Kalpetta is a town and a municipality in the Wayanad district, state of Kerala. It is believed that the early Jain residents who migrated from Karnataka have named the place "Kalpetta". In Kannada, the words "Kal" and "Pettah" means "deposits of stones".
Location of Kalpetta
Kalpetta is the headquarters of Wayanad district. It is as well as the headquarters of Vythiri taluk.
History of Kalpetta
Kalpetta was under the rule of Western Ganga dynasty until 930 AD. Through ages this region fell into the rule of Hoysala Empire, Vijayanagara Empire, and Kingdom of Mysore. Pazhassi Raja was the next to rule the region. Kalpetta Nair administered the place as the representative for Pazhassi Raja. Mysorean invasion of Kerala made Kalpetta a part of Tipu Sultan`s empire. This continued until the demise of Tipu Sultan. Along with the rest of Malabar, Kalpetta also came under British rule after Tipu Sultan`s death. In Wayanad, the Indian independence movement started first at Kalpetta. The first political conference was held in 1921 under the leadership of Dharmaraja Iyer. K. P. Kesava Menon and A. K. Gopalan participated in this meeting. The formation of the committee of Indian National Congress also occurred around the same time. Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi visited Kalpetta on 1934 January 14. Kalpetta became the headquarters when Wayanad district was formed on 1st November 1980. Kalpetta was still a Village Panchayath when it became district headquarters and it attained Municipality status on 1st April 1990.
Geography of Kalpetta
Kalpetta is a bustling town surrounded by dense coffee and tea plantations and mountains. It lies on the Kozhikode-Mysore National Highway NH 766 (Old NH 212) at an altitude of about 780 m above sea level. Kalpetta is 72 km from Kozhikode and 140 km from Mysore.
Demography of Kalpetta
According to the Population Census in the year 2011, Kalpetta had a population of 31,580. Males constitute 49 percent of the population and females 51 percent. In Kalpetta, 11% of the population is under the age of 6. Being the district headquarters, Kalpetta is home to a large number of government offices. Besides, the district level offices of Media Houses, Political Parties etc. also function out of Kalpetta. Hence large sections of the population of Kalpetta are office-goers. Like elsewhere in Kerala, Hindus, Muslims and Christians live in harmony in Kalpetta. There is a significant Jain population also in Kalpetta.
Tourism of Kalpetta
Apart from the administrative capital of the district, Kalpetta is also the centre of tourism activities in Wayanad due to its central location within the district and its proximity to most visited tourist sites.
