Kelantan (kəˈlantan; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: Klate) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, is the royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is Darul Naim (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is the only state outside of East Malaysia that does not uses the term district in its second-level administrative division. Instead, the districts is named as colonies (Jajahan) or collectivities and one autonomous subdistrict.
Kelantan is located in the north-eastern corner of the peninsula. Kelantan, which is said to translate as the "Land of Lightning" (see alternate theories below), is an agrarian state with green paddy fields, rustic fishing villages and casuarina-lined beaches. Kelantan is home to some of the most ancient archaeological discoveries in Malaysia, including several prehistoric aboriginal settlements.
Due to Kelantan's relative isolation and largely rural lifestyle, Kelantanese culture differs somewhat from Malay culture in the rest of the peninsula; this is reflected in the cuisine, arts and the unique Kelantanese Malay language, which is unintelligible even for some speakers of standard Malay.
Kelantan is positioned in the north-east of the Malay Peninsula. It is bordered by Narathiwat Province of Thailand to the north, Terengganu to the south-east, Perak to the west and Pahang to the south. To the north-east of Kelantan is the South China Sea. Kelantan has diverse tropical rainforests and an equatorial climate. The state's mountain ranges belong to the Titiwangsa Mountains, which are part of the Tenasserim Hills that span throughout southern Myanmar, southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia, with Mount Yong Belar being the state's highest point.
There are a number of suggestions for the origin of the name Kelantan. One theory proposes that the word Kelantan comes from a modified version of the word gelam hutam, i.e. the Malay word for the cajuput, or swamp tea tree (Melaleuca leucadendron). Other theories claim that the name comes from the Malay word kilatan, "shiny or glittery" or kolam tanah, "clay pool".