Kavvayi Backwaters

Islands of Kavvayi backwaters

History

Kavvayi has been mentioned by name by significant global travelers, including Marco Polo 1293AD, Ibn Battuta 1342AD and Abdul Fida 1273AD.

The island of Kavvayi was originally named Kavvil Pattanam, but renamed by Sir William Hogan, the then district collector of the area. Kavvayi was the headquarters for an area of 125 square miles (320 km²) which housed a large port and the magistrate court, including during British East India Company rule. It declined after the headquarters were moved to other parts of Malabar.

This island is famous for having a history of zamindars.

Demographics

The people of Kavvayi are mostly conservative Muslims. Men work in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and women are not allowed to work outside their homes. The island also has a small fishermen community belonging to Hindu religion.

Transportation

There is no bus facility to the village because of very high number of private cars owned by the villagers. The financial affluence has ruled out the viability of public transportation. The national highway passes through Perumba junction. Goa and Mumbai can be accessed on the northern side and Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram can be accessed on the southern side. The road to the east of Iritty connects to Mysore and Bangalore. The nearest railway station is Payyanur on Mangalore-Palakkad line. Trains are available to almost all parts of India subject to advance booking over the internet. There are airports at Kannur, Mangalore and Calicut. All of them are international airports but direct flights are available only to Middle Eastern countries.

Geography

Kavvayi is surrounded by small islands called Kadappuram, which directly face the Arabian sea. Access to these small islands is only by small boats or traditional thonis. These islands are becoming smaller in size, and inhabitants have been moving to cities.

The Kavvayi Backwater, located near Payyannur, is the third largest backwaters in Kerala and the largest one in north Kerala. Locally called as Kavvayi Kayal or the backwaters of Kavvayi, this lesser known lake of northern Kerala is fed by five rivers viz. River Kavvayi and its tributary streams Kankol, Vannathichal, Kuppithodu, and Kuniyan. Kavvayi backwaters is named after the Kavvayi island close to Payyannur. Kavvayi used to be an inland port and a major administrative center during the past centuries and during British East India Company rule.

The Kavvayi lake is dotted with several small and big islands, Valiyaparamba island is the biggest among them and it stretches over 16 km². The northern portion of Kavvayi lake is also known as Valiyaparamba backwaters. This Island has a population of 10000. The island's main source of income come from agriculture and fishing. A secluded beach named Valiparamba beach runs parallel to the backwaters on its western side.

From an ecological point of view the backwater of Kavvayi and its surrounding region is considered to be of significance. The Kavvayi backwater is the biggest wetland ecosystem in north Kerala with an area of 37 km². The backwater and the wetlands are home to a variety of fauna and flora.it is used for watership man training by Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala Valiyaparamba is a small island in the Arabian Sea in the Kasaragod district of Kerala state, south India. It is one of the main tourist spots of the district and also a fishing centre.