Oh! how lucky I had been as I got the opportunity to explore few of the famous temples of Kerala with Mr. Narayanan, father of my NRI friend Mathew, an expert in history and a perfect guide for me on my tour to Kerala. He informed me that the temple is located on the slopes of western ghats and is dedicated to Lord Ayyapa, an Indian god. "The pilgrimage for the site starts in the month of November and then this place is overcrowded with devotees" exclaimed Mr Narayanan.

He acquainted me with the fact that there are two main pumas- Mandal Puja and Maha Sankranti Puja that are held in the temple during November and January respectively. Well, I was completely bowled over by the beauty of the temple--especially the architecture that was simply mind blowing.

This temple is unique in many respects. One is that the temple is open to all irrespective of caste, creed or religion. There is a place near the temple dedicated to the Vavar called "Vavarunada".This is an epitome of religious harmony. Another fact that Mr Narayanan informed me was that the temple doesn't remain not open throughout the year. It is open for worship, only during the days of Mandalapooja, Makaravilakku and Chitra Vishu. The pilgrims have to follow fasting for many days and the pilgrimage to the temple is to be taken through difficult paths in the forest as the vehicles can go only up to Pampa. “ It's good that you visited the temple much before the two festival otherwise you couldn't have seen the intricacies of the temple” said Mr Narayanan. “ Ya, but festivals have their own fun” I replied. “ Probably, next time, I'll visit the temple during the festival time” I added.