Palakkad (the other name Palghat is a contribution of the British Raj) is prime among Kerala's most picturesque districts, thanks to its distinctive palmyra trees and extensive green paddy fields. Palakkad has probably the biggest mountain pass in the world (30-40 Kms) separating the two folds of the Western Ghats on the border of Kerala with Tamil Nadu. Palakkad is rightfully therefore known as the Gateway of Kerala, giving the rest of India access to the State. For precisely the same reasons, Palakkad had to bear the brunt of invasions from the bordering kingdoms in the past. It therefore no wonder that this place  is a melting pot of different cultures and ethnic denominations, enriching its life, arts & culture.

There are any number of views on how Palakkad (or "Palghat" the anglicised version) got its name. One view is that the word 'Pala' (barren land) together with 'Kadu' (jungle) gave the land its name. Yet others believe that it is connected with the ancient Jain temple in the town: 'Pali' being the sacred language of the Jains, giving the land its name as 'Palighat', which over the years changed to Palakkad. However, most believe that Palakkad is derived from 'Pala', an indigenous  tree which once densely occupied the land, and hence Palakkad or   "the forest of Pala trees."

Not much is known about Palakkad's ancient history. It dates back to the Paleolithic period, and several megalithic relics have been found in the region. At the turn of the first millenium AD, for several hundred years the Perumals ruled the land. Later their governors called Utayavars took possession of this land and divided it among themselves. William Logan, the Scottish author of the celebrated Malabar Manual , suggests that one of the hubs of the Pallavas of Kanchi who invaded Malabar in the second and third centuries was Palakkad.

One of the earliest records about Palakkad has a chronicle of a war victory in A.D 988 when the king of Palakkad, Nedumpurayur Nadudayavar, stopped an invasion by the forces of the King of Kongunadu at Chittur. Even today, a festival is celebrated in memory of this victory at Chittur. The Nedumpurayur royal family was later known as Tarur Swaroopam and finally as Palakkad Raja Swaroopam.

In 1757, to check the invasion of the Zamorin of Calicut, the Raja of Palakkad sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore, who freed all parts of Palakkad invaded by the Zamorin. Eventually, Haider helped himself to Palakkad and later his son Tipu Sultan was the unquestioned ruler of this region. But after his defeat to the British, Tipu ceded all his Malabar territories to the British following the treaty with the English East India Company in 1872. Palakkad formed part of the Malabar District of the Madras Presidency thereafter.

The Palakad Muncipality was formed in 1866 and was given the first grade status on March 26, 1955. Palakkad district as an administrative unit was formed on January 1, 1957.

Located between north latitude 10° 46' and 10° 59' and East longitude 76° 28'and 76° 39', Palakkad district shares borders with Malappuram district in the North and Northwest, Trichur in the South and Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in the East. Sprawling over the midland-plains and mountainous highlands, the district does not have a coastline. The midland plains are at an altitude of 10 m to 80 m above sea level and highlands are 914 m to 2133 m above sea level. The 32 to 40 km wide Palakkad pass in the 960 km long Western Ghats is of immense geographic importance. On either side of this natural gap are the vast Nilgiri Hills and the colossal Anamalai ranges. Dense reserve forests are found in the Palakkad and Chittur taluks of the district. Palakkad division is further divided into Mannarkkad East Range, Mannarkkad West Range, Olavakkode Range and Palakkad Range. The highest peak is the 2386.14 m high Anjinad. The other major peaks include Karimala, Karimala Gopuram, Kalladikkode, Nellikkotta or Padagiri and Vellachimudi.

The major rivers are Bharathapuzha (Nila), Kollengode, Kannadi, Kalpathy, Chitturpuzha, Bhavani, Shiruvani, Thuthapuzha and Gayatri. The district has some key irrigation projects and dams at Malampuzha, Walayar, Mangalam, Gayatri, Chittur, Meenkara, Pothundi and Kanhirapuzha. Malampuzha Dam irrigates over 20,000 hectares of farming land while Chittur Irrigation Project covers over 18,000 hectares and Kanhirapuzha project waters over 10,000 hectares.

Palakkad, branded as the rice-bowl of Kerala, has fertile plains where substantial quantities of rice are produced by scientific cultivation methods. Groundnut, black gram, coconut, cotton, ragi, pepper, banana, cashew, sugarcane and pea add in to the roll of other major crops. Sugar Cane is grown extensively in the Chittur taluk. Around 284 lakh hectares of the district (64 % of geographical area) is used for farming and some key agricultural institutions of Kerala including Regional Agricultural Research Station, Soil Testing Laboratory, Fertilizer Quality Control Laboratory, Mushroom Laboratory and Agricultural Engineering Workshop are located at Palakkad.

Palakkad has a tropical climate. From February to April, days are hot while nights