Nava means 9. Nava Thirupathi means 9 temples of Lord Vishnu. All these nine temples are located near the famous Lord Muruga's Thiruchendur Temple. Nava Thirupathi temples are located on either side of the river Tamirabarani. Nearest famous town is Trinelveli(Thirunelveli) in Tamil Nadu. The distance between Trinelvel and Trichendur is around 50 KMs. Some of the Nava Thirupathi temples are reacheable by private vehicles like car only. It may take around 6 hrs to visit all these Nava Thirupathi temples and Thiruchendur. Usually not much of crowd will be there in these temples, so there is no need to wait in long queues to have darshan. Whereas, at Thiruchendur temple, people from across the state visit regularly, so one may have to wait for 2 to 3hrs to have dharshan of Lord Subramaniya. Special dharshan tickets are available for speedy dharshan. Each ticket may cost around Rs. 100 (around 2 dollars).
The tourists to Nava Thirupathi, should start early in the morning from Trinelveli like 6 a.m. Some of the temples are closed in between like 11 a.m itself. So, the cab drivers who are familiar with the dharshan timings should be hired. The trip may involve some forward and reverse direction travel to adjust as per the temple timings.
It is advisable to carry plenty of drinking water and some food as there are no proper restaurants at these Nava Thirupathi locations except at Sri Vaigundam, where there two to three small food outlets. Lunch may be planned at Thiruchendur where there are bigger restaurants with AC. If required to stay, one can avail lodging facilities at Thiruchendur.
