Aathanad is a mountain situated in Vallanghy, Nemmara, Palakkad, Kerala. It is famous for the Ayyappa temple on the top of the mountain. The annual festival will be held here on the Malayalam month of Dhanu 9 or (December 24). People from different places will come here to hire this mountain to get blessed.

From the top of the Aathanadu mountain we get a great view of the Vallanghy, Nemmara towns, Pothundi Dam, Nelliyampathy hills and the green carpet of paddy fields which makes Palakkad “the granary of Kerala”. The mountain hiring gives a good experience.

Nellikulangara temple is situated in the valley of this Aathanad, where the famous Vallanghy-Nenmara Vela is celebrated every year. The annual Vela festival, celebrated by Nemmara and Vallangi villages after the paddy harvest, is famous for its display of fireworks and caparisoned elephants. This is the “Festival of Colours, Art forms, Fireworks, Elephants”. Panchavadyam, Pandi Melam are the cultural art forms of Kerala which are performed here with the best players of the state. Each desom will make large infrastructure called ‘anapanthal’, using bamboo and wood and will be electrified using small bulbs which adds more beauty to the festival. The finest elephants of Kerala will join in the procession in two sides. The caparisoned elephants from two desoms will come to Nellikulangara temple to meet Nellikulangara Bhagavathy. The fireworks are one of the major attractions of the festival, which holds the best place among other festivals in Kerala. This festival is like a competition between the two desoms, Vallanghy and Nemmara, and that makes the spirit of the Vela festival. The people from different states and also from other countries come here to enjoy the fantasy of the festival.

Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aathanad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nenmara_Vallanghy_Vela