Head to Thalaimalai

Ever seen a hillock that perfectly resembles a human head looking at the sky? S Shivashankar tells you how to get there

The Thalaimalai hillock in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu is exactly midway between Salem and Trichy Main Road. If you look sidewards, it looks like a human head with a forehead, eye orbits, nose, lips, mouth, chin and throat area. It perfectly resembles the human head looking at the sky.

The hill is known as Thalaimalai as Thalai in Tamil means head and Malai means hill. Mythological belief is that Hanuman lifted the huge hill from the Himalayan ranges as he was unable to identify the Sanjeevini herb to treat Lord Rama. After Lord Rama regained consciousness he advised Hanuman to relocate the hill to its original place so that people in that region would not miss countless herbs which they were using as medicines.

Hanuman thought for a while and used his tail and tried to throw the hill back into the Himalayan ranges. While doing so, a portion of the hill broke and fell at this place. The portion was believed to be the head of hills. To support the belief, we can observe two parallel lines around the hills which are like the marks of Hanuman’s tail. The location of those two parallel lines are found in such a place where human intervention is not possible.

There are no motorable roads till the top. However, there are buses to the foothill and the roads are reasonably good. Pilgrims of all ages climb the hill by foot.

It is quite a trek as it takes 3-5 hours to reach the top of the hill. Petty shops selling snacks, coffee and tea are lined up till the top of the hill. On Saturdays and Sundays, there are more shops as the number of pilgrims are also more.

The auspicious period is August and September when temple festivals and fairs are performed. A Venkateshwara Temple, known as Thalaimalai Rayan, is located at the top of the hill.