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Sree Thrikkaikunnu Mahadeva temple drone view

Visiting Sree Thrikkaikkunnu Mahadeva Temple, Koothuparambu in Kannur, Kerala

By Mithun Divakaran
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Oct 30, 2022
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India, Kerala, Travel

Before I begin, I wanted to inform my readers that the below photos are from a visit I made to this temple back in 2020. I waited to post this after I was done with my Vietnam series… but then I forgot.

Anyway, I had heard about Sree Thrikkaikkunnu Mahadeva Temple from a relative who told me about how big it was. There weren’t too many blogs, articles or vlogs about the temple. I mean, it’s not a tourist attraction or a popular pilgrimage site, but despite its age and size, it doesn’t see as many visitors as Peralassery temple does — which I guess is mostly due to its famous step well which people of all faiths can see.

Sree Thrikkaikkunnu Mahadeva Temple is located in the town of Koothuparambu and is 23 kms from Kannur Railway station. The locality the temple is in is called Kottayam (not to be confused by the city of the same name in central Kerala).

This is the entrance one sees when getting on to the road off the main Koothuparambu highway

Sri Thrikkaikunnu Mahadeva temple koothuparambu — The grounds of the temple spans over 2 acres

The temple has two sreekovils (inner sanctum) and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. You can read about the mythology surrounding the temple on this website.

Sree Thrikkaikunnu mahadeva temple Kannur Kerala — The temple is hundreds of years old, but even the temple staff I spoke to couldn’t give me an approximate era

Rates Thrikkaikunnu Mahadeva temple Koothuparambu — Since this temple became a popular spot, they have rates for photography and filming

You have to pay Rs. 100 for photography and Rs. 300 for videography. But like with most temples, I was told I could not photograph inside the inner sanctums.

Sree Thrikkaikunnu Mahadev temple architecture Kannur — So I just stayed outside to be safe

I had come to the temple with my cousin sister, her husband, their daughter and a friend. They wanted to shoot some classical dance sequences for their daughter and my cousin’s husband, who is a music teacher, wanted to film a music video for his flute performance here.

Thrikkaikunnu Mahadev temple design Kannur Kerala — The temple is constructed using local red stones, which have gotten some modern upkeep over time

Sree Thrikkaikunnu Mahadev temple behind — From the back

Sree Thrikkaikunnu Mahadev temple Kannur Kerala — I know these photos may not give you a good indication of the size of the temple

So I decided to step out of the temple grounds to take out my drone.

Sree Thrikkaikunnu Mahadeva temple steps Kannur — These steps lead you to the adjoining lake

Lake sree Thrikkaikunnu Mahadeva temple Koothuparambu — It’s a pretty big man-made lake

Thrikkaikunnu Mahadeva temple lake Kannur — I took a drone shot of the lake

Temple lake mirage Kannur — This was around 5pm

Old tree Sree Thrikkaikunnu Mahadev temple Kannur — An old tree at the footsteps of the lake

Steps Thrikkaikunnu mahadeva temple Kerala — My cousin’s husband continued taking videos for their daughter’s dance

(Unfortunately, for reasons cited below, my cousin’s family was unable to obtain enough good shots to complete the dance performance)

Sree Thrikkaikunnu Mahadeva temple Kannur — This is a tighter crop

I was told I could not fly the drone above the temple and so I assured them I would limit the flight to just outside the gate.

Sree Thrikkaikunnu mahadev temple Kannur aerial view — If you want to see what the complete structure looks like (cropped in)

My cousin sister’s daughter and friend are the two green and red specks you see on the left side.

We had to end filming because some local guy who was sitting by the temple entrance objected to me flying the drone near the temple, just as I was done taking the final shot. He created a ruckus and accused all of us who had come for filming saying we were not allowed to film like this. Mind you, the actual temple staff member who we paid the filming fees to, had left the temple by now (it was a Sunday).

My cousin’s husband tried reasoning with the guy, but my cousin sister said he could be drunk. None of us wanted to create a scene on temple grounds, and my cousin’s young daughter also got scared. So we all left the temple rather upset after having our evening ruined.

So just be careful about such people if you are planning to visit this temple for photography or vlogging. If you get a receipt from the temple office after paying the fee, hold on to it until you leave the temple site.

