Locations

Muzhappilangad Beach

Muzhappilangad Beach is a drive-in beach in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. It is located parallel to National Highway 17between Kannur and Thalassery.

There is an unpaved road winding through coconut groves leading to the beach. To get to this road, if you are driving from Tellicherry towards Kannur, take the left turn just before the first railway crossing you encounter after crossing the Moidu bridge. The beach is about 5 km long and curves in a wide area providing a good view of Kannur on the north. Local laws allow beachgoers to drive for a full 4 km directly on the sands of the beach. The beach is bordered by black rocks, which also protect it from the stronger currents of the ocean.

Approximately 100-200 m south of the beach there is a private island called Dharmadam Island (Pacha Thuruthu in Malayalam, which translates to Green Island in English). It is possible to walk to the island during low tide.

Dharmadam Thuruth

Dharmadam Island (Green Island) is a small 2 hectare private island in the Kannur District of Kerala, southern India. It lies 100 metres from the mainland at Dharmadam. This island, covered with coconut palms and dense bush is a beautiful sight from the Muzhappilangad beach. During low tide, one can walk out to it from the beach. Permission is required to land on the island as it is privately owned. Dharmadam, known earlier as Dharmapattanam, was a Buddhist stronghold.

Gundert Bungalow

Rev. Dr. Hermann Gundert (February 4, 1814 – April 25, 1893 in Calw, Germany) was a German missionary and scholar, who compiled aMalayalam grammar book, Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam (1859), the first Malayalam-English dictionary (1872), and translated the Bible into Malayalam. He worked primarily at Tellicherry on the Malabar coast, in Kerala, India. Gundert also contributed to the fields of history, geography and astronomy. The archives of information he collected from Tellicherry are kept in the Tuniberg University, Germany and were collected and compiled by the scholar Dr Skaria Zacharia as Thalassery Rekhakal.

Though Gundert came to Kerala as a missionary, he is remembered today mainly for his literary contributions. In Thalassery (Tellicherry), people have honored him by a statue in the city.

The bungalow in which Gundert live for about 20 years is called Gundert Bugalow. It was from these premises that the first Malayalam dictionary and newspaper were given their form. It is located at Illikunnu near Thalassery town.

Overbury's Folly

Overbury's Folly is an unfinished construction, or architectural folly, that now serves as a recreational park located in Thalassery, south India. The folly is located on a hill near Thalassery District Court and is adjacent to a park. It slopes down from the sub-collector's bungalow to the rocks below and is named after its builder, E. N. Overbury, a Briton who served as a local judge at Thalassery in the 1870s.

In 1879, Overbury wanted to construct a picnic spot at the cliff. He couldn't complete it, but the spot later earned the name "Overbury's Folly". The folly commands sweeping views of the Arabian Sea.

Today, Overbury's Folly has been renovated and redecorated as a tourist attraction. It is frequented by local people in the evenings as a place to relax.

Thalassery Fort

The British East India Company built the fort in 1708 to establish a stronghold on the Malabar Coast. In 1781 Hyder Ali, ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, was unsuccessful in capturing the Fort in his campaign to control Malabar. His successor, Tipu Sultan, was forced to cede Malabar District to the British in 1792, at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War.

The square fort, with its massive walls, secret tunnels to the sea and intricately carved huge doors, is an imposing structure. The fort was once the nucleus of Thalassery's development. It is now a historical monument.