Kulathupuzha is a town in the eastern part of the

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major La ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

, India. It is one of the important pilgrim spots linked with the legend of

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple () is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ayyappan, who is also known as Dharma Shasta and is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu). The temple is situated atop th ...

. It is the birthplace of the Malayalam music composer Raveendran. Kulathupuzha is the source of the Kallada River, Thenmala Dam (KIP) is located on this river. As declared by the Governor, Arif Mohammad Khan, Kulathupuzha panchayat is the first in India to have achieved constitution literacy.

Location and connectivity

Kulathupuzha town is situated in

Punalur Punalur is a municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It is in the eastern part of the Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River and footh ...

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

along State Highway-59 and State Highway 2 along Kallada River. It is situated 58 km away from district headquarters

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

and 63 km away from state capital

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

. Road The town is connected with all major towns nearby by roads. KSRTC and private buses connect the town to

, Ernakulam and Tenkasi. KSRTC have one of their largest depots here in Kollam District Railway Thenmala railway station 11 km Airport

Trivandrum International Airport Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is an international airport that serves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and the fifth international airport of ...

64 km

Attractions

Kulathupuzha Temple

Kulathupuzha is well known for the Kulathupuzha Sastha Temple. The deity is known as ''Bala Sastha'' (child Sastha)''.'' The Vishu Mahotsavam in April is the most important festival of this temple. The temple legend is intertwined with fishes in a nearby river. In Napier Museum,

there are numerous wooden carvings of Hindu mythological figures that were retrieved from Kulathupuzha.

High-Tech Dairy Farm

Hi-tech dairy farm at Kulathupuzha established by KLDB is the first hi-tech dairy farm in India under government sector. It will be a model hi-tech bull mother dairy farm with all the latest technologies on feeding, milking, shed management and recording practices as a model in the state for production of bull calves for breeding programme and supply of high producing females calves to farmers by importing Embryos, Frozen Semen, and Sexed semen. It is one of the most modern dairy farm situated in Kulathupuzha Indo-Swiss project.

Rehabilitation Plantation Limited

RPL Kulathupuzha estate is one of the largest

Natural rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

estates in

. It is almost 1300

Hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

vast and this project was implemented by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

to rehabilitate 458 Sri Lankan Refuge families.

Sanjeevani Kulathupuzha

It is a conservation site of medicinal plants managed by Kerala Forest Department, Kollam Social Forestry Division. About 400 rare, endemic and indigenous medicinal species are conserved and protected here. All the species are well labelled so as to get basic information about the plant and its usage. Ayurveda students, college students, local medical practitioners and common people can make use of this medicinal garden. Now the garden is renovated and a well organised demonstration plot is created here. Moreover, now the visitors can enjoy a one-kilometer light trekking through the natural forest which is part of the garden.

Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest

Kulathupuzha forms a part of the southernmost reserve forests of the State, falling in the SOI sheet No. 58 H/1. Kulathupuzha reserve covers an area under 1000 km². Its forest constitutes predominantly of tropical wet - and semi - evergreens and moist deciduous types. Apart from settlements, some parts are occupied by Forest departmental plantations mainly of teak, eucalyptus and acacia. The plantations are grown by planting saplings on cleared natural forests. Plantations are raised to sustain and supplement the timber needs of a few industries in the State. popularly known as the Rakoodu Estate (Rock Wood Estate) is near Kulathupuzha. Senthurini Wilde Life Sanctuary is near Kulathupuzha. Kallar estate is one of the famous tea estates leftover from British ruling times. A British bungalow is there. Kulathupuzha forests have the largest variety of exotic

Myristica Swamp ''Myristica'' swamps are a type of freshwater swamp forest predominantly composed of species of ''Myristica''. These are found in three localities in India. ''Myristica'' swamps have adapted to inundation by way of stilt roots and knee roots. ''M ...

freshwater variety swamp in Kerala. Besides Kulathupuzha it is found in India only at Idukki Uttara Kannada and Shivaliks Himalayas. Also, the forest is the origin of Ithikara and Kallada rivers. Thenmala eco-tourism is just 9 km away. Oil Palm India Limited OPIL was established in the year 1977 with the objective of propagating oil palm cultivation in the country and more particularly in Kerala. From 1983 onwards the Company started functioning as a joint venture of the Government of Kerala and Government of India with share participation of 51% and 49% respectively. Oil Palm India Limited has got a total planted area of of plantation spread over in three estates – Kulathupuzha, Chithara, and Yeroor in Kollam District, Kerala.

Economy

The major economic activity in the area is: *

and Oil-palm plantations *

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

Dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

Timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

Retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

etc.

References

{{Kollam district Cities and towns in Kollam district