The tranquil Aralam Wildlife sanctuary is situated in the southeast part
of Kannur District of Kerala State. Spread over 55 square kilometres,
the sanctuary falls in the Aralam, Kelakam and Kottiyur revenue villages
and is located on the slopes of the Western Ghats contiguous with the
forests of the Kodagu district of Karnataka.
The northern most wildlife sanctuary of Kerala, it comes
under the Wayanad Division. A home to numerous species of birds and animals,
Aralam Sanctuary was established in 1984. The headquarters of the sanctuary
is near Iritty, a small town about 55 kms from Kannur. The sanctuary adjoins
a 3060 hectare Central State Farm at Aralam.
The Altitude ranges from a lower 60 m to a top 1489 m.
Cheenkanni Puzha is the main water source of this sanctuary and the scenic
beauty of Aralam fringing on this river is truly an exhilarting experience
for all nature lovers and photographers. The sanctuary's terrain is rugged
in most places with hillocks. The tallest peak here is Katti Betta, scaling
to a height of 1,145 m. The hilly terrains provide opportunities for trekking
also.
Flora
The sanctuary consists of various vegetation zones mainly Tropical
Evergreen Forest, Tropical Semi Evergreen Forest, Hilltop Evergreen Forest,
Moist Deciduous Forest. There are about 490 ha of teak and eucalyptus
plantations within the forest area. Myristica Species, Mesua ferrea, Calophyllum
elatum, Cullenia rosayroona, Magnifera indica, Largestroemia lanceolata,
Toona cillata, Euphorbia Longana, Strobilanthes, Hopea parviflora, Cinnamomum
Zeylanicum, Mechilus macrantha, Xyliaxylocarpa, Mallotus are some other
tree species found in the sanctuary.
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Wildlife 
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