Mallikarjuna Temple
Lies in the heart of town near taluk office, Mallikarjuna Temple is one among the most important and oldest temples in Kasargod, devoted to Lord Shiva known by the name Mallikarjuna. Legend says that the idol of Lord Shiva in the temples was adorned by Arjuna. The annual five day long temple festival falls in the Malayalam month Meenam (March/ April) attracts huge crowds. During the festival days several cultural programmes are performed in the temple courtyard . The main highlight is the yakshagana which is performed on the concluding evening and the show goes on till daybreak. Payasam ( a sweet dish cooked with rice and jaggery) is the main offering here.

Kizhur Sastha Temple
Kizhur Sastha Temple is an ancient temple located near the Chandragiri fort which is about 6kms away from Kasargod town. The temple is renowned for its annual festival called Pattu Utsavam held in the month of November. Live performance of professional singers are conducted as a part of the festival to praise the greatness of the deity.  

Ananthapura Lake Temple
Situated at Kumbla, 12kms north east of Kasargod, Ananthapura Lake temple is the only lake temple in Kerala. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Ananthapadmanabha), this 9th century temple is considered to be the original abode ( Moolasthanam) of Vishnu and the idol of the deity is in sitting posture. The temple is positioned in the middle of a picturesque Ananthapura lake and its sanctum sanctorum can be reached by a foot-bridge built across the lake. The outer walls of the sanctorum have beautiful mural paintings depicting scenes from the vedas. On the north eastern corner of the lake there is a large cave with a small pit that holds water perennially.

A crocodile named 'Babia' is said to inhabit the lake which is supposed to be the guard of the temple and the interesting fact it that when one dies, another mysteriously takes its place. Every day after the ucchapooja (noon worship) , babia is fed with the prasad (a kind of gruel made of rice and jaggery) offered by the devotees to the deity. The annual festival is celebrated in the second fortnight of April. The temple is open to all devotees regardless of caste or creed.

Sree Mahalingeswara Temple, Adoor
Mahalingeshwara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is located in the scenic village of Adoor, 45 kms east of Kasargod. This 13th century temple on the southern bank of river Payaswini is believed to have been founded by Arjuna, the mythical Pandava archer. Legend has it that it is at Adoor where 'Kiratha Yudham', the battle between Lord Siva and Arjuna took place. The walls of the temple is adorned with colourful paintings of Ganapati and Sashta and the roofs are exquisitely carved with the scenes from holy scripts. The transliterated inscription of Sanskrit in Kannada script in the temple shows that it is someway related to the Western Chalukya King Kirthivarman II of 745-755 AD.

The annual festival of the temple is celebrated in the month of February/ March. The festival that lasts for a week, commence with the temple flag hoisting (Dhwaja Arohanam) on the 27th of Kumbham and concludes with the holy dip (Avabhritha Snanam) in the water of Payaswini on the 4th of Meenam. During the festive days, Kathakali and other theatrical performances are staged. Makara Samkramam is another important festival celebrated here with much zeal. According to the mythology, a Harijan, discovered the Shiva lingam while he was on his way to his work. Makara Samkramam is held to commemorate that event and on this day Sahasra Kumbha Abhishekam and feeding of the poor and the needy people are held. 

Madiyam Kovilakam (Koolam) Temple, Ajanur
Situated at Ajanur at a distance of 5kms from Kanhangad, the Madiyam Kovilakam temple is the abode of Goddess Bhadrakali. Apart from the main deity, the temple contains other deities like Kshetrapalan, Bhagavathi and Bhairavan. This ancient temple has intricate wood carvings on Palazhimadhanam, Sitaswayamvaram and Dakshayagam. Here, the morning and the evening pooja's (worship) are held by a sect called Maniyanis while the noon poojas are performed by Brahmin priests.

The temple festivals namely 'Kalasam' and 'Pattulsavam' are celebrated respectively in the months of Edavam (May/ June) and Dhanu (December/ January). Among the two festivals, the nine day long pattutsavam is the most important. The major attraction of these festival is the Theyyam performance. Various cultural and religious programmes, grant procession, fire works displays are also held as a part of the festival. 

Madhur Anantheswara Vinayaka Temple
The imposing structure of Madhur Ananteshwara Vinayaka Temple locally called Madhur Temple on the banks of Madhuvahini river is a Shiva temple with Ananteshwara as its presiding deity. Located 8kms north east of Kasargod, it is the most renowned one among the four temples built by the Mypadi kings of Kumbla around the 10th century. The temple was renovated in the 15th century and was built in a distinctive style in a three storied oval structure adorned with copper plate roofing. The unique architectural style make this temple different from other shrines which is noted for its archaeological value.

Though devoted to Lord Shiva, equal importance is given to the deity of Maha Ganapathi (Vinayaka). The idols of Shiva and Vinayaka are installed in mukhamandapam and sukasanas. The Shivalingam of the temple is said to be founded by a harijan woman, Madharu. The ceilings of the namaskara mandapam (praying hall) are exquisitely carved, depicting scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata and the interior as well as the outside facade of the second and third storey of the main building are profuse with beautiful wood carvings.

