HISTORY

In ancient times, Kasaragod was known by Arabs by the name Harkwillia.Many Arab travellers who visited Kerala between 9th and 14th century visited Kasaragod , which was an important trade centre then.Duarte Borbosa, the portuguese traveller who visited Kumbla, near Kasaragod in 1514, recorded rice being exported for coir to Maldives.Dr.Francis Buccanan, who was the family doctor of Arthur Wellesley, visited Kasaragod in 1800.In his travelogue, he recorded information on places like Athiraparambu, Kavvai, Nileshwaram, Bekal, Chandragiri and Manjeshwaram.

Kasaragod was once a part of the Tuluva kingdom.Then, there were 64 Malayalam and 64 Tulu villages in this part. When Vijayanagara Empire attacked Kasaragod, it was ruled by the Kolathiri king who had Nileshwaram as his capital. During the decline of the Vijayanagara empire , the administration of this area vested with Ikkery Naiks.At the onset of collapse of the Vijayanagara empire, Vengappa Naik declared indepenance to Ikkery. Kumbla, Chandragiri and Bekal are considered to be the chain of forts constructed by Shivappa Naik.In 1763, Hyder Ali conquered Bedanoor, the capital of the Ikkery Naiks.His son Tippu Sultan conquered the whole of Malabar. As per the Sreerangapattanam Treaty of 1792, Tippu surrendered Malabar, except Tulunadu (Canara) to the British. The British got Tulunadu only after the death of Tippu Sultan.

CLIMATE

The southwest monsoon starts towards the end of May or the beginning of June, heralded by thunderstorms and holds till September when the rain fades out. October brings in the northeast monsoon. Dry weather sets in by the end of December. January and February are the coolest months of the year. March, April and May are very hot.