It is fairly straight forward to visit the Divya desams around Kanchipuram,

15 in total if you leave early and arrive there before 8 am but not later than
8.30 am you could visit all of them and return the same day to Chennai. The
thing to remember is the temples shut around 11.30 am some may be open
till 12 pm and they then open only after 4 pm. This document does not
cover the visit to this area temples. But will only address the visit to malai
naatu divya desams in Kerala and 12 in Tamilnadu and Sri Varaha Swamy
in Kalahalli and Doddamallur temple, Karnataka. Already one of our group
members Ranjini Thirumalai visited and sent some information which was
the catalyst for us to visit.

We flew to Cochin from Bangalore and travelled in a tourist cab ( Pre-

booked) which met us at the airport. Though I had informed about the visit
to 2 temples in Tamilnadu near Nagar Koil, they had overlooked to bring
the original RC book etc for the vehicle which is required to get a permit at
the border. This delayed our start by an hour. We were originally picked up
in a slightly old looking car with a Holy Cross hanging and while waiting to
pick up the RC book it arrived in a newer car. I thought to myself the newer
car would be good while Radha noticed a Krishna in a cradle in the car and
thought to herself it will be appropriate for us to travel in that car. Both our
wishes were granted as we had to change to the new car since they could
not locate the papers for the old one. So Krishnan made sure He came with
us to make sure we completed our trip covering all the places we wanted to
and some without any hitch. The driver Prasad spoke good Tamil and
Malayalam and was very helpful. Though he said he knew of the places we
mentioned we had to stop at several places to locate the temples , as the
sign posting is not there and many do not know the Vaishnava divya
desams by the names we know and almost near every one of the
vaishnavite temple there is either a Shiva Kshetram or Baghavathi
Kshetram. Hence I am sure this report will be handy.

We arrived at Cochin at 2 pm but actually started our uninterrupted run

only around 4 pm. It is better to arrive earlier if you plan to follow what we
did i.e. travel straight to Chengannur via Chenganachery. There are 3 Divya
desams Thirukadhithanam , Thiruvallavazh and Thiruvanvandoor between
Chenganachery and Chengannur. We completed these 3 the last when the
temple was almost closing down. They do what is called SriValli a
circumbulation around the temple every day. When we arrived at
Thiruvanvandoor it was dark as there was no power but as in all Kerala
temples the Garba Graham is lit only by wicker lamps so we could take
darshan of the Lord. But out of His grace again the lights came back just
before they closed the temple so they said they will wait and asked us to
take darshan again this time knowing where we walked and other sannidhis
as well.

People who need glasses should make sure you wear them as you will
need them in all the temples to take proper darshan. We stayed in Baghavat
Gardens in Chengannur a nice hotel and started early around 7 am and
went to Thiruvaranvilai first. This temple is big and where Iyappan’s
ornaments are normally stored. We returned to Chengannur had breakfast
and then went in a different direction to Thiruchenkundrur or known as
thiruchittraru locally. We then proceeded to Thirupuliyur also close by.
Since we did not know and plan well we had to return to Chengannur to
check out otherwise we could have proceeded directly from Thirupuliyur to
Mavelikara. The Mavelikara Krishnan is known as Butter Krishna. After
darshan here we had planned to visit Varkalai to take darshan of Janardhan
and then reach Trivandrum. In spite of our best efforts due to the distance
and traffic ( it is normal) when we were at the turn off ( 18 kms from
Varkalai) from the main road the time was close to 12 the temple closing
time. So we had to change our plan and decided to proceed directly to
Thiruvattraru near Nagar Koil. After brief lunch at Kollam we proceeded.

One point to note about hotels in Kerala is most hotels are Veg and Non
Veg but there is a series of Vegetarian hotels called Aaryas which are OK.
So when you see one be flexible and finish, B/F, Lunch etc. Also please use
the toilet facilities wherever available as there no stops in between.

We must have been talking amongst ourselves about Divya Desams so

much the driver Prasad during this stretch asked me what it meant , which
led to Alwars Divya Prabhandams etc. He got so much interested he went
and enquired about the availability of Divya Prabhandham in Malayalam the
language he could read. We were fortunate we got him as the driver so that
we could speak freely our mins not worried about political correctness.
Though we anticipated reaching Thiruvattar by 4 pm we were delayed by
traffic and some wrong directions. For future when you are driving after the
Trivandrum bypass towards Nagar Koil you should go past Marthandam
and then turn towards Thiruvattar but we were misguided to turn much
earlier by a guy who said it is shorter. It may be but the road was awful and
very poor directions. In spite of all this we reached the temple at 4.55pm
and the temple opens at 5 pm!!!. There is a not even proper toilet facility
here . We had good darshan of Adikesava perumal and our experience was
more enjoyable as just before we left for India Mala Sridhar had sent a
short piece narrating former West Indian cricket star Kalicharan’s visit to
this temple.

