MADAYIPARA KANNUR | മാടായികാവ് - മാടയിപാറ, കണ്ണൂർ

Madayipara is a flat-topped hillock located in the Madayi, of Kannur district of Kerala state in the Southern India. It overlooks the town of Payangadi on the northern bank of Kuppam river.
Madayipara is located in the Madayi village, at latitude 12°2’ N and longitude 75°16’E, about 21 km north of Kannur town, the district headquarters of Kannur district in Kerala. As noted by William Logan (1887) in the Malabar Manual; the river Kuppam "bending slightly and passing under the guns of an old ruined fort of the Kolathiris" on the southeastern edge of Madayipara, suddenly turns due south at Payangadi and takes a course parallel to the sea to meet the larger Valapattanam river at Matakkara, finally discharging into the Lakshadweep Sea at Azhikkal.
The available geo-morphological and historical data suggest that, till 1450 A.D. this river was drained into the sea, flowing west from Payangadi instead of turning south. On the northwest of Madayipara lie the wetlands of Chemballikkundu and Kunhimangalam formed by the Ramapuram River, Peruvamba River and Kawayi backwaters. On the west, at the seacoast, is situated the promontory of Ezhimala. The altitude of the Madayipara ranges from a minimum of 40 m to a maximum of 47m above sea level. The southeastern edge of the hill is slightly elevated compared to the remaining areas. As the name suggests, the top of this hillock is a laterite plain more than 365 ha in area. The ancient temple named Vadukunda Shiva temple is located on the western side of the plateau. A few yards away from the temple is a perennial freshwater pond, of about 1.5 acres is a major attraction. On the northeastern slope of the hill, is situated the Thiruvarkad Bhagavathi temple (Madayikavu) and its sacred grove, drawing thousands of devotees every year. It is a temple of the mother Goddess Kali and belongs to the royal family of Chirakkal.
The entire plateau once belonged to this temple, and even now the temple festival is being celebrated on the vast expanse of the hill near the Vadukunda pond and the Kottakunnu especially during the ten-day-long festival of ‘Pooram’ in the month of March. There are remnants of a fort believed to have been occupied by the dynasty of Kolathiris and later by Tippu Sultan. The Madayipalli, one of the oldest mosques in India and believed to have been built in A.D. 1124 by Malik lbn Dinar of Arabia, is situated on the eastern slope of the hill. Another monument of importance is the "Jew's pond" which indicates the presence in the area of Jews between 605 BCE and 490 CE. The British rulers had also built a traveler's bungalow in 1793 on the eastern side of the Madayipara, endowed with a rich scenic beauty of landscapes.
The Madayipara is well known for its rich diversity of plants. The aquatic and semi-aquatic plants form extensive carpets of blue, pink, white and yellow during the monsoon season. It is typical of the Laterite foothills of the Western Ghats. The area is notable for the presence of some of the rarest plants of the world such as Nymphoides krishankesara, Rotala malabarica, Lindernia madayiparense, Eriocaulon madayparense, etc.
The midland hillocks of northern Kerala have its own characteristic floral composition supporting scrub jungles and cashew plantations on the hill slopes and grasslands and associated aquatic and semi-aquatic plants on the hilltops. Even though these hills are exposed directly to the sunlight and wind, they harbour rich species diversity. Recent plant explorations revealed more additions to the known plant species of the area some of which turned out to be new to science, and endemic to the locality. The vegetation of the hillocks may be classified mainly into grasslands and scrub jungles. The grasslands can again be categorised into wet phase and dry phase grasslands based on the seasons. More than 500 plant species have been recorded from Madayipara.
The midland hillocks of northern Kerala have its own characteristic floral composition supporting scrub jungles and cashew plantations on the hill slopes and grasslands and associated aquatic and semi-aquatic plants on the hilltops. Even though these hills are exposed directly to the sunlight and wind, they harbour rich species diversity. Recent plant explorations revealed more additions to the known plant species of the area some of which turned out to be new to science, and endemic to the locality. The vegetation of the hillocks may be classified mainly into grasslands and scrub jungles. The grasslands can again be categorised into wet phase and dry phase grasslands based on the seasons.