Kavvayi Back Waters

Kavvayi is a group of small islands, near Payyannur in the Kannur district of Kerala state in India. The island is connected to Payyannur by a small bridge on the Kavvayi River. The population is mainly Muslim.

Kavvayi has been mentioned by name by significant global travelers, including Marco Polo 1293AD, Ibn Battuta 1342AD and Abdul Fida 1273AD.

The island of Kavvayi was originally named Kavvil Pattanam, but renamed by Sir William Hogan, the then district collector of the area. Kavvayi was the headquarters for an area of 125 square miles (320 km2) which housed a large port and the magistrate court, including during British East India Company rule. It declined after the headquarters were moved to other parts of Malabar. The people of Kavvayi are mostly conservative Muslims. Men work in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The island also has a small fishermen community belonging to Hindu religion.

There is bus and jeep service to Payyanur town. The financial affluence has ruled out the viability of public transportation. The national highway passes through Perumba junction. Goa and Mumbai can be accessed on the northern side and Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram can be accessed on the southern side. The road to the east of Iritty connects to Mysore and Bangalore. The nearest railway station is Payyanur on Mangalore-Palakkad line. Trains are available to almost all parts of India subject to advance booking over the internet. There are airports at Kannur, Mangalore and Calicut. All of them are international airports but direct flights are available only to Middle Eastern count.

Check Kavvayi back waters at Google Map