Kanhangad () is a town, located in the Kasaragod District, state of Kerala, India. Location The area contains villages around Kanhangad town with Kasaragod as the northern border, Nileshwar, popularly known as the 'cultural town' of Kasaragod district with its rich rivers and lakes; as the southern boundary. The eastern part of Kanhangad is categorized as Panathur area with the difference in terrain mainly because of the hilly terrain and hill stations and to the West lies the Arabian Sea. The importance of Kanhangad is that it lies in the exact centre between the two major cities Mangalore and Kannur, equidistant from their respective district headquarters. Geography Kanhangad lies at 12°18′0″N 75°5.4′0″E in the geographic map of Kasaragod. It is a coastal town which has a varied topography with plain areas in the centre of the city. The landscape is dominated by the characteristic coconut palms accompanying rolling hills and streams flowing into the sea. In the East, there are hilly areas of Madikai . The western region has powdered sand and a mix of laterite and alluvial soil in the areas between. The hilly areas typically consists of red sand. The Arabian Sea lies in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The Neeleshwaram River originates from the Kinanoor hills, passes south through Arangadi and drains into the Nileshwar . Etymology As cited in the Vadakkan Paattu or the North Malabar folklore songs, there was a temple in the name of Kanjiram Kaattappan and through this the name Kanjangad was derived. Another popular belief is that it was derived out of Kanjiramkadu which means a forest of Strychnine tree. As per historic records, the place was ruled by Kanjan, a tribal representative of Kolathiri which later came to be known as Kanjante naadu which means 'land of Kanjan' in Malayalam; later constricted as Kanhangad. There is also another legend that the name was derived from a Sanskrit word Kanchanaghatta. History It was cited in old folklore that the area of Kanhangad was under the reign of king Nanda Raja of Mushaka Rajya, headquartered in Ezhimala Kannur region during the Sangam period. The historic region was known as Poozhinadu and later Paduvanadu. However, the history of Kanhangad can be clearly understood only by the 8th century. During this period the area was a part of the 2nd Chera Dynasty. The illustrations of a Chera King, Bhaskaran Ravi Varman II