Vellarikundu

Vellarikundu
Vellarikundu
Taluk
	Vellarikundu Vellarikundu
	Coordinates: 12°22′03″N 75°16′59″E / 12.36750°N 75.28313°E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Kasaragod
Government
• Type	Taluk
• Body	Balal Grama Panchayat
Area
• Total	550.39 km2 (212.51 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	181,247
• Density	330/km2 (850/sq mi)
Languages
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	671534
Telephone code	04672
Vehicle registration	KL-79

Vellarikund is a town and taluk headquarters in the Hill range of Kasaragod District in the state of Kerala.^[1] Vellarikundu is located between Odayanchal and Chittarikkal on Odayanchal-Cherupuzha Road.

Etymology

'Vellari-' comes from the Malayalam word 'വെള്ളരിക്ക' which means cucumber. '-kund' means low surface or pit. The place was formerly used for harvesting cucumbers.

Transportation

Vellarikundu is able to connect Mysore and Bangalore by Kanhangad-Panathur-Madikeri Road from Odayanchal. Private and Ksrtc Buses provide routes to Kanhangad, Kasaragod, Mangalore, Mysore, Bangalore, Kannur, Calicut, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta.

The nearest railway station is Nileshwar Railway Station on Mangalore-Palakkad Line. The nearest airport is Mangalore International Airport on North and Kannur International Airport on South.

History

Vellarikundu Taluk was announced in the Kerala budget of 2013. On 21 February 2014, the new taluk was inaugurated by the Sri Oommen Chandy chief minister of the state. The taluk was created by splitting the Hosdurg taluk.^[2]

Tourism

Kammadam Kavu is a sacred grove near Vellarikkundu with 60 acres of rarer birds and other small animals. It is one of the biggest sacred groves of Kerala.^[3]