| Kannur | |
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| Coordinates | 11°52′08″N 75°21′20″E / 11.8689°N 75.35546°E |
| Country | |
| State | Kerala |
| District(s) | Kannur |
| Kannur Municipality Chairman | B.P. Farookh |
| Population | 63,797 (2001) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Website | www.kannur.nic.in |
Kannur (Malayalam: കണ്ണൂര്) is a city and a municipality in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the district of Kannur. It is known as Land of Looms and Lores. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its Portuguese name of Cannanore which is still in fairly common usage. This is the largest city of North Malabar. According to the data compiled by Indicus Analytics, a research firm, Kannur is one of the ten best cities in India to live. The parameters set by this firm are in the field of health, education, environment, safety, public facilities and entertainment for preparing the data.
Kannur is the fourth largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, and has a population of 4,98,207. Kannur is famous for its pristine beaches; Theyyam, its native performing art; and its handloom industry.
Kannur is of great strategic military importance. It houses one of the 62 military cantonments in the country, the Kannur Cantonment, and is the current seat of the Defence Security Corps.
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Kannur was an important port on the Arabian Sea and carried out trade with Persia and Arabia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It was also the British military headquarters on India's west coast until 1887. In conjunction with her sister city, Tellicherry, it was the third largest city on the western coast of British India in the eighteenth century after Bombay and Karachi.
St. Angelo's Fort was built in 1505 by Dom Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy of India, and this fort is situated along the Arabian sea about 3 km from Kannur town. In 1507, the fort was besieged by the local ruler in the Siege of Cannanore (1507). The ownership of the fort has changed hands several times. In 1663, the Dutch captured it and sold it to the Arakkal royal family in 1772. The British conquered it in 1790 and transformed it into one of their major military stations on the Malabar Coast. It is fairly well preserved as a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. A painting of this fort and the fishing ferry as a background is on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The head of Kunjali Marakkar was cut off body and exhibited in the Fort after his assassination. Here, Kerala Police has posted tourism police officers for the protection of and guidance to the tourists. Among them, one policeman named Sathyan Edakkad has written and published a book on the history of this fort, named Vasco da Gaamayum Charithrathile Kaanaappurangalum (Vasco da Gama and the unseen pages of history). He has detailed knowledge about the fort and the surrounding places. During the British Raj, Kannur was part of the Madras province in the District of North Malabar. Kannur is the capital city of one and only Muslim Sultanate of Kerala, known as Arakkal. Before that, Kannur was under Kolathiri of Chirakkal.
According to the 2001 census of India,[1] Kannur has a population of 63,795. Males constitute 48% of the population and females, 52%. Kannur has an average literacy rate of 83%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy is 84% and female literacy is 83%. In Kannur, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
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The region in and around the municipality of Kannur has been so developed that it has become known as Kannur City, but it should not be confused with the old town, Kannur city.

There are many local cable T.V channels in Kannur,the most popular cable channels are- City Channel, City gold, City Juke and Kannur vision
In the 14th and 15th centuries, during the regime of the Kolathiri Rajas, Taliparamba was renowned all over Kerala as a seat of learning, enlightenment and culture. In the early days, the Eshuthu pallies under the Ezhuthachan or village school master, provided facilities to pupils to acquire elementary education. After undergoing the preliminary course of study in these institutions, the children were sent to the kalaries for acquiring training in gymnastics and in the use of arms and then they were sent to study Sanskrit in Vedic schools under well trained teachers. This district had in the past, its share of such kalaries and Vedic schools. The art, Kalaripayattu, is particularly associated with this district.
The beginning of western education in the district may be traced back to the middle of the 16th century. The first English school, known as the Basel German Mission English School, was started on 1 March 1856 at Thalassery. The Brennen School at Thalassery, the nucleus of the present Govt. Brennen College, was started in 1862 with the generous donation made by Mr. Brennen, Master Attendant at Thalassery.
