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Chottanikkara Temple

Chottanikkara Temple

pilgrimage site · Kerala

State
Kerala
Type
Pilgrimage Site

Chottanikkara Bhagavathy, on Kochi's green edge, is one of Kerala's most powerful goddess temples — the Devi worshipped as Saraswati at dawn, Lakshmi at noon and Durga at dusk. The temple is famed across the South for healing afflictions of the mind; at the lower Kizhukkavu shrine, the guardian Bhadrakali's ancient paala tree bristles with nails driven in as spirits are exorcised at the wrenching Guruthi Pooja each night.

When to go

October to March; Makam Thozhal festival

Why visit

Kerala's healing goddess — three forms a day, and the extraordinary night Guruthi ritual.

How to reach

About 20 km southeast of Ernakulam (Kochi); buses and autos run from Tripunithura. Kochi's airport and rail stations make it an easy half-day.

Chottanikkara Temple guide & itineraries

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Alleppey (Backwaters)

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The mistake in Alleppey is the day boat. A houseboat only becomes worth it once the day-trippers have gone home and the water goes quiet. Book an overnight, and if you can, book a smaller boat that can leave the main channel. The big two-storey ones are restricted to the wide canals where they queue up alongside each other; the small ones get into the narrow waterways between the paddy fields, which is where the backwaters stop being a boat trip and start being a place where people live. Better still, spend a morning on a public ferry. The government service from Alleppey to Kottayam costs almost nothing, takes a couple of hours, stops at village jetties, and carries schoolchildren and shopping. You will see more of the actual backwaters from its deck than from most houseboats. The paddy fields here are farmed below sea level, kept dry by dykes and pumps — Kuttanad is one of the few places in the world where that is done. October to March. The monsoon has its own case, and the snake boat races in the wet season are worth planning around, but the water is high and the light is grey.

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