Guruvayur Tourism, Kerala India
(Guruvayur is also known as Guruvayoor)
Guruvayur Tourism, Tourist places in Guruvayur, Sightseeing, Guruvayur Travel Guide, Holiday Packages, weekend getaways, places near Guruvayur, reviews, map and trips
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Guruvayur Fast Facts
- State: Kerala
- District: Thrissur
- Famous for/as: Pilgrim
- Altitude: 0 m
- Language: Malayalam,English
- Best Season: October to March
- Weather: Summer 23 to 37°C, Winter 17 to 25°C
- Clothing: Tropical
- Local Transport:
- Pincode: 680101
- STDCode: 0487
Guruvayur Info
Tourist Office:
KTDC,
East Nada, Guruvayoor,
Tel: 2556266/7,
KTDC,
74, 1st Floor,
World Trade Centre,
Cuffe Parade, Mumbai,
Tel: 22153393,
Email: centralreservations@ktdc.com.
Guruvayur, India Overview
The richness of India's spiritual traditions finds its fullest expression in Guruvayur, one of India’s holiest places. Also spelled Guruvayoor, it is home to amazing five millennium old Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple, one of the busiest pilgrimage sites in the country. Legend has it that was built by the divine architect Vishwakarma himself.
Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the idol is made of a rare stone known as Patala Anjana. If you're anywhere near Guruvayoor in February or March, don't miss the famous Ulsavam Festival, when you can enjoy great music and dance performances, as well as elephant races and processions
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Must See Places in Guruvayur, India
Guruvayur, India History
Guruvayur, according to the legends may be 5,000 years old as the Guruvayur temple idol is. There are no historical records to establish it. In the 14th century, Tamil literature 'Kokasandesam', references about a place called Kuruvayur is made. As early as 16th century, many references are seen about Kuruvayur. In ancient Dravidic, Kuruvai means sea, hence the village on the coast may be called Kuruvayur. According to eminent historian Professor K. V. Krishna Iyer, the Brahmins had begun to come and settle at Kodungallur during the period of Chandra Gupta Maurya (321-297 BC).
Guruvayur was a subordinate shrine of Trikkunavay Shiva temple before the latter was destroyed by the Dutch in 1755. Trikkunavay in the Guruvayur documents is the same as Thrikkanamathilakam or Mathilakam mentioned in the Dutch and British records. And this place was in between Guruvayur and Kodungallur. The story of Pandyan King building a shrine here may be a reference to the Azhavars, but they are all silent in their writing about Guruvayur. It was Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri's Narayaniyam through which the Guruvayur temple got famous all over India.