Perunad is a village in Pathanamthitta district

Pathanamthitta district

Pathanamthitta district is the youngest district located in the southern part of the state of Kerala, India. The district headquarters is in Pathanamthitta town. The district is surrounded by Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Kollam districts. It has a border with the state of Tamil Nadu in the east...

, located in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 state, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 Perunad is one of the 11 villages of the Ranni

Ranni

Ranni , sometimes spelled Ranny, is one of the 5 Taluks in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, in India. According to the Census of India 2001, the population was 207,782. The taluk headquarters is a small township on both sides of the Pamba River. Ranni is also one of the largest taluks in...

 taluk

Tehsil

A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

. It is located on the bank of the Kakadu Riiver.

Perunad is located on the main trunk road to Sabarimala

Sabarimala

Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage center located in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in India with an estimated 45–50 million devotees visiting every year. Sabarimala is believed to be the place where the Hindu God Ayyappan...

, the Pathanamthitta-Pampa state Highway. It is surrounded by the villages Chittar

Chittar, Kerala

-Overview:Chittar is a geographically high-range area situated in the south eastern part of Kerala. It is a Panchayat and is included in the Ranni taluk in Pathanamthitta District. It is located 29 km away from Pathanamthitta town at its east. Nearby Panchayats are Seethathodu, Perunad,...

, Vadaserikara

Vadaserikara

Vadaserikara is a village in Pathanamthitta district, in the state of Kerala, India. It is one of the 11 villages in Ranni taluk. It is situated at the confluence of two rivers the Pamba and Kallar....

 and Naranammoozhi. The road to Gavi

Gavi, Kerala

Gavi is a village in Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India. It is located 28 km southwest of Vandiperiyar, a town in Idukki on N.H 220, the highway connecting Kollam and Madurai.-Getting there:...

, Kakki and Moozhiyar passes through the village.

Perunad is chiefly a plantation township, the important crop being rubber.

One of the most important pilgrim centres in South India- Sabarimala Sree Sastha Temple- is located in Perunad Panchayat. Perunad is noted for the Kakkattu Koikkal Sree Dharma Sastha Temple. The processions of Thiruvabharanam

Thiruvabharanam

Thiruvabharanam is the sacred ornaments of Ayyappan, the presiding deity of Sabarimala temple. The ornaments are made of gold. It is believed that these ornaments are made at the orders of the Pandalam King, who adopted Ayyappan as his child....

 and "Thanka Anki" - The Royal Ornaments of Lord Ayyappa halt here.
The Ayyappa idol in the temple used to get decorated with "Thiruvabharanam" for a day during its return trip from Sabarimala to Pandalam palace. This gives an opportunity for the women to witness Ayyappa decorated with Thiruvabharanam as they cannot enter the Sabarimala temple.
Another famous religious place is the Bethany Orthdox Ashram located on Bethany Hills. Malankara Catholic Pilgrim Centre is also get religious importance.There is also a Pentecostal Church (Church of god in India) at the heart of the village.

Famous educational institutions in Perunad Panchayath are Caarmel Engineering College Koonamkara, Perunad High School and Bethany St. Mary's GHSS.

A part of the famous Periyar Tiger Reserve is situated in this Panchayat.

Perunad is known for its natural beauty,rivers,rubber and pineapple plantations,hills, valleys, forests.

Both state-run KSRTC and private operated buses connect Perunad to Pathanamthitta and Ranni towns.

Demographics

India census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Perunad had a population of 16620 with 8081 males and 8539 females.