Marayoor
Marayur claims to be a part of a Stone Age civilization that is as old as 10,000 B.C. It is also home to a later period of large-scale dolmen-building. People migrated from Tamil Nadu to this area when the Madurai king Thirumalainaicker was defeated by Tippu Sultan, in the eighteenth century CE. The migrants created five villages, being Kanthalloor, Keezhanthur, Karayur, Marayur and Kottakudi. These villages were called the "Anju nadu", literally meaning "five lands"
The terrain is highly undulating with altitudes ranging from 500 m at Chinnar to over 2300 m at Nandala malai, and the same varying topography of Marayur can be observed in Marayur with mountains, rain forests, deciduous forests, riparian forests, scrub forests, brooks, Paddy Fields, river, waterfalls, rocky hills, sholas and hamlets. Natural vegetation includes tropical evergreen forests and grasslands. Soil type is forest loam with a high organic matter content. The climate in Marayur is characterized by mild wet winters and hot dry summers. Temperature in winter (November to January) may go down to 20 degrees Celsius and in summer it may go up to 36.2 degrees Celsius. Marayur winter is not frigid cold as considerable sunshine is also characteristic to this region even during rainy winter. Summer is humid and hot with blazing sun. Generally Marayur experience a moderate climate, temperatures varying 21 °C to 27 °C with minimum seasonal variation except in winter. The plains are generally warm but the higher altitudes are cool. The annual rainfall in Idukki district varies from 250 to 425 cm. However, it is also recorded that the annual rainfall had gone up to 700 cm in certain years. The Eastern and North-Eastern regions of the district get very low rainfall in contrast to other areas. This may go up to 150 cm at Marayur, Kanthalloor, Vattavada and Thalayar regions. Marayur and Kanthalloor are virtually rain shadow areas, lying in the eastern side of the Western Ghats
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