If you want some more footage, Kerala Tourism has some glimpses of the temple exterior in their video:

My cousin sister’s husband managed to record his flute performance which uses most of the drone footage I could take (watch it in HD):

DTPC Munnar day tour: Mattupetty dam, Echo point, Kundala dam – Part 1

By Mithun Divakaran
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Aug 20, 2018
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India, Kerala, Travel

Date: March 12, 2018

After arriving in Munnar yesterday, we all woke up early to have our breakfast and then head to DTPC‘s office for our full day tour. DTPC is the District Tourism Promotion Council. You can call a day before to reserve your seats for the tour or just show up on the day of the tour at their office by 8am to get your seats.

After having breakfast, we took an auto-rickshaw to the DTPC office.

DTPC tourism office Munnar Kerala — This is the DTPC tourism office

Inside DTPC Munnar office — We were the first to arrive. We paid up while waiting for the other tourists joining us today.

DTPC tea valley tour — The main tour DTPC offers includes a stop over at Eravikulam National Park. Unfortunately, Eravikulam National Park was closed to the public as it was breeding season for the Nilgiri Tahr, a deer commonly found in Munnar and the Nilgiri Hills.

Tempo traveller Munnar Kerala — It was time for us to board our Tempo Traveller van and begin our tour

Munnar tea plantation panorama — I know I’ll be seeing sights like this every minute of the journey but tea plantations never stop being beautiful to look at

Flowers bokeh Munnar Kerala — Some flowers were in bloom along the way

Big beehives Munnar tree Kerala — The driver (cum guide) would stop along the way to show us sights like this — massive beehives

Carmelagiri Elephant park Munnar — Our first stop was at the Carmelagiri Elephant park

Continue reading “DTPC Munnar day tour: Mattupetty dam, Echo point, Kundala dam – Part 1” »

Kannur’s famous Peralassery Subramania temple – the largest step well in Kerala

By Mithun Divakaran
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Oct 17, 2017
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India, Kerala, Travel

Sri Subramanya Temple in Peralassery in Kannur district is home to the largest step well in Kerala. Located 14 km from Kannur town, it is located in the neighbourhood of Peralassery, just metres off state highway 38 (Kannur-Kuthuparamba road).

Local myth has it that Ram and Lakshman halted at Peralasseri temple on their way to Sri Lanka to rescue Sita. (The tale of Ramayana for the uninitiated). The temple in itself isn’t what makes Peralassery famous. The reason for its fame is a massive step well just outside the temple.

Peralasseri step well Kannur Kerala — If you visit the temple on any given weekday, you should find ample parking space just outside the temple

I was at Peralasseri temple one weekend for a cousin’s wedding. The bride’s family wanted to conduct the wedding ceremony (garland and thaali exchange) inside the temple premises.

Hindu wedding Peralasseri temple Kannur — The wedding ceremony didn’t take long as there are other wedding groups waiting for their turn

Perallasherry stone temple Kannur Kerala — I couldn’t take too many photos of the temple. I was outside the inner sanctum and photography is usually restricted. Also, it was quite muddy inside due to the rains and I was barefoot.

Snake statues Perallssery temple Kannur — I’ll take stone-carved snakes over real snakes (sorry Lord Vishnu).

But in all (religious) seriousness, the snakes represent ‘Sarpam/Nagam Dosham‘ (Sarpam = snake). Devotees visit the temple to shed themselves effects of ‘serpent curses’ based on their individual horoscopes.

Peralasherry temple stepwell Kannur Kerala — It was still raining outside which made taking photos tough

Perallasherry stepwell Kannur Kerala — You have to leave your footwear outside if you wish to enter the stepwell

Step wells Peralasherry temple Kannur — Stepwells of this design are indigenous to India

Stepwells were built deep where groundwater was abundant and the steps make it easy for people to reach the water especially when water levels fluctuate throughout the year. The steps also make it easier to maintain the well, as supposed to a traditional cylindrical well which is harder to clean over time — unless you want to risk going down one.

Peralasherri old well Kannur Kerala — The rain was non-stop

It wasn’t the best weather to shoot photos but I’ll probably come back some other day when it is sunny and try to get some better photos and update this blog.

Peralassery temple is an impressive sight and one of Kannur’s best attractions. Best come here during weekdays — and obviously when there is no rain. Stepwells are more common in states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, so it’s quite unique that Kannur, Kerala has one.

Getting to Peralassery temple

From the Kannur city bus stand, or any other stop in the city, board any bus going to Kuthuparamba (കൂത്തുപറമ്പ്). Just ask for a ticket to Peralassery.

By car, it’s an easy drive from Kannur city as it’s one straight road. Once you reach the Peralassery bus stop, take a left turn towards the temple. Ask any local, they can guide you.