It is hardly 10 minutes’ drive from Payyannur town to Kavvayi Island which offers vistas of scenic beauty surrounded by rivers and backwaters and contiguous wetlands and mangroves. The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) and the Payyannur municipality are planning to woo tourists and picnickers to the pristine landscape.
The DTPC had organised kayaking events in the backwaters, locally known as Kavvayi Kayal, fed by four rivers and streams — Kankol, Vannathichal, Kuppithode, and Kuniyan. They form part of the extensive backwater system known as the Valiyaparamba backwaters, extending up to Kottappuram at Neeleswaram in Kasaragod district. One of the two small privately owned islands has a tourist camping facility offered by a private entrepreneur.
“We are trying to tap the tourism potential of the backwaters,” said DTPC secretary Jitheesh Jose. The private entrepreneur has been given on lease the right to run kayaking service for visitors to the island, he informed.
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Privately owned
A major hurdle for development of tourism spots in the island in the Payyannur municipality is that most of the attractive spots there are privately owned. Efforts to get the other small and uninhabited island, owned by a private party, for tourism development has not yielded results.
The Payyannur municipality is now developing a park near the ferry at Kavvayi that serves as a good viewing point where visitors can spend time watching the backwaters and go boating. As water in this part of the backwaters is shallow, operation of houseboats is not possible unless a channel is created by dredging.
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