Thiru Nelly or Thirunelly

The name has a Tamil flavour.
Most people have heard this name, because of a Temple. But for the temple, which is supposed to be thousands of years old, this place would have never been in the map.

How to reach Thirunelly

Calicut is the nearest airport and rail head, from Calicut One has to go by road to Mananthavadi and then from there by road to Thirunelly. It is 31 kms from Mananthavadi to Thirunelly.

Distances:

Ernakulam to Calicut by train is 193 kms.
Busfare from Calicut to Mananthavadi is Rs 59. Takes about 3.5 hours to reach Mananthavadi.
Another one hour to Thirunelly. One needs to change buses here.

So total time to reach Thirunelly ..
Bus travel would be 4.5 hours long, car could be bit shorter.

If you wish to break journey, try staying at Mananthavadi, there are few hotels there. Newest one is hotel Brahmagiri, tariffs start at Rs 1000 per room. There are cheaper accommodations, one old hotel joint is Hotel Haksons. Phone 04935-240118. Tariff range is about 400 to 1000 rupees. Not a great place to stay, just a referece to a place.

B us ride from Mananthavadi to Thirunelly is most through reserve forest, one could see teak bamboo planted or growing here, not many houses. Early settlers (adivassis) live here in the reserve forest, and since they have no papers to show ownership, land remains with government, and documented land in private hands is very little.

There are no shops for general public here (few at the temple are for tourists) so inhabitants depend on mananthavady , which is 31 kms away for supplies. A telephone transmission tower in the temple complex has made life easy, now locals could use mobile phones, make orders for supplies from Mananthavady and get things sent through the buses which ply between Mananthavady and Thirunelly. One resident told me that, he visits Mananthavady only once in a month.