Tamilnadu Travel Guide

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Tamil Nadu is bounded by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the north and Kerala in the west. The coastal eastern and southern boundaries are lapped by the waters of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean respectively. The eastern and western tips of the state are defined by the Point Calimere and Mudumalai wildlife sanctuaries while the northern extreme is Pulicat lake and the southernmost tip is Cape Comorin or Kanniyakumari - the Land's End of India.

Getting There:
By Air :
The Anna International Airport, 16 km south of Chennai, has flights to/from Sri Lanka, Dubai, Germany, Jakarta, Malaysia, England, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. Most major Indian cities are also connected to Chennai by regular domestic flights.
By Rail :
The railway station at Chennai has connecting trains to/from all major cities in India.
By Road :
The entire state is connected through an extensive network of metalled roads. Ferry services are also available in Chennai. touristplacesinindia can arrange for all local transport during your visit to any of the cities of Tamil Nadu.

Fast Fact:
Area : 1,30,058 sq km
Population: 55.8 Million
Languages : Tamil, English
Religion : Hinduism (88.67%), Islam (5.46%), Others (5.87%)
Capital : Chennai
Best Time To Visit : October To March
Major Cities: Chennai, Coimbatore, Kanniyakumari, Kodaikkanal, Madurai, Rameshwaram, Thanjavur, Thiruvannamalai, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Udhagamandalam

Tourist Attractions:
Chennai:
Chennai, the present gateway to the South of India, is, however, only about 350 years old. Chennai is ever growing, changing and pulsating with new activities. The city of today, one of the great metropolitan cities of the world, and the fourth largest city in India, grew from the Fort that Francis Day and his superior Andrew Cogan of East India Company built on a narrow spit of no-man's land that Day's dubash Beri Thimanna negotiated with the local governor of the Vijayangar Empire.

Rameswaram:
Rameswaram, on the long spit of land reaching towards Sri Lanka, and Kanyakumari, at India's southern tip (the auspicious meeting point of the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea) are both important pilgrimage centers, with the added attraction of welcome cool breezes and vistas over the sea.Rameswaram known as the Varanasi of the south, Rameswaram is a major pilgrimage centre for both Shaivites and Vaishnavaites as it was here that Rama ( an incarnation of Vishnu in the