After this we left for ThiruvanParisaram but known as Thirupathisaram,

Nammalwar’s mother’s place. You need to go to Nagarkoil and it is few kms
to the left when you go on the highway to Tirunelveli. When we finished it
was nearly 7.30 pm and I was contemplating staying in Nagarkoil and leave
for Trivandrum the next day early morning. The early morning bit did not
appeal to my other fellow travellers including the driver who
enthusiastically said he can drive to Trivandrum without any problems. It
was a huge day already but placing trust on perumal we decided to do that.
Finding a vegetarian hotel in Nagarkoil wasn’t an easy task as no one
clearly gave directions but we managed to find the place called Gowri
Shankar a so so place and finished our quick tiffin. When we left we were
all annoyed as few metres down the same road was another Gowri Shankar
and much neater looking place and would have been a nicer experience for
us. We reached Trivandrum around 10 pm and then managed to find a hotel
to stay; not a great idea not to have booked a room already but considering
we changed our plans it worked fine.

We left around 7.30 am to Sri Anantha Padmanabha swamy temple. We

were not aware of temple timings. There are darshans at fixed times and it
is better to visit the temple before to find the timings and go. However we
didn’t have to wait long but the queue was long. So we bought Rs 100
tickets for special darshan . The driver had come prepared in his dhoti etc
for the darshan and when he saw the crowd he said he will stay at the car.
However to support his enthusiasm we also took him with us and had good
darshan. There are several nice veg hotels close by so we had B/F and left
for Varkalai.

We reached Varkalai around 10.30 am had good darshan of Janardhana

Perumal. He is in a pose doing Aachamanam (part of Sandhyavandhanam).
His hands keeping moving towards his mouth every day and when it
reaches his mouth this universe will end. After the temple visit we went and
spent some time in the Varakala beach though noon and hot, which is
beautiful. You need to be careful as many bring dead people’s ashes to
immerse in the water and then go to the temple to light lamps. There are
several priests sitting in the beach under beach umbrellas and several
grave look alike in the sand. We were not sure what they were but avoided
walking over them. We felt it was part of some ceremony.

We then started to head back to Cochin and on the way ate in KTDC’s
Aaram restaurant, a delicious buffet dinner, expensive by normal
standards. Had several authentic Kerala dishes. The avial pumpkin
payasam stood out. We reached Cochin around 3.30 checked into a hotel
Mareena Regency . A Nice hotel at reasonable rates. Highly recommended.
After freshening up we left for famous Thirkakara temple at 4.30pm . The
traffic is quite bad being evening time and we managed to reach around
5.45 pm. Very nice big temple and had excellent darshan. We bumped into
another group from Bangalore who had started from Coimbatore by road
and moving south starting from Trichur after finishing 2 Divya desams in
the north of Kerala, Thirunavai and Thiruvithuvacode and then Guruvayoor.
They warned of crowd in Guruvayoor, in truth the head of the group really
frightened us and we started worrying about getting darshan in
Guruvayoor. We were planning to be at Guruvayoor the next day, Saturday
and the day before Vishu when lakhs and lakhs of people are expected. I
am mentioning this to show Krishna’s kindness shown to us later. We then
wanted to also visit Thirupunithuzha, a famous Vishnu temple in Cochin
maintained by the Royal family. On the way to the temple our car met with
an accident; while waiting to turn left another car hit us from the front, did
not stop at first but went and stopped further. Being in India and a tourist
cab with temple closing time nearing, we lost hope we will have darshan
that day. However when the driver called the owner, he told the driver as
the car is drivable and we are on this tour to visit temples not to worry
about the damage and move on after taking just the mobile number and car
registration number. We didn’t think much of it at that time but our driver
Prasad couldn’t believe the owner’s decision and said this is the first time
he has heard someone being so casual after an accident. Perumal’s grace
and all we could do was to thank Him when we went to the temple.

