This Village In Kerala Grows More Than 100 Varieties Of Mangoes

Indians and their love for mangoes need no introduction. We find a wide variety of mangoes across India - dashehari, chausa, langra etc to name a few. In fact, each region (or state) has a unique variety of mangoes. We recently came to know about a village that grows more than 100 varieties of mangoes. You heard us! Located in the Kannur district of Kerala, the small village in Kannapuram boasts of a plethora of native mango varieties that differ in shapes, sizes, taste et al. For the unversed, Kannapuram hosts more than 200 indigenous varieties of mangoes. And the village - Kuruvakkavu - a small area within Kannapuram, "boasts a whopping 102 varieties among 382 trees, growing on a plot of just 300 square meters (3,230 square feet)," reads an article on Atlas Obscura's official website.

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The report further reads that the farming of these 102 varieties of mangoes is done by 20 local families of Kuruvakkavu. If you explore, you will find mangoes as large as coconuts, and even as tiny as gooseberries. Then there are mangoes, which are as sour as tamarind. Keeping all these varieties and the mango diversity in mind, the Kerala State Biodiversity Board declared Kuruvakkavu an Indigenous Mango Heritage Area in July 2020.

Another article on the Better India states that Shyju Machathi, the person who led this unique mango drive in Kuruvakkavu, started the journey when a landowner cut down a 200-year-old Vellathan tree that grew extremely sweet mangoes, holding a special place in the hearts of the villagers. "So we thought of re-growing them," he said. Some of the popular mango varieties growing in Kuruvkkavu are Kannapuram manga, thenga manga, pulian manga, Kudakkachi Manga, and more.

Would you want to visit this unique mango village and give these fruits a try? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.