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).