INTENSIVE SPIRITUAL TREKKING TRIP

SIDDHAMED TRAVELS

INTENSIVE SPIRITUAL TREKKING TO POWER PLACES AND CAVES OF THE 18 SIDDHARS

Day 1 :  Arrival in Chennai. Rest and drive around Mahabalipuram

Day 2:   7-8a.m.: Breakfast in Chennai and Drive to Trichy

·       Check out and Sightseeing in Mahabalipuram - 8.30-11:30

·       Drive  to Trichy-7hrs-300 Km

·       Visit Samayapuram Temple

·       Night halt Trichy

Day 3 :  Drive from Trichy to Madurai-Night halt -4 hrs

·       Shiva Jambulingeshwarar temple (shiva represents element water)

·       Visit Vekkali Amman Temple

·       Night halt Madurai

Day 4 :   Drive from Madurai to Rajapalayam-4 hrs

·       Visit Sankaran Kovil temple-Pampatti siddhar

·       Rest and prepare for the next 4 days travel.

Day 5 :   Morning drive to Watrap , Meet Mr.Raja-(Krishnan kovil)

·       Trekking uphill 14km through the forest.There are many deities and Siddhar Korakkar cave on the way

·       1: Santana Mahalingam

·       Night halt Saturagiri –

Day 6 :    Saturagiri-Trekking in forest to

·       2: Thavasi cave and Periya Mahalingam

Day 7 :   Trekking in forest to other places

·       3: Visit Sundara mahalingam and

·        Meditate at Sattamuni siddhar cave

Day 8 :    Trekking down to Watrap and drive to Namakkal

·       Visit Karur temple-Siddhar Karovoorar

·       Night halt Namakkal

Day 9 :   Drive from Namakkal to Kolli hills.

Day 10,11,12:    Kolli Hills

·       Kolli Hills-Kolli Pavai and Arabaleeshwarar Temple

·       Trekking to Korakkar Cave-Intensive trekking 5-6 hrs in the forest

·       Rest & group discussions.

Day13:  Drive from to Kolli hills to Salem

·       Drive to Skandashramam

·       Shopping in Salem

Day14:  Drive from Salem  to Tiruvanamalai

·       Visit Tiruvanamalai Shiva temple. (Shiva represents element Fire)

(Siddhar Idaikadar)

Day15:   Drive from Tiruvanamalai to Chennai

Day16:  Chennai –Get ready for return flight-check out latest 12.00noon

INTENSIVE SPIRITUAL & TREKKING TRIP -2012

South India in its own special way holds many spiritual and Relaxing Natural Places. Travel should also help the people to relax and find peace within themselves, by concentrating inwards and bring out the buried inner self and to relieve their mental and physical stress.

The group would be exposed to the Indian way of life, culture and spiritual beliefs, attitudes, food, climate and society.

Kindly note that in case of unavoidable reasons due to the rains or other natural factors if we cannot visit any of the places below we apologise for the inconvenience.

The travel group would start from Chennai and do a combination of Spiritual and Recreation Trips.  Recreation also concentrates on travelling to Natural waterfalls and forest hiking.  We would also be visiting different Siddhar Samadis. It would be a much different atmosphere to be in different temples and to encounter the Traditional Way of worship and also experience the Real Spirituality.  Apart from this, we would be also visiting different hills which are the abodes of the Siddhars and they could have the pleasure to Meditate in these cool natural surroundings and have the darshan of various True saints who lived in Seclusion in these mountains and performed Tapas.  The Remote hills and Mountains hide the True tropical forest  which abound in different Rare Herbs and the waterfalls originating in these mountains flow with the power and healing magical effect of these medicinal herbs. To stand under these waterfalls helps to relieve tensions and stress and Rejuvanates the system.

The travel aims in bringing out varies aspects, which would be astonishing to those who travel for the first time.  South India has busy buzzing cities flooded with population and the crowded streets, and a chaotic traffic situation.  On the other hand the quiet and peaceful outskirts with its simple and innocent minded citizens who view foreigner with surprise and respect.

SATURAGIRI  as the name signifies,4 peaks. It also signifies the 4 vedas. This remote protected forest area, the abode for various celestial beings. The entire path upto the Mahashiva lingam is protected with various Gods and Siddhar caves.  Tough trekking and tapas is necessary to come to this place. 3 days in these mountains, is a chance to realise ones own self and to overcome all his materialistic connections with the world.

Each member of the group have the honour to travel this trip with their Guru who can further guide them in their own path to achieve their goal.

