Thrissur Tour

Location	Central part of Kerala
Languages Spoken	Malayalam, Hindi, English and Tamil
Temperature	Summer: Max 35°C, Min 22.5°C, Winter: Max 32.3°C, Min 20°C
Best Time To Visit	August to March
Main Attractions	Elephant Festival and Vadakkumnatha

Thrissur, often identified as the cultural capital of Kerala, is a city situated in the centre of Kerala. It is famous for the Thrissur Pooram festival, the most colourful and extravagant temple festival of the state. It has a large number of eminent temples, Thiruvambady temple, Vaddakumnatha temple and Paramekkavu temple. The small township of Thrissur is set up around a hill on which is placed the glorious Vadakkumnatha Temple or the Shiva Temple.

Sprawling over 3,032 sq km, Thrissur is well known for its ancient temples, churches and mosques. It is also one of the main trade centres of Kerala. The term Thrissur is derived from 'Thiru-Shiva-Perur' (in Malayalam), which means 'The city with the name of the Lord Shiva'.

History

Once a part of the Chera empire, Thrissur played an important role in forging the trade relations between Kerala and the outside world in the ancient and medieval period.

Thrissur Attractions

Thrissur Pooram/ Elephant Festival

One of Kerala's most attractive and colourful temple festivals is the Thrissur Pooram. Thrissur Pooram attracts large number of devotees and spectators from all parts of the state, country and other parts of the world as well. Celebrated in Medom April-May), it comprises of processions of richly decorated elephants from various neighbouring temples to the Vadakumnathan temple.

A significant event for its devotees is the most impressive processions of those from the Krishna Temple at Thiruvambadi and the Devi Temple at Paramekkavu. Sakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of the former Kochi State was the pioneer of this festival in the late eighteenth century. Possibly there is no other festival in Kerala that draws such an incredible number of people to a single event. However, Vadakkunnathan is a sheer spectator at this festival, lending its premises and grounds for the great event.

The Pooram festival is also well known for the majestic display of fireworks. The festival is celebrated by two rival groups representing the two divisions of Thrissur Paramekkavu and Thiruvambadi contesting with each other in making the display of fireworks splendour and more colourful. Each group is allowed to display a maximum of fifteen elephants and all efforts are made by each party to secure the best elephants in South India and the most artistic umbrellas, several kinds of which are raised on the elephants during the display.

The images of the deities from all temples of the village are taken on elephants to the main temple. The celebration starts in the early hours of the morning and last till the break of dawn, the following day.

Thiruvambadi Temple and Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple

Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple is one of the largest Krishna temples in Kerala. It is believed to be over 1000 years old. Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple is one of the largest Bagavathi temples in Kerala. One of the two major temples that run this whole exhibition of devotion and dignity in Pooram Festival is the Paramekkavu temple. It is the affable hostility between the temples of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu that becomes the limelight of the show.

The Pooram celebration begins here at 1.00 p.m. on the Pooram day when the procession carrying Devi assembles at the temple. This is where the renowned 'Palachottil melom,' a percussion orchestra in lines with Pandimelom is exhibited.

Vaddakunathan Temple

The city is built around a hillock crowned by the famous Vaddakunathan (Siva) Temple, believed to have been founded by legendary Parasurama. The temple is a classical example of Kerala style of architecture with beautiful murals of the seventeenth century demarcating graphically the story of Mahabharata and houses several sacred shrines. It is believed that Adi Shankara spent his last days here.

Vadakkkunnathan literally means Lord of the North and is one of the largest Shiva temples in Kerala. The Vadakkkumnathan temple is over 2000 years old. The extensive Thekkinkadu Maidan, en circling the Vadakumnathan temple, is the main venue of the Thrissur Pooram festival.

Accommodation

Offering a variety of services and amenities to meet the needs of tourists, Thrissur offers a range of accommodation options. Suiting your budget you can choose from the hotels falling into different categories.

How To Reach

By Air: Cochin is the nearest airport located 55 km from Thrissur. The other airport near Thrissur is Kozhikode( 80 km).

By Rail: The railway station at Thrissur connects it with the main cities of Kerala and India.

By Road: A fine network of roads connect Thrissur with the cities and villages of Kerala.

Shopping

Explore the bazaars of Thrissur to take back home some fine souvenirs. The city is famous for silk saris, jewellery, coir products, coconut shell crafts, horn carvings and brass crafts.