Things to do in Calicut City

The Mishkal Mosque

The Mishkal Mosque, Mother of God Cathedral, spice market, old light house and pier circuit

This is ideally a half day trip.You could start with the spice market – one of the oldest and busiest markets in Kerala – where you see traders at work in an atmosphere of hectic activity. Then proceed to the Mishkal mosque located in Kuttichira. It was built by a wealthy Yemeni trader in the 13th century and in 1510 it was partially burned when it came under an attack by Portugese. According to some historians, Kerala’s temple architecture influenced the architecture of old mosques in Kerala which have gopuram style entrance arches and no minarets. Entrance to the mosque is by permission only. You can then proceed to the Mother of God Cathederal, originally built by the Portugese in 1495 AD and recently restored. After visiting the cathedral, walk along the Calicut beach to the crumbling pier and old light house before you return.

Beypore and its precincts

Beypore is in the southern border of Calicut city, famous for its uru(wooden dhow) making tradition. The uru is a sea faring vessel made of wood and Beypore is an ancient centre that specialized in this trade. Urus have been used by the Arabs and Greeks since ancient times as trading vessels, with a history of more than 1400 years! Even today, there are a couple of manufacturers who keep the tradition alive and you could visit them to get a first hand idea. You could combine this with a visit to the Beypore beach and take a leisurely stroll down the pier to see the dolphins. On your return, you may drop in at Tasera silk weaving centre, which has high profile customers from all over the world (permission needed in advance).

Kappad beach and the Chemanchery back waters.

This is again a half day trip to be done by car. You could first visit Chemanchery, a quaint village eighteen kilometres north of Calicut, where the main livelihood of the local community is coconut farming and fishing. You could get a country canoe ride down the river and go for a village walk to see the rural side of Calicut. Later you could drive down to the nearby Kappad beach, a long stretch of lovely beach with a rocky ledge on one side and watch the sun set over the Arabian sea.

Kalari visit

No visit to Calicut is complete without a visit to one of its Kalaris.Kalari is the traditional art of self defence practiced and perfected in Kerala from age old times. There are several Kalaris,where they train the students in the morning hours (6.30-8 am) and evening hours (5-6.30 pm).

Krishna Menon museum and Pazhassi Raja musueum

Housed in a heritage building built in 1812,once the residence of William Logan and HV Connoly,this museum has very interesting archeological preserves related to Malabar history. On display is a rare collection of copies of ancient murals, bronzes, old coins, excavated earthen ware, models of temples and megalithic monuments like rock cut caves, crypts, umbrella stones and urn burials.

KIRTADS

No visit to Calicut is complete without a visit to one of its Kalaris.Kalari is the traditional art of self defence practiced and perfected in Kerala from age old times. There are several Kalaris,where they train the students in the morning hours (6.30-8 am) and evening hours (5-6.30 pm).

Tali temple

Open only to people of Hindu faith,Tali temple is a classic example of the period Hindu temple architecture of the 13th and 14th centuries.

In addition, Calicut has a vibrant cultural life with frequent cultural events like Kathakali performances, classical music concerts, classical dance festivals, and theatre events dotting the cultural landscape. There are also scores of small temples in and around the city, where Theyyam and Thira festivals take place during the season from November to March.