27/02/2015
1
SHORT HISTORY
Wayanad is located at a distance of 75 K.M from Calicut and lies at a height of 700-2000 mts
above sea level. Wayanad, with its scenic beauty and wild life became prominent in the tourist map of
Kerala. Also it is the main route connecting Calicut with the other South Indian tourist attraction
Mysore, Ootty and Banglore. This land is rich in natural wonders with a vast area of greenery. Spice
scented breeze, mist capped mountains salubrious climate and hypnotizing scenic beauty. The
backward district is one of the biggest foreign exchange earners of the state, being the land of cash
crops of pepper, cardamom, coffee, tea, and other spices. It is a homeland of various tribal
communities. No other district in Kerela has such diversity in terms of its history and culture, customs
and traditions, archeology and anthropology, wild life and forest.
Brief History of The District
In ancient times the land was ruled by the’ Vedas’ Rajas. Later this land came under the rule
of Pazhassi Rajah of Kottayam Royal Dynasty. Though Mysore ruler Hider Ali invaded Wayanad he
brought it under his sway. In the days of Tippu Sultan it was restored to the Kottayam Royal Dynasty.
But as per the Sreerangapatanam truce Tippu handed over the entire Malabar region to the British.
This was followed by fierce encounter between the British and Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja. With the
help of ‘Kurichya’ tribal, Pazhassi organized guerilla type encounters with the British. In the end
Pazhassi Raja killed himself and Wayanad fell into the hand of British.
The British rule make a new turn in the history of Wayanad. The British authorities opened
up this land for cultivation of tea and other cash crops. They laid roads across the dangerous slopes of
Wayanad from Calicut and Thallessery. These roads are extended to Mysore and Ootty through
Gudallur.
When the state of Kerala came into being in 1956 Wayanad was a part of Kannur district. In
1957, South Wayanad was added to Kozhikode district and north Wayanad remained with Kannur
district. By amalgamating the north Wayanad and south Wayanad the present Wayanad district came
into being in the 1st November 1980 comprising of three taluks viz. Vythiri, Mananthavady and Sultan
Batheri.
Area And Population
The district has an area of 2131 square kilometers with a total population of 780619. As per
2001 census s*x ratio is 995 per 1000 males. The density of population is 366 per sq.kms. The
decadal census shows an increasing tendency in the density of population. One important
characteristic feature of this district is the large Adivasi population, consisting mainly on Paniyar,2
Adiyar, Kattunayakan and Kurichiyans. Among the districts in Kerala, Wayanad stands first in the
case of Adivasi population. SC and ST population comes 4% and 17% respectively of the total
District population.
Wayanad lies between north latitude 11. 27’ and 15 .58’ and east longitude 75. 47’and 70. 27’.
It is bounded on the east by Nilgiris and Mysore districts in Tamilnadu and Karnataka respectively, on
the north by Kodagu district of Karnataka, on the south by Malappuram and on the west by Kozhikode
and Kannur. Wayanad district stands in the southern tip of the Decan Plateau and its chief glory in
the majestic Western Ghats with lofty ridges interspersed with dense forest, tangled jungles and deep
valleys. In the centre of the district hills are lower in height while the northern area has high hills and
they give a wild and mountainous appearance. The eastern area is flat and open.
Mountains
Chembra peaks(2345m), Vellarmala(2145m), Banasuramala(2061m), Elembileri
mala(1839), Brahmagiri mala(1608m), Kunnelipadimala (1607m), Thariodemala(1553) etc are some
important mountains in the district. Trekking to the Chembra peak is a mountaineering Endeavour.
Rivers
Kabani river, one of the three east flowing rivers of Kerala, is an important tributary of
the river Cauvery. Kabani and its tributaries constitute a powerful river system in the landscape of
Wayanad.
Panamaram rivulet takes its origin from ‘Pookode’ lake. And Mananthavady rivulet takes its
origin from ‘Thondernadu’ peak. After flowing some distance, these rivers join and from this
confluence onwards the river is known as Kabani. Almost the entire Wayanad district is drained by
Kabani and its tributes. In this regard, Kalladi river and Venniyode river is to be remembered
Climate
The distance from the mean sea level and surrounding forest creates a salubrious climate.
Lakkidi in Vythiri taluk has the highest average rainfall in Kerala. High velocity winds are common
during the south west monsoon and dry winds blow in March-April.
Generally the year is classified in four seasons namely, cold weather (December-February),
hot weather (March-May), Southwest monsoon (June-September) and northeast monsoon (OctoberNovember).
Wayanad experience a high relative humidity.
Forest
Wayanad is a land of forest, which account for 37% of the total area of the district. Most of
the reserve forests in the state are in this district. In the 20864 hectares of reserve forest, the major 3
portion is teak plantation. We can see the bonnet monkeys, Loris, Mongoose, Jungle cats, Squirrel,
Jackals, and Hares etc. in forest.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the principal occupation of the people in Wayanad. The major crops are coffee,
tea, paddy, pepper etc. The other important cash crops are Rubber, Cardamom, Ginger, Turmeric and
Arecanut. The back bone of the economy of this district is plantation crops- Tea, Coffee, Pepper,
Rubber etc.. This sector has a major contribution to the state income. Coffee based farming system is
a notable feature of Wayanad. Coffee is grown both as pure crop and mixed crop along with pepper.
Pepper is grown largely along with coffee in the northeastern parts of the district.
The field of Wayanad is the valleys formed by hillocks. At present Paddy growing area is
remarkably decreasing. Ginger cultivation in Wayanad has also substantially increased in recent
times. Ginger produced is mainly marketed in the form of green ginger. The frequent draught and
flood since 2000 has affected the productuion of different crops very severly. Banana is cultivated
abundantly in this district. Besides this
different deceases affected to the crops especially pepper, ginger, arecanut and coconut, resulted in the
su***de of more than 500 poor farmers.
