Kerala, known as the “land of elephants”, takes pride in these large attractive animals that enrich all our cultural festivals. Punnathur Kotta situated 3 km away from Guruvayur temple is the fort that accommodates more than 60 elephants. It is the largest elephant sanctuary in India. All the elephants in the sanctuary were donated by the royal families for the services in temples such as processions during the festivals and celebrations. They are not allowed to be used for any other labour works, they are trained exclusively for temple needs. Punnathur Kotta is a really fun place to visit if you’re madly in love with these huge black mammoths.
The sanctuary is famous for two ritualistic practices that take place every year. One is Gajapooja, in which the elephants are worshipped as incarnations of Lord Ganapathy and the other is Anayoottu when the elephants are fed heavily. A huge number of elephant fans visit the Kotta during these festivals. Apart from these, people can also visit them at any time of the year and see the elephants getting trained for the rituals and grazing in the green gardens. You can also feed the elephants with bananas. It is a wonderful sight to see baby elephants running around and flashing water at each other. They are extremely playful within themselves and with the visitors as well.
Punnathur Kotta is also famous for the 500 years old Palace built by Punnathur Rajas. The palace is built in the Kerala style of architecture in a Nalukettu model with an open terrace in the centre courtyard. With the playfulness of baby elephants and the grandeur of the majestic elephants, Punnathur Kotta is the best place to visit with your family. Children would be excited with the sight of these black jumbo elephants, the cultural gem and beauty of Kerala state.
Contact Details
Punnathurkotta
Kottapadi Road, Trishul,
Iringaprom, Thrissur,
Kerala 680505
