Nilambur Kingdom

Nilambur Kovilakam, also known as Nilambur Kingdom, was a former vassal kingdom and royal Kovilakam in present-day Kerala, India, situated near the Nilgiri range of the Western Ghats. It was ruled by Samantha Kshatriyas of the Nagavanshi clan  who were the family members and representatives of the Samoothiri Raja (Zamorin), and also kept marriage relations with the Nambudiris. They served as vassal kings to the Zamorins, with their capital located 25 kilometers north of Manjeri in present-day Malappuram district. They built several aristocratic Tharavads, such as the Nambudiri stronghold of Pootheri Illam in Feroke, and married into the Zamorin's own family from Nediyiruppu Swaroopam.

The family-owned Vettakkorumakan Kovil (which is famous for Pattutsavam) and Nilambur Kovilakam itself are situated on the banks of the Chali river, and the region is also known for its unique teak plantations and the Teak Museum. The Nilambur – Shoranur Railway Line was built by the British Raj to carry timber and other products from these forests to the outside world. The area was an ancient tribal settlement, and the remains of ancient temples can be found in the forests. The Cholanaikkans, one of the most primitive tribes in South India and one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes, numbering only 360 in 1991 and first contacted in the 1960s, have been observed in the Karulai and Chunkathara forest ranges nearby.