WAYANAD

Wayanad is an Indian district in the north-east of Kerala state with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the sole Plateau in Kerala.The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of Mysore Plateau, which is the southern portion of Deccan Plateau. It is set high on the Western Ghats with altitudes ranging from 700 to 2100 meters.Vellari Mala, a 2,240 m (7,349 ft) high peak situated on the trijunction of Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode districts, is the highest point in Wayanad district. The district was formed on 1 November 1980 as the 12th district in Kerala by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. About 885.92 sq.km of area of the district is under forest. Wayanad has three municipal towns—Kalpetta, Mananthavady and Sulthan Bathery. There are many indigenous tribals in this area.The Kabini River, which is a tributary of Kaveri River, originates at Wayanad. Wayanad district, along with the Chaliyar valley in neighbouring Nilambur region (Eastern Eranad region) in Malappuram district, is known for natural Gold fields, which is also seen in other parts of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Chaliyar river, which is the fourth longest river of Kerala, originates in Wayanad plateau. The historically important Edakkal Caves are located in Wayanad district.

Wayanad district is bordered by Karnataka (Kodagu and Mysore districts) to north and north-east, Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris district) to the south-east, Malappuram to south, Kozhikode to the south-west and Kannur to the north-west. Pulpally in Wayanad boasts of the only Lava- Kusha temple in Kerala and Vythiri has the only mirror temple in Kerala which is a Jain temple. Varambetta mosque is the oldest Muslim mosque of Wayanad. People of Wayanad live in absolute harmony with each other.