Bharananganam

Bharananganam is an important pilgrimage center in South India which is located near Pala in the Kottayam district of Kerala. The place has become a major pilgrimage tourist destination after the canonization of Sr. Alphonsa, the first native woman saint of India, by the Pope at the Vatican. The mortal remains of Saint Alphonsa are preserved in a chapel next to St. Mary’s Church, which is a thousand-year-old Syro-Malabar Catholic Church that traces its origin to the visit of St. Thomas to Kerala to preach the Gospel.

St. Alphonsa lived as a simple Clarist nun in the Franciscan Clarist convent at Bharananganam, and her extraordinary power of intercession before Lord Jesus Christ has made her dear to everyone. The important festival celebrated in Bharananganam is the death anniversary of St. Alphonsa held on July 28 every year. Bharananganam and its surrounding places are hilly areas with a lot of vegetation. Barananganam is also popular for the Sree Krishnaswami Temple and Assisi Ashram.

Bharananganam can be reached by driving 32 kilometers from Kottayam, which takes around 30 minutes. The nearest railway station near Bharananganam is Pala which is located 5 kilometers away and the closest airport is Cochin International Airport which is located 76 kilometers away. There are public transport buses available to take and one can hire a taxi or autorickshaw to reach this place.

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