We would like to inform the group that we have looked out for the best possible and convenient hotels (Clean and to meet the budget). But in the remote areas there are not many choices we can choose from. So kindly bear with us in this regard.

The group would have the pleasure to shop at Salem and Chennai when they wish with the availability of time.

DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN CHENNAI. Rest & sightseeing in Mahabalipuram

·       Night halt Mahabalipuram.

DAY 2: MAHABALIPURAM & Drive to Trichy

The monuments are mostly rock-cut and monolithic, and constitute the early stages of Dravidian architecture wherein Buddhist elements of design are prominently visible. They are constituted by cave temples, monolithic rathas (chariots), sculpted reliefs and structural temples. The pillars are of the Dravidian order. The sculptures are excellent examples of Pallava art.

·       Arjuna's Penance - relief sculpture on a massive scale extolling an episode from the Hindu epic, The Mahabharata.

• Varaha Cave Temple - a small rock-cut temple dating back to the 7^th century.
• The Shore Temple - a structural temple along the Bay of Bengal with the entrance from the western side away from the sea. Recent excavations have revealed new structures here. The temple was reconstructed stone by stone from the sea after being washed away in a cyclone.

·       Pancha Rathas (Five Chariots) - five monolithic pyramidal structures named after the Pandavas (Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva) and Draupadi. An interesting aspect of the rathas is that, despite their sizes they are not assembled — each of these is carved from one single large piece of stone.

SAMAYAPURAM MARIAMMAN

The Maariamman Temple here, is one of the well visited shrines in Tamilnadu, dedicated to Maariamman, a manifestation of the primeval energy Shakti as the mother Goddess . Mariamman is a form of Shakti worshipped in Tamilnadu, and is associated with prosperity and health.

Legend is that Shiva created Kali, out of the poison that he had swallowed, and vowed to  kill Daarukaasuran. Having originated from the Kaalakoota poison, she assumed the name Kaali. Mariamman is believed to be a form of Kaali, and is also known as Mahamaayi or Seethala Gowri. Dasaratha, father of Rama is said to have worshipped here.

·       NIGHT HALT TRICHY

DAY 3: TRICHY TEMPLES & DRIVE TO MADURAI

THIRUVANAIKAVAL:

Thiruvanaikoil is around 3 Kms away from the heart of Trichy cityThis ancient temple dedicated to Shiva (Jambukeswara) and Parvati (Akhilandeswari) is one of the foremost Saivite shrines in Tamilnadu. This large temple celebrates Shiva as Jambukeswara, an embodiment of the element water and is often referred to as Appustalam and is hence one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalams the other four being Tiruvannamalai (fire), Chidambaram (Space), Kanchipuram (Earth) and Kalahasti (Air) respectively.

WORAIYUR SRI VEKKALI

Woraiyur -Located at just 7 kms from Trichy City, Woraiyur houses a beautiful and most popular temple of Sri Vekkaliamman. .

The Temple
Sri Vekkaliamman Temple is situated in Woraiyur. The Amman is facing the north. It was believed by the ancient kings that Gods and Goddess who personify valour and facing north will bless the kings with victory in the battle. Hence all the ancient kings used to pray to Vekkali Amman before leaving to the battle field.
Mythology
An ancient saint, Sarama Rishi who lived in Woraiyur was having a wonderful garden with rare flowers in it. He used to worship Thayumanavar Swamy of Trichy everyday, offering garland made of flowers from his garden, to Lord Shiva.
A local florist, Pranthakan, saw the beauty of the flowers from his garden started taking flowers from Sarama Rishi's garden, and started supplying to the King in the palace, to keep himself in the good books of the king.
As the king was happy with the flowers, Pranthakan started stealing flowers from the garden regularly. Everyday, Rishi started finding the flowers missing from his garden.
The sage one day found that Paranthakan was the culprit and he went complaining to the King that the flowers were meant exclusively for Lord Thayumanavar and Pranthakan is stealing them everyday. The king didn't give an ear to it, as he already started liking those flowers.
With much grief, the sage went straight to Lord Thayumanavar praying him to put an end to Pranthakan's activity.
The Lord turned wild after hearing this. The God was facing the east till then. He turned facing west (towards Woraiyur), with his powerful eyes open, emitting anger which resulted in a huge sand storm started spoiling the whole city of Woraiyur.
Sand was filled everywhere burying the city. People were helpless and didn't know the reason for sudden sandstorm on Woraiyur. They went and surrendered to Vekkali Amman, praying to save them.
The Goddess went to Lord Thayumanavar and prayed to bring down his anger. Thayumanavar subsided his anger and the sand storm came to a halt. People thanked the Goddess for saving them.
Though the sand storm stopped, the people of the city lost their shelters already. Hence, Goddess also decided to live in a temple without roof, until everyone in the city gets a shelter for themselves.
From then till today, Vekkaliamman temple doesn't have any roof. The Moolavar is open to the sky, be it rain or shine. It is said that, many attempts have been made to build a roof for this temple at various times, which ended in vain.
This story has been narrated by renowned Tamil poet Ottakkoothar. .