The annual festival is celebrated for 7 days in the month of March/ April. During the festival, the presiding deity is taken out on a grand procession accompanied with folk dance and music. A special festival named Moodappa Seva is also celebrated here which is held once in many years and records says during the last 40 years, this festival has been held only thrice. During this festival, the giant figure of Ganapathi is covered with appam (a delicacy made of ghee and rice). The sacred thirtham (water) of the temple pond is said to possess spiritual power to cure all diseases.

Trikkanad Sree Thrayambakeshwara Temple
Devoted to Lord Shiva, Trikkanad temple popularly known as Dhakshina Kashi is located on the shores of Arabian sea, about 1km from Bekal. It is one of the most important Shiva temple and the only one in the district which faces to the west. It is the sacred place blessed by the presence of great sages and swamis. The temple is known for its various customs and rituals performed for the well - being of the souls of the dead. On the new moon days, thousands of devotees flock to this temple to pay homage to their forefathers (pithrutharpanam) with idols made from gold and silver. They perform rituals and take a dip in the sea. 

The annual temple festival that lasts for one week is held in the month of March- April. The festival starts with the Kodiyettam (flag hoisting). The festival celebrations include performances of Theyyam and Thitambu Nritham, a ritual art form of North Kerala more than 700 years old. It is mainly performed by Namboothiris of this part of Kerala. Ashtami Villakku and Pallivetta are the two rituals associated with the festival. Pallivetta or the hunting expedition of the Lord takes place on the last day of the festival. This hunt is symbolic of the destruction of Kama (desire), Krodha (anger) and other such evils that plague us in our life. Thousand of devotees from all over the district attend the festival. 

It is a unique temple where unlike in other temples, Shiveli is done thrice a day. (Shiveli is a ritual in which its believed that Lord Himself comes out of the temple to see whether His Boothaganams are satisfied with the Pooja offered;). Another interesting aspect is that this is one of those very rare temples with its face to the west.

The tourist spot named Pandian Kallu is just 2kms away from this temple. 

Palakkunu Bhagavathy Kshetram
Belongs to the Thiyya community, Palakkunnu Bhagavathy Temple is located 1km north of Trikkannad (about 13 kms from Kasargod) on Kasargod - Kanhangad road. The presiding deity of Goddess Bhagavathy is known by the names Mootha Bhagavathy and Kurumba Bhagavathy. Apart from the Gods and Goddesses like Iliya Bhagavathy, Dhandan, Ghandakarnam, Vishnu Moorthy and Gulikan, several sub deities are also enshrined in the temple. The temple has close connection with the Trikkannad temple.

A large number of festivals are celebrated in the kshetram namely Bharani Maholsavam (March), Maruputhari Festival (December-January), Kalam Kanippu Maholsavam (January) and Poorolsavam (March-April). Of these festivals, Bharani Maholsavam is the most important.

Sree Gopala Krishna Temple
One of the oldest temple in Kerala with Santhanagopalakrishna as the presiding deity, the famous Sree Gopalakrishna temple lies at a distance of 12kms north of Kasargod in Kumbla. Believed to be 400 years old, this temple has been built in honour of Lord Krishna who had destroyed the demon Kamsha to the relief of mankind. The temple belongs to Bhakta family and the idol of the deity is seen holding a baby in the hands as if to be handed over to the devotee. Apart from the main deity, the temple also houses deities of Benne Krishna, Kalingamardana, Hanuman, Garuda and Mahaganapati.

The annual temple festival which last for 7 days is held during the month of January and this colourful event is attended by thousands of devotees from across the country. The major attraction of the festival is the folk opera Yakshagana, held during the festival nights. 

Shrimath Anantheshwar Temple
Located at Manjeswaram (15kms from the town), Shrimath Anantheshwar Temple traditionally renowned as Manjula Kshetra is the most ancient temple of Gowda Saraswat Brahmins, enclosed between hills on three sides and river Manjeswar on the other side. Dates back to 2nd century, the uniqueness of the temple is that it has three presiding deities, i.e Anantheshwara (Lord Shiva), Bhadra Narasimha (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu) and Lord Subramanya in the same sanctum sanctorum. The image of Shiva is believed to be an 'Udbhava' or 'Swayambhoo' (Self emergent) and the image of Narasimha is made of Panchaloha (five metals). Another specialty of the temple is the ant hill called 'Rohini' inside the sanctorum. Besides the main deities, other idols enshrined here are Lord Mukhyaprana, Lord Rudra, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Ganesh and Lord Garuda. To the right of the temple there is a sacred pond and it is believed that a dip in this sesha tirtham will cure the leprosy patients. 

Manjeshwar Shashti, the main temple festival falls on the sixth day of the month of 'Margshirha' (November- December), is celebrated as the annual Chariot Festival. On this day, the six wheeled chariot called Brahma Ratha decorated with flowers and flags is drawn along the street by thousands of devotees. Built in 1834, the ratha with a girth of 53 feet and a square base of 17 feet is a magnificent wooden edifice adorned with carved figures and when decorated, the girth raises to a height of 71 feet. Lord's idol is placed above the square base and the devotees pull the chariot with shouts of Govinda-Govinda. The chariot can accommodate around 50 to 60 persons.

The temple runs a full - fledged high school, an elementary school, a nursery school, a free boarding house. On every Saturday, as a part of charities, rice is distributed among the Harijans.
Contact :
Srimath Anantheshwar Temple
Manjeshwar -671 323
Phone : (04998) 272221 274477
E-mail : Contact I , Contact II