Ponnani is municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala. It serves the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayath of the same name. It is situated at the mouth of Bharathappuzha (Nila River) and is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west. Hyder Ali of Mysore conquered Malabar in 1766 and established an outpost in Ponnani. During his son Tipu Sultan’s regime Ponnani became an important centre for Islamic studies. Tipu developed the port at Ponnani for trade and security reasons. Ponnani was the southern most town of Tipu's regime. After Tipu’s defeat in 1799, the British took the territory of Malabar under their control Ponnani connects to other parts of India through Kuttippuram town. National highway No.66 passes through Edappal and the northern stretch connects to Goa and Mumbai. The southern stretch connects to Cochin and Trivandrum. National Highway No.966 connects to Palakkad and Coimbatore. The nearest airport is at Kozhikode. The nearest major railway station is at Kuttippuram.