Bekal
16 kms south of the town on the National Highway, located on the shoreline of Pallikkara village of Kasaragod is a region of remarkable splendor called Bekal. Rama Nayak, a local Kannada writer observes that the name Bekal is derived from the word Baliakulam which means a big palace. The place is said to have been the seat of a big palace in the past. In the course of time the word term Baliakulam was changed to Bekulam and later to Bekal. Here was built a giant keyhole shaped fort which is the largest and best preserved fort in the whole of the Kerala– the Bekal Fort.
Under the sovereignty of Kolathanadu Bekal became an important maritime centre and a crucial port town of Thulunadu, the name by which the old Kasaragod was known to the world. The extraordinary impact the place had on the political and economic realm of the region attracted many rulers and chieftains to this place. They successively attacked and annexed the region that brought them the power to control the political and economic dominion of the state. The economic importance of the port town prompted the Jeheri Nayak dynasty to fortify Bekal.
Tulu Nadu
