Pulikali is one of the most fascinating and fun-filled festivals of Kerala. You would not be able to resist being a part of it once you see and hear about the charm of it. It is a vibrant festival which takes place in the districts of Palghat and Trichur. It is a distinct kind of celebration where people merge in a group of 3 or 4 and then perform on loud music depicting some animal or creature wearing their costumes. The festival takes place in Thrissur.
The festival undoubtedly attracts a huge audience from the entire state as well as public from neighbouring regions. It also celebrates the famous form of art - Kaduvaakali.
Pulikali is a very colourful and happy art form which brings life to the entire place. It happens on the fourth day of Onam at the Swaraj Ground, most of the time. So, without thinking much, just grab the opportunity and enjoy to the fullest.
Major Attractions of Pulikali
1. Tiger Dance in Kerala. Pulikali is a folk art of the state of Kerala. The art means “play of the tigers” and the dance performed by the dancers in the costume of tigers is extremely interesting and fun to watch. They also dance to the rhythm of traditional percussion instruments like chenda, thakil, and udukku.
2. Tiger Hunting Theme. The theme of the performance of the festival is based on a hunter wielding a gun and the Tigers playing hide and seek.
3. Makeup. The bodies and faces are painted to look like tigers. It is quite a task to do the make-up and hence it is intriguing to see it. The makeup is something to swear by as it is hard to remove. They use oil paints to mimic as close as possible to the animal skin.
How to Reach
Thrissur is a wonderful city in Kerala. It is called the cultural capital of the state. It's known for colourful festivals and sacred sites. For tourists, it is a great place to experience south India in its authentic form. The city is located at a distance of 2,631, 474, 1,463, 2,243 km from Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata respectively. Here’s how you can get there.
By Air. As such, there is no airport in the city of Thrissur. The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport. It is located about 50 km from the city. Direct domestic flights are available to main Indian cities like New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bangalore. Opened in 1999, it is an international airport. It has all the modern facilities. It is also the fourth busiest airport in the country. In the fiscal year 2018-19, the airport handled over 10.2 million passengers.
Here is flight information for major Indian cities.
- Delhi - Board Air India, IndiGo, Vistara, Spicejet flights from Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airfares start from Rs.6,000
- Mumbai - Board Air India, Go Air, Spicejet from Mumbai Airport. The airfares start from Rs.3,000
- Kolkata - Board Spicejet, Air India, Go Air flights from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport. The airfares start from Rs.4,000
- Madurai - Board Spicejet, Air India, IndiGo from Madurai airport. The airfares start from Rs.4,500
By Train. The festival majorly takes place in Thrissur and the railway station is in Thrissur itself. The Thrissur railway station is the busiest railway station of Kerala. It operates frequent trains from major cities in India like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, etc. It opened in 1902, 117 years ago. During the year 2018-2019, it handled traffic of more than 18,000 each day. The railway station is equipped with all the modern facilities, such as WiFi, retiring rooms, food courts, parking facilities and so on. Here is how you can get here.
- Delhi - Board Kerala Express from New Delhi Railway Station and deboard at the Thrissur Station
- Madurai - Board Amritha Express from Madurai Junction and deboard at the Thrissur Station
- Mumbai - Board Netravati Express from Lokmanyatilak T and deboard at the Thrissur Station
- Kolkata - Board Gurudev Express from Shalimar and deboard at the Thrissur Station
- Chennai - Board Trivandrum Mail from MGR Chennai CTL and deboard at the Thrissur Station
By Road. Depending upon your location, you can travel here by road route as well. You can drive your own vehicle on the highway or take a bus. From luxury to regular to sleeper coach buses, there are a ton of options available for the bus riders.
- From Kottayam, the bus fares start from Rs.1400.
- From Ooty, the bus fares start from Rs.900.
- From Kannur, the bus fares start from Rs.700.
- From Coimbatore, the bus fares start from Rs.500
- From Kannur, the bus fares start from Rs.700
You can also reach here by the following routes:
- Kottayam - 134 km via NH544
- Ooty - 198 km via NH544
- Kannur - 205 km via NH66
- Mysuru - 261 km via NH181
- Puducherry - 486 km via NH544
- Coimbatore - 114 km via NH544
You can plan your trip and create your own route to the city with Adotrip’s technically driven circuit planner. Click here