Paithalmala : An enchanting hill station for trekking in Kannur District

       Paithalmala ("Paithal" means infant and "mala" means Hill) (Malayalam: പൈതൽമല )is the one of the Mind Blowing Hill Station in the Kannur District (North Kerala). Some call it as "Vaithalmala". Which is situated in the Western Ghats near Kerala- karnataka Boarder. The nearest bus stop to the Paithalmala is Kudiyanmala, which is 43 Kms from Thaliparamba and 60 Kms from Kannur Railway Station. Paithalmala is 9 Kms far from Kudiyanmala. From Kudiyanmala upto 5 Kms tarred road is available and for adventures driving we will love that, because which contains sharp turnings with high slope. Paithalmala is located near to Kappimala village, at a height of 1371.6 m above sea level, this is the highest peak in Kannur.These mountain ranges extend to about 500 acres and are fully covered with dense forest. A wide variety of flora and fauna can be found here and the view of the valleys and mountains from here is breathtaking. Those tourists who wish to have an adventurous trip can come to this hill station. Some other attractions of this place include waterfalls and the wildlife. To reach at the grass covered hill station a 4 Kms walk through the forest is required, but is the hottest part of the travellers for trekking. That path is not that much smooth to cover. You need to cover these portions with salt water/ tea mixed water. Because a lot of Blood sucking leeches are the opponent there. They are jumping in to our leg by smelling the presence of human. So if we are washing our legs with the salt water,we can avoid them easly. Summer season is the best time for the visit to the paithalmala. On summer these leeches are not seen any where in paithalmala. The night sleep on a night in the top of paithalmala is a dream like event for all travellers those who are coming here. For that you can carry one small tent. Because of its height you can touch and feel the dreaming effect of mist here. The clouds will touch on your lips as like your friend. The area is surrounded by forest, but no cruel animals are not there in the paithalmala.

        Kudianmala (also spelt Kudiyanmala) is a village in the Western Ghats in India. It is one of the major centres of Syrian Christian migration (Malabar migration). The migration to this place started during the 1950s. Even before that there were inhabitants here. The name has a history behind it. The ruler of the Chirakkal Principality had a sister. She was accused of adultery. So, the ruler sent her and a set of servants to a place in Kudianmala with the name Kudiattivalappu, which is near Pottamplavu. After this, every 12 years Vyazhavattam, the ruler, used to send soldiers to kill the sons of the princess if any were born during this period. From this legend, the name Kudianmala was derived.Malabar Migration which initially started in 1920s and reached a peak in 1950s began changing the demography from 1950s. The Second World War created poverty in Travenocre and this caused the migration. Central Travencore especially Kottayam district was the focus of migration.In 1953 the Holy Mass was said for the first time in the history of this place. It is said that the name 'Paithal' has some connection with the 'Paithalkon' dynasty of Malabar.

Nearest Railway Station: Kannur (60 Kms), Payyannur (62 Kms)
Nearest Airport: Calicut & Mangalore International Airports
Nearest Town: Kudiyanmala & Chemperi (Jeep is also available here)

[Data Collected from: Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudianmala , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paithalmala ] and from Official Kerala tourism site [keralatourism.org].

For a visual idea you can watch this video: