Guruvayoor Temple-Religious Places

Located northwest of Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala, Guruvayoor is famous for its Sri Krishna Temple.It is the fourth biggest temple in India in terms of the number of devotees per day, Guruvayoor Temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna. Though the devotees worship him as Lord Krishna, the deity is that of a complete man incarnation of Lord Maha Vishnu with four arms. This shrine is popularly known as the Dwaraka of south and is in the form of a rectangle. There are a lot of mural paintings around the Shrine. Being one of the most sacred and important pilgrim centres of Kerala, it is probably the only temple in the state that hosts the maximum number of marriages and rice feeding ceremony, the ritual first meal for infants

History
The Guru along with his disciple Vayudeva (god of air), found a place which was recommended by Lord Paramashiva. Thus the Guru and Vayu installed this deity and Paramashiva named the place as Guruvayoor. The idol is carved out a stone called 'Pathala Anjana Sila' and is utmost sacred. The place selected for the installation was suitably sacred by the presence of Lord Shiva.

The Architecture
The outer enclosurethirteen circular receptacles provide a truly brilliant spectacle, when lit. The square 'Sreekovil' is the sacred sanctum sanctorum of the temple, housing the main deity. Within the temple, there are also the images of Ganapathy, Sree Ayyappa and Edathedathy Kavil Bhagavathy.

When to go: has a 33.5-m tall gold-plated flag post and there is also a 7 m high pillar of lamps, whose The best time to go is from October to April

By Air :The nearest airport is in Kochi or Cochin 90 km away from Guruvayur. From there there travel links are available to major destinations of India.

By Train :The nearest rail head is located in Thrissur or at Kuttipuram from where Guruvayur is just 52 kilometers.

By Road :There are buses available to the place from Thrissur, Mysore and other important places on a daily basis, about five buses runs every hour from Thrissur.