Kerala's fourteen districts are distributed among Kerala's three historical regions: Malabar (northern Kerala), Kochi (central Kerala), and Travancore (southern Kerala). Kerala's modern-day districts (listed in order from north to south) correspond to them as follows:
Malabar : (Kasargod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad)
Kochi : (Thrissur, Ernakulam)
Travancore : (Idukki, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram)
Mahe, a part of the Indian union territory of Puducherry, is a coastal exclave surrounded by Kerala on all of its landward approaches. Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital and most populous city[31]. Kochi is the most populous urban agglomeration[32], the only major port of Kerala, and the location of the state High Court. Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kollam and Thrissur are the other major commercial centres of the state. The High Court of Kerala is situated at Ernakulam. Kerala's districts, which serve as the administrative regions used for taxation purposes, are further subdivided into a total of 63 taluks; these have fiscal and administrative powers over settlements within their borders, including maintenance of local land records. |
