Vandithavalam is a village in the Palakkad district, state of

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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is among the villages administered by the Perumatty Gram Panchayat. Vandithavalam was a village in the erstwhile

Cochin state The kingdom of Cochin or the Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It originated in the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until ...

, but was included in the Palakkad district at the time of the Kerala State formation. Vandithavalam lies in the foothills of the Western Ghats and is situated near the

Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of wa ...

. Vandithavalam is nourished by the

Bharathapuzha River The Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila River, is a river in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flo ...

and consists of fertile agricultural land. Vandithavalam is situated in the

Palghat Gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in the state of Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between th ...

, thus historically transport from neighbouring

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

is constant. Vandithavalam served as a resting point for the travellers and thus derived the name Vandithavalam, with ''Vandi'' meaning vehicle and ''Thavalam'' referring to a centre/place in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

. Vandithavalam is situated 17 Km away from the Palakkad City and 30 Km away from

Pollachi Pollachi is a town and municipality in Coimbatore district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Pollachi taluk. It is situated near the center of the South Indian Peninsula, surrounded by Western Gha ...

town.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Vandithavalam had a population of 12,160 with 6,006 males and 6,154 females.

References

Vandithavalam {{Palakkad-geo-stub