A range extends beyond one summit
Vellarimala names a mountain range spanning the Thamarassery region of Kozhikode and the Meppadi side of Wayanad. In his March 2025 Aranyam account, botanist Jose Mathew identifies Vavulmala, at 2,339 metres, as its highest peak. Vellarimala and Vavulmala therefore belong together geographically without being interchangeable labels for every part of the range.
The scale matters for a visitor. A photograph of a ridge, a pool or a waterfall can show one part of the landscape while offering little information about the route needed to reach another. Begin with the range and its foothills before choosing a particular outing.
The headwaters give the hills a downstream connection
The same Forest Department publication identifies these hills as the source area of the Iruvanjippuzha, a tributary of the Chaliyar. This links the upland landscape with a larger river system rather than leaving the mountains as an isolated backdrop.
A small pool on rock, such as the one in the story photograph, is a close-scale view of water in this landscape. It should not be labelled as the exact river source without a specific identification. The useful relationship is broader: rainfall, slopes and headwater channels connect the mountain terrain with the valley below.
That connection also makes weather part of the landscape’s interpretation. Conditions in the hills can matter downstream, and a calm-looking patch of water does not describe the whole catchment. Follow current Forest Department directions for any permitted visit rather than reading an older scenic photograph as a forecast.
The foothills are inhabited places
Muthappanpuzha, Anakkampoyil and Pulloorampara are named as foothill villages in the Aranyam account. They give the Kozhikode approach a human geography of farming families and local communities. They are places of residence and work as well as names used in trekking descriptions.
Muthappanpuzha is the named arrival base used on this page. It gives a driver a settlement to reach instead of a pin on a remote summit. It does not turn the village into a guaranteed departure point for an unrestricted forest trek.
Let geography set the scope of the visit
A foothill journey, a permitted forest outing and an ascent towards a high ridge are different undertakings. Establish the current authorised route and its reporting arrangement before setting out. Keep the day’s plan within that scope rather than adding a remembered summit name once already on the ground.
Understanding the headwaters makes even the approach more meaningful. The villages, wooded slopes, exposed rock and higher ridges belong to the same landscape, connected through water and relief. A summit photograph is only one possible view of that much larger place.
Sources: Dr Jose Mathew, “Vellarimala: Where Vines Blossom”, Aranyam, March 2025, pages 29–30, Kerala Forest Department and DTPC Kozhikode: Vellarimala.
Plan the visit: Vellarimala Trek.