Thirunelli Maha Vishnu Temple, Wayanad, Kerala
Location: Wayanad district, Kerala
Distance: 55 km from Kalpetta, 32 km from Manathavady, 137 kms from Calicut, 121kms from Mysore, 250 kms from Bangalore
Travel time: Takes around 90 minutes to reach Thirunelli from Kalpetta town.
Food: One can have tea or snacks at Thirunelli or at road side shops.
Lodging: At Thirunelli temple there is a lodging facility. Also, there are a few lodges and resort around Thirunelli.
After Kurwadeep I started my journey for Thirunelli temple. The drive to Thirunelli temple through the hilly road and forest of Wayanad is awesome. The road was in good shape and clean. During my journey I was lucky to see a young deer which came out on the road side. My driver told at times elephant herds and some other animals can be seen on this stretch of road. Thirunelli temple is located inside the forest at the backdrop of Brahmagiri hills. I reached there late afternoon around 4.30 pm. The temple was closed then. The area was very calm and I loved it at first sight. One has to climb a few steps to reach the temple. This high platform might have been a hill in the past which has been leveled by the makers of the temple.
Temple timings: Morning: 5:30 am to 12:00 pm, Evening: 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
The deity here is Lord Vishnu and it is also called Thirunelli Maha Vishnu Temple. The temple is said to be around 1500 years old and one can feel that it is a very old temple. I felt there is a certain mystery around this temple. The architecture of this temple is typical of north Kerala and coastal Karnataka. It is said one can perform all kind of rituals here. Especially, people come here to perform rites of their forefathers. The scenery of the temple reminds me of Kukke Subramanya in Karnataka.
There is a small library here. You can buy religious books, books related to its history etc. There is spring called Papanashini (remover of sin) which originated in the Brahmagiri hills and flows around a kilometer from here. It is said one’s sin is washed way after taking a dip in its water. There is a unique way to bring water to the temple. A stone aqueduct was built by the then queen connecting the spring to supply water to the temple. I found a few stone slabs with old writings on them. But they are placed on the soil. Also, there was an engraving of namaskara symbol. On the oposite side of the main door of the temple there are steps which leads to the foot of the hill. after roaming around for a while, I made my way back to kalpetta.
Contact info:
Thirunelli Temple Office:- 04935-210201
Website: http://thirunellitemple.com