Ulikkal is a growing town in Kannur District 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 ...

. It is the HQ of Ulikkal Grama Panchayat in Iritty Taluk. Kerala State Hill highway SH 59 passes through Ulikkal Town.

Location

Ulikkal is situated 7.5 km north of Taluk HQ Iritty, 49 km from District HQ

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

and 10 km away from Kootupuzha (Kerala-Karnataka border).

Demographics

As of 2011 Census, Ulikkal Grama Panchayat had total population of 35,429, of which 17,457 are males and 17,952 are females. The sex ratio of Ulikkal was 1,028 lower than state average of 1,084. Population of children in the age group 0-6 was 3,648 (10.3%) where 1,895 are males and 1,753 are females. Ulikkal had an overall literacy of 94.8% higher than state average of 94%. The male literacy stands at 96.6% and female literacy was 93.1%. Ulikkal Grama Panchayat consists of two revenue villages like

Nuchiyad Nuchiyad is a village in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. Demographics As of 2011 Census, Nuchiyad village had population of 12,686, of which 6,250 are males and 6,436 are females. Nuchiyad village spreads over an area of wit ...

and

Vayathur Vayathur is a village in Ulikkal Grama panchayat of Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. Demographics As of 2011 Census of India, 2011 Census, Vayathur village had population of 22,743 which comprises 11,207 males and 11,536 females ...

under its administration limits.

History

This village is near Vayathur village panchayat area and contains the Bythoor or Baithur (Vayathur) temple. ''Bythoorappa (Vayathoorappan)'' Vayathur Kaliyar Shiva Kshethra dating back to more than 300 years is one of the temples in the panchayat, situated on the banks of Valapattanam river 3 km from the town. This river starts from Kodagu and flows through Parikkalam and Nuchyad villages. This Eshwara (

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

or Mahadeva) temple is in Kodagu (which is nearby) and is a major pilgrimage temple for the Kodavas (natives of Kodagu). The Kodavas and the Malayalis celebrate the annual temple festival together As per tradition. The temple priests of Kodagu were Namboothiri. Kodagu is the district neighbouring Kannur district of which Ulikkal forms a part. The temple Gods of Kodagu are of Kerala origin. Folklore says that the Gods entered Kodagu from Kerala, thousands of years ago, via Vayathur (Bythoor) in Kerala and near the Kodagu border. Formerly Ulikkal formed a part of Vayathur.

Places of worship

* St Mary's church, Thermala, near parikkalam * Vayathur Kaliyar Shiva (Bythoorappa) temple of Ulikkal *Church of God in India,Ulikkal *Assemblies of God church(Pentecostal church), Ulickal *India Pentecostal Church of God, Kolithattu *Assemblies of God church, Arabi * St. Joseph's Latin Church, Infant Jesus Church * Kodaparambu maqam, 6 kilometers from Ulickal (Ulikkal) and two Mosques (Sunni and Mujahid) within Ulickal Panchayath. * Infant Jesus Church Ulikkal * St Joseph's Church Arabi * St. George's Church Puravayal * St Thomas' Church

Manikkadavu Manikkadave or Manikkadavu is a village in Kannur district, Kerala, India. It is situated among the foothills of Western Ghats, and bordering the Kodagu range of Karnataka evergreen forests. As its crown there lies ‘Kurisu Mala’ (mount/h ...

* St Mary's Church Manippara * St Antony's Church Anara * St Joseph's shrine Korayenga * St Jude Chapel&Shrine Vengalode * St Alphonsa Church Vatiamthode * St Mary's shrine Vatiamthode * St Mary's Church Mattara * A mosque Nuchiayad * A mosque Karimakayam * St Sebastian's Forana Church Nellicampoil *Arohanam marathoma church Arabi

Geography

Ulikkal is a hilly village on the eastern side of Kannur district. The terrain is undulating in nature and the extreme eastern side has forests bordering Karnataka state.

Economy

Ulikkal Panchayat is mainly an agrarian economy. The major crops are Rubber, Cashew, Coconut and Areca nut here. Ulikkal was one of the Panchayats in Kannur district that were severely affected by

2018 Kerala floods On 16 August 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state Kerala, due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, and 15 are missing. About a milli ...

which caused heavy economic loss for the farmers. 12 hectares of cropped area (mostly rubber and cashew) was destroyed by strong winds. The main affected areas in the Panchayat were in the side slope of midlands (43 m) and mid-highlands (178 m) like Kalanki, Kolithatt,

, Arabikulam and Kokkad.

Educational institutions

* Government Higher Secondary school, Ulikkal * Floweret English Medium School, 1 km from Ulikkal at AKG Nagar * St. Thomas High School,

* St. Joseph High School, Arabi * There are many primary schools nearby Ulikkal, mainly the ones at

, Arabi, Mattara,

, Nellickampoyil and Perumballi, as well as the GLPS Puravayal and Sharada Vilasam AUP School Parikkalam.

Transportation

Kerala State Highway SH 59 passes through Ulikkal town which connects nearby towns and villages in the hilly terrains of Kannur district. Taluk HQ Iritty is away. The road to the east of Ulikkal connects to

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

and

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. National Highway

NH 66 National Highway 66, commonly referred to as NH 66 (erstwhile NH-17 and a part of NH-47), is a mostly 4 lane long busy National Highway (India), National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to t ...

passes through Taliparamba town of 43 km away. Mangalore and Mumbai can be accessed on the northern side and Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram can be accessed on the southern side. The nearest railway station is Kannur railway station, Kannur on Shoranur-Mangalore section line. The nearest airport is Kannur International Airport 27 km away. Thalassery,

and Taliparamba are equidistant from Ulikkal.

References

{{Kannur district Villages near Iritty st:Mary's Church Mattara