Kuruvithurai – Vaigai river bed
Kuruvithurai is a lesser known village about 30 kms from Madurai. It is about 8Kms from Cholavandan, the well-known village on the north / north-west direction. There is an ancient temple in this village, which is now becoming famous on Guru Peyarchi days.
We decided to explore the route and visit the temple on an un-important day.
There are 2 ways to reach Cholavandan. One is to proceed on the NH7 upto Samayanallur and take a left turn near the bridge. Other one is a calm, green Kochadai – Melakkal road. We took the Kochadai – Melakkal road. The road is now widened and unbelievably smooth.
Just after Kochadai, we are suddenly into lush green countryside! It is a wonder to see that such a lush green area exists just 2-5 mins away from the din & dust of Madurai. The traffic is sparse. The river Vaigai runs next to the road and we are driving towards West. We are glad we took this road instead of the NH7 which got heavy container lorry traffic now-a-days.
The smooth road ends just near Melakkal where a bridge across the river Vaigai connects to the otherside of the road to Cholavandan. A brief enquiry about the roads at Melakkal revealed that the best way to reach Kuruvithurai is to cross river Vaigai and go via Cholavandan. So we turned back, crossed the bridge, reached Cholavandan and then crossed the river again since Kuruvithurai lies in the otherside of the river.
After crossing the river at Cholavandan, the roads to too narrow and almost no traffic. At one place, an old man was walking in the middle of the road. We actually felt that we are an intrusion and so instead of honking the horn, we slowed down and waited till he realized the vehicle behind him and gave way. Actually we are amazed at our behaviour! In the city, it is just the opposite. The cool winter climate, the greenery and rustic settings made us soft!
The temple is further 2Kms from the village. It is situated in a calm, serene spot, the entrance is right in front of the river. The temple is ancient and well built. Learned from the priest that Kuruvithurai is actually ”Guru Veetriruntha Thurai” (the river bank where the Guru sat majestically).
From the banks, steps leading to the river. Thanks to the recent rains, the water is flowing a feet above the knee depth on the near half of the river. The far half is dry. The flow is good but not too strong, so kids had a whale of time. A calm, fresh, unpolluted alternative to water theme parks!!
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Good to see the info about my native village in the net where my father & ancestors were lived .Hope it should be announced as a Religic spot and the basic amenities to be improved.
its an nice sunday picnic spot fr madurai peoples……D.S.Rajkumar,Kuruvithurai.9894353438.
we visited last week the same place and the place is serene and unpollutated with the city din.the temple is very vibrant with sanctity and innocence of the local people.