Sulthan Bathery

Sulthan Bathery is situated at about 930 meters above mean sea level. One can find beautiful folded hills across the horizon. This town was part of Kidanganadu Village, which got its name because the presence of the Kidangans the tribes. Later, it came to be known as Sultan Bathery, the Malayalam version of its name. It is also known as Sultan’s Battery of Wayanad district. Sultan Bathery – is a mid-sized town in Wayanad district of Kerala. It derives its present name from Tipu Sultan of Mysore who used the abandoned  Jain temple here and used it as his battery here in the 18th century, hence the name Sultan’s Battery.Though the fort does not remain any more, the place is worth the visit for the famous Jain Temple.The place was previously known by  the name of Sulthan’s Battery.The town is the largest town in Wayanad District. The largest being the Taluk headquarters of Sultan Bathery .It lies on the Kozhikode – Kollegal National Highway (NH 212) 98 km from Kozhikode town. It is 115 kilometers from Mysore and about 100 kilometers from Ooty (Udagamandalam). It is also connected with Nilambur.

Climate

Sulthan bathery has a salubrious climate & It is pleasant throughout the year. The town is the centre of tourism in Wayanad District. It has become a very popular destination among tourists from India’s software valley of Bangalore.Annual rain falls in these high rainfall areas ranges from 3000 to 4000 m.m. High velocity winds are common during the southwest monsoon and dry winds blow in March–April.The mean average rainfall in this area is 2322. mm Lakkidi, Vythiri and Meppadi are the high rainfall areas in Wayanad. High altitude regions experience severe cold. In Wayanad (Ambalavayal) the mean maximum and minimum temperature for the last five years were 29°C and 18°C respectively. This place experiences a high relative humidity, which goes even up to 95 per cent during the Southwest monsoon period.

Places of worship

• Bathery Jumaa masjid: This is the biggest jumaa masjid in the town and it can hold more than 1000 worshippers. The masjid is situated near the Sulthan Bathery town bus stand.
• Ganapati Temple: A Hindu temple in the town.
• Jain Temple: This Temple, believed to have been built in the 13th century. This served as a Jain shrine, an important centre for commercial activity and eventually as a battery (ammunition store) for Tipu Sulthan’s marching armiesand hence the town got its name “Sulthan’s Battery”.
• Soonoro Church: St. Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Sulthan’s Batheryis a famous pilgrim centre in Wayanad. The Soonoro (Zunoro, a piece of cloth of St. Mary) was installed at this church years ago. This church comes underMalabar Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Orthodox  Church.St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral,
• Sulthan Bathery: This is one of the main churchesfor people who follow the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
• Assumption Church: Is one of the major Christian churches located in the heart of the city.
• Mariyamman Temple: This is the most important temple for the local tribes.Yearly festival in Feb-March which gathers a lot of crowd.
• Masjid Madeena :A juma masjid in town

Tourism

• RARS: The Regional AgriculturalResearch Station located in Ambalavayal town is part of the Kerala Agricultural University. This station conducts research on Spices, tropical and sub tropical fruits, vegetables and hill paddy. RARS also have a nursery with a large collection of rare Roses and ornamental plants. Visitors can purchase seeds and saplings at the sales counter.
• Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary: At Muthanga is contiguous to the protected areanetwork of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka on the north-east and Muthumalai of TamilNadu on south-east. Rich in bio-diversity, the sanctuary is an integral part of the NilgiriBiosphere Reserve, which has been established with the specific objective of conserving the biological heritage of the region.
• Edakkal Caves :Three caves are located at a height of 1000 mts on Ambukuthi mala near Sulthan Baterhy . The new stone agepictorial writings on the walls of these natural caves at Edakkal are the evidence of the civilizations that existed in the regions in the pre-historic times. The caves can be accessed only by a 1 km trekking trail from Edakkal.
• Thovarimala: 5 km from Sulthan Bathery; one can go trekking 400 m (1,312 ft) to reach Thovarimala Ezhuthupara where one can see stone age pictorial writings on a rock.