About Palakkad
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Palakkad Blue Bird Travels is a town and a municipality in the state of Kerala in southern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District. Palakkad lies near the Palghat Gap, a pass or natural depression through the Western Ghats ranges that run parallel to the west coast of India, and connects Kerala to the plains of the state of Tamil Nadu to the east. The people of Palakkad speak Malayalam.
Places of interest in Palakkad and can be viewed by Blue Bird Travels
View from outside the northern wall of Palakkad Fort.
1) Palakkad Fort - Fort dating from 1766, built by Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1784, after a siege which lasted eleven days, the British Colonel Fullerton stormed the Fort.[citation needed] Later it fell into the hands of the Zamorin’s troops, but was recaptured by the British in 1790. This well-preserved fort is also known as Tipu's (Tipu Sultan, son of Hyder Ali) Fort. Today there is a functioning jail in the fort grounds.
2) Malampuzha Dam and Malampuzha dam garden. This is a large irrigation dam built on the river Bharathapuzha at the base of the hills of the Western Ghats. The gardens, the amusement park for children, and the boating facilitices on the reservoir make Malampuzha a centre of interest for tourists, easily accessible from Palakkad.
3) Paddy fields in Palakka Jain Temple of Jainimedu - Situated on the western border of Palakkad town and not far from the railway station, this is an historic Jain Temple. The area around the temple is known as Jainimedu. This is one of the few places in Kerala where vestiges of Jainism have survived without substantial damage. The granite walls are devoid of decoration. The temple, 32 feet (9.8 m) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, consists of four divisions with images of Jain Thirthankaras and Yakshinis in three of them. Kumaran Asan wrote his monumental poem Veena Poovu (the fallen flower) at a Jain house here during his brief stay with his master Sri. Narayana Guru.
4) Parambikulam The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, covering 285 km², is 135 km from Palakkad and adjacent to the Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. Besides being a home for elephants, wild boar, sambar, bison, guar, crocodiles, and a few tigers and panthers, it has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Trekking in the forest is allowed with prior permission. Boating facilities are available on the lake. The large Cannimare Teak Tree is here near Thunakadavu.
5) Silent Valley National Park A dense rain forest and the habitat of rare species 80 km from Palakkad. It is popularly known as the evergreen forest and noted for its eerie silence because of the lack of cicadas.It is an important biosphere reserve in the Western Ghats and home of the tribal people. The valley is known for the rare Lion-Tailed Macaque. This National Park is a protected area for tigers also
Heap of rice straw, usually seen in front of houses in Palakkad district.
6) Nelliampathi Known as the Ooty of Kerala, Nelliampathy, about 80 km from Palakkad, is a hill station in the Nelliampathy forest ranges. This forest range constitutes a series of ridges cut off from one another by valleys of dark evergreen forests.
7) Pothundy Dam Around 35 km from Palakkad town, Pothundy Dam is situated on the way to Nelliampathi hills. The hill area to Nelliyampathy hills starts from Pothundy Dam. People visiting Nelliampathi, stop here to enjoy the beauty of the dam as well as to relax during their long journey up the Nelliampathi hills.
8) Walayar Dam is around 25 km from Palakkad town, It is located on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a beautiful place. It is an easily accessible location to the visitors to and from Tamil Nadu also. There is a Deer park located 3 km from Walayar.
9) A typical fence made of bamboo usually seen in villages of the Palakkad district. Attappady Attappady is an extensive mountain valley above the crest of the Ghat ranges, with several rivulets of the river Bhavani. The area is dominated by tribal people.
10) In Palakkad, Punarjani Guha The Punarjani Guha is a natural tunnel 15 meters long in the rocky cliff. It is 2 km from the Thiruvilwamala Temple and the chief presiding deity is Sri Rama. The idol is believed to be ‘swayambhoo’, i.e. born on its own. It is believed that performing ‘noozhal’ -- crawling through the tunnel from one end to the other—will wash away all of one’s sins and thus bring about rebirth. Only men are allowed to do the ‘noozhal’ women may only visit the cave. This ritual is practised on only one day per year, on Guruvayur Ekadashi. This particular site actually comes under the district of Thrissur.
11) In Palakkad, you can view Killikkurussimangalam This small village is the birthplace of the famous Malayalam satire poet and founder of the Ottamthullal art form, Kunchan Nambiar. The home of the greatest Koodiyattam maestro and authority of abhinaya Natyacharya Vidushakaratnam, Padma Shri Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar, is also here
12) In Palakad there is a Kanjirapuzha Dam This dam feeds almost half the agricultural land of the district. It supplies water to such places as Mannarkkad, Ottappalam and Shoranur, and is the biggest dam built with soil in Kerala. There is a garden in front of the dam.
* Peruvemba Well known for its festivals, the Chandabhishegam in December and Peruvemba Vela in April.
* Kalpathi Most famous of the eighteen agraharams of Palakkad, for its annual Ratholsavam.This place is also famous for Ajitha and Lakshmikanth's love story
13) Srikrishnapuram A small and welcoming village; the name comes from Palakkadussery Sekhari Varma Raj. It is one of the many villages of Palakkad. Punchappadam and Karimpuzha are also included in this village area.
14) Dhoni Waterfalls It is a gift of nature to the district with green forest, rocks, shallow water and beautiful water fall. Dhoni waterfall is in the western ghats 15 km from the Palakkad Town bustand and 9 km from the Palakkad Junction railway station. There is a beautiful temple near the mountain valley and it is believed that this was built by the Goddess for Shiva Bhagawan.
15) Integrated Rural Technology Centre - IRTC Integrated Rural Technology Centre is an R&D and Training Institution situated at Mundur, Palakkad. It develops or adapts technology having rural applications. Training and follow up facilities are extended in various livelihood programmes.
16) Pariyanempatta Bhagavathi Temple, Kattukulam, Mangalamkunnu, Palakkad
17) Koduvayur Koduvayur is one of the major markets in Palakkad district. The vegetable and cloth markets here attract customers as well as dealers from different parts of the state as well. The famous car festival is celebrated here. Major market possessions are managed by Moothans, the Vaisya sect of Palakkad and Muslims.
18) Karnaki Temple. Palakkad has a Karnaki Temple where goddess Kannaki is worshipped in her full idol form.[citation needed] In the Karnaki temple, Kerala form of pooja practices are done by Kerala Brahmins (Namboothiris) and in the Siva Temple in the same compound, Tamil Shaiva form of pooja practices are carried out by Tamil Brahmin Priests.
19) SREE CHEMITTIYA BAGAVATHY KSHETRAM Around 6 km from PALAKKAD town on CHITTUR road is the temple of the goddess. Every year during MARCH - APRIL the annual fair happens here. There are many people who come here for rituals during that season. The temple committee is setting up a MARRIAGE HALL which on completion can help many of the surrounding village to use this.
20) CHITTUR BAGAVATHY KSHETRAM 18 km from PALAKKAD TOWN in CHITTUR dedicated to Goddess CHITTUR BAGAVATHY, annually there is a temple fair conducted by the locals and the family called KONGAN PADA.
Thus Palakkad is one of the tourist place and can make a journey by Blue Bird Travels
About Tirupati
The city of Tirupati is one of the biggest pilgrimage centers of the world. Positioned at the foothills of the Eastern Ghats in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati is most famous for the VenkateswaraSwamy temple located in the Tirumala Hills. 50,000 - 100,000 pilgrims visit Tirupati every day, traveling from far and wide to offer Darshan to Lord Venkateswara. The number of Darshan seekers who take the tour in a single day can skyrocket to 500,000 on special occasions, making Tirupati the busiest religious destination in the whole world. The Venkateswara Temple is found atop the last of the seven Tirumala hills near Tirupati, at an elevation of 853 meters. Other major centers for the pilgrim’s tour include the Govindaraja shrine within Tirupati and the Padmavati shrine in Tiruchanur, about 5 kilometers south of Tirupati.
Historically, the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala is claimed to have been an established center of Vaishnavism by 5th century A.D. The town of Tirupati formed itself much later around the foundation of the Govindarajaswami Temple, which was established by the Vaishnavaite teacher, Ramanuja, during the twelfth century. Prior to this the only settlement in the area was a tiny village named Kapilatirtham, a short distance to the north of modern-day Tirupati. ‘Ramanujapuram,’ expanded a great deal during Vijayanagara times, gradually forming a big township. Over successive centuries, several other shrines too sprouted up lending to Tirupati’shighly regarded sanctity. Today, with never less than 5,000 pilgrims offering Darshan to Lord Venkateswara, the temple has turned into one of the richest places of worship in the entire world, second only to SreePadmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala.
Entry and regular Darshan at the TirupatiVenkateswara Temple is free, however, those who choose to pay extra may join the express lane for a quick Darshan. Touring pilgrims may also buy quick Darshan tickets that are available at the Vaikuntam Queue Complex- a series of inter-linked hallways leading up to the main shrine where the BalajiDarshan takes place. The queue system regulates a minimum of 5,000 worshipers seeking Darshan at any given point and ensures orderly movement of pilgrims. The free Darshan is called ‘SarvaDarshan,’ translating into ‘darshan for all.’ This common Darshan is normally allotted between 18 and 20 hours daily and has different timings each day. The ‘SeegraDarshan’ ticket was introduced in 2009 to provide a quick and convenient Darshan for Pilgrims who are willing to pay extra. The cost of a SeegraDarshan ticket is Rs. 300 per pilgrim and can be made available as part of the package tour. On purchasing the SeegraDarshan ticket, pilgrims are allowed their Darshan directly. SeegraDarshan tickets are available at all times when the SarvaDarshan is open.
The DivyaDarshan is provided for those who make it to Tirumala by foot via the GaliGopuram or SrivariMettu, facilitating free Darshan, accommodation and food. The Sudarshan token, issued from various TTD-counters at Rs.50 was introduced to reduce waiting time by indicating a particular time when the pilgrim may enter the Vaikuntam Queue Complex. A Special Darshan is also available for the Physically Challenged, the Aged and infants, along with attendants, through a separate gate at the main temple entrance. E-Darshan counters are available in major cities from which bookings can be made 60 days in advance of the tour.
The seventh of the sacred hills (Tirumala) that houses the Venkateswara temple is known as Venkatachalam Hill and is the predominant part of all tours to Tirupati. It is located 12 kilometers northwest of Tirupati and is surrounded by hills of higher altitude. At the final leg of the tour to Tirumala are five different routes, two from Tirupati- a pathway built of steps and a motorway, a third from Chandragiri, a fourth from Mamandur Railway station and a fifth via Nagapatla.