Kannur
Kannur Kotta
In 1498, during Vasco da Gama's visit to India, the local Kolathiri king granted the land to Portuguese to build a settlement in present-day Kerala. On 23 October 1505, he gave the Portuguese leader Francisco de Almeida the permission to build a fort at the site. The construction activity began the very next day, on 24 October 1505, when Goncalo Gil Barbosa - the Portuguese factor of Cannanore (Kannur) - laid the foundation stone. The construction of the wooden fort was completed on 30 October 1505: its first Captain was Lourenco Britto, who led a garrison of 150 Portuguese men, and controlled two ships in the sea. After the fort was completed, Almeida began using the title "Viceroy", and in 1507, he started the construction of a stone fort at the site.
The fort was later attacked in vain by the local Indian ruler Zamorin and Kolathiri in the Siege of Cannanore (1507).
Fort at Kannur
In August 1509 Almeida, refusing to recognize Afonso de Albuquerque's as the new Portuguese governor to supersede himself, arrested him in this fortress after having fought the naval Battle of Diu. Afonso de Albuquerque was released after six months' confinement, and become governor on the arrival of the grand-marshal of Portugal with a large fleet, in October 1509.[2]
The fort provided naval supplies for the Portuguese conquest of Goa and the Portuguese battles against Mamuluk. As the local Portuguese settlement at Kannur had no sources of revenue, the fort's expenses were met with funding from Goa, the seat of Portuguese rule in India.
The fort provided naval supplies for the Portuguese conquest of Goa and the Portuguese battles against Mamuluk. As the local Portuguese settlement at Kannur had no sources of revenue, the fort's expenses were met with funding from Goa, the seat of Portuguese rule in India.[1]
On 15 February 1663, the Dutch captured the fort from the Portuguese.[1] They modernised the fort and built the bastions Hollandia, Zeelandia and Frieslandia that are the major features of the present structure. The original Portuguese fort was pulled down later. A painting of this fort and the fishing ferry behind it can be seen in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The Dutch sold the fort to king Ali Raja of Arakkal in 1772. In 1790 the British seized it and used it as their chief military station in Malabar until 1947.
The fort is in the Cannanore Cantonment area. It is fairly well preserved as a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. St Angelo's fort is a most important historical monument and a popular tourist attraction. Six Tourism Policeman are posted here for protection duty.
In 2015, thousands of cannonballs weighing several kilos were discovered from the Fort premises. The Archaeological Survey of India, which led the excavation, believes these were buried as part of military preparedness.
Kashmir of Kerala
Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach (5.5 km length) is a beach on the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. It is located parallel to National Highway 66 (formerly National Highway 17) between Kannur and Thalassery.
This beach is the longest Drive-In Beach in Asia and is featured among the top 6 best beaches for driving in the world in BBC article for Autos. Muzhappilangad is the only Asian beach featured in the list. Even though Goa has many beautiful beaches, it does not have a Drive-in beach. It is considered as the longest drive-in beach in Asia.
The beach festival is celebrated in the month of April and it is one of the important tourist attraction in the district of Kannur in Kerala. The youth also try many driving stunts in cars like drifting and wheeling in bikes as this is a paradise for driving along the shore.
There is an unpaved road winding through coconut groves leading to the beach. To get to this road, if you are driving from Tellicherry towards Kannur, take the left turn just before the first railway crossing you encounter after crossing the Moidu bridge. The beach is about 5 km long and curves in a wide area providing a good view of Kannur on the north. Local laws allow beachgoers to drive for a full 4 km directly on the sands of the beach. The beach is bordered by black rocks, which also protect it from the stronger currents of the ocean. These rocks provide habitat for Blue mussel, a delicious seafood. Beach attracts bird-watchers from far off places as hundreds of birds flock here during various seasons.
Approximately 100–200 m south of the beach there is a private island called Dharmadam Island (Pacha Thuruthu in Malayalam, which translates to Green Island in English). It is possible to walk to the island during low tide from the nearby Dharmadam beach.
Payyambalam Beach
The Kannur Lighthouse is located near the Payyambalam Beach, a few kilometers from Kannur town, in Kerala state, south India. It is adjacent to the Sea View Park and the Government Guest House. The lighthouse is still active and overlooks the Arabian Sea.
Cannanore is the old English name for the town named Kannur. The lighthouse at Kannur is still often referred to as the Cannanore lighthouse.
Cannanore (now Kannur) was an important seaport under the 15th century rulers of North Malabar, the Kolathiris and the Arakkal Kingdom. The port had maritime links with the ports of Madras, Colombo, Tuticorin, Alleppey, Mangalore, Bombay and Karachi.
The Portuguese led by Vasco Da Gama first landed at Kappad beach in 1498. They built the St. Angelo Fort at Kannur in the early 16th century. Almost two centuries later, the region came under the control of the British, who established a cantonment at Cannanore in the 19th century.
In 1902, the Presidency Port Officer of Madras state government sanctioned an amount of Rs. 3430/- for the construction of a lighthouse tower atop the fort. This stone tower was commissioned in the year 1903, but at a later date the tower, along with a part of the fort, was taken away by the sea. After this only, a mast was installed inside the fort to hoist a lighthouse lantern.
In order to warn ships at sea of land, a system of hoisting a lantern with an oil wick lamp was introduced in 1843 by the British. A masonry pedestal was constructed in 1903 on the rampart of the fort and a double wick oil lamp inside the 4th order dioptric lens and lantern with arrangement for occultation was placed on this pedestal. The light was made available during fair seasons only, from September to May every year.
In 1924, some enhancements were made. The light was shifted in 1939 on to a 16-metre steel trestle erected on the northern bastion of the Fort. The steel trestle can still be seen today at the Fort.
The equipment was replaced by a flashing light with 10-second character running on DA gas in 1948. This light remained in operation till the new lighthouse tower was constructed at the present location during 1975–76.
Water theme park
Vismaya is an amusement water theme park near Taliparamba in Kannur, Kerala. The park is developed and run by Malabar Tourism Development Co-operative Limited (MTDC). It is situated near to the famous Muthappan temple in Parassinikadavu. It was officially inaugurated in August 2008 and since then it has become one of the favorite holiday destination in Malabar. The park is completely operated by the rain water collected by the reservoir spread over two acres (0.81 ha) of land with a capacity of 50,000,000 L (11,000,000 imp gal; 13,000,000 US gal) of water.
Malabar Tourism Development Cooperative Limited (MTDC) was registered on 15 February 2000. And one month later on 9 March 2000 kick-started its operations with E.P.Jayarajan as the Chairman. The job sector of Malabar, mainly Kannur focused on textile industry especially handloom, khadi and other industries such as beedi, pottery etc. an integral part of conventional occupation of the region. But all these occupations faced many challenges which gradually lead to an economic decline. In such scenario, to meet the growing market and to create more job opportunities in addition to catering to the growing tourism industry, MTDC came into existence.
Vismaya is a blend of amusement, water theme and infotainment park. It has got water rides, informative and entertaining activities for kids and adventurous rides for adults.