Kannur University was established by the Act 22 of 1996 of Kerala Legislative Assembly. The University by the name “Malabar University” had come into existence even earlier by the promulgaton of an Ordinance by the Governor of Kerala, on 9 November 1995. The University was inaugurated on 2 March 1996 by the Hon. Chief Minister of Kerala. The objective of the Kannur University Act 1996 is to establish in the state of Kerala a teaching, residential and affiliating University so as to provide for the development of higher education in Kasargod and Kannur revenue Districts and the Mananthavady Taluk of Wayanad district. Kannur University is unique in the sense that it is a multi-campus university with campuses located at various locations under its jurisdiction. The present Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University is Dr P. K. Michael Tharakan, who took over from Dr P Chandramohan. Pariyaram Medical college established in 1999 near Payyanur and Kannur Medical college with a 500 bed super speciality hospital established in 2006 at Anjarakkandy are two medical colleges functioning in Kannur district
Kannur hosts the 13th centre for National Institute of Fashion Technology NIFT.
Kannur is easily reachable by road, rail, air and sea.
Kannur is on the National Highway 17 (NH-17) between Mahe and Talapady. The roads in the city are well laid out, although the condition of the roads is affected during the monsoon season.
The two airports at Mangalore, Karnataka in the north and Kozhikode in the south are just about 125 kilometres away from Kannur. A New International Airport is proposed near Mattanur in Kannur district. Official website of Kannur International airport
Kannur is an ancient sea port. The nearest all-weather sea port is Mangalore, presently in Karnataka state. The inland water transport system connecting Perumba and Thaliparamba was constructed in 1766 by the Ali Raja of Kannur. This 3.8 km long canal is known as the Sultan's Canal. The west flowing rivers are used for navigation. The Valappattanam river, 55 km and Ancharakandy river, 23 km. The nearest airport is in Kozhikode.
Private FM Radio stations in Kannur
Club FM (the Mathrubhumi Printing And Publishing Co Ltd) -94.3 megahertz
Radio Mango (the Malayala Manorama Co Ltd) -91.9 megahertz
Red FM (Sun Network)- 93.5 megahertz
Best FM (Asianet Communications Ltd) - 95.0 megahertz
AIR FM Radio Station
Kannur - 101.5 megahertz
Print Media
Besides this, almost all news papers like Mathrubhumi, Thejas, Malayala Manorama, Deshabhimani, Deepika, Chandrika, Keralakoumudi, Madhyamam, News First, Janmabhoomi, Veekshanam, Siraj are published from Kannur.
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Kannur (Malayalam: കണ്ണൂര്) is a city and a municipality in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the district of Kannur. It is known as Land of Looms and Lores. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its portuguese name of Cannanore, which is still in fairly common usage. This is the largest city of North Malabar. According to the data compiled by Indicus analytics , a research firm, Kannur is one of the ten best cities in India to live, the parameters set by this firm is in the field of health, education, environment, safety, public facilities and entertainment for preparing the data.
The main language spoken is Malayalam. However, English, Hindi and Tamil are the other languages which are also spoken and understood by majority of the people.
Kannur is well d and serviced by rail to all major cities in India like Kozhikode, Mangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore.
You can also reach here by bus from big cities like Mangalore, Kochi, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Mumbai, Coimbatore.
Kannur is well connected to other cities Kochi, Kozhikode, Madras, Bangalore,Manglore, Coimbatore, and Madurai by roads. NH 17 connecting Kochi and Mumbai passes through Kannur. Also Tellicherry can be called the nearest Kerala Town to [Mysore|Mysore]. The Iritty, Kootupuzha, Virajpet, Sidhapur route to Mysore is a nice route with lots of natural scenes.
While travelling from Bangalore or Mysore the main route is via Mysore - Hunsur - Gonikoppal(Coorg)- Makutta(state border)- Iritty - Kannur.
Alternatives
Road between Kuthuparamba - Nedumpoyil has lot of broken stretches.Kartikulam - Tholpeety is in Bad condition , Tholpetty to Kutta is the worst.Anyone any idea when Makutta Repair will be completed.
Many places of attractions are near by to each other so you could walk between them.
Kannur is mentioned as "a great emporia of spice trade" by explorer Marco Polo.
14 kms from kannur
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