Kulathupuzha is a small town in the eastern part of

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

district of

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 Ca ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is one of the important pilgrim spots linked with the legend of

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest ...

. Kulathupuzha is also the birthplace of the Malayalam music legend

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran ( ml, മാധവൻ രവീന്ദ്രൻ ), (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), fondly known as ''Raveendran Master'', was a popular South Indian music composer a ...

. Kulathupuzha is the source of the

Kallada river Kallada River/Kulathupuzha " Puzha "means River.Its's the longest river in Kollam District, Kerala, India.The river originates in Kulathupuzha,a part of Western Ghats and flows west reaching Arabian Sea after travelling a distance of 120km. ...

Thenmala Dam The Thenmala dam is the second largest irrigation project in Kerala, India. It impounds the longest reservoir in the state and water from the reservoir is also used for power generation. The dam was started in 1961 under the Kallada Irrigation ...

(KIP) is located on this river. As declared by Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Kulathupuzha panchayat is the first in India to have achieved Constitution-literacy.

Location and connectivity

Kulathupuzha town is situated in Punalur

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 adminis ...

along State Highway-59 and State Highway 2 along

Kallada River Kallada River/Kulathupuzha " Puzha "means River.Its's the longest river in Kollam District, Kerala, India.The river originates in Kulathupuzha,a part of Western Ghats and flows west reaching Arabian Sea after travelling a distance of 120km. ...

. It is situated 58 km away from district headquarters

and 63 km away from state capital

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. Road The town is connected with all major towns nearby by roads.

KSRTC KSRTC may refer to: * Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation * Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one o ...

and private buses connect the town to Punalur,

, Ernakulam and Tenkasi. KSRTC have one of their largest depots here in Kollam District Railway Thenmala railway station 11 km Airport Adani Trivandrum International Airport 64 km

Attractions

Kulathupuzha Temple

Kulathupuzha is well known for the

Kulathupuzha sastha Temple Kulathupuzha Sastha Temple is a Hindu temple located on the banks of ''Kulathupuzha'' river, a tributary of Kallada River. It is located in Kulathupuzha in Punalur taluk of Kollam district in the Indian state of Kerala. The presiding deity there ...

is known as ''Bala Sastha'' who is Lord Hariharaputra. The Vishu Mahotsavam in April is the most important festival of this temple. The temple legend is intertwined with fishes in a nearby river. In Napier Museum,

there are numerous wooden carvings of Hindu mythological figures that were retrieved from Kulathupuzha.

High-Tech Dairy Farm

Hi-tech dairy farm at Kulathupuzha established by KLDB is the first hi-tech dairy farm in India under government sector. It will be a model hi-tech bull mother dairy farm with all the latest technologies on feeding, milking, shed management and recording practices as a model in the state for production of bull calves for breeding programme and supply of high producing females calves to farmers by importing Embryos, Frozen Semen, and Sexed semen. It is one of the most modern dairy farm situated in Kulathupuzha Indo-Swiss project.

Rehabilitation Plantation LImited

RPL Kulathupuzha estate is one of the largest

Natural rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

estates in

. It is almost 1300

Hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre i ...

vast and this project was implemented by

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

to rehabilitate 458 Sri Lankan Refuge families.

Sanjeevani Kulathupuzha

It is a conservation site of medicinal plants managed by Kerala Forest Department, Kollam Social Forestry Division. About 400 rare, endemic and indigenous medicinal species are conserved and protected here. All the species are well labelled so as to get basic information about the plant and its usage. Ayurveda students, college students, local medical practitioners and common people can make use of this medicinal garden. Now the garden is renovated and a well organised demonstration plot is created here. Moreover, now the visitors can enjoy a one-kilometer light trekking through the natural forest which is part of the garden.

Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest

Kulathupuzha forms a part of the southernmost reserve forests of the State, falling in the SOI sheet No. 58 H/1. Kulathupuzha reserve covers an area under 1000 km². Its forest constitutes predominantly of tropical wet - and semi - evergreens and moist deciduous types. Apart from settlements, some parts are occupied by Forest departmental plantations mainly of teak, eucalyptus and acacia. The plantations are grown by planting saplings on cleared natural forests. Plantations are raised to sustain and supplement the timber needs of a few industries in the State. popularly known as the Rakoodu Estate (Rock Wood Estate) is near Kulathupuzha. Senthurini Wilde Life Sanctuary is near Kulathupuzha. Kallar estate is one of the famous tea estates leftover from British ruling times. A British bungalow is there. Kulathupuzha forests have the largest variety of exotic Myristica Swamp freshwater variety swamp in Kerala. Besides Kulathupuzha it is found in India only at Idukki Uttara Kannada and Shivaliks Himalayas. Also, the forest is the origin of Ithikara and Kallada rivers. Thenmala eco-tourism is just 9 km away. Oil Palm India Limited OPIL was established in the year 1977 with the objective of propagating oil palm cultivation in the country and more particularly in Kerala. From 1983 onwards the Company started functioning as a joint venture of the Government of Kerala and Government of India with share participation of 51% and 49% respectively. Oil Palm India Limited has got a total planted area of of plantation spread over in three estates – Kulathupuzha, Chithara, and Yeroor in Kollam District, Kerala.

Economy

The major economic activity in the area is: *

and Oil-palm plantations *

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

and

Dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

Timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

Retail Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

etc.

References

{{Kollam district Cities and towns in Kollam district