Mangalam Dam

Mangalam Dam is an irrigation dam across the Cherukunnapuzha, a tributary of the Mangalam River, located near Vadakkencherry in Palakkad District, Kerala. Completed in 1956 as part of the Mangalam Irrigation Project, it creates a scenic reservoir surrounded by forested hills of the Western Ghats. The site is noted for its tranquil landscape, reservoir views, and proximity to Nelliyampathy hills, serving as a popular picnic and sightseeing spot.

Visitors can expect a quiet reservoir set against forested hills of the Western Ghats with an earthen dam structure, calm backwaters, and surrounding plantations and forests. The area offers open viewpoints over the water, a small garden and seating areas near the dam, and opportunities for sightseeing, photography and short nature walks. The setting is largely natural and undeveloped, with limited commercial facilities.

Constructed between 1953 and 1956 across the Cherukunnapuzha, a tributary of the Mangalam River (tributary of Gayathripuzha, Bharathapuzha basin), as part of the Mangalam Irrigation Project to provide irrigation to agricultural lands in Alathur Taluk of Palakkad district. The dam was commissioned in 1956 and remains an important irrigation structure for the region.