Kasaragod (Malayalam: [kaːsɐrɡoːɖɨ̆] ⓘ (Tulu: Kāsrōḍ, Kannada: Kāsaragūḍu, Marathi: Kāsāragōḍa; English: Kassergode) is one of the 14 districts in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Its northern border Thalappady is located just 9 km south to Ullal, which is the southernmost portion of the major port city Mangalore, on the southwestern Malabar coast of India.

[13] The Ancient Tamil Works of Sangam Age records that the area covering the district was part of Puzhinadu, which consists of the coastal belt from Kozhikode to Mangalore.

The most famous King of Ezhimala was Nannan whose kingdom extended up to Gudalur and northern parts of Coimbatore.

The Kolathunad Kingdom at the peak of its power reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north[14] to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in Arabian Sea.

Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese traveler who visited Kumbla, near Kasargod in 1514 recorded that rice being exported for coir to Maldives.

[17] According to Barbosa, the people in the southwestern Malabar coast of India from Chandragiri in the north to Kanyakumari in the south spoke a unique language, which they called as "Maliama" (Malayalam).

[20] Until the 16th century CE, Kasargod town was known by the name Kanhirakode (may be by the meaning, 'The land of Kanhira Trees') in Malayalam.

[13] The Kumbla dynasty, who swayed over the land of southern Tulu Nadu wedged between Chandragiri River and Netravati River (including present-day Taluks of Manjeshwar and Kasaragod) from Maipady Palace at Kumbla, had also been vassals to the Kolathunadu kingdom of North Malabar, before the Carnatic conquests of Vijayanagara Empire.

[22] Francis Buchanan-Hamilton states that the customs of Kumbla dynasty were similar to those of the contemporary Malayali kings.

[22] The Kolathiri Dominion emerged into independent 10 principalities i.e., Kadathanadu (Vadakara), Randathara or Poyanad (Dharmadom), Kottayam (Thalassery), Nileshwaram, Iruvazhinadu (Panoor), Kurumbranad etc., under separate royal chieftains due to the outcome of internal dissensions.

[23] Many portions of the present-day Hosdurg taluk (Kanhangad) and Vellarikundu were parts of the Nileshwaram dynasty, who were relatives to both Kolathunadu as well as Zamorin of Calicut, in the early medieval period.

[24] The areas north to the Chandragiri river (present-day Taluks of Manjeshwaram and Kasaragod) were ruled by the Kumbala dynasty.

According to local legends, the region between Talapadi and Kavvayi rivers which constituted the erstwhile Kasaragod taluk, consisted of 32 Tulu and 32 Malayalam villages.

The nayars and the other females of the Kasargod taluk of south Canara, are prohibited from crossing the river.”[27] In 1763, Hyder Ali raided Bedanoor (Bidnur), the capital of the Ikkery Naiks.

[17] it is said that Kinavoor Molom (Sree Dharma Shashtha Temple) is belonging to Karinthalam (one of 64 Brahmin villages in old Kerala).

Before the formation of Kerala, Kasargod was a part of South Canara district of erstwhile Madras Presidency.

The inclusion of Kasaragod with Kerala has been a contentious issue as there is a sizeable population that speaks Tulu and Kannada.

[31] But it is noted that as per the 2011 census report only 8.8% and 4.2% of the total population in the district speak Tulu and Kannada respectively as their mother tongue.

The National Highway 66 which connects the western coast of India from Mumbai to Kanyakumari passes through coastal area of the district connecting the major coastal towns of Manjeshwar, Uppala, Kumbla, Kasaragod, Udma, Bekal, Kanhangad, Nileshwaram, and Thrikaripur.

[46] The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has stations to operate its service in the district.

According to the 2018 Vital Statistics published by the Government of Kerala, Kasargod district has a population of 1,390,894,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Trinidad and Tobago[51] or the US state of New Hampshire.

Tulu and Kannada speakers concentrated in the Northern parts of the district like Manjeshwar, Uppala, Enmakaje, Badiyadka, Kumbla and Seethangoli form a significant linguistic minority with 8.77% and 4.23% each.

Other languages spoken here include Marathi (1.76%) and Konkani (1.29%)[3] Kasargod district comes under the jurisdiction of Kannur University.