Metroline Travels takes you to the Edappally is a fast-growing suburb of Kochi/Cochin City in Kerala state, southern India. Edappally was the seating place of the Edapally Rajas, the ruler of this place. Edapally Palace also has the famous Edapally Ganapathy Temple. The town is famous for St. George's Church which is quite old and is a pilgrimage centre. Perandoor Temple, Thrickovil Sree Krishna Temple, Puthukkalavattam Mahadeva Temple, Punnakkal Bhagavathy Temple, Ponekkara Bhagavathy Temple are important places of worship. Elamakkara Lourdh Matha church is the other noticed worship place, which has a history over 100 years. Edappally mosque (more than 1000 years old) and many other old buildings are preserved in Edappally.
It is the home town of the famous Malayalam poets Changampuzha Krishna Pillai and Edappally Metroline Travels Raghavan Pillai. One of the famous Malayalam poet Mr. Balachandran Chullikkad and his wife Vijayalakshmi, herself a great poetess, are staying here. The first meeting of Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishath (the organisation of Malayalam writers) was organised here by the then Edappally Raja (Krishna Raja), with the support of different Malayalam writers such as K.P. Karunakara Menon, Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, etc.
Two national highways NH 47 and NH 17 join the bypass jn at Edappally. At Edappally, The National Highway NH-17 begins and continues up to Panvel, Maharashtra, in India. Edapally is also connected by rail, and there is a railway station at Edappally.
One of the best hospitals in Kerala named Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences is situated in Edappally. Edappally was a Panchayath before getting included in Cochin Corporation. This is a place which comes partly under Thripunithura legislative constituency and partly under Ernakulam constituency. The Cochin bypass connects Edappaly with Aroor which is an industrial town near the city of Cochin. Bypass Junction in Edappally is the north end of the Cochin bypass which extends up to Aroor. This entire root is evolving into a major business hub with big-time stores and five-star hotels. Outlets of Mercedes, Hyundai, Maruty, etc. are situated on the road. The world-famous museum of Kerala History and sculpture is also located in Edappally (outside the city limits). Thrikkakkara temple is only 2 kilometers away from Edappally Toll junction.
Changampuzha Smaraka Library and Edappally North Friends' Library are situated in Edappally. Edappally Metroline Travels North Friends' Library celebrated Golden Jubilee in 2007 January. Education and Career Guidance Reference Library started as part of its golden jubilee celebration. Special mention has to be made about two places of worship. The Mahaganapathy Temple is one of the most important Ganapathy temples in the state visited by devotees from all over the state. The temple is referred to in the Aithihya Mala of Kottarathil sankunni. Visiting time in the morning is between 5.00 and 7.30 AM. The members of Edappally royal family worship after these hours, since it is their family temple. During the evening time also the temple is kept opened. Ganpathy Homam and Unniyappam are the important offerings. Unniyappam is booked months in advance. Breaking coconut before beginning a project will see that it is completed successfully. The other important place of worship is the St. George Ferone Church of Edappally. The St. George the dragon slayer is the presiding saint. It is under the control of the Syrian Catholic Dioces of Ernakulam. Praying at the shrine on the way on any journey is considered a necessity even by people of other faiths. The offering is simply candles and coins into the bhandaram. A new colossal church is nearing completion. Edappally is now famous for Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram, which organizes various cultural and academic programmes, which include Kathakali, dramas, music, children's programmes, Akshara slokas, various cultural meetings, discussions, etc. A Senior Citizens' Forum is well functioning attached to this Kendram. All these functions are organized at Changampuzha Park, wherein the Office of the Kendram exists.
Another famous institution at Edappally is 'Changampuzha Smaraka Grandhasala', a library established in 1950 as a memorial to the famous Malayalam poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, who is the famous son of Edappally (Changampuzha's tomb is situated here, which attracts several lovers of Malayalam language). This library is an outstanding one with a collection of about thirty thousand titles and a reference section (approved as the Kanayannur Taluk Reference Library). This has an Art wing offering training in various types of dance items, music (vocal and instrumental), painting and drawing, etc. About six hundred students undergo training in these. Beside that there is also the M N F Gallery of Paintings and Sculptures.
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre is situated very near to Edappally.
Palakkad Metroline 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 Metroline 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.
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 Metroline Travels