17 March 2025 - Day 6 of our Kerala Trip, we visited one of the beautiful Shiva temples known as Aazhimala Shiva temple and then went on the much awaited boat ride in Poovar backwaters of Kerala.
On 16th March i.e. Day 5 of our trip, we had a very long drive from Munnar to Kovalam and by the time we reached the beach resort, it was around 8.30 p.m. After a tiresome day, we went to sound sleep and got up a bit late the next morning and had hot cup of coffee enjoying the beautiful view of Arabian Sea from the balcony. My daughter was glued to the balcony and she didn't feel like coming inside, so beautiful the sea view was from the balcony.
Well, after refreshing and having complimentary breakfast we started for this lesser known temple called the Aazhimala Shiva temple. It is less than half-an-hour drive from Kovalam towards the south.
We reached the place by 8.30 a.m and it was told that darsanam will open at 9 a.m. after naivedyam. The place was full of tourists who were admiring the beauty of the place and engrossed in clicking pics and video shooting. The temple premises is small, yet the backdrop of the temple with vast stretch of Arabian Sea, rocks and coconut trees are really astounding. Added to the natural beauty of the place, there is a gigantic statue of Shiva with hair spread all over and a small statue of Ganga Devi in the tangled hair. The gigantic statue with Arabian Sea as backdrop really makes one speechless.
We too strolled for a while admiring nature's beauty at this place. But the minus point here is that the rocky floor was extremely hot and its like walking on a very hot pan with bare foot. However, there is one long running mat which gave a bit solace. In spite of extreme heat, people were busy clicking and shooting. The temple was about to open, so we lined up and had nice darshan of Sree Aazhimala Mahadeva. After spending some time in the extremely hot weather clicking and shooting, we drove through narrow lanes of a small typical Kerala style village and reached Poovar backwaters where we had a memorable boat ride.
It is said that this was one of the hiding places of Pandavas during their exile period. Kanyakumari beach is very close to this place and is also faintly visible from this place. This lesser known temple is one of the must-go temples in Kerala.
There is no strict dress code in this temple unlike other temples in Kerala. I felt really bad when I saw few north Indian families visiting the temple in western outfit and without tilakam on their forehead, even the married women. At least when they visit Hindu temples, being Hindus it would be really nice if they come in traditional dress at least salwar-kameez instead of western outfits.
Anyway, sorry if this hurts anyone but I couldn't stop myself mentioning this.
On 16th March i.e. Day 5 of our trip, we had a very long drive from Munnar to Kovalam and by the time we reached the beach resort, it was around 8.30 p.m. After a tiresome day, we went to sound sleep and got up a bit late the next morning and had hot cup of coffee enjoying the beautiful view of Arabian Sea from the balcony. My daughter was glued to the balcony and she didn't feel like coming inside, so beautiful the sea view was from the balcony.
Well, after refreshing and having complimentary breakfast we started for this lesser known temple called the Aazhimala Shiva temple. It is less than half-an-hour drive from Kovalam towards the south.
Temple Information
The temple is more than 100 years old and is situated amidst the natural beauty of Arabian Sea, huge rocks and tall coconut trees. The original name of the temple was Pulinkudi Sri Mahadeva Temple. As cheetahs were habitating in this place in the ancient time, the place got its name as Pullikudi which later became Pulinkudi. Presently it is known by the name Aazhimala Shiva temple.It is said that this was one of the hiding places of Pandavas during their exile period. Kanyakumari beach is very close to this place and is also faintly visible from this place. This lesser known temple is one of the must-go temples in Kerala.
There is no strict dress code in this temple unlike other temples in Kerala. I felt really bad when I saw few north Indian families visiting the temple in western outfit and without tilakam on their forehead, even the married women. At least when they visit Hindu temples, being Hindus it would be really nice if they come in traditional dress at least salwar-kameez instead of western outfits.
Anyway, sorry if this hurts anyone but I couldn't stop myself mentioning this.
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