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The Mangala Devi temple is located in Idukki district which is about 15 km from Thekkady in Kerala. Temple is closer to Gudalur (Tamilnadu) and Kumuli (Kerala). The Temple sits at an altitude of about 1337m above the sea level and it is surrounded by lush greenery and is closed throughout the year except during the Chitra Pournami festival. The complex of the temple is on the top of the Magaladevi Hills facing the Cumbam Valley of Tamilnadu and consists of four shrines of different sizes and orientation confined to a well-defined Prakara with a fairly large sized Gopuradwara.

The temple dates back to the 9th century when the king Kundavarma of Ahepa dynasty was ruling Tulunadu. During Kunduvarma's ruling period there were 2 holy saints of Nath culture named as Machendranatha and Gorakanatha who came from Nepal and reached the place Mangalapura by crossing the river Nethravathi and the place where they corssed the river came to be known as Gorakdandi.

As soon as the King Kundavarma came to know about the two saints he came to meet them by introducing as the king of Tulunadu and he paid the respects and offered them patronage. The two saint requested him to grant them land so that they could build a hermitage and make it a centre for their religious activities under his protection. The ancient history surprised the king and he then came to know that his land was dedicated to mother Mangaladevi. The two saints took the king to the historical sites where all these historical events had taken place and asked the king to dig the place and relieve the linga and the Dharapatra symbolising Mangaladevi and install them in a temple along with Nagaraja for providing protection.


The king with the advice and the guide of two saints built the the temple of Sri Mangaladevi. The temple attained special significance as Mata Mangaladevi granted special favours, especially to maidens, who worshipped the goddess by observing Mangaladharavrata (Swayamvara Parvathi) and got their wish of a suitable husband fulfilled.

The temple which is believed to have been built over a thousand years ago, opens only once in a year on Chitrapournami and the travel to the temple from Kumily, a 15 km stretch inside the forest, is arranged on jeeps and taxis. The name Mangalore is derived from Goddess Mangaladevi and in kannada it is called as Mangalooru and it translates as Mangala - Ooru or Mangala's town. Different types of pujas and rituals are performed by vedic brahmins on a regular basis . Navarathri (dussera) is the time for special pujas performed on all nine days. On 7th day the Goddess Mangaladevi is worshipped as Sharadamba and on the 8th day the goddess is worshipped as Maarikamba.

On the 9th day also known as Mahanavmi where a large number of devotees participate in the Rathothsava. The Mangaladevi temple has a special significance for the maidens.

The maidens who observe Mangala Parvati Vrataha will have their wish of having a suitable match fulfilled and alsoit is known that the couples who celebrate their wedding in this holy place will have a happy married life.

According to the scripture, Parashurama created the land of Dakshina Kannada. Parashurama got this land from the sea by threatening lord Varuna, the king of ocean by his ace and later he pleased Goddess Mangaladevi by his penance and divine performance.

Parashurama as instructed by Goddess Mangaladevi, came to the place where the three rivers converge namely Nethravathi, Kumaradara and Phalguni.

The temple is situated just 3km from Mangalore city (Hampankatta) railway station , and frequent bus service is provided to the temple to take there take. City Bus Nos are: 27, 27A, 29A.. Autorikshaws and taxis are also available for personal transportation.

The temple opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m during the Chitra Pournami festival and at other times tourists can still take the darshan by getting a special letter from the forest department officer.

The different types of seva to be performed are: The Mangala Arathi, Devi Mahatme, Mangala Arathi, Ashtittara Archana, Thrishakti Archana, Kunkukmarchana, Durganamaskara , Karthika Pooja , Pushpanjali Pooja , Thrimadhura Neivedya , Panchamrithabhisheka, Halupayasa , Rudraabhisheka . Vidyaramba, Pushapa Pooja , Thulabhara (Only in Dasara) , Alankara Pooja , Swayamvara parvathi Pooja (At night only), Shree Sathya Narayana Pooja , Silver Palanquin pooja (Only in Dasara), Palanquin Pooja, Nithya Maha Pooja, Sarvalankara Pooja, Maha pooja (Only in Dasara), Sanna Ranga pooja, Durga Homa , Chandika yaga , Dooda Rathostsava.

Nearby tourist places to Mangala Devi Temple Devikulam Idukki Munnar Priyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Other places to visit near mangaladevi temple are Milagres Church, St Aloysius College Chapel, Kadri Manjunatha Temple, Sultan Batheri, Shri Sharavu Mahaganapathi Temple, Kadri Park, Gokarnath Temple, Idgah Maidan Mosque, Holy Rosary Church or Rosario Cathedral, Kudroli Gokarnath Temple.

• As the temple is situated just 3 km distance from heart of the Mangalore city (Hampankatta), availability of frequent buses make it convenient to reach temple. For various independent and convenient travel plenty of auto-rickshaws also available nearby to the city and even near to the temple place.


• Through airways the Mangalore Bajpe airport is located nearly 10 km away from the heart of the city. Mangalore airport is connected to many cities in India. Regular flights are available from Mangalore to Bangalore and Chennai. Taxi services are available from airport to city costing about Rs 200.



• Through railways -the city of Mangalore is a major rail junction in Southern railway of India. The city is well connected to all major cities in India. Regular train services are there from Mangalore to Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore and Trivandrum


• Through roadways -the facility of KSRTC buses of Kerala and Karnataka connect all major cities in Kerala and Karnataka with Mangalore. Volvo bus services are available from Mangalore to Bangalore, Chennai and Trivandrum.