Chitharal

Chitharal located in the district of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu is among the top tourist places in Southern India. Not only is it famous for the temple and heritage sites but also offers enormous scope for adventurous trekking and mountaineering for people looking for thrill. A historical site with a host of Jain temples, Chitharal is a unique combination of natural beauty, peaceful and tranquil environment, and historical interests. It is also one of the few reminiscent of fast dwindling Jain religion and culture. Visitors can see Jain monuments in Chitharal as a perfect effort to enliven the disappearing signifying Jain culture and civilization from the world scenario. To add to this, Chitharal is a veritable heaven for nature lovers coming from all over the world.

Chitharal is not far away from Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala. Located in close proximity to Marthandam, Chitharal is situated midway between Trivandrum and Kanyakumari. Amazing structural designs of Jain monuments of Digambara sect located on the bank of river Tamiraparani has made Chitharal a renowned pilgrimage site as well as tourist location. More tourist information on Chitharal can be gathered from books, brochures offered by Maharashtra Tourism Department and of course from any tourist guide. The place earned international name and fame when the Chinese delegates desired to visit the place in the time of Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. After that Chitharal was included in the list of natural heritage site controlled by the Architectural Survey of India. It also figures among the World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.

October to March

Some of the must see places in Chitharal revolve around Jain culture including the following:

There are not many classy restaurants in Chitharal. Yet the food available in roadside shops is quite good, though it may not be of the class of other cities and towns in the State. Food is less spicy in comparison to other parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. One can easily relish South Indian non-vegetarian delicacies.

There is no shopping complex at Chitharal and for shopping visitors and travellers have to depend on nearby cities or the places where they are camping like Courtallam or Punalur. Since it is a tourist place and travellers and visitors from across the country as well as all over the world come here, some stray shops can be found near the temple selling out small articles of tourist interests.

Chitharal is well connected by road with several cities and towns in Tamil Nadu and Kerala including Kanya kumari and Trivandrum. One can reach both ways to Chitharal. Public transport buses, taxi services, and hired cars are all available for moving to Chitharal. Nearest railway station is Marthandam which is around 10 km. from the site. Nearest Airport is Thiruvantapuram (58 km.) from where road communication to Chitharal is also available. In order to reach the rock-cut temple in Chitharal historically known as Tiruchirapalli, visitors will have to walk for ten minutes to the top of the hill.

Places nearby that visitors may include in their itinerary while sightseeing in Chitharal include the Thiruvattar Adikesave Perumal Temple, a heritage temple of Lord Vishnu, Mathur Aqueduct, historic palace at Padmanabhapuram, exotic waterfall at Thirparappu, and the water reservoirs and Petchipparai and Perunchani dams. Also Chitharal does not have any tourist facilities like boarding and lodging. Hence most people prefer to camp at Courtallam that is approximately 66 km. away and Punalur that is around 34 km. from Chitharal. However in Chitharal and places around it, visitors can have excellent experience of nature’s bounty besides ancient Jain heritage and culture.

There is no such hotel or resort at Chitharal and most visitors prefer to stay at hotels around the small village that are located at short distances. Some of the most popular hotels around Chitharal according to visitors’ reviews are the Poovar Estuary Island Resort, Poovar Island Resort, and Estuary Island Resort. There are as many 19 hotels in Courtallam and 46 hotels in Punalur at a distance of 66 km. and 34 km. respectively from Chitharal.