Chalakudy is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur District of the Kerala State in India. It has already become a taluk called Chalakudy Taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly and Vazhachal Falls. The name "Chalakudy" is derived from two words "Yagashala" (temporary settlement for conducting sacrifices) and "kody" (flag). Once Chalakudy was famous all over India as a place for conducting sacrifices. Many "rishis" (including Saptarshis) used to come over here as it was considered as a sacred land. In order to identify these settlements, they hoisted flags next to it. Thus those entire area got its name "yagashalakody". This however evolved into "Shalakody" and finally into today's Chalakudy.Chalakudy was the headquarters of Kodassry Nadu.Maharaja, Kingdom of Cochin formed Kodassery(Chalakudy)Taluk in the 1762 by adding KuzhurNadu,Ayyanezhi Nadu,KorattyNadu, Malayattur proverty (now in Aluva and Kothamangalam Taluks)& Vellarappilly proverty(Kanjur-Chowara)(now in Aluva Taluk) to Kodassery Nadu. Majority area of this taluk were amalgamated into Mukundapuram taluk in AD 1860 and Vellarapilly proverty was given to Kanayannur taluk.According to Brahminical traditions Chalakudy was part of Adur(Annamanada) Grama and Potta in Chalakudy Municipality was part of Irinjalakuda Grama. It was also an old seminary at Sanpaulur(Ambazhakkad) at the bank of chalakudy river. Chalakudy is a place of historical importance as its nearby places like Thazhekkad proverty of MukundapuramNadu was the base of operations for Mysore invader Tipu Sultan during his attack on the Travancore lines.[1] He kept the nearby places of Chalakudy as a Southern Army Base for attacking Travancore and southern provinces of Cochin. In 2013 new Chalakudy taluk was formed by UDF Government led by Shri Oommen Chandy. Visitors attraction: Chalakudy is a prime destination of tourists, especially those who love nature. The best season to visit Chalakudy is December to March and also in monsoon season. Chalakudy is blessed with scenic beauty and refreshing weather, has all the amenities of a suburb and is well connected by National Highway and Railways. It is being developed as a high demand residential area and the cost of land is shooting up. New IT park, Kinfra park @ Koratti, easiness to reach Kochi and Thrissur etc. make Chalakudy a real estate attraction. The Kannambuzha Devi temple is situated some 3 km away from the Chalakkudy Railway station. Chalakudy River: It has one of the highest fish diversities in Kerala. the river is known for its diversity, as it contains 85 species of fresh water fishes out of the 152 species known from Kerala. Among these, 35 are endemic species of the Western Ghats and nine are considered to be endangered. Athirappilly Water Falls: A waterfalls which attract thousands of tourists every year which is located in dense forest. St. Mary's Forane Church, Chalakudy: A church which has a history of more than 1400 years to tell. Its church bell on the bell tower was said to be imported from France almost 200 years ago as per the special request from the King of Kochi, who ruled that time. Kanakamala: A small hill nearby where there is a Roman Catholic Chapel. Devotees conduct Annual-procession to the hilltop in memory of Good Friday and pay offerings. Located along the National Highway 47, between Kochi and Coimbatore. Another major road is State Highway 21 which connects Chalakudy to Vazhachal and ends at the border of Tamil Nadu. Chalakudy has a KSRTC and private bus station in the town only. The KSRTC station provides inter-district and inter-state buses in and around Kerala and outside the state. The private station runs local bus services into the suburbs of Chalakudy. Newly built North Bus Stand, Chalakudy is now opened for public. Now there is a railway under way which is under construction connecting Chalakudy And Mala which goes past Southern College of Engineering & Technology. The main rail transport system in Chalakudy is operated by the Southern Railway Zone of Indian Railways, and comes under Trivandrum Railway Division. There are two railway stations in Chalakudy, Divine Nagar railway station (in Muringoor) and Chalakudy railway station. Chalakudy and Divine Nagar Railway Station lie in the busy route of Shoranur-Cochin Harbour section. Six pairs of passenger trains and 36 express trains stop at Chalakudy railway station. This station is getting a revenue of 11 crore per year. It is an 'A' class station under Trivandrum division and this station is the second largest station in Thrissur District after Thrissur railway station. It is also the first station declared as Adarsh station in Thrissur district. The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery which is 22 km from Chalakudy. All the major domestic and international flights are available here. Direct flights are available to New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Goa, Mangalore, Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Malé, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Salala, Jeddah and Riyadh.