The Taliparamba-Kannur- Thalassery area abounds in rock-cut caves, dolmens, burial stone circles and menhirs, all of megalith. The earliest evidence of human habitation in the region are rock-cut caves and megalithic burial sites of the Neolithic age. Kolattiri Raja's (The ruler of Kannur) minister Kuruppu's Arabic letter to Vasco da Gama (1524) Pre-history and Ancient era During British rule, Kannur's chief importance laid in producing Thalassery pepper. Muzhappilangad beach is the longest Drive-In Beach in Asia and is featured among the top 6 best beaches for driving in the world in BBC article for Autos. Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala is the Asia's largest, and the world's third-largest, naval academy. Kannur Cantonment is the only Cantonment Board in the state of Kerala. It was upgraded into a municipal corporation in the year 2015. Kannur municipality was formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850) of the British Indian Empire, along with the municipalities of Thalassery, Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Fort Kochi, making them the first modern municipalities in the state. The Arakkal kingdom had right over the city of Kannur and Laccadive Islands in the late medieval period.

Kannur was the headquarters of one of the four most important dynasties on Malabar Coast namely Kolathunadu, along with the Zamorin of Calicut, Kingdom of Cochin, and Kingdom of Quilon. As of 2011 census, Kannur Municipal Corporation, the local body which administers mainland area of city, had a population of 232,486. Kannur is 6th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. During the period of British colonial rule in India, when Kannur was a part of the Malabar District (Madras Presidency), the city was known as Cannanore. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated 274 kilometres (170В mi) north of the major port city & commercial hub Kochi & 137 kilometres (85В mi) south of the major port city & a commercial hub, Mangalore. Kannur ( pronounced ( listen)), formerly known in English as Cannanore, Arabic as Kannanur, and Portuguese as Cananor, is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the state of Kerala, India.

National ordinance 1903a3 value