Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MATHA AMRITHANANDAMAYI MISSION
Well worth a visit if you are doing the
backwater cruise
(
Click here
)
between Kollam and Alleppey is the incon-
gruously pink
Matha Amrithanandamayi Mission
( 04762897578;
www.amritapuri.org
;
Amrithapuri). One
of India's few female gurus, Amrithanandamayi is also known as Amma (Mother), or the 'Hugging Mother,' be-
cause of the
darshan
(audience) she offers, often hugging thousands of people in marathon all-night sessions. The
ashram runs official tours daily - call ahead for times. It's a huge complex, with about 3000 people living here
permanently - monks, nuns, students and families, both Indian and foreign. It offers food, ayurvedic treatments,
yoga and meditation. Amma travels around for much of the year, so you might be out of luck if in need of a
cuddle.
Visitors should dress conservatively and there is a strict code of behaviour. With prior arrangement - register
online - you can stay at the ashram for ?200 per day (including simple vegetarian meals) and pick up an onward
or return cruise a day or two later. Alternatively, cross to the other side of the canal and grab a rickshaw 10km
south to Karunagappally or 12km north to Kayankulam (around ?200), from where you can catch onward buses
or trains.
If you're not taking the cruise, catch a train to either Karunagappally or Kayankulam and take an autorickshaw
(around ?100) to Vallickavu and cross the pedestrian bridge or take the punt across the canal from there. Alternat-
ively, if you intend to stay a while, you can book online for an ashram taxi - they pick up from as far away as Ko-
chi or Trivandrum.
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Around Kollam
Krishnapuram Palace Museum
Two kilometres south of Kayamkulam (between Kollam and Alleppey), this restored
palace
( 04792441133; admission ?10, camera/video ?25/250; 9am-1pm & 2-4.30pm Tue-Sun)
is a fine example
of grand Keralan architecture. Now a museum, inside are paintings, antique furniture,
sculptures and a renowned 3m-high mural depicting the Gajendra Moksha (the liberation
of Gajendra, chief of the elephants) as told in the Mahabharata.
Buses (?26, one hour) leave Kollam every few minutes for Kayamkulam. Get off at the
bus stand near the temple gate, 2km before the palace.
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Alappuzha (Alleppey)
0477 / POP 174,200
