Top Sights

Based on traveller visits and local insights
Sri Vadakkunnatha
Sri Vadakkunnatha

Monumental Shiva temple with shrines

Vadakkumnathan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva at city of Thrissur, of Kerala state in India. This temple is a classical example of the architectural style of Kerala and has one monumental tower on each of the four sides in addition to a kuttambalam. Mural paintings depicting various scenes from the Mahabharata can be seen inside the temple. The shrines and the Kuttambalam display vignettes carved in wood. The temple, along with the mural paintings, has been declared as a National Monument by India under the AMASR Act. According to popular local lore, this is the first temple built by Parasurama, the sixth avatara of Vishnu. Thekkinkadu Maidan, encircling the Vadakkunnathan Temple, is the main venue of the renowned Thrissur Pooram festival. In the year 2012 the Archaeological Survey of India has recommended 14 sites, including Vadakkumnathan Temple and palaces, from Kerala to include in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The temple is also the first one among the 108 Shiva Temples in ancient Kerala, established by Parasurama. Wikipedia

Sakthan Thampuran
Sakthan Thampuran

Palace with a serpent grove & a museum

Shakthan Thampuran Palace is situated in City of Thrissur in Kerala state, India. It is named as Vadakkekara Palace, was reconstructed in Kerala-Dutch style in 1795 by Ramavarma Thampuran of the erstwhile Princely State of Cochin, well as Sakthan Thampuran is preserved by Archaeological Department. The palace was converted into a museum in 2005 by State. Wikipedia

Thrissur Zoo & Museum
Thrissur Zoo & Museum

Longtime zoo with many animals & museum

Thrissur Zoo or State Museum & Zoo, Thrissur is a 13.5-acre zoo that opened in 1885 in a small area called Chembukkavu, in the heart of Thrissur City, Kerala, India. It is one of the oldest zoos in the country, and is home to a wide variety of animals, reptiles, and birds. The zoo compound includes a natural history museum and an art museum that showcase the social and cultural heritage of the region. The Thrissur Zoo is 2 kilometres from the Thrissur City center and is open from 10:00 AM till 5:15 PM, except on Mondays. Being one of the two Zoological Parks in the state of Kerala, it sees many visitors on a regular basis. Still and video cameras are allowed in the park for a small fee. Wikipedia

Our Lady of Dolours Basilica
Our Lady of Dolours Basilica

Big Catholic church with Gothic flair

Our Lady of Dolours Basilica alias Puthanpally is a minor basilica of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Thrissur City in the Indian state of Kerala. The third tallest church in Asia, it is famous for its Gothic style architecture. Built in fine Indo-Gothic style with an area of 25,000 square feet, it has soaring belfries at the entrance, double storeyed aisles all along the nave and transepts, and eleven altars, five on either side of the main one. It is the largest church in India and its exuberant interior decorations include fine specimens of murals, images of saints and scenes from the Scriptures. Wikipedia

Vilangan Hills
Vilangan Hills

Park with walking paths & sunset views

Vilangan Hills is a hillock located in Adat Panchayat, near Thrissur city of Kerala state in India. The hill gives a panoramic view of Thrissur city and Thrissur Kole Wetlands from the top. The hill was referred as a Oxygen Jar of Thrissur city. The name 'Vilangan Kunnu' is a misnomer because 'Vilangan' itself means hill. There is no need of adding 'Kunnu' after 'Vilangan'. It is an ancient Malayalam word derived from proto-Dravidian language. Till the 1970s the word 'Kunnu' was not used by revenue authorities and locals. It is a recent addition. In Tamil too 'Vilangan' means hill. Wikipedia

Paramekkavu Bhagavathi
Paramekkavu Bhagavathi

Tiered temple linked to a folk myth

Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple is one of the largest Bagavathi temples in Kerala located in Thrissur City.Sakthan Thampuran ordained the temples into two groups, namely "Paramekkavu side" and "Thiruvambady side" for Thrissur Pooram which is the biggest festival in South India and Kerala. These two groups are headed by the principal participants, Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple at Thrissur Swaraj Round and Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple at Shoranur road. The two temples are hardly 500 metres apart.Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple is one of the two groups participating in Thrissur Pooram. The Paramekkavu temple devaswom have a school known as Paramekkavu Vidya Mandir at MLA road near Kutoor and one KG section near to the temple itself. Wikipedia

St. Thomas Syro-Malabar
St. Thomas Syro-Malabar

Sacred church founded by Saint Thomas

St. Thomas Major archiepiscopal church, Palayur is located at Palayur, in Thrissur district in Kerala on the west coast of India. According to tradition, the Syrian church was established in 52 AD by St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. It is one of the oldest churches in India.The first church in india was established here, and St Thomas performed The First baptism in India here, therefore this church is called an Apostolic Church credited to the apostolate of St. Thomas, who preached and also introduced Christianity to the people here. It was part of the seven churches that he established in India, the others being at Cranganore, Kokkamangalam, Kottakkavu, Kollam, Niranam, and Chayal. The original small church structure has been retained at the original site. But substantial improvements around it were carried out during the 17th century by Giacomo Fenicio as necessary, without sacrificing the main sanctity of the place. Wikipedia

Thriprayar Sree Rama Temple
Thriprayar Sree Rama Temple

Temple and architecture

Thriprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple is Hindu temple situated in Triprayar in Thrissur district of Kerala state in India. The deity is Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, with four arms bearing a conch, a disc, a bow and a garland. The temple is situated on the bank of river Theevra. The temple deity is the presiding deity of Arattupuzha Pooram. It is believed that the idol here was worshipped by Lord Krishna, another avatar of Lord Vishnu in Dwarka. Along with Lord Rama, there are shrines for Lord Shiva as Dakshinamoorthy, Lord Ganesha, Lord Sastha and Lord Krishna. It is the first among the four temples housing the four sons of King Dasharatha, popularly known as Nalambalams, the others being Koodalmanikyam Temple in Irinjalakuda housing Bharata, Thirumuzhikoolam temple housing Lakshmana and Payammal housing Shatrughna in that order. It is believed that worshipping these temples on a single day in the Malayalam month of Karkadakam is very auspicious, and thus many devotees visit these temples. Wikipedia