Malabar region Malabar region Malabar region refers to the historic and geographic area of southwest India, covering the state of Kerala along with Kanyakumari district, Tulu Nadu and Kodagu district It lies between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. The word Malabar is derived from the Malayalam word ""mala-baram"". "Mala" in Malayalam means "hill". "Varam" means "slope" or "side of a hill". The "Malabar Coast", in historical contexts, refers to India's southwest coast, lying on the narrow coastal plain of Karnataka and Kerala states between the Western Ghats range and the Arabian Sea. The coast runs from south of Goa to
Malabar region moisture-laden Southwest monsoon rains. The Malabar Coast featured (and in some instances still does) a number of historic port cities. Notable among these were/are Naura, Vizhinjam, Muziris, Nelcynda, Beypore and Thundi (near Kadalundi) during ancient times, and Kozhikode (Calicut), Cochin in the medieval period, and have served as centers of the Indian Ocean trade for millennia. Because of their orientation to the sea and to maritime commerce, the coastal cities of Malabar are very cosmopolitan and have hosted some of the first groups of Christians (now known as Saint Thomas Christians), Jews (today called as Cochin Jews), and Muslims (at