Kanhangad (കാഞ്ഞങ്ങാട്) is the most populous town in Kasaragod district and the headquarters of Hosdurg taluk. It lies roughly midway between Mangaluru and Kannur. Its government offices, including the taluk office, the court, the mini civil station and the regional transport office, sit in the Hosdurg area, also called Puthiyakotta. Both names mean 'new fort', after the fort the Keladi Nayakas built here in the early 1700s. NH 66 passes through Mavungal, about 3 km east of the town centre.
Farming, fishing and the Gulf hold up the local economy. Rubber, pepper, cashew and ginger grow in the hilly east; coconut, rice and tobacco grow near the coast. Since the oil boom of the 1980s, many young people have gone to work in the Gulf, and many families depend on the money they send home. Laterite stone and red soil are dug and processed in and around Kanhangad, and a public-sector China Clay factory runs at Vazhunnoradi.
Visitors come for the sea and the ashrams. Bekal Fort, the largest fort in Kerala, stands at Pallikkara, about 11 km north of Kanhangad, and the Bekal International Beach Festival has been held at Bekal Beach Park in late December; the 2023 edition ran from December 22 to 31. Anandashram, founded by Swami Ramdas in 1931, and the Nithyananda ashram with its caves near Hosdurg fort both draw spiritual visitors. From December to May, theyyam rituals bring crowds to shrines across the region.
Kanhangad is also a town of colleges and services. The Central University of Kerala has a campus at nearby Periya, Kerala Agricultural University has a campus at Padannakkad, and Nehru Arts and Science College is one of the oldest colleges in the district. The Kanhangad education district runs 46 upper primary and 72 high schools. The town has its own regional transport office, with the KL-60 registration code, and an A-category railway station on the Shoranur–Mangaluru line.
Areas around Kanhangad we cover
Working from one studio in Udupi, we come down to Kanhangad and the places around it to meet you in person.
- Hosdurg
- Ajanur
- Mavungal
- Kottachery
- Padannakkad
- Periya
- Pallikkara
- Bekal
- Chithari
- Pullur
- Udma
- Nileshwaram
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · deccanherald.com · keralatourism.org