Short and delightful pilgrimage journey to Coimbatore, Palghat, Trichur, and Guruvayur*

Upon our return from the Netherlands, our interest in visiting the Manappullikavu Bhagavathy Temple and Guruvayurappan Temple to offer prayers heightened. Determined to make this trip coincide with our son Harish's birthday, we aimed for the 21st of February, 2024, but due to ticket unavailability, we decided to prepone our visit to the 20th of February,2024.

This additional One day ,gave us opportunity to visit temples in Coimbatore,which was not in our original itinerary.

Thrilled about our maiden trip on Vandhe Bharath Express, we reached Chennai Central at 1:30 pm and boarded the train by 2:15 pm.

The journey was pleasant. The train was tidy ,the seats were comfortable with  ample legroom facility.  We arrived in Coimbatore by 8:15 pm and checked into Park Elanza, strategically located near the railway station.

Park Elanza offered generously spacious room with excellent toilet facilities ensuring a comfortable stay. Good  room service and convenient food courts on the  ground floor enhanced our overall experience.

After dinner at the hotel, we retired to bed. On the 21st of February, we rose at 6:30 am, completed our morning routine, and enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast at nearby Anandha Hotel. Our driver from Anand Travels, Palghat, arrived on time, and we commenced our pilgrimage by visiting Eachanary Pillayar Kovil, experiencing a captivating darshan.

We proceeded to Marudhamalai, encountering a traffic jam near the foothill. Despite the delay, we reached the temple, climbed the stairs, and had a fulfilling darshan of Lord Murugan. After lunch at Sri Annapoorna Hotel, we returned to the hotel and relaxed. In the evening, we visited Koni Amman Kovil and had evening tiffin at Hotel Anandha before retiring to bed at 8 pm.

The next day, we started our journey to Palghat at 5:15 am, visiting our family deity temple, Manappullikavu, by 6:45 am. Our driver, Manoj, took us to the Adhi Moolasthanam of Manappullikavu, and we also visited another Manappullikavu Bhagavathy Temple run by SN Trust. Grateful to Manoj for introducing us to these temples, we continued to Sri Parammekavu Temple at Trichur.

Blessed to witness the Sreeveli darshan at Sri Parammekavu Temple, we also visited the Thiruvembadi Lord Krishna Temple nearby. By 10:30 am, we reached the Guruvayurappan Temple amidst the grand annual festival. Despite the heavy crowd, Manoj's contact with a senior admin person of Devaswom facilitated a quick darshan of Lord Guruvayurappan, including the Sreeveli darshan.

Feeling immensely blessed, we returned to Coimbatore by evening. After a comfortable night's sleep, we took Vandhe Bharath Express back to Chennai on the 23rd of February, concluding another memorable pilgrimage trip.