Thrissur the third largest city of Kerala is well known for its cultural heritage and most colorful & prestigious Pooram Festival. Situated around 300 KM north west to Thiruvananthapuram is also famous for its religious integrity as it hosts a number of famous temples like Guruvayur, Vadakkumnathan temple as well as charches like Our Lady of Dolours Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica. I am always attracted to the natural beauty of the places along with its people which is abundant here in Thrissur.
Although Thrissur is a good weekend gateway from Kochi or Coimbatore, I started for Thrissur from Kolkata by Train & it took around 27 hours (!!) to reach there. Although Thrissur has a railway station I got down at Pallakad & reached Thrissur by car. The road is awesome with medium sized hillocks all around. I had Jerald with me as my companion who was a resident of Thrissur. We were travelling by his car & he left no stone unturned to feel me at home instead of the language barrier.
The city of Thrissur had nothing new to offer apart from the regular din & jostle of a large city. But what I like is the people who are very helpful to person who can't speak their language. Malayalam is the common language which is spoken but people are well educated & English is being spoken (although not that good) by most of the people. One thing will surely catch your attention which is their attraction to gold. Almost everyone is wearing gold ornaments. May be that's why large jewellery brands like Allukas, Kalyan have their largest stores in Kerala.
Thrissur is endowed with natural beauty which is best seen at Athirapally Waterfalls originating from Chalakudy River. The topsy turvy road through the mountain & not-so-dense forest. The road has stoppages midway for Elephant corridors. The forest surrounding Athirapally falls is famous for its flaura & fauna. Forest wildlife in the area includes the Asiatic elephant, tiger, leopard, bison, sambar, and lion-tailed macaque. The unique 180 metres (590 ft) elevation riparian forest in the Athirappilly-Vazhachal area is the only location where all four South Indian species of hornbills — the great hornbill (the state bird of Kerala), Malabar pied hornbill, Malabar grey hornbill, and the Indian grey hornbill are found living together.
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| Challakudy River side Jungle |
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| Near Athirapally Falls |
The more yo go closer to the falls the more you can hear its gigantic roars. I did not see it from the top rather I choose a journey by foot to reach the bottom of it. The road through the forest will surely enchant you. You can see glimpses of the huge Falls & can feel the smell as well. The falls looks amazing from the front & the water jumping from around 400 ft makes a thick water vapour layer. It seems hard to hear each other amidst the gruesome roars. I hope one can remember the famous movies Guru or Dil se which used this falls to shoot some renowned songs.
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| Gigantic Athirapally Falls |
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| Athirapally Falls Top View |
Also you can visit the famous Guruvayur Temple of God Vishnu. This temple has its structural beauty and is crowded most of the time. I've to stand around 2 hours in a queue to enter. There is a pond just beside the temple which is legendary and has a lot of stories.
It would be a great mistake if I dont say about the foods of Kerala. I tried almost all traditional food to Mughlai dishes available and trust me they were very tasty. The biriyani is somewhat differently cooked & is called Malabar Biriyani. That tastes awesome & to all Kolkata people who have only tried Kolkata or Lucknow gharana of Biriyani should try this. Its juicy, having with Fried onion, lots of dry froots like Kaju & coconut and served with Curd (Yes!! I tried that with Biriyani).
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| Malabar Chicken Biriyani |
Thrissur is a well maintained city which takes care about cleanliness & good sanitation. The roadways are good along with helpful people. There are a lot other places in Kerala which is a must visit but Thrissur is a good small summer vacation place.
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