Kozhikode

Overview

Kozhikode, long spelled Calicut, is a coastal city in Kozhikode district, north Kerala. It rewards travellers who plan around food, old trading quarters and city beaches rather than headline monuments, and the cooler months from October to February make the streets easiest to walk.

The city's reputation was built on spices. The Zamorin rulers governed from here in the medieval period, and Arab, Chinese and East African merchants called for pepper and other goods before Vasco da Gama arrived in 1498. At Kappad Beach, about 25 km north, a stone monument is inscribed with that landing year, though historians dispute the exact spot, with some placing it at Panthalayini near Koyilandy.

The centre revolves around Mananchira, a rectangular freshwater pond of about 3.5 acres that was dug in the 14th century. The park around it opened in 1994 and holds sculptures of Malayalam writers, lamp posts and an open-air theatre. In Kuttichira, the Mishkal Mosque dates from the 14th century and was rebuilt in 1578 to 1579; it has no dome or minaret, but it has timber tiers, 47 doors and 24 carved pillars. The Tali Temple is another 14th-century landmark in the city.

Eating is the main reason many people come. Sweetmeat Street, formally S M Street or Mittai Theruvu, takes its name from its halwa sellers and counts as the busiest street in the district. For seafood, Kozhikode Beach is a good spot to sample squid, prawns or mussels.

Two shorter trips go south of the centre. Beypore, about 10 km away, is a port town where large wooden dhows called urus have long been built and sent to Arab buyers. Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary, about 19 km from the centre, is a cluster of islets where the Kadalundi river reaches the Arabian Sea, with over 100 resident bird species and roughly 60 migratory kinds, among them terns, gulls, herons and sandpipers. UNESCO named Kozhikode India's first City of Literature in 2023.

On arrival, Calicut International Airport lies roughly 26 to 29 km from the city, and Kozhikode railway station (code CLT) has served the city since 1888. Annual rainfall is about 3,000 mm, with the south-west monsoon running from early June to September, and March to May is the hottest stretch.

Known for

A city beach with stalls for squid, prawns and mussels