About Village
Vazhichal village is located in Kattakada Taluk of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala, India. It is situated 30km away from Taluk Headquarters and 36km away from district headquarter Thiruvananthapuram. As per 2009 stats, Kallikkadu is the gram panchayat of Vazhichal village.
Demography
Vazhichal has a total population of 10,353 peoples. 5,036 males and 5317 females. There are about 2,853 houses in Vazhichal village. Kattakada is nearest town to Vazhichal which is approximately 30km away. Vazhichal is inhabited by members of the Kanikar tribe
Geography
The total geographical area of village is 5325 hectares. Vazhichal is situated in the southern tip of western ghats, surrounded by hills and is near to kattakkada. It is surrounded by the grama panchayaths of Amboori Ottasekharamangalam, and Kallikkadu. The eastern part is covered by densely forested Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Vazhichal is well known for its high-yielding rubber plantations, however, the area also cultivates coconut, pepper, herbs, and medicinal plants. Vazhichal contains a plantation of holy Rudraksha (Eleocarpus Spaericus) trees. Adjoining Vazhichal is the Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary that is separated from the populated area by the catchment area of Neyyar Reservoir.
Socio-Economic
The residents of this village include mainly farmers, daily labourers. The majority of the people in this village belong to normal economic living standards.
Ecology
Vazhichal is 30 km from the Agastiya mountain peak where Sage Agastiya, the founder of Ayurveda, is believed to have built his hermitage. Vazhichal village has wet evergreen forests, South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests and Shola. This village includes Agasthyamala, which is a habitat for 2,000 varieties of medicinal plants, of which at least 50 are rare and endangered species. Animals include the Bengal Tiger, Asian Elephant, and Nilgiri Tahr. Agastyamalai is also home to the Kanikaran, one of the oldest surviving ancient tribes in the world. Kanikkarans are the Original tribal Settlers in Agasthyamalai.
Tourism
Most of the area of the village is Neyyar Dam catchment area. Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, spread over the southeast corner of the Western Ghats, covers a total area of 128 km2 declared as a sanctuary in 1958. The Agasthyarkoodam (Agasthyakoodam) Peak and Neyyar Dam Reservoir are included in the Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary.