MALLIKARJUNA TEMPLE
ANANTHAPURA LAKE TEMPLE
This is the only lake temple in Kerala. This is also the Moolasthanam or original seat of Ananthapadmanabha Swami situated at Thiruvananthapuram. Which is placed at the distance of 5 km. from Kumbla. Local belief is that Ananthapadmanabha had settled down here originally. The industrial park of kinfra is situated here.Situated at Kumbla, 12kms north east of Kasargod, Ananthapura Lake temple is the only lake temple in Kerala. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Ananthapadmanabha), this 9th century temple is considered to be the original abode ( Moolasthanam) of Vishnu and the idol of the deity is in sitting posture. The temple is positioned in the middle of a picturesque Ananthapura lake and its sanctum sanctorum can be reached by a foot-bridge built across the lake. The outer walls of the sanctorum have beautiful mural paintings depicting scenes from the vedas. On the north eastern corner of the lake there is a large cave with a small pit that holds water perennially.
A crocodile named 'Babia' is said to inhabit the lake which is supposed to be the guard of the temple and the interesting fact it that when one dies, another mysteriously takes its place. Every day after the ucchapooja (noon worship) , babia is fed with the prasad (a kind of gruel made of rice and jaggery) offered by the devotees to the deity. The annual festival is celebrated in the second fortnight of April. The temple is open to all devotees regardless of caste or creed.
THRIKKANAD AND PANDYAN KALLU
This is a famous temple on the seashore situated near the Bekal fort. This temple is dedicated to lord siva, which is also known as dhakshina kashi. Pandyan Kallu is a rock rising in the sea about 2 km from trikkannad. It is an ideal place for adventurous swimmers. It has the legend that ship of one of the pandya king who attacked the trikkannad temple was converted into a rock by lord siva. Palakkunnu Bhagavathi kshethram is situated one km north of trikkannad. This is famous for annual bharani festival, which attracts thousands of devotees every year.
Tulur vanam:This is also known as Kekulom or the eastern place. This place near Panathur temple is sacred to kshethrapalan and bhagavathy. The eight-day annual festival, which is celebrated here at this place, attracts large crowd from all over the district as well as from Coorg.
MADHUR SRIMAD ANANTHESWARA VINAYAKA TEMPLE
The Madhur Srimad Anantheshwara Vinayaka Temple is located at Kasargod District and the Annual festival here is a colorful experience. This brings gusto a fresh air to the lives of ordinary men and ensures health and happiness to their lives. The Madhur Srimad Anantheshwara Vinayaka Temple celebrates its Annual festival for five days. During the festival the presiding deity of the Madhur Srimad Anantheshwara Vinayaka Temple is taken out in a long procession. Display of folk dances and folk music in the procession makes it all the more pleasant.The Lord Vinayaka can be pleased by sweets and other food items, since he is believed to be a great lover of foods. The temple Madhur Srimad Anantheshwara Vinayaka Temple stands amidst a lush green landscape and enjoys the charm of Kerala and the enthusiasm of Karnataka. The perfect blend of architectural stye in the Madhur Srimad Anantheshwara Vinayaka Temple makes it a worthy place for the tourists. The temple is actually two storied and the splendid architecture is eye catching. The temple is located just 8 kilometers from the Kasargod Town.
ADOOR MAHALINGESWARA TEMPLE
This temple is anchored on the south bank of the Payaswani River. The surrounding is blessed with lovely forests. The deity is Shiva.The sanctum sanctorum of the temple is of rare nature – in the form of three stepped Gaja Prishta (elephant butt). With an inner round, an outer round and a palace ground this temple carries a distinction among the temples in Kerala.
The structure of the temple beholds five vital elements – interior space, inner portion, middle portion, outer portion and courtesy, the indispensable factors with Kerala temple architecture. Mahalingeshwara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is located in the scenic village of Adoor, 45 kms east of Kasargod. This 13th century temple on the southern bank of river Payaswini is believed to have been founded by Arjuna, the mythical Pandava archer. Legend has it that it is at Adoor where 'Kiratha Yudham', the battle between Lord Siva and Arjuna took place. The walls of the temple is adorned with colourful paintings of Ganapati and Sashta and the roofs are exquisitely carved with the scenes from holy scripts. The transliterated inscription of Sanskrit in Kannada script in the temple shows that it is someway related to the Western Chalukya King Kirthivarman II of 745-755 AD.
The annual Jatra or festival of the temple starts with Dhwaja Arohanam (hoisting of the temple flag) on the 27th of Kumbham (February, March) and concludes with the Avabhritha Snanam (holy dip) in the water of the Payaswini on the fourth of Meenam (April) every year.
PALAKKUNNU SRI BAGAVATHY TEMPLE
Palakkunnu Shree Bhagavathy Kshetram is one km. north of Trikkannad on the Kasargod - Kanhangad road (Chandragiri route). It is one of the famous temples of the Thiyya Community. The treasure house of the temple is situated near the railway gate of Kottikkulam railway station. Important deity is Mootha Bhagavathy (Kurumba Bhagavathi). Ilaya Bhagavathy, Dhandan, Ghandakarnam,Vishnu Moorthy and Gulikan are the sub deities. Padinhatta Chamundi, and Moovalamkuzhi Chamundi, are also worshipped in the Treasure House. The famous festival of the temple is Bharani Maholsavam which falls in the month of March every year. Maruputhari festival, during the month of December-January, Kalam Kanippu Maholsavam during the month of January and 'Poorolsavam' of March-April, are the other festivals of the temple. Bharani festival starts, the next day of the Arattu festival of Trikkannad temple
KIZHUR SRI SASTHA TEMPLE
The ancient temple of Chandragiri is popularly known as Kizhur Sastha Temple. In the Kizhur Sastha Temple a festival known as Pattu Utsavam is held during the month of November. During this festival groups of singers join together for a live performance. They sing in glory of the god.The eminent personalities of the Kazhakams of Saliyas jointly known as Pathinula Nagaram participate in this festival. All the kazhakams from Pattuvam to Panamboor involve themselves in this glorious ceremony. This happens in the second Saturday of November. The Pattu Festival in Kizhur Sri Sastha Temple is held every year.Pattu Utsavam has a history. It is a tribal festival that derives its origin from the Nilambur Kovikalam, which is a temple in ruins. This temple had been dedicated to Lord Shiva's son. The form of the principle deity here had been Lord Kirata, one of the Avatars of Lord Shiva.
The devotees were actually the tribal people who celebrated the Nilambur Pattu Utsavam. It continued for six days and was held in January. Now the temple is at the verge of destruction. But still people remember Lord Shiva and his benevolence so they worship him. From here the Pattu Utsavam has emerged.
The temple of Kizhur Sri Sastha is renowned for the Pattu Utsavam. This is the principle festival here. Offerings are made to Lord Shiva during this time. Men and women wear colorful costumes and flock to the premises of the temple. They not only offer worship but also appeal for a bright future and a happy existence. Lord Shiva is very benevolent and is also very fond of his disciples. He is also said to relieve them of all worldly pains and injustices.
MADIYAM KOVILAKAM TEMPLE
Situated at Ajanur at a distance of 5kms from Kanhangad, the Madiyam Kovilakam temple is the abode of Goddess Bhadrakali. Apart from the main deity, the temple contains other deities like Kshetrapalan, Bhagavathi and Bhairavan. This ancient temple has intricate wood carvings on Palazhimadhanam, Sitaswayamvaram and Dakshayagam. Here, the morning and the evening pooja's (worship) are held by a sect called Maniyanis while the noon poojas are performed by Brahmin priests.
The temple festivals namely 'Kalasam' and 'Pattulsavam' are celebrated respectively in the months of Edavam (May/ June) and Dhanu (December/ January). Among the two festivals, the nine day long pattutsavam is the most important. The major attraction of these festival is the Theyyam performance. Various cultural and religious programmes, grant procession, fire works displays are also held as a part of the festival.
GOPALAKRISHNA TEMPLE
One of the oldest temple in Kerala with Santhanagopalakrishna as the presiding deity, the famous Sree Gopalakrishna temple lies at a distance of 12kms north of Kasargod in Kumbla. Believed to be 400 years old, this temple has been built in honour of Lord Krishna who had destroyed the demon Kamsha to the relief of mankind. The temple belongs to Bhakta family and the idol of the deity is seen holding a baby in the hands as if to be handed over to the devotee. Apart from the main deity, the temple also houses deities of Benne Krishna, Kalingamardana, Hanuman, Garuda and Mahaganapati.
The annual temple festival which last for 7 days is held during the month of January and this colourful event is attended by thousands of devotees from across the country. The major attraction of the festival is the folk opera Yakshagana, held during the festival nights.
ANANTHESWAR TEMPLE
Located at Manjeswaram (15kms from the town), Shrimath Anantheshwar Temple traditionally renowned as Manjula Kshetra is the most ancient temple of Gowda Saraswat Brahmins, enclosed between hills on three sides and river Manjeswar on the other side. Dates back to 2nd century, the uniqueness of the temple is that it has three presiding deities, i.e Anantheshwara (Lord Shiva), Bhadra Narasimha (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu) and Lord Subramanya in the same sanctum sanctorum. The image of Shiva is believed to be an 'Udbhava' or 'Swayambhoo' (Self emergent) and the image of Narasimha is made of Panchaloha (five metals). Another specialty of the temple is the ant hill called 'Rohini' inside the sanctorum. Besides the main deities, other idols enshrined here are Lord Mukhyaprana, Lord Rudra, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Ganesh and Lord Garuda. To the right of the temple there is a sacred pond and it is believed that a dip in this sesha tirtham will cure the leprosy patients.
Manjeshwar Shashti, the main temple festival falls on the sixth day of the month of 'Margshirha' (November- December), is celebrated as the annual Chariot Festival. On this day, the six wheeled chariot called Brahma Ratha decorated with flowers and flags is drawn along the street by thousands of devotees. Built in 1834, the ratha with a girth of 53 feet and a square base of 17 feet is a magnificent wooden edifice adorned with carved figures and when decorated, the girth raises to a height of 71 feet. Lord's idol is placed above the square base and the devotees pull the chariot with shouts of Govinda-Govinda. The chariot can accommodate around 50 to 60 persons.
THRIKKANAD SRI THRAYAMBAKESWARA TEMPLE
Devoted to Lord Shiva, Trikkanad temple popularly known as Dhakshina Kashi is located on the shores of Arabian sea, about 1km from Bekal. It is one of the most important Shiva temple and the only one in the district which faces to the west. It is the sacred place blessed by the presence of great sages and swamis. The temple is known for its various customs and rituals performed for the well - being of the souls of the dead. On the new moon days, thousands of devotees flock to this temple to pay homage to their forefathers (pithrutharpanam) with idols made from gold and silver. They perform rituals and take a dip in the sea.
The annual temple festival that lasts for one week is held in the month of March- April. The festival starts with the Kodiyettam (flag hoisting). The festival celebrations include performances of Theyyam and Thitambu Nritham, a ritual art form of North Kerala more than 700 years old. It is mainly performed by Namboothiris of this part of Kerala. Ashtami Villakku and Pallivetta are the two rituals associated with the festival. Pallivetta or the hunting expedition of the Lord takes place on the last day of the festival. This hunt is symbolic of the destruction of Kama (desire), Krodha (anger) and other such evils that plague us in our life. Thousand of devotees from all over the district attend the festival.
It is a unique temple where unlike in other temples, Shiveli is done thrice a day. (Shiveli is a ritual in which its believed that Lord Himself comes out of the temple to see whether His Boothaganams are satisfied with the Pooja offered;). Another interesting aspect is that this is one of those very rare temples with its face to the west.