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Friday 31 October 2014

Long drive to Delhi - 14 : Thrissur, Kerala

From Munnar we decided to go to Thrissur rather than to return back to Kochi. Hilly route had lush green cover so soothing to eyes though Ghat section is little tough due to heavy traffic, narrow road & potholes. On reaching Thrissur we found it to be a pleasant mix of ancient & modern cultures & architecture very appealing. Neat, clean & looking prosperous, much better than most Indian cities.

Thrissur or Thichur is said to have original name as Thirusivapperoor. Some say that Thrissur is shortened form of 'Thiru Shiva Perur' or Place of Lord Shiva & another version is that it is derived from 'Thri Shiva Perure' or Place of Three Shiva Temples - Vadakkumnathan Temple, Kottapuram Temple & Poonkunnam Temple.

Some Christian writers claim that Thomas the Apostle landed in Muziris near Thrissur in AD 51-52. Country's first mosque started in AD 629. Thrissur has had Jews, Arabs, Romans, Portuguese, Dutch & English. As of now Hindu population is around 50%. Interesting to note that it has sent Congress 6 times & CPI 9 times to Lok Sabha.

City is 75 km north-east of Kochi & has an average altitude of 3 mtr. The temperature ranges from 22 to 33 degrees annually. Average annual rainfall is over 3000 mm. Hotels to suit all budgets are available having variety of cuisine. Nice town to spend a couple of days. Some photos:

Satellite photo shows hilly terrain & lush green surroundings. It was almost six hours of enjoyable drive. Of course Ghat section has its own twists & turns
Exciting drive - dense green jungle, lonely road & signs warning you about wildlife!
Town Hall & Public Library - neat, clean & quiet 
A lovely view from the window of the KTDC Hotel room
Shakthan Thampuran Palace now a museum managed by ASI
Two such guns guard the entrance of the Palace

Entrance to Our Lady of Lourdes Syro-Malabar Church

Our Lady of Lourdes Syro-Malabar Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral Church undergoing renovation


Our Lady of Dolours Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica is in the middle of the town. This is Asia's highest Church though could not be properly caught on the mobile. On the day of visit the hall was full with people standing along the walls & kids sitting on the floor even

Inside the Basilica complex

Inside the Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple 

Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple is the largest Krishna Temple in Kerala

Vadakkunnthan Temple
City of beautiful & well maintained temples




3 comments:

Harsh Wardhan Jog said...

https://jogharshwardhan.blogspot.com/2014/10/long-drive-to-delhi-14-thrissur-kerala.html

A.K.SAXENA said...

Wonderful, amazing natural scenes,nice information. Thanks.

Harsh Wardhan Jog said...

Thank you Saxena ji.