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 Located about 10 kms south of
Kozhikode town at the mouth of
the Chaliyar River, is Beypore.
Historically, it has a special
place as being one of the
prominent ports and fishing
harbours, and was also an
important trade and maritime
centre during the days of the
early Arab and Chinese travelers
and later the Europeans. Soon
after its prominence as a port
and trade centre, Beypore slowly
began to flourish as a centre
for shipbuilding, which was in
great demand by merchants from
Western Asia. The boat-building
yard at Beypore is famous for
its traditional construction of
the Uru or the Arabian trading
vessel. This tradition of
shipbuilding is nearly 1,500
years old, and the craftsmanship
of the workers here is
exceptional.
 Traditionally, Arabs constitute
the major chunk of buyers. They
place orders with their
specifications and needs. Unlike
modern day shipbuilding
involving the development of
blue print and machinery to
facilitate manufacturing of
ships, here, at Beypore
everything is conceived in the
minds of the workers, who as a
team execute the highly
intricate woodwork to
perfection. It is an amazing
aspect if one is to observe the
manner in which the Uru takes
shape with minimum
sophistication in production.
The entire team observes certain
work ethics, of which discipline
is the foremost. A visit to this
historic place is a must in
order to have a close look at
some of the deft fingers and
alert minds, measuring and
fixing different parts of the
ship to perfection.
Nearby attractions in Beypore
include the fishing harbour,
hardly a kilometer from the
shipbuilding yard and Kadalundi
Bird Sanctuary, which is about 7
kms from Beypore. The Kadalundi
estuary is considered as a
birdwatchers paradise, due to
the variety of local as well as
migratory bird life. Migratory
birds flock here in large
numbers during February-March.
The sanctuary is spread over a
group of islands in a scenic
area surrounded by hillocks
where the Kadalundi River flows
into the Arabian Sea. The place
is locally known as Kadalundi
Nagaram.
Getting there:
Nearest Railway Station:
about 10 kms from Kozhikode
town.
Nearest Airport: Karipur
International Airport, about 23
kms from Kozhikode town.
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