Malabar Coast, SW coast of India stretching c.525 mi (845 km) from Goa to the southern tip of the peninsula at Kanniyakumri (Cape Comorin), primarily in Kerala state and the northern part of Karnataka state. It is a narrow coastal plain bounded by the Western Ghats. Monsoon rains make the coast a fertile rice-growing region. It was the scene of trade struggles in the 16th and early 17th cent. between the Portuguese and their European and Indian rivals. In the late 17th cent. the British gained control of the region.

Region, southwestern coast of India, stretching from the Western Ghats to the Arabian Sea. It now includes most of Kerala state and the coastal region of Karnataka state. It has sometimes been used to refer to the entire western coast of peninsular India. A large part of it was within the ancient kingdom of Keralaputra. The Portuguese established trading posts there; they were followed by the Dutch in the 17th century and the French in the 18th century. The British gained control of the region in the late 18th century.

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The Malabar Coast also known as the Malabarian Coast, is a long and narrow south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest region of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on its westward-facing mountain slopes. The term "Malabar Coast" is also sometimes used in reference to the entire Indian coast from the western coast of Konkan to the tip of the subcontinent at Cape Comorin.

Definitions

Geographically, the Malabar Coast, especially on its westward-facing mountain slopes, comprises the wettest region of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains.

The Malabar Coast, in historical contexts, refers to India's southwest coast, lying on the narrow coastal plain of Karnataka and Kerala states between the Western Ghats range and the Arabian Sea. The coast runs from south of Goa to Cape Comorin on India's southern tip.

The Malabar Coast is also sometimes used as an all encompassing term for the entire Indian coast from the western coast of Konkan to the tip of the subcontinent at Cape Comorin. It is over 845 km (525 miles) long. It spans from the South - Western coast of Maharashtra and goes along the coastal region of Goa, through the entire western coast of Karnataka and Kerala and reaches till Kanyakumari. It is flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats on the east. The Southern part of this narrow coast is the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests.

History

The Malabar Coast features a number of historic port cities, notably Kozhikode (Calicut) and Oddeway Torre settlement (both part of Danish India), Cochin and Quilon, which have served as centers of the Indian Ocean trade for centuries. Because of their orientation to the sea and to maritime commerce, the Malabar coast cities feel very cosmopolitan, and hosted some of the first groups of Christians, Jews and Muslims in India.

See also

• Malabar region
• Syro-Malabar Church (one of the Eastern Catholic Churches)
• Places to visit near Malabar Coast/Manipal/Udupi