Paithalmala is a

hill station A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...

in the

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

district of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

in India, located near Pottenplave. At a height of 1372 m above sea level, it is the highest geographic peak in Kannur. It is located 40 km from

Taliparamba Taliparamba (also known as Perinchelloor and Lakshmipuram) is a Municipality in Taliparamba taluk of Kannur district, Kerala, India. The municipal town spreads over an area of and is inhabited by 44,247 number of people. Etymology Th ...

and 65 km from

. Nestled in the

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

border near to

Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

forests, it lies in the Western Ghats.

Trekking at Paithalmala

Paithalmala is a popular trekking destination. There are two trekking seasons at Paithalmala:

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

and summer. Trekking in Paithalmala can be challenging due to frequent rain,

leech Leeches are segmented parasitism, parasitic or Predation, predatory worms that comprise the Class (biology), subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the Oligochaeta, oligochaetes, which include the earthwor ...

es, and occasional

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

visits.

Monsoon is followed by a cool climate in Paithalmala and the

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

surrounding the hills grow to their fullest size, making it difficult to walk through. As they grow above seven feet, finding the regular way becomes a difficult task. By December, the forest caretakers set fire to the grass, taking care of the rest of the forest, to ease out the trekking experience. Soon after this, the hill becomes unsuitable to trek because of the black sooth formed but clears away after a couple of weeks. Most people generally trek between January and March.

Tourism

There is an observatory tower made by the department of tourism at the hilltop which can be reached after a 45 min walk from the Paithal valley. Trekking starts through the dense forest followed by the plain grass land on the hill top. At the highest point of the observatory, the observer can see more than half the area of Kannur district. Trekkers through the forest trail

The main part of the trek is considered to be the walk from the

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. ...

tower to the thick forest where trail from Kappimala ends, where the

Coorg Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

forest and Paithal valley can be seen. Mobile networks other than BSNL are not available in the vicinity.

Problems with Pollution

This is one of the few places in

where the nature is not largely affected by human invasion, thanks to the limited reachability. Recently however, there has been an increased tendency of visitors to use it as a drinking spot. The observatory tower is in a poor condition as the walls and barricades are broken or destroyed, and the surroundings of the tower are littered with beer bottles and plastic items. The hill top remains largely non-polluted and the visitors are advised to preserve it.

References

External links

Paithal Resorts DTDC Guest Housewww.paithalmala.info
{{Kannur district Tourist attractions in Kannur district Mountains of the Western Ghats Mountains of Kerala Hill stations in Kerala Populated places in the Western Ghats Geography of Kannur district Villages near Taliparamba

Trekking at Paithalmala

Tourism

Problems with Pollution

See also

References

External links