Thanks to the meeting and discussion about Guruvayoor with the group
earlier at the temple, we left at 6.30 am sharp and went to
Thirumoozhikalam divya desam on the way to Guruvayoor. We reached as
the temple opened and the Srivalli was taking place. While waiting at the
temple I asked a person whether he knew Tamil to find out the connection
between Lakshmana swamy ( Rama, Lakshmana) and the temple. He said
he is from Tamilnadu too and lives in Bangalore. He is a senior director in a
bank , visiting Cochin to attend a board meeting and visiting this divya
desam taking advantage of his visit. He said he doesn’t know the details
but went and got a book on divyadesams and even left the copy with us.
Nice man!!. More importantly he asked us where we are headed and said
we should visit Thiruvanjikalam, Kulasekara alwars birth place giving
information about the temple where Sri Velukkudi swamin has established
a sannidhi for Kulasekara alwar. He also said Swamin also is maintaining
the temple.

Before I cover this temple , a particular feature of malai naatu divya desams
is thayar has separate sannidhi only in 1 temple, Thirunavai. In all other
temples the thayar will be in the same sannidhi as perumal or at this feet or
chest. As we are used to praying to thayar first before approaching
perumal we all missed seeing her. We were talking about it only the
previous day.

We enquired in couple of places but found the Thiruvanjikalam Kulasekara

alwar sannidhi temple easily as it is close to the main road to Guruvayoor.
When we entered the temple tears started welling up because in this temple
which is Srinivasa temple mahalakshmi had a separate sannidhi who
blessed us and then we were also happy that on a Saturday we got
Darshan of Venkatesa Perumal himself. The archakar here is appointed by
Shri Velukkudi Krishnan swamy and this temple has all the alwars and
aacharyas.

When we finished darshan the archakar pointed out to a Krishna temple

close by and said Kulasekara alwar sang Mukunda malai for this Krishna
only. We felt, as we regularly chant Mukunda malai at home Krishna
himself decided to give his darshan to us.

This temple had several steps and for that matter all the Kerala temples
have steps sometimes steep and old people will have to be prepared to
climb and sometimes may not be able to do it as well.

We left for Guruvayoor and reached around 11 am. Soon after dropping our
luggage in the hotel, Gokulam resort, in the west nada, a nice place
recommended by another friend from Sydney Mr. Raman. This is at walking
distance from the temple west gate. The nadai was closed at the temple
and we had to wait for 1.5 hours in a queue till the nadai opened and we got
our turn. Though they don’t push as much as in Tirupathi, here also we
could get darshan for only couple of minutes. We then bought Milk
payasam at the temple and the taste still lingers in our mouths when you
think about it. We went back to the hotel after a quick lunch and after
resting for couple of hours went back to the temple at 4 pm to join the
queue for seniors. Radha’s mother who was old was eligible and as she
cannot walk freely Radha could go with her. I took a chance and stood with
them hoping Krishna will be kind enough to let me in. He was and we had
darshan again 2 times within half a day. So He answered our prayers from
the previous day.

On the Tamil new year’s day we left early at 6 am and headed to Thirunavai
on the banks of Bharatha Puzha river. You need to head for Pattambi the
nearest town and go from there. This fairly well known as across the river
from Vishnu temple there are temples for Shiva and Brahma and due to this
this is considered similar to Kasi Kshetram. This temple closes at 11 am
and will reopen only at 4 or 5 pm. As mentioned earlier this temple has
separate sannidhi for Thayar. From here we enquired and reached
Thiruvithuvacode. Here there are 4 sannidhis for Vishnu one each by
Arjunan, Dharmaputrar, Bhima and then joint by Nakula and Sahadeva.
This temple, not being very popular closes at 10.30 am and will reopen only
at 4 or 5 pm.

Having visited the temples we planned and some more we felt relieved and
decided to return to Cochin. On the way we also visited a falls called
Adhrapalli. Being summer we did not feel it was extraordinary but some of
our relatives assured it will be spectacular after rainy season.

Our trip wasn’t the most efficient way of doing it as we started at Cochin
went south then north via Cochin before arriving back to take a flight from
Cochin. The best way would be to arrive Trichur by train and then move
south with bases at Trichur, Cochin, Chengannur and Trivandrum and take
a train back from Trivandrum. If flying fly to Cochin , go north and work
your way down and fly out of Trivandrum. Please keep in mind Cochin
airport is some 30 km away from the city and the temples around are north
of the city. There are a number of hotels in a place called Attani which is
close to the airport and several good places very close to airport itself
which may be the most efficient way for travel. There is a tour operator
based in Ahobila matam in Selaiyur at Chennai who can organise a trip with
a guide coming from Trivandrum.
I am happy to recommend our tour operator with this driver who now
knows the places.

