Kalpeni is an inhabited Atoll in the Union Territory of

Lakshadweep Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast. The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...

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 ...

. It has a distance of west of the city of

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Geography

Kalpeni is west from the port of Kochi and lies south of

Andrott Andrott Island, also known as Androth Island, is a small inhabited island in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, a group of 36 coral islands scattered in the Arabian Sea off the western coast of India It has a distance of west of the city of ...

and to the NNE of

Minicoy Minicoy, locally known as Maliku (), is an island in Lakshadweep, India. Along with Viringili, it is on ''Maliku atoll'', the southernmost atoll of Lakshadweep archipelago. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory of ...

, with the broad

Nine Degree Channel The Nine Degree Channel is a channel in the Indian Ocean between the Laccadive Islands of Kalpeni and Suheli Par, and Maliku Atoll (Minicoy Island). These two subgroups of islands, together with the Amindivi Subgroup, form the Indian Union Terr ...

between them. Suheli Par atoll lies to the west of Kalpeni. Kalpeni forms a single

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

along with the uninhabited islands of

Cheriyam Kalpeni is an inhabited Atoll in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It has a distance of west of the city of Kochi. Geography Kalpeni is west from the port of Kochi and lies south of Andrott and to the NNE of Minicoy, with the bro ...

Tilakkam Kalpeni is an inhabited Atoll in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It has a distance of west of the city of Kochi. Geography Kalpeni is west from the port of Kochi and lies south of Andrott and to the NNE of Minicoy, with the bro ...

, Kodithala and

Pitti Pitti, also known as Pakshipitti (''pakshi'' meaning "bird" in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil), is an uninhabited coral islet in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. Geography It is located at about 24 km to the north of Kavaratti, ...

islet. The eastern and southern shorelines of the island have accumulations of coral

debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can refer to ...

, the result of a violent storm that hit the area in 1847. It has a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

area of .

List of Islands

*Kalpeni is the main island. it has an area of , and is located at . *Kodithala is immediately to the north of Kalpeni, at, with an area of . *

is the northernmost island, with a population of 10. The island has a water tank, a pond, a small road from the village to a lighthouse at the north point, constructed by MGNREGS at 2015. it has an area of , and located at . It is the largest of Kalpeni's Satellite islands. The land in Cheriyam belongs to 49 families living in Kalpeni.
MGNREGS is currently making an economic development on the island to accommodate a new village and resort like on Sentosa. It would impact the economic growth of Kalpeni Island. *Tilakkam group are a group of islands off the west of Kalpeni. The land of these islands belong to two different families of Kalpeni: **Koomel is a small islet off the west tip of Kalpeni. it has an area of , and located at . **Tilakkam east has an area of , and located at . **Tilakkam west has an area of , and located at . **

islet has an area of , and located at .

Demographics

Kalpeni was the first island in the Union Territory where women were allowed to go to school and get an education.

Administration

The island belongs to the

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

of Kalpeni of

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Tourism

Kalpeni has a beach at the northern tip of the island called Tip Beach where one can do snorkeling, sea bath and kayaking. Because of the coral reefs present in the sea near the beach, the water is shallow and calm, making it an excellent spot for beach activities. There is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

in Kalpeni from whose top one can see a bird's eye view of the island, the lagoon with the smaller islands, the reef and the surrounding ocean. From the top of the lighthouse, one can visualize the abundance of coconut trees and the ground is not visible due to dense packing of the tops of these trees.

Image gallery

File:Kalpeni-Panoramic-View-From-Lighthouse.jpg, Island's Panoramic View From Lighthouse File:Moideen_Mosque_Kalpeni_Panoramic_View.jpg, Moideen Mosque a Panoramic View File:Agatthiyatti_Stone.jpg, A deep whirlpool in the Agatthiyatti Stone area File:Sunset_at_Kalpeni.jpg, Sunset at Kalpeni File:Tip_Beach_Kalpeni.jpg, Tip Beach entrance at Kalpeni File:Kalpeni atoll of Lakshadweep 2.jpg, Boat jeti at Kalpeni atoll of Lakshadweep

References

External links

Hydrographic Description (Indian Ocean Pilot)Lagoon sizesList of AtollsAn ornithological expedition to the Lakshadweep archipelagoSources towards a history of the Laccadive Islands
{{Malabar Islands of Lakshadweep Atolls of India Cities and towns in Lakshadweep district