Pathanapuram

he history of Pathanapuram goes back to Thenmala Desam, a small Principality under a local ruler. Capital was at Pathanapuram. Later, Thenmala Desom became a part of Elayidathu Swaroopam having its capital at Kottarakkara. Pathanapuram was the capital of one of the two districts of Elayidathu Swaroopam. In 1764, King Marthandavarma conquered Elayidathu Swaroopam and annexed it to Travancore. Most parts of Pathanapuram taluk were inhabited since before the Indus Valley civilization, and civilization may have existed in and around Pathanapuram beginning the 1st Century. The name Pathanapuram may have evolved from the fact that the area had a sizeable elephant population and elephants were caught and trained/tamed for work at the elephant cage/camp at the Town. The Old police station area used to be the elephant Camp. The name can be translated as Path =(10)+Ana = (elephant) + Puram = (Town)The area is connected to the rest of the state by bus services of KSRTC and private buses. A KSRTC depot also situated in Pathanapuram. Three state highways namely Hill Highway, Main Eastern Highway and KP Road pass through the town. The Sabarimala bypass to Thiruvananthapuram starts at Pathanapuram and ends at Valakom.The nearest railway stations to the town is Avaneeswaram other nearby stations are Chengannur, Kollam, Kayamkulam, Punalur.Nearest airport is Trivandrum (80 km).