Elephant Sanctuary (Punnathur Kotta)

Location

Elephant Camp in the Punnathur Kotta is the largest elephant sanctuary in India. At present it has more than 60 elephants. All these elephants are offered to Guruvayur temple by the devotees of Guruvayurappan. This elephant sanctuary is a specimen example elephant love and preservation.

This elephant camp has produced many renowned elephants like Guruvayur Kesavan and Guruvayur Padmanabhan. The elephants are well treated in this camp. These elephants are used to carry Guruvayur temple idols in the procession known as Shiveli.

The elephants in the elephant camp will participate in an elephant race in the temple to determine who will carry the Guruvayurappan Idol during the festival. Anayottam (Elephant Race) attracts thousands of tourists to this place. The Camp is open to public from 9am to 5pm. Nominal entrance fee is charged.