The Western Ghats that protect this tract of land also produce flora that have influenced world history. Pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon found place in the lifestyles of people elsewhere at least by the 2nd millennium B.C. It was the discovery of the trade winds of the south west monsoon, sometime before Christ, that established direct trade links between the ancient kingdoms of Malabar and those of Egypt, Rome and the Middle East.

                    There is ample evidence of significant trade with the ancient Chinese. It is not clear who came in first, but Roman trade seems to have died down by the 5th century AD while the Chinese appear to have had trade relations at least till the 12th or 13th centuries. It were the Arabs, though, who had the longest lasting and most influential trade, and their support was indirectly responsible for the rise of Calicut as the most important port of the region and its Zamorin ruler as its richest and most powerful King.

                    Later, West European nations were to seek direct trade, a quest that resulted in Columbus's discovery of America and the eventual establishment of the British Empire. The sea route to India from Europe was discovered by Vasco da Gama of Portugal, who landed at Kappad, some ten kilometers north of Kadaltheeram Resort, in the 15th century A.D.