in list of largest city of Kerala following Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi/Cochin, Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kollam. Kannur city was formed in 1867, though today it is one of the biggest town agglomerations of India with average populace of 1,700,000 as per 2011 census. Immaculate beaches of Kannur are world famous, though other popular things of Kannur are arts and handloom.

Kannur is important city for military values as well. City is housing 62 military cantonments of India. India’s best Naval Academy is located at Ezhimala, which is only 35 kms away from Kannur City. INA (Indian Naval Academy) is largest naval academy in Asia, though it stands in third position in world naval academies.

Voyagers locations in Kannur:

Arakkal Museum: located at 3 kms distance from Kannur city is first tourist attraction. This palace turned museum was under control of Arakkal Kingdom who was the only Muslim regal ancestors in Kerala.  Presently Arakkal palace is turned as museum and people can learn the past of city by attaining to place.

Bekal Fort: positioned at 85 kms distance from Kannur city is next location. Bekal fort is properly preserved located in region Kasargod. Structure of fort is circular with altitude of 130 feet from sea level. Bekal Fort is spread in 35 acres land, which ends at shore of Arabian Sea.

Dharmadam Island: placed at 17 kms distance from Kannur city is next destination for voyagers. This small island is spread in only 5 acres enclosed with coconut trees. To reach Dharmadam Island people can attain to Muzhappilangad beach.

Ezhimala: the eye-catching seashore Ezhimala is next spot located at only gap of 55 kms from city Kannur. People can enjoy the 286 meters high headland merging to Arabian Sea and can enjoy striking beach too. India’s naval academy is placed in Ezhimala, though entering to naval area require permission of administration of Indian Navy.

Kerala Folklore Academy: attaining to Chirakkal is required to visit KFA (Kerala Folklore Academy) located at 6.5 kms gap from Kannur. Academy is conducting cultural events and local art programs frequently. Travelers can attain these promotional events by attaining to KFA.

Madayi Para: journey of 25 kms will allow voyagers to reach Madayi Para, which is historical place too. Older shrines and monuments of Madayi Para are available for voyagers.

Muzhapilangad Beach: 15 kms away from Kannur is location where travelers can spend many days. Muzhapilangad beach is only drive-in-beach of India and travelers must not miss the spot. Beach Muzhapilangad is 4kms lengthy allowing voyagers to enjoy swimming as well.

Other holiday spots of Kannur are Overbury's Folly (21 kms), PSP (Parassinkkadavu Snake Park, 16 kms away), Payyambalam Beach (2 kms away), Pythal Mala ([hill station] 65 kms away), Thalassery Fort (21 kms away) , Malayala Kala Gramam (29 kms distant), Aralam Wildlife Park (65 kms away), Kannur Fort (2 kms distant), Mahe (28 kms away), Parassinkkadavu Temple (16 kms away), Kavvayi Backwaters, Valiyaparamba Island (50 kms away), Meenkunnu Beach (10 kms away), Pazhassi Dam (37 kms away), Ezhara Beach (11 kms away), and Thottada Beach (7 kms away).

Attaining to Kannur:

By Road: Bus terminal of Kannur linked to many cities of South India. NH (National Highway) 17 is passing from Kannur city connecting Mangalore to Kozhikode City. Cities linked to Kannur directly are Kodagu, Bangalore and Mysore. Kerala State Regional Transport Corporation is having buses for inner and outer areas of Kerala particularly for Kannur region. City is having several bus stands and frequent buses are reaching Kannur from various parts of south India.

By Rail: railway station of Kannur is major hub for Southern Railway. Trains for Kannur are available from Trivandrum, Yeshvantpur, Alappuzha, Bangalore,  Ernakulam. Closest known stations to reach Kannur are Chirakkal, Pappinisseri and Valapattanam, though only passenger trains halt on these stations due to less strength of passengers.

By Air: attaining to Kannur through air is easy as two big airports Mangalore and Kumarakom/Calicut are located close to city. Mangalore is only 173 kms away from Kannur where CIA (Calicut International Airport) is just 125 kms away from city Kannur. Construction of new IA (international airport) is going on close to Mattanur city of Kannur region. By end of 2015 airport will be serving to nation and abroad voyagers.

By Sea: Kannur port is available for tourist from abroad. The fine seaport Mangalore is close to Kannur city. Azhikkal seaport of Kannur is developing coastal transport with collaboration of Indian govt. and NMDP (National Maritime Development Program).