Thamarassery Thamarassery, formerly known as Thazhmalachery, it is one of the taluk in Kozhikode district and major hill town in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, India, 30 km north-east of Kozhikode (Calicut) City and 29 km east of Koyilandy. It li ...

Churam is a mountain pass in

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

across the Western Ghats. "Churam" is the

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 2 ...

word for 'mountain pass'.

History myth

The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

used to transport spices from

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

Beypore Beypore or Beypur (formerly Beypoor) is an ancient port town and a locality town in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. It is located opposite to Chaliyam, the estuary where the river Chaliyar empties into Arabian Sea. Beypore is ...

Port,

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...

via the Kuttiadi route. Between 1700 and 1750, they searched for a new route which could reduce the distance. For which, they sought the help of Karinthandan ''Moopan'' (chief), a tribal leader from the Paniya tribe in Wayanad. The route via the Thamarassery ghat was found with the help of Karinthandan.It is believed that he was later shot to death. It is also believed that Karinthandan's ghost haunted the travellers for a while until it was nailed to a tree by a wizard. The mysterious chain tree is situated about 58 km from this ghat.

Geography

It is located around 800 meters above sea level along National Highway

NH 766 National Highway 766 (NH 766) (previously NH-212) is a National Highway in Southern India. NH 766 connects Kozhikode in Kerala with Kollegal in Karnataka via Mysore. Of the total distance of 272 km, 117 km is in Kerala and 155 is in ...

Kozhikode District Kozhikode (), or Calicut district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its Southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 67.15% urbanised. ...

. This area is a popular tourist destination that offers a unique blend of landscape, wildlife sanctuaries, waterfalls, dams, coffee plantations, beautiful hilltop view and varied flora and fauna. This

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

range connects the

and

Districts. It lies within the Western Ghats that run parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in

. The highway has nine hairpin bends. Churam is about 14 kilometers in length, starting from Adivaram to Lakkidi View Point.

References

{{Reflist Mountain passes of India