Mannanam

Mannanam is a historically important place in Kottayam seats of the first seminary of Malabar Church, first Catholic Sanskrit school and first printing press.

Mannanam is a pilgrim spot near Kottayam famous for the blessed father Kuriakose Elias Chavara, an educator and social reformer. A lot of people visit the church to seek blessings from the blessed Father Chavara. In addition to its association with Father Chavara, Mannanam is also the base of the first seminary of the Malabar Church.

There are many sacred temples, churches and mosques in Kerala in addition to its striking tourist attractions. Some churches and temples in the state have been blessed with remarkable fame and devotees have visited these sacred places with blind faith. Mannanam is such a sacred place and travellers who come to Kerala for holidays love to pay a visit to Mannanam.

As mentioned above, Mannanam is the headquarters of the first seminary of the Malabar Church which established in 1833. Besides, Mannanam is also famous as the first Sanskrit Catholic School that came into being in 1846. CMS Press, the first private printing press in the state also started in this place in 1846 by Rev. Benjamin Bailey.

Another reason for the popularity for Mannanam is that the first Malayalam daily newspaper, Deepika started from here. With so many striking features, Mannanam is among the most popular places in the state. If you are interested to know the rich church history of Kerala, it is worth visiting Mannanam. The Chavara Art Museum of this sacred place maintains a tremendous repertory of the Kerala churches.

You can take a boat cruise from Kochi if you would like to visit Mannanam. Cochin International Airport is the nearest airport to this tourist spot which is nearly 83 kilometers away. The nearest Kottayam railway station is approximately 11 kilometers from Mannanam. With so many transport facilities, it will not be a problem for the travelers to reach Mannanam to visit the Chavara Church and offer prayers to the Blessed Father Chavara.

Even though there are plenty of buses and other vehicle service available, many tourists to Kerala prefer to take houseboat cruise to reach Mannanam. It provides them an excellent chance to enjoy the natural beauty of the state. Besides, they can fulfill the dream of enjoying backwater cruises while choosing this option to reach Mannanam.