Tiruchendur Temple

Unlike my other blog posts, I am going to start this one as a trip report of my journey from Calicut, Kerala and later provide you with general details about Tiruchendur.

Tiruchendur temple is one of the 6 padai veedu - Six abodes of Lord Muruga (others being Thiruthani, Swamimalai, Palani, Pazhamudhircholai, Thirupparankunram. So for someone from a family that chooses temples over beaches for a vacation, I had been to all the 5 padai veedu and a frequent visitor to Palani temple. 

Tiruchendur is connected by train to Chennai daily. We decided to travel to Coimbatore to take the Nagercoil express till Tirunelveli and the Tiruchendur express from there. This is a fairly good travel plan for those from Kovai, Erode etc. We reached Tirunelveli early morning, there was a lot of autos- taxi people trying to get us to travel to Tiruchendur by taxi, the rates quoted were really high and will certainly recommend the train or the bus ( my return journey). The train arrived on time and we were at Tiruchendur by 8:30. We took an auto from the railway station and checked into a hotel near the temple. The hotels are fairly cheap with less than Rs 1000 for well maintained double rooms.

We were at the temple by 10am and it wasn't rush hour, so we had a fairly quick darshan.There will be people ( priests ) approaching you and something like Rs 500 they take you really close to the diety and give you special prasad too (not recommending since I am not sure if the temple actually endorses it but you can surely give this a try).

The temple is pretty special as it's close to the beach unlike Lord Muruga temples on top of hill. There is a cave of Goddess Valli which you can visit nearby.

Guruvayur Temple

Next up in my blog about South Indian temples is the Guruvayur Sri Vishnu Temple located in Kerala . This is one of the most visited temples in Kerala and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikunta ( Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth ).

The presiding deity of the Guruvayur Temple is Vishnu, worshipped in the form of Guruvayurappan. The central icon is a four-armed standing Krishna carrying the conch Panchajanya, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the mace Kaumodaki and a lotus with a Holy basil garland. This image represents the majestic form of Vishnu as revealed to Krishna's parents Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Krishna's birth; hence Guruvayur is also known as "Dwarka of South India". He is currently worshipped according to routines laid down by Adi Shankara and later written formally in the Tantric way, the inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, by Cennas Narayanan Nambudiri (born in 1427). The Cennas Nambudiris are the hereditary tantris (high priest) of the Guruvayur Temple.

Thulabharam is a famous offering at this temple where devotees offer items like plantain, cocunut , sugar or even gold . Also a lot of children have their first meal (choroonu ) at this temple .

The history of this temple is well known (can find it at a lot of websites) , I will focus more on making your pilgrimage smooth.

How to Reach

Guruvayur is located in Thrissur district of Kerala and about an hour's drive from Thrissur - major railhead .

Guruvayur is well connected by road to various places like Thrissur , Kochi ,Palakkad , Calicut,Trivandrum with frequent bus services by both KSRTC and Private buses. 

Guruvayur also has a railway station which is connected to Trivandrum ,Thrissur , Kochi ,Madurai , Chennai Egmore via train. Thrissur is the major station on the Kochi - Shoranur Mainline with connectivity to all major cities in India.

The nearest airport is the Cochin International Airport (2 hours drive) which is connected well to Indian metros , Middle East and South East Asia. 

Accommodation

Accommodation facilities have improved a lot along with dining in recent years. You can easily find good hotels using makemytrip or goibibo in Guruvayur with rooms for all budgets. There are also Devaswom guest houses though they can't be booked online.

Note : 

Devotees should enter the temple in Dhoti ( Pants are not allowed).

The queues at this temple can be pretty large on weekends and special occasions( especially the Sabarimala season).  

Udupi Sri Krishna Temple

  The Udupi Sri Krishna Matha founded by the Vaishnavite saint Shri Madhwacharya in the 13th century is a famous temple located at the heart of Udupi,Karnataka.Thousands of pious devotess throng the Udupi Krishna temple all round the year to catch a glimpse of Lord Krishna.The Unique feature of the temple is that the Lord is worshipped only through a window with nine holes called the Navagraha Kitiki.The window is exquisitely carved and silver - plated. It has been a tradition in this temple to worship the Lord only through this window.

Reaching Udupi Sri Krishna Temple

By road

 Udupi , located 60kms north of Mangalore lies on the NH 66 from Kochi to Panvel near Mumbai. Frequent buses are available from Mangalore , Kundapura , Kollur,Karwar to Udupi . The KSRTC and a few other operators ply buses to Bangalore mostly during Night time. Parking facility is ample near the temple premises.

