Thrissur Pooram From Kochi: What Happens, When, and Where to Stand
Thrissur Pooram falls on the Pooram star in Medam (April or May). The schedule, where to stand for Kudamattam and the melam, and how to go from Kochi.
Thrissur Pooram is held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur on the day the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam month of Medam, which lands in April or May. The big day runs from about 7am to the fireworks before dawn the next morning, with the Kudamattam, the face-off of elephants and parasols, in the early evening. From Kochi it is a comfortable day trip: go by train or bus, not by car, because vehicle restrictions close in around the temple during festival hours.
- Where is Thrissur Pooram located?
- What are the timings for Thrissur Pooram?
- Where should you stand?
- How can I travel from Kochi to Thrissur?
- Pooram dates and the 2026 edition
Where is Thrissur Pooram located?
Everything centres on the Vadakkunnathan Temple and the Thekkinkadu Maidan, the open ground around it, which Swaraj Round encircles. Pooram is a contest between two sides, the Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady temples, each bringing its own elephants, percussion and parasols to Vadakkunnathan. The festival was started by Sakthan Thampuran, Maharaja of Cochin, with Wikipedia dating it to 1796, and it has more than 50 elephants in all. Thrissur district's collector expected 18 to 20 lakh people for the 2025 edition, so be clear-eyed: this is a crowd you join, not one you watch from the edge.
What are the timings for Thrissur Pooram?
The table below combines Onmanorama's running order for the 2026 edition with details from Wikipedia, as marked. Expect it to shift by minutes, not hours, in other years.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 7am | Pooram purappadu, the processions set out |
| 11.30am to 2.30pm | Madathil Varavu, which Wikipedia describes as Thiruvambady's panchavadyam |
| Afternoon | Ilanjithara Melam inside the Vadakkunnathan temple (Wikipedia gives 2pm); Onmanorama lists Pandimelam at 2.45pm |
| 6pm to 7pm | Kudamattam, best seen from either side of the southern entrance |
| 11.30pm | Night procession |
| 3am | Main fireworks |
| Next day, 12.30pm | Upacharam cholli piriyal, the farewell of the deities; Wikipedia notes daytime fireworks follow it |
The Kudamattam is the image everyone knows: 15 caparisoned elephants from each side face each other while the men on top swap ornate parasols in rapid succession. The Ilanjithara Melam is the one the purists come for, a percussion ensemble of drums, trumpets, pipes and cymbals that builds for hours. The festival itself begins with flag hoisting seven days earlier, and a sample fireworks show is held in the days before Pooram.
Where should you stand?
- Morning: the southern entrance, the thekke gopura nada, of Vadakkunnathan.
- Percussion: the Naduvilaal point on Swaraj Round, or the Ilanjithara point inside the temple courtyard.
- Kudamattam: either side of the southern entrance.
- Women: Onmanorama's guide points to a Pink Police point near the banyan tree at the southern entrance.
Our honest advice: pick two events, not all of them. Doing the melam in the afternoon and the Kudamattam in the evening is a full and exhausting day in April heat, and very few people who try to stay for the 3am fireworks enjoy the last six hours.
How can I travel from Kochi to Thrissur?
Train is the easiest, because a train dodges the road closures entirely. Buses work too. Our Kochi to Thrissur train vs bus vs car guide compares the options in detail. Hotels near the venue get expensive at Pooram time, which is another reason a day trip from Kochi beats an overnight stay unless you want the fireworks. If you are making a weekend of it, Guruvayur is about 26km from Thrissur.
Pooram dates and the 2026 edition
Because Pooram follows the Malayalam star calendar, there is no fixed Gregorian date; check each year's announcement before booking. The one dated note in this guide:
- 2026: Pooram day was 26 April. After an explosion at a fireworks manufacturing unit in Mundathikode, Thrissur, killed 14 people days before the festival, the fireworks, including the daytime display, were cancelled and the Kudamattam was scaled down to about 15 minutes.
Other festivals worth planning around are in our Kochi festivals calendar and Things To Do.
Written By
Haila Kochi Editorial Team
Part of the Haila Kochi editorial team, covering the food, business, lifestyle, and people that make Kochi what it is.
