Payyanur (Malayalam: [pɐjːɐnːuːr]), is a municipal town and a taluk, a sub-district administrative unit, in the Kannur district of Kerala, India.

[5] On 10 March 2018, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated Payyanur as the fifth taluk in the district.

Thus Payyanur means the land of Lord Kartikeya derived from the presence of the Sri Subramany Swamy temple here.

During the Renaissance era, Payyanur was known to English sailors as Delyn, named after the nearby hill of Ezhimala.

The archaeological remains excavated from Payyanur and nearby places prove the existence of a city in this area centuries ago.

[12] The earliest known mention of this town is in the Brahmanda Purana, when Garga Muni talks about this place to the Pandavas during their exile.

Ibn Battuta visited Ezhimala in AD 1342 and wrote about the large seaport and the Chinese ships anchored here.

Centuries back, Payyanur was a part of the Ezhimala/Mushika/Kolathiri Kingdom.Book named Mushikavamsha writtern by Atula mention this place.

Payyanur Pattu, the ballad written by an unknown person belonging to the Chettiar community sometime during the 13th or 14th century, was set here.

According to historians, the ships from China and other countries used to visit this port and were anchored in the nearby river Changoorichal.

[citation needed] Kavvayi retained its position during the rule of British East India Company also.

The main road, which starts from Perumba in the east, up to old post office in the west and Kunhimangalam Mana in the south to government hospital in the north is called Kokkanisseri.

[17] Payyanur Municipality is divided into 44 wards covering an area of 54.63 km2 (21.09 sq mi) for which the elections are held every five years.

The sub division has jurisdiction over five police stations and one control room viz Payyanur, Pazhayangadi, Pariyaram medical college, Peringome and Cherupuzha.

Architect Kunhimangalam Narayanan, dancer Vannadil Pudiyaveettil Dhananjayan, the Sanskrit scholar E. Sreedharan, are all from the area.