Guruvayur
Guruvayur IPA: [guɾuʋɐːjuːr]) is a municipal temple town in Thrissur district, of Kerala State in India.
It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at a distance of 292 km (181 mi) from the state capital Trivandrum towards the north-west, 86 km (53 mi) from Kochi towards the north, 95 km (59 mi) from Calicut towards south. Unlike most of Thrissur district, which was historically part of Cochin state, Guruvayur formed part of the erstwhile Kozhikode headquartered Malabar district.
Getting to Guruvayur
The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport at Kochi (COK IATA) about 87 km away. Or, passengers can use Calicut International Airport at Kozhikode (CCJ IATA), about 100 km away. A large helipad at Guruvayur, enables helicopter transportation from Cochin and Kozhikode airport. An aerodrome and heliport is under consideration at Guruvayur, to cater to the growing number of pilgrims
- 01Guruvayur SR
Gurvayoor town has a small railway station, where only few inter-city passenger and one inter-state passes.
- 02Guruvayoor Bus Terminus
It's pretty easy to get a bus from near the Thrissur railway station (KSRTC Central station) or private bus from Shakthan Thampuran Bus Stand, to get connections from other parts of Kerala.
Worth seeing
- 01St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Palayur. One
Thomas, it is one of the seven-and-a-half churches he founded.
- 02Parthasarathy Temple
Located within a kilometer from main temple, it's a must see temple, with its main shrine built as a chariot and Lord Krishna sitting as Parthasarathy, advocating Gita to Arjuna.
Things to do
Being a small temple town, reglious activities tops the list. Chembai Sangeetholsavam. The highlight of Guruvayur Ekadashi day is this Carnatic music festival that brings together musicians from across South India. It runs a week up to the Ekadashi day, on which all participant musicians recite the 'Pancaratna Kīrtanaṇgal̥' together: five Telugu compositions of Tyāgarāja Swāmikal̥. Guruvayur Ekadesi.
Where to eat
The temple town is known for its pure vegetarianism. Around the temple one can find plenty of pure vegetarian restaurants. The cuisine is mostly South Indian. Most restaurants serve good ghee roast dosa. Finding a non-vegetarian food stall or bar is extremely difficult like many other Hindu pilgrimage towns, though it's not banned. Annapurna Brahmin's Hotel, East Nada, Inside Main Pandal. 6AM to 10PM.
- 01Indian Coffee House
Part of Kerala's famed coffee house chain, this restaurant offers good meals, thalis, veg biriyanis and dosas at very cheap rates, though the restaurant is not well-maintained.
- 02Niveda Pure Veg Restaurant
Getting around Guruvayur the local way
- Get inA large helipad at Guruvayur, enables helicopter transportation from Cochin and Kozhikode airport.
- Get aroundTaxis and autorickshaws are available at nominal rates.
From Wikivoyage: Guruvayoor, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-08.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Ms Sarah Welch (CC0), Wikimedia Commons.