·       NIGHT HALT MADURAI

DAY 4: DRIVE TO RAJAPALYAM
SANKARANKOVIL

Sankarankovil is home to the famous Sankara Narayanan temple. Like every other temple, Sankarankovil has its own interesting story. Once the devotees of Lord Hari (or Vishnu) and Lord Shiva quarreled with each other to determine whose god is powerful. Then Lord Shiva appeared as Sankaranarayanar to mark his devotees to understand that both Hari and Shiva are one and the same. So it is held sacred by Saivites and those Hindus who believe that Siva and Vishnu are a single deity one in one and accordingly, desire to worship the two gods into one form. Srivaishnavites of Tamil Nadu who worship Lord Vishnu only, have not accepted the mingling of Siva and Vishnu thus, and therefore, they reject this deity of this temple which depicts the concept of Hari and Haran being one God.
It was built by Ukira Pandiyan AC 900.It houses the deity by the name Sankara Narayanan, which is half - Lord Shiva and the other half - Lord Vishnu.
The deities of this temple are Sri Sankareswarar, Sri Gomathi Amman and Sri Sankara Narayanar. Sankarankovil is also said to be home to the deity named Avudai Ambal
The general belief is that the Holy Sand "Puttrumann" (Puttru = Ant Hill, Mann = Sand) that one gets from this temple is capable of curing all the diseases. Devotees believe that Sankarankovil‘s Nagasunai (sacred tank) have been dug by serpent kings named Paduman and Sangam which has a miraculous power to heal those who bathe there. The Annadhanam scheme is being conducted in the temple when daily noon meals are being provided for around 100 devotees. The Puthu Maan in the temple is taken as a holy sand which could cure lot of disease by all devotees.
It is believed that all devotees who pray to the goddess Gomathi amman have always found solace.
Pampatti siddhar is associated with this temple.

·      NIGHT HALT RAJAPALAYAM

DAY 5,6,7
SATURAGIRI:  

Sathuragiri is the Abode of God and is also the abode of many Siddhars  including Agastiyar, Gorakkar, Satta Muni, Roma Devar and Sundranandar. It is believed that the Siddhas still worship Lord Shiva from Sathuragiri. So the hills are also known as Sivan Malai.

The divine place Sathuragiri is surrounded by four hills, hence its name Sathuragiri or Chathuragiri. It is said that the name Sathuragiri is derived from the Sanskrit word Chathur meaning FOUR (4) (there are 4 Vedas and each one is represented by a hill) and the second part of the name, Giri meaning Hill. So it can be literally taken as a place where all four Vedas meet and merge into one. This is mentioned in Siva Puranam. The name also carries another meaning where the hills surrounding the place are in the shape of a Chathuram (Tamil for square) so the name Sathuragiri.  It is also called Mahalingagiri, Menugiri/Merugiri, Kailasagiri, Indiragiri, Sarvalogagiri, Suriyagiri, Brahmagiri, Siddhagiri, Yamagiri/Yemagiri, Sivagiri, Sakthigiri, Udayagiri, Sanjivigiri/Sathuragiri.

At Santhana Mahalingam Temple, separate sanctums for 18 Siddhars, Lord Ganesha, Lord Muruga, Santhana Mahadevi (Goddess) and Navagrahas, are there.

At Sundara Mahalingam Temple, there are two separate sanctums viz., Sundara Murthy at the entrance of the temple and Lord Sundara Mahalingam are there.

On the way to the hill up to Sundara Mahalingam, the following sanctums are there.

At Thaniparai entrance, separate sanctums for Lord Ganesha, Rajakali Amman, Pechi Amman and Karuppa Swami.

At Kora Kunda (Korakkar), two sanctums of Sivalingams inside two separate caves.

On the way up twin Lingams in a single sanctum called "Rettai Lingam". (Sankaran Narayanar Lingams).

Vana Durga sanctum. Pilavadi Karuppaswamy sanctum.

