On visiting Palakkad one might feel that this is the land about which we hear tales and stories. Not only is it rightly called the granary of India but it is also a land of many other things like, valleys, hillocks, rivers, forests, mountain streams, dams and irrigation projects. The origin of this weird sounding name, Palakkad, is also quite interesting. It has its origins in the two Malayalam words pala which means alsteria scholaris and kadu meaning forest; this means that once Palakkad was a large stretch of land covered with flowers of pala tree. The location of Palakkad is also quite interesting as it is situated at the foot of the Western Ghats and one might also say that it is the entrance point of Kerala forms the north.
Palakkad is spread on an area of 4480 sq. Km. and the census states that the population of this place is 2,382,235. One of the best features of Palakkad is that it is pretty easy to reach this place by all means. If one wants to reach this place by airways then the nearest airport happens to be Coimbatore which is at a distance of 55 kilometres. The Palakkad railways station is at a distance of 5 km from the city and is a major and prominent station in the southern railway. Palakkad is linked to all major cities of India by road too, so if you like to travel on the road to your destination than going to Palakkad ought to be your next task.
There are many popular places to visit in Palakkad like the Palakkad fort and the Malampuzha Garden. Of all the historical monuments in Kerala, one might say Palakkad fort is in the best condition. It was built by the legendary Hyder Ali in 1776 but in 1790 the Britons took over the fort and modified it according to their taste. The fort, however, is now under the preservation of the archaeological survey of India. The Malampuzha Garden with its beautiful garden and dam is major picnic spot.
Thus Palakkad is a wonderful place to visit because of the aesthetics generated out of rich historical past.