A Road Trip through Kannur

St.Angelo Fort

I reached Kozhikode, slept very well and left for Kannur the next morning for my two days trip to Kannur, in the Indian state of  Kerala. It was a memmorable train journey from Kozhikode to Kannur because I met a new friend and  most of the topics in our conversation  was about my journey, Theyyam performance and sight seeing spots in Kannur. I was very much excited about Theyyam. We reached Kannur railway station and said good bye. Had my breakfast from  the railway station restuarant. By that time, all group members assembled at the station premises. Our conveyance was ready and we, a gang of 20 started our journey , singing and dancing in the Traveller.

We moved to St.Angelo Fort which was the day's first destination. We were lucky to meet Gokulan Sir, who is working in the Kerala Police and  deputed to the Fort for the past 13 years. He was very fluent in English and he explained about the Fort.  According to history, St Angelo Fort is  a composite feature of the Portugese, Dutch and the English architecture right from the early 16th century A.D.  It was sold to the Arrakal Raja in 1772 by the Dutch. The British finally seized it in 1790 and thereafter it was their base in the Malabar till 1947.

The fort is surrounded by sea on three sides while a dry moat runs from a land side of the fort on one side.  The main gate is towards the land.  We visited chapels, house of mercy prison, offices and other amneties which were built by the Portugese.  Presently,  the canons are fixed in the merions and bastions on the fort wall, pointing towards the sea.

St.Angelo Fort

Our next stop was  Arakkal Museum at Ayikkara which is located  3-4 km from the city of Kannur. Arakkal is the only Muslim dynasty of Kerala.  Now it is under the Department of Archeology.

The heritage artifacts belonging to the Arakkal Dynasty are in the museum. As we entered the museum, we could see articles from the Quran, important documents and paintings written during the British Dutch period, antiquities of various kinds, carved furniture, and crystal plates. The rest of the Arakkal history, the Durbar Hall and stick with the lion's head are still preserved here.

Arakkal Museum

It was already 2 pm and we had famous Thelassery Biriyani from a restuarant, on our way to V-Pra Kaayal Floating Park.  After lunch, we hit the road.  The road was narrow but good .

Entry fee to the park  is Rs.10/- only. The park is constructed on top of Vayalapra Kaayal.  We had spicy buttermilk from the  shop  near the entrance.  Then we started our walk on the path built in wood on top of the river. I could see food courts selling different kinds of foods, shops selling anticrafts etc on the side of the path.

V-Pra Kaayal Floating Park

It is packed with various activities like pedal boating, kayaking, group boating, party boat and kids water ride.  The end of the bridge have everything, we got from a modern mall. Play zone ? Juice shop?  Cool bar? Ice cream shop? Vedio game? They all are here.

Our next destination in the chart was Kerala Folklore Acadamy Museum, but it was closed that day. We had  great expectations to know about theyyams  prior to witnessing  its performance in the whole night.

Then we moved to Madayipara, which  was our last sight seeing spot in the chart. The real fun started as the road starts to kink on its way uphill.

Madayipara, which is a hillock, spread across an area of 700 acres, with  picturesque landscapes has  the remains of an ancient fort called the Madayi Fort built by the Vallabha King of the Kolothu dynasty, now in ruins including  a Jew pond.

Madayipara

According to legends, the Greeks, the Arabs and the Jews  setup camp near Madayipara long back. Once, it was the administrative hub for the kings of Ezhimala. Tipu Sultan is said to have signed some treaties here with the British.

It is said that during the Onam season the whole hillock is covered in a carpet of blue flowers. Since we visited the place in summer, the entire landscape was yellow in color with long blades of grass and red flowers. The exquisite beauty of the biodiversity of Madayipara is that it keeps on changing its face every season.

We quitly sat down at the edge of the hill. The sun was about to set. The sky turns in a blaze of orange and red shade as the  sun sets behind the hills.

Sunset at Madayipara

It was a memmorable place for me : lovely sunset, photography, some fun filled group activities with more than a place to sightsee and explore.

There was something left in the days program  that was much awaited-  Theyyam performance in the  night..