His name is Mahilkumar +91 9495557442. The driver Prasad’s phone

number is +91 9946232542. Please feel free to mention my name.

Radha & Suresh Vardarajan 

Trip to Malai Naadu Temples – Experience & Recommendations

January 9, 2012June 30, 2014 kida17821 Comments

Note: If you came here expecting information on visiting all 13 Malai Naattu Divya
Desams, then read the blog in Tamil here. This blog entry only covers the six dhivya
desams bordering Kottayam.

Having completed a visit to the six Malai naadu divya desams over the weekend,
adiyEn would like to share some personal experiences and notes that might help
devotees who plan to visit in the future. Though adiyEn travelled alone, the
recommendations provided here are from the perspective of those who travel with
their families. The places covered were as under:

1. Thirukkadiththanam – Changanassery, Kottayam District

2. Thiruvallavaazh – Tiruvalla, Pathanamthitta District
3. Thiruvanvandoor – Thiruvanvandoor, Alappuzha District
4. Thiruchengundrur – Chengannur, Alappuzha District
5. Thiruppuliyur – Chenagannur, Alappuzha District
6. Thiruvaranvilai – Aranmula, Pathanamthitta District

These places collectively represent the kutta naadu divya desams. Although these
places apparently look to be spread across three different districts, they are fairly
close to each other and can be covered even in half-a-days’ time if we start as early
at 6 AM. The places mentioned above are located from top to bottom on the map in
the order mentioned. Hence, it makes sense to cover them in that order.

To cover these places, one must pick a Trivandrum/Kollam bound train that goes
via Kottayam. All Trivandrum and Kollam bound trains from Chennai go via
Ernakulam (Kochi). However, beyond Ernakulam, there are two routes leading to
Trivandrum/Kollam – one via Aleppey (Alappuzha) and the other via Kottayam. To
visit the six places, one has to take the Kottayam bound train and get down at
Kottayam. Bhagavathas travelling from Madurai and nearby places can directly
take a bus to Kottayam that goes via Kumili.

Kottayam is a buzzing town, and is easily a vegetarian’s haven in Kerala.

Considering the state’s Muslim domination, there are a countable few towns like
Kottayam where one can find enough vegetarian dining options. Hence, if tourists
are required to stay overnight, they should prefer Kottayam over Changanassery or
Chengannur. Alternatively, the tourism department of the Government of Kerala
runs a decently-maintained guest house just outside Tiruvalla temple. This place
can also be chosen for overnight stay. To cover the divya desams, one can negotiate
an auto or a cab from Kottayam/Tiruvalla. Most auto-drivers are aware of the
temples and the travel routes to reach them as they have been routinely taking
Srivaishnavas around. An auto-ride to all these places is expected to cost around Rs.
700-800.

It is also worth noting that most of the malai naadu divya desams are referred to by
different names in Kerala. So it is better to get the local names right before
venturing out. As is the norm in other Kerala temples, gents have to adorn a veshti,
leaving their upper body part uncovered to gain admission into these temples.
Hence, it is always better to carry a pair of them in your travel bag pack.

Almost all these temples have granite slabs in which a select nammazhwAr
pAsuram of that kshetram is inscribed. Other than Thiruvalla and Thivaranvilai,
which are seats of commercial activity, the other temples in the list hardly had any
visitors. Hence, adiyEn was able to spend a long time (full fifteen minutes) enjoying
the beauty of emperumAn and thinking of nammAzhwar pAsurams written about
the Lord. In the case of Thiruvalla, there were an additional 11 pAsurams of
Thirumangai AzhwAr which adiyEn enjoyed in admiration. nammAzhwAr glorifies
the sylvan surroundings of these places in his pAsurams and it is a tribute to the
people of Kerala that much of it is preserved even today. Especially, nammAzhwar
glorifies Tiruvalla as a place where the smoke from vedic rituals adorns the sky.
One can feel a divine calm in his/her heart by entering the temple’s prahAram itself.
Similarly, in the pond adjacent to Thirukkadithanam temple, adiyEn was witness to
ugaLum kayalgaL and turtles attempting acrobatics, which are definitely a treat to
the nature lover.

The namboodris in all the temples mentioned appeared to have a lot of respect for
Srivaishnavas. That was evident from their fond enquiries and their generous
offering of prasAdams (flowers, chandanam and tulasi leaves).
Since adiyEn temporarily resides in Kerala and has covered almost all malai naattu
temples now, adiyEn would be more than interested in helping bhAgavathAs out
with travel directions. However, adiyEn’s recommendation is avoid these places
from November to January as there will be a huge deluge of Sabarimala tourists,
limiting one’s boarding/lodging options.