From Sundara Mahalingam up to the top of the hill the following sanctums are there deep in the forest.

Vana Durga, Oonjal Karuppan Swamy, Korakkar Scripture Rock, Vella Ganapathi (White colored Lord Ganesha), Nadu Kattu Ganapathi, Naga Kanni Kavu, Periya Mahalingam,Thavasi Cave (where it is said that Siddhars are still there and one can enter only with their permission).

·       NIGHT HALT SATURAGIRI

DAY 8: Descend from Saturagiri and Drive TO NAMAKKAL.

Arulmighu Pasupathinathar Temple,Karur

The main shrine (Moolvar) is a swayambu lingam. The sun's rays falls on the lingam 3 days in a year during the Tamil month of Panguni (March 15th to April 15th). There are two shrines for the goddess. The shrine for female deity Sundaravalli is facing south and the shrine for Alagaravalli is facing east.

Brahma and Kamadhenu are said to have worshipped the lingam here. There is a separate Sannidhi for Siddhar Karuvoorar.

DAY 9,10,11,12:KOLLI HILLS:

Kolli hills is the Ancient Kingdom of the celebrated King Ori, renowned for his generous gifts, charity and donations. It is situated at an altitude of 1160 metres. It has rich medical plants and forests.
This is the second hill station in the district at an altitude of 1190 mts. Sri Arapaleeswarar Temple is located on the top of the hills.

KOLLI PAVAI:  

According to the legend, the sages choose this peaceful place for their meditation and penance. However they were disturbed and disrupted by the demons.  So they prayed to Kolli Pavai who chased the demons with her enchanting smile and killed them.

ARAPPALLI ISWARAR TEMPLE:

A Shiva temple in the Valappur Nadu situated on the stream Aiyaru. Its is dedicated to Arppalli Iswarar. The deity's other names are Thiru Arappalli Ashavar,

Thiru Arappalli Mahadhevan and Thiru Arappalli Udaiyar, The Deity's consort is Archalai. It is a 12th century temple. Valli Amman, also known as Sucmathamba, and Thayammai. Because of the belief that Arappalli Iswarar resides in the small fish of Aiyaru, the temple has also the name of Fish temple. It is customary for the pilgrims to catch the sacred fish by hand, adorn them with gold or silver nose rings in fulfillment of vows. The Hindu legends of the temple’s origin claim that the lingam in the main shrine was unearthed during the ploughing of a field. The scar on its top is supposed to have been caused by the plough.

WATER FALLS (AKASA GANGAI)

Akasa Gangai is an enchanting 300 feet waterfall of river Aiyaru, located near Arappaleeshwarar temple. Thousands of steps lead down to the falls. It is situated in a beautiful valley surrounded by the mountains at all sides. Enroute, the natural beauty of the valley and the vegetation-covered peaks . The location is ideal for trekking and the breeze is pleasant, the cascade of silvery water touching and brushing the innumerable herbs which are abound in Kollihills keeps everyone spell bound and fresh with its herbal qualities.







KORAKKAR CAVE AND KUNDAM
Intensive trekking trip to Korakkar cave and Kundam.  The cave is situated deep in the forest and takes 4-6 hrs trekking time through the forest.

·       NIGHT HALT KOLLI HILLS

DAY 13: DRIVE TO SALEM & VISIT SKANDASHRAMAM

Kandashramam (Skandasramam), located on a hillock, which is famous for the temples dedicated to Goddess Ashtadasa Bhuja Mahalakshmi and Lord Murugan

·      NIGHT HALT SALEM

DAY 14: DRIVE TO THIRUVANAMALAI

SivaPuranam identifies four sacred places for obtaining salvation.  Thiruvannamalai is one among them. The significance of this place is that by mere remembrance of Lord Arunachaleswarar at this place gives salvation to all souls (Ninaithale Mukthi Tharum Thiruthalam).

The earth is formed by five basic elements namely land, water, fire, air and ether. Our ancestors called them "Pancha Boothas" and associated them with five sacred places for worshipping Lord Siva. The center of these five elements  Fire is identified with Thiruvannamalai. AGNI Sthalam

Thiruvannamalai is the "Manipooraga Sthalam", which is one among six athara sthalams.  Thiruvannamalai is so sacred that even Gods, and celestials offered their prayers. Tradition has it that Sun, Moon, Eight Vasus, Brahma, Vishnu and so on have worshipped here.

Thiruvannamalai has been the abode of Siddhars. Idaikkattu Siddhar, one of the eighteen Siddhars, belongs to this sacred soil. 

