Palani: A Spiritual Journey of a Lifetime- Off to Palani (Part 1)

Palani. That was one trip which was pending since a very long time. It all started as Subramanya swami or Lord Muruga is the lord of the land for us. Amma had a wish since her childhood to vsit the temple in Palani. It somehow got delayed or in her own words, the time has not come when the deity has not called.

well...The time finally came on the 1st of March 2023..when we planned and executed the trip to Palani with surgical precision with the divine help of our friend Vijay. Our plan was to take a morning flight out of Hyderabad, have our breakfast at Coimbatore airport and proceed to Palani which is a 3 hour drive. Visit the temple the same day and back to Coimbatore next day. This obviously included a small detour for shopping and primarily eating at the famous outlets in Coimbatore (this was my intention though!!)..It was only me and Amma this time as Aadu and Maau couldn't join us due to other commitments.

All said and done. We left home at 5 am on 1st of March...The indigo promise to be on time was well kept and the flight out of Hyderabad was well on schedule for 7:45 am. Our journey from Coimbatore to Palani was one filled with anticipation and excitement. I saw a small kid sitting next to me struggling to hide her eagerness under her mask 😀

After landing at the Coimbatore airport, we were greeted by the magnificent statue of Lord Nataraja, which is a symbol of South Indian culture and art. 

Even though we reached Coimbatore on time, my plan to have breakfast at Annapurna was a flop show as the restaurant was "inside" the airport and we exited from the arrival section. I was really sad till Balaji's crispy masala dosa came to my rescue. There are few options but whatever is there is really finger licking good. Being a coffee lover, I must say that the filter coffee at Balaji's outlet is damn good....Sorry hunger was priority and pictures were conveniently forgotten.

We started off to Palani at around 10 by car. The route which we took was via NH81, Oddanchatram - Dharapuram - Tiruppur Rd and Palani - Erode Rd/Palani -Thoppampatti - Dharapuram Rd. Total time was expected to be around 2-2.5 hours to cover a distance of almost 114 kms

With a break in between, It was indeed a different feeling when we reached the foothills of Palani. It was all windmills enroute and long stretches with very few vehicles to cross.

Our stay was at the New Tirupur Lodge which was one of the best in our opinion in Palani. The options are limited but what more can you expect when you are out on a Pilgrimage. Whichever be the type of room we select; A small hiccup was that Hot water was available only during the early hours of the day and no room service was available.

The long stretch was a bit tiring and hunger pangs were strong. we decided to quickly freshen up and move out to the temples..This time pictures were clicked...sorry no pictures of gobbling up the delights...(simple food...tasty and indeed a healthy option)

This sure was a great feeling...Green Banana leaf...and the anticipation for being served a special meal was a feeling in itself...Hot steaming lemon rice followed by white with ghee and podi..folks who are still hungry will get more rice with rasam..accompaniments include a dry curry, pickle, pappadoms and paayasammmm... needless to say ..all unlimited (except payasam 😭)

Its walking distance from the lodge to Arulmigu ThiruAvinankudi temple which was the first stop...well..Thats the second part...