Vadakkunathan Temple

Location Thrissur, Kerala
Nearest Airport/Railway Station Nedumbassery International Airport / Thrissur Railway Station
Nearby Attractions Guruvayoor, Athirapally, Vazhachal
Best Time to Visit September to March

Vadakkumnathan Temple of Thrissur is a classic example of Kerala architecture that is soaked in beauty and exquisiteness. This 1000 years old temple is surrounded by enormous stone wall and covers an area of 9 acres. The temple consists of 4 ‘gopurams’ that face towards all the directions. Nalambalam, a multi-shrine complex is located in the center of the temple and has shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva in form of Vadakkumnathan, Shankaranarayana or Hari-Hara (a combined form of Shiva and Vishnu) and Lord Rama.

There is a circular structure on the northern side of the Vadakkumnathan Temple, which has an idol of Goddess Parvati that faces towards east and stands behind the statue of Lord Shiva. The temple has a two-storied rectangular structure with shrine of Lord Rama located towards the south. There is also a circular and double-storied shrine dedicated to Lord Sankaranarayana and it lies between the two ‘sreekovils’ (sanctum sanctorum) in the temple complex. The temple has ‘mukhamandapams’ in front of all the three shrines. The walls of Vadakkumnathan Temple depict finely painted mural paintings of Mahabharata and poses of Lord Shiva.

The temple has a theatre hall towards its left, known as Koothambalam. The theatre hall is unique in its style with its roof made from copper plates and contains fine vignettes of wood carvings and interesting bracket figures. The 41 day special program of "Koothu" (mythological story telling) and "Koodiyattom" (ancient form of dramatic dance) are staged here annually.

So visit Vadakkumnathan Temple and spend some peaceful moments in its serene atmosphere and rich architecture.

Best time to visit
Vadakkumnathan Temple can be visited any time of the year; however, the best time to visit Thrissur is from October to February as these are the most pleasant months to travel here.

Trivia
It is said that Adi Shankara attained Videha Mukti (Freedom from embodiment) in Vadakkumnathan temple.

Timing
Vadakkumnathan Shiva Temple opens for darshan from 3:00 am to 8:30 pm daily.

Distance from Vadakkunnathan Temple

Thrissur: 2 Km
Ernakulam: 66 Km
Kochi: 86 Km
Kozhikode: 128 Km
Alappuzha: 130 Km
Kumarakom: 131 Km
Kottayam: 140 Km
Idukki: 142 Km
Munnar: 150 Km
Kuttanad: 150 Km
Kannur: 216 Km
Kollam: 218 Km
Thiruvananthapuram: 281 Km
Kovalam: 288 Km
Kasargod: 308 Km

How to get there:

Nearest Airport: Cochin International Airport (IATA: COK, ICAO: VOCI).

Nearest Railway Station: Thrissur Railway Station

Road: Thrissur is connected to the North-South Corridor National Highway System via the four-laned National Highway 47.