By rail

 The Udupi Railway Station (code UD ) is a major railhead in the Konkan Railway . Trains are available to Trivandrum,Kochi,Calicut,Mangalore,Bangalore,Goa,Mumbai,Delhi etc. Almost all trains stop at Udupi.Railway staion is about 6 kms from the temple .Auto/Taxis are available to reach the temple.

By air

 The nearest airport is Mangalore International Airport(60kms) with frequent flights to Mumbai,Bangalore,Dubai etc.

The Sri Krishna Temple is situated in the heart of the city . It is within walking distance from the bus stand though an auto is recommended. 

Timings

A specialty of this temple is that it is open from 5:30 am to 8:30 pm without a break in the afternoon. 

Accommodation 

Various options are available for the pilgrims ranging from budget Lodges near the temple to luxury hotels at the city at decent distance from the temple. The latter can be booked through hotel booking websites like makemytrip , goibibo etc.

What more at Udupi and nearby places

Temples

There are a few temples adjacent to the Krishna Mutt like the Anantheshwara temple. Also if interested , head over to nearby temples in 2-3 hour distances like Kollur Mookambika temple , Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple, Gokarna temple , Murudeshwara etc.

Eat 

The Udupi cuisine is famous for its vegetarian food and can be seen widely in most cities of India.The origin of this is linked to the Krishna Mutta and when in Udupi , don't miss out this chance to try this . Restaurants serving the traditional cuisine can be seen plenty in this temple town

This is my humble attempt at blogging about the temples I have visited . Please comment about areas to improve so that this blog can be beneficial to all. Also comment if you have any other question and doubts related to a pilgrimage here.

Sri Mookambika Temple,Kollur

Sri Mookambika Temple,Kollur

While starting my blog on temples of south India which I have visited,I would like to start it with Kollur Mookambika Temple situated at Kollur,Udupi district in Karnataka.This temple is dedicated to Sri Mookambika devi,the collective form of Goddesses Maha Lakshmi,Maha Saraswati and Maha Kali.This temple is thronged by devotees all round the year and thousands of devotees bring their children for the Vidyarambham ceremony mainly during the Navarathri festivals(Even though the pooja is available daily to be performed).
Even though this temple is situated in Karnataka,it has great patronage from nearby Kerala people and Malayalam is usually an accepted mode of communication here.The temple is a must visit for pilgrims seeking the divine blessings of Goddess Mookambika and also to get blessings from Goddess Saraswati for Educational,Cultural(Music,Arts,Dance etc) fields.Usually,devotees avail the facility at Saraswati Mandapam to showcase their singing,dance to the Goddess and thereby seek the divine blessing.

About Kollur
The town of Kollur is centered about the Mookambika temple and devotees can find ample accommodation(by temple administration and private) and  restaurants available.

Travel
Buses are available to Kollur from Udupi,Kundapura,Mangalore,Shimoga frequently.A bus journey from Mangalore takes about 4 hours and from Udupi a little more than 2 hours.
The nearest railway station is Byndoor Mookambika Road which is 28km from Kollur.It lies in Konkan Railway and trains are available to Goa,Mumbai,Gujarat,Mangalore and Kerala(Kozhikode,Kochi,Trivandrum).Buses,taxis and autos are available to Kollur from Byndoor.

Also one can avail Udupi railway station from where one can board superfast trains like Rajdhani,Garib Rath and also trains to Pune,Delhi etc.
The major railhead is Mangalore which has a lot of trains to Kerala,Chennai,Bangalore.

The nearest airport is Mangalore International Airport which is 130km from Kollur.

Nearby Places
Devotees visiting Kollur Mookambika temple has the oppurtunity to visit Kudachadri hills-the ancient abode of the Goddess.Also there is an oppurtunity to visit Murudeshwar temple(with its magnificient beaches) 60km from Kollur and Gokarna temple 135km to the north of Kollur.
The Jog Falls-the second highest plunge waterfalls in India is 83km from Kollur.Also the famous Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt,Dharmastala temple,Sringeri and Kukke Subramanya temple falls in adjacent locations to Kollur.
More data on these locations will be updated later.

If you plan to visit Kollur,please drop a comment mentioning your home town and date of visit and I will reply with the possible travel options(Train chains,flights,train+bus etc)