Irrigation
Major irrigation project in this district is Karapuzha Irrigation project. It is the first irrigation
project taken up in Wayanad. It was commissioned in 2005. Wayanad is mainly drained by Kabani
river and its tributes namely Panamaram, Mananthavady and Thirunelli. Bhanasura Sagar hydroelectric
project and Mananthavady hydro-electric project are two hydro-electric projects in Wayanad
district.
Industry
Wayanad is backward in the case of Industries. There are no such major industrial units
except tea processing factories, timber mills, and rice mills. More than 4000 small scale industrial
units are registered in this district but 2335 units are functioning at present. These are classified as
agro based industries, timber based industries, garment making units, engineering units, building
material units, Photostat, leather bag, rexin products and bio-fertilizer units.
The district industries centre functions at Muttil. In Sultan bathery, a mini industrial estate
having 14 sheds is functioning under the control of SIDCO. A raw material unit is also operating
there. There is an industrial park in Kalpetta run by KINFRA. 4
Education
Compare to other districts of Kerala, the higher education facilities are limited in Wayanad
district. There is a District Institute of Education and Training located at Sultan Bathery. In order to
improve the quality of education the district has been brought under the special scheme of District
Primary Education Project, funded by World Bank. Regional Agricultural Research Station at
Ambalavayal is a notable institution under the Kerala Agricultural University.One Engineering
College at Mananthavady and one Veternary College at Lakkidi are another notable Higher education
institutions. Medical and Law colleges are not started in this district yet
Health
Health problems are common among the tribes. Anemia and Vitamin-A deficiency affects the
tribal children who are malnourished and under nourished. Wayanad Health Project, situated at
Nallurnad, provides facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of major tribal diseases. State
Government has started a centre for tribal medicine at the hamlet of Vallad. A district hospital and a
T.B centre are functioning at Mananthavady.
Electricity
Compared to the other districts in Kerala, the electrified houses in Wayanad is less. Only
113763 houses in this district are electrified.
Transport And Communication
Railway facility is not available in this district. The nearest railway station is at 75 K.M from
Kalpetta. Bus connection and telephone facilities are available at all Panchayats. NH 212 from
Kozhikode to Mysore and SH 39 from Chundale to Gudallur passe through Wayanad district.
Tourist Centers
The important tourist centers in Wayanad district are
a) Pookot Lake: It has an area of 8.5 hectares with depth of 6.5 meters. This lake is situated
3 kms south of Vythiri.
b) Kuruva islands: Kuruva island comprises of 950 acres of evergreen forest. It is situated
17 kms east of Mananthavady.
c) Thirunelly Temple: This is one of the most important pilgrim centre of Kerala, which Is
situated at 29 kms north east of Mananthavady. This temple is often called Thekkan Kasi.
It is believed that a bath in the holy water of Papanasiny will wipe out all sins.
d) Edakkal Cave: This is about 12 kms south of Sulthan Batheri. The rock wall of the cave
contains ancient writings and carvings. 5
e) Wild life Sanctuaries: There are two wild life sanctuaries in the district viz. Muthanga and
Tholpetty. Muthanga is 16 kms east of Sulthan Batheri and Tholpetty is 15 kms north of
Mananthavady.
f) Waterfalls: Sujipara, Kanthanpara and Meenmutty are three important waterfalls in this
districts. These three are about 15 kms from Meppady.
g) Pazhassi tomb: It is situated near Mananthavady town. Pazhassi Rajah the Lion of Kerala
who organized the Guerrilla pattern of fighting against East India Company was cremated
here in 1805.
h) Lakkidi: It is about 58 kms North east of Calicut and 5 kms South of Vythiri. Lakkidi is
the gateway of Wayanad.
i) Mananthavady Park: This park was developed by the Social Forestry Department near
Mananthavady town at the side of Mananthavady river.
j) Banasurasagar Dam: A mini hydral project with the largest earth dam in India and second
biggest in Asia is situated near Padinharathara 20kms north west of Kalpetta.
k) Trekking Centers: The two prominent trekking centers in this district are Chembra Peak
and Pakshipathalam.
l) Religious Centers; Jain temple at Sulthan Bathery and Valliyoorkav near Mananthavady
are two pilgrim Hindu centers and Lord Matha church at Pallikkunnu and St.Judes at
Chundale are the two Christian pilgrim centers Varambatta Mosque is one of the main
Muslim Pilgrim Center
--- 6
DISTRICT AT A GLANCE
General Features
Date of Formation Ist November 1980
District Head Quarters Kalpetta
Administrative set-up
Wayanad State
1. Number of Revenue Divisions 1 21
2. Number of Taluks 3 63
3. Number of Revenue Villages 49 1452
4. Number of Municipalities 1 53
5. Number of Municipality Wards 25 1756
6. Number of Block Panchayat 3 152
7. Number of Block Panchayat Wards 2004
8. Number of Grama Panchayat 25 999
9. Number of Grama Panchayat Wards 446 16139
10. Number of Assembly Constituencies 3 140
11. Number of Parliament constituencies 0 20
12. Number of District Panchayat Wards 339
13. No. of House holds 166763
Geographical particulars
1. Total Area (Sq.Km) 2131 38863
Wet Area (hect) 24731 462797
Dry Area (hect) 100869 2273603
2. Forest Area (hect.) 78787 1081509
3. Length of Coastal Line (in KMs.) nil 590
we are mainly concentrated in vayanad tour packages our own resorts are there in vayanad thats y we