It was my friend's marriage on 20.10.08 at Pathinamthitta, Kerala and I have

combined the trip with a short pilgrim trip in Kerala.

On 19.10.08 4.00 am, I reached kerala with my friends at Chenganur (We boarded a

Trivandram express from chennai). On reaching there, our friend picked us at

station and we traveled to Pathinamthitta, about 20 km from this place. After

refreshing, all my other friends had plans to Kumarakom. But, I parted them to

have few temple visits.

From Pathinamthitta, I boarded a bus to Chenganur at 7.45 am and reached by 8.30

am. From there, I first visited Thiruvalla, which is about 10 km from Chenganur.

The temple is about 2 km from bus stand. After my visit, boarded a bus from

Chenganur at 9.45 am to Chenganacherry. From there I boarded a bus to

Thirukadithanam, and finished my visit by 10.30 am.

I came back to Chenganur and had my lunch at 1.00 pm. After lunch I found ample

time till my next visit (since temples will get opened after 4.00 pm), I planned to visit
Thiruvamundur, which is 6 km from Chenganur by foot. It was on the way to

Thiruvalla from Chenganur. After 4 km from chenganur, 2 more km in the left

direction from a place called puravin koodu. I reached the temple by 3.30 pm and

enjoying the natural scenery of Kerala. The temple opened at 5.00 pm and returned

to Thiruchengundroor which lies on the way back to Chenganur (2 km). This temple

is locally known as "Chittathu ambalam". After finishing visit at about 6.00 pm,

hired an auto to Sirupuliyur (Kuttanadu), which is about 4 km from this place. By

7.00 pm, managed to return to Chenganur and got a bus to Aranmula Parthasarathi

temple and finished that day's programme by 8.00 pm and returned to

Pathinamthitta.

On 20th, I have enjoyed with my other friends and attended my friend's marriage.

We reached back to our lodge at Pathinamthitta by 2.00 pm. I parted my friends

again and boarded a bus to Ernakulam at 3.00 pm, reached there by 7.30 pm. From

there I boarded a bus to Chotanikkara, and reached there by 8.15 pm, by the time,

the temples sanctum closed and stayed there in a lodge which is just opposite to the

temple.

Early in the morning at 4.30 am, visited the temple and attended special offering

session. Then returned to Ernakulam at 6.00 am. Got a bus to Thirukkatkara which
is about 30 min journey. From bus stand it is about 4 km to reach the temple and

hence no bus facilities are available, hired an auto. (This temple can also be reached

from Idapalli, which is in between Ernakulam and Alwaye. After the visit at about

7.30 am, boarded a bus to Idapalli and visited a Krishna temple.

I boarded a bus to Alwaye and reached there by 8.30 am. From there I got a bus to

Kurumasery which is about 30 min drive. From Kurumasery it is about 1 km walk

to Thirumoozhikkalam temple. Buses going to place called Mala from Alwaye, will

pass through this temple. After visiting this temple at about 10.30 am, boarded a bus

to Mala, which took a 45 min journey. Then I boarded a bus to Trichur and reached

there by 1.00 pm.

After lunch, I boarded a bus to Pattambi. It is about 1 hour journey. I dropped my

self at Kootupatha at 3.00 pm. From there it is about 3 km walk to

Thiruvithuvakkodu (Thirumittakode) temple. Since there was ample time, I again

decided to walk instead of taking a bus or auto. It was an beautiful single road,

without much human occupants, with a small hillock backdrop and surrounded by

green vegetation and water bodies. The temple opened at 5.00 pm and after the visit,

returned back to Kootupatha, with elderly couples who accompanied me. Then

boarded a bus to Edapal and reached there by 6.30 pm. From there boarded a bus
to Kuttipuram, which is 15 min drive. Again boarded a bus to Thirunavaaya, an 30

min drive. By the time I reached, the temple was closed. I stayed there near the

temple complex, a boarding house run by the temple management, which is very

cheaper.

Early in the morning, at 5.00 am, after visiting the temple, I boarded a bus to

Guruvayoor and reached by 7.00 am and visited the temple. After spending time on

some purchases, boarded a bus at 10.00 am to Palakkad, which is a 3 hour drive.

From Palakkad, I boarded bus back to Tamilnadu and my trip ended there.

Except Krishna temple - Idappalli,Chottanikkara and Guruvayoor, all other

temples are termed under 108 divyadesam.