Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary is the northernmost wildlife sanctuary of Kerala, southwest India. The sanctuary area falls in Aralam, Kelakam and Kottiyoor revenue villages and is located in the northwest slopes of Western Ghats contiguous with the forests of Coorg (Kodagu) district of Karnataka state. It was formed by carving out areas from the Odanthode Malavaram of Thalassery special division which was an erstwhile private forest, subsequently taken over by Govt. as per the provisions of the Kerala Private Forests (vesting and assignment) Act 1971 and from the Kottiyoor RF of Wayanad Forest Division.
This sanctuary harbors a wide variety of fauna and flora which belong to the Western Ghats indigenousness. A total of 246 birds, 262 butterflies, 98 dragonflies and damselflies, 40 fishes, 49 mammals, 53 Reptiles and 35 species of amphibians are found here. Also, this is the only protected area of the West Coast Tropical Evergreen forest of Dipterocarpus-Mesua- Palaquium type. The presence of Malabar Slender Loris (Loris lydekkerianus malabaricus) with other five primate species is one of the main highlights of the sanctuary. This endearing, slow-moving, nocturnal primate is always a delight to the eyes. Aralam holds the highest population of this species among its distribution range.
The sanctuary forms the watershed area of Cheenkannipuzha and Urittipuzha, which are the tributaries of an important river of Kannur district, the Valapattanam River. The Northern and Southern boundaries of the protected area are Chavachipuzha and Cheenkannipuzha respectively. Sanctuary is blessed with many other small and large rivulets also. Cheenkannipuzha, the major tributary originates from the upper reaches of Brahmagiris and flows down the dense and luxuriant forests of Aralam, tumbling in to beautiful waterfalls at Meenmutty and Chavachi, and finally joins to Valapattanam River. It is a major source of drinking water and meets the day to day needs of lakhs of people in Kannur district and this river is very crucial in controlling the agro-economy and fishery- economy of the district.
The nearest Town is Iritty which is 22.2 KM away from the sanctuary. The nearest railhead is Thalassery,at a distance of 52.2 KM. The nearest airport is Kannur which is 40.3 KM away from the Sanctuary. The area is accessible by road from Thalassery, Kannur, Wayanad and Virajpet.