Thiruvannamalai has the honour of providing an abode for saints such as Arunagirinathar, Vitpatchathevar, Gugai Namachivayar, Guru Namachivayar, Deivasigamani, Arunachala Desikar, Mahan Seshadri Swamigal, Bagawan Ramana Maharishi, Sri Yogi Ram Surathkumar.

BHAGWAN SRI RAMANA MAHARISHI

·       NIGHT HALT TIRUVANAMALAI

DAY 15: CHENNAI

Return drive to Chennai Beach Resort. NIGHT HALT CHENNAI

DAY 16: CHENNAI

Return flight. Check out at 12:00. Lunch at Mammala Resort and then drive to airport

ABOUT US

We offer to our clients a tour to some of the most spiritual places in South India.
We believe that travel should help the people relax and find peace within themselves, by concentrating on oneself and help them find their inner self and to relieve their mental and physical stress.
Every tour made will be in small groups  , and tour will be arranged with the best comfort possibly available at the venues arranged.

Our tour arrangement is for everyone who is interested to know about Indian Culture , Hindu Temples and Architectures , Siddha Medicine and anyone who is not ready to explore new places that even the local population is unaware of . Anyone from any religion is welcome to join us . For some people this tour would be about religion and prayers, and for some its exploring a new religion and for others it’s  a experiencing new traditions and values.

The tour guide  will be me ,  Dr.Gitanjali Azariah Thelen. I am an Indian living in Switzerland . I am a doctor who is specialized in Siddha Medicine. I have spent many years doing research on Siddha medicine , finding places and learning new things about Siddha and Hinduism . I started doing tours to spread my knowledge about the mysteries behind Hinduism and Siddha Medicine.

At the end of the tour , the group would have been exposed to the Asian way of life, culture, spiritual beliefs and attitudes, food, climate and society.If you have travelled around India, this tour will definitely be a different experience exploring the spiritual ways of life and if you have never been to India, this tour will be an unforgettable experience.

HINDUISM AND TEMPLES

Hinduism  is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. With its foundations in the Vedic civilization, it has no known founder, being itself a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. It is considered the world's "oldest extant religion", and the temples scattered over the Indian subcontinent are the sacred worship places of the Hindus.

Hindu Temples is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A temple, technically speaking, is not a “house of the gods” but a diagram that linked the geometries of heaven and earth, it was also indicative of a dwelling place of a god or gods. This tradition, of course, dates back to prehistoric times. The word ‘temple’ dates to about the 6th century B.C.A temple is usually dedicated to one primary deity, called the presiding deity, and other subordinate deities associated with the main deity. However, some temples are dedicated to several deities.

The main focus of temple architecture in Vedic India was to blend the temple with its natural surroundings. A major consequence of this style of temple design, was the construction of several cave temples across the Indian subcontinent. The 5th century caves of Ellora are one of the most magnificent example of Indian rock cut architecture in the world. Most of the early Hindu cave temples were carved out of a single large rock. A prominent feature of these cave temples was the elaborate sculptures of various Hindu deities.

By the 10^th Century, stylized pyramids became a crucial component of Hindu temples. These pyramids represented sacred Himalayan mountain peaks. It was during this period, that two major styles of temple architecture: the Dravidian-style and the Naagra-style developed. While Dravidian-style temples featured stepped pyramids, the Naagra-style temples featured slightly curved pyramids. Most of the temples in southern India follow Dravidian style of temple architecture. The gopuram is a distinctive temple tower and is an integral part of all Dravdian-style temples. Gopuram or gopura, a prominent feature of the Hindu temple architecture of South India, is the rising tower at the entrance of a temple. Gopurams are exquisitely decorated with sculpture and carvings and painted with a variety of themes derived from the Hindu mythology, particularly those associated with the presiding deity of the temple of which a particular gopuram is.

Most priests take elaborate measures to maintain mental and physical purity of the temple. While most devotees cannot maintain such regimens, there are some basic rules that must be followed in all Hindu temples:

1.Anybody entering the temple must be barefooted. People usually leave their footwear in stalls dedicated to the purpose,the stalls can found near the temple.

2.Wear appropriate clothing.

3.Photography of the images is prohibited.

4.Some areas of the temple are accessible only to hindus,

5.The garbhagriha,where the image of worship is kept, is accessible to the priest only.

6.One should also avoid talking loudly,like in other places of worship.

7.And devotees usually sit down for a minute or two after near the entrance of the temple after they finish praying.