About Pulikali Festival:
The Swaraj Ground in front of the Vadakkunnanthan temple in Thrissur play host to the vibrant ‘Pulikkali’ or ‘Tiger Dance’ festival every year in the month of August- September. The main theme of the Tiger dance is tiger hunting and hundreds of males with huge bellies and children, dressed as tigers take part in the dance, that forms a key element of the popular harvest festival of Onam in Kerala. Pulikali also known as ‘Kaduvaakali’, is a folk art form of Kerala in which artists paint themselves with tiger stripes of yellow, red and black, and dance to the rhythm of traditional percussion instruments such as thakil, udukku and chenda. The event in Trichur is organised by the Pulikkali Co-ordination Committee, a unified council of Pulikkali groups formed in 2004 to preserve and propagate the art in all its true hues and tones.
General Information about Thrissur:
Location: Thrissur
State: Kerala
Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
Language: Malayalam, English, Hindi
Temperature: Max 36˚C, Min 28˚C (summer), Max 28˚C, Min 18˚C (winter)
Best Season: October to March
How to Reach Thrissur:
By Air:
The nearest airport to Thrissur is Nedumbassery International Airport at Kochi, at a distance of 55 km. Taxi services are available from Kochi to Thrissur costing about Rs 700. Kochi airport is well connected to all major airports in India and also connected to many foreign cities. Direct flights are available to Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
By Rail:
Thrissur is a major railhead in the Southern Railway. Thrissur is well connected by trains to all major stations in India.
By Road:
Frequent bus services are available from all cities in Kerala to Thrissur. Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses connect Thrissur with other cities. Private bus services are available locally in the city for easy travel. Super deluxe buses connect Thrissur with other important cities like Kochi, Kozhikode, Trivandrum, Palaghat, Chennai, Salem, Coimbatore and Bangalore.
By Local Transport:
- By Bus – local bus service system is cheap.
- By Auto rickshaw – Auto rickshaws are the main form of local transport, if you don’t have your own means of transportation. Auto rickshaws running in the city limits are to use fare meters, while the ones from the adjacent areas need not use them. However it is a rule that such auto rickshaws without metres should not pick up passengers within city limits. There is a pre-paid auto rickshaw counter at Thrissur Railway Station.
- By Taxi – Local taxis are also available at cheap rates. Please note that there are no local Taxis (Yellow cabs or the one’s having yellow roof and black body). The taxis known as ‘Tourist taxis’ are meant for long travel or one day trips.
- By Car – There are many car rental companies offering cars with drivers or self drive.
- By Bike – Bikes are available for rental in Thrissur. This is available for a week or more than that.
- By Walk – Many places of attractions are near by each other so you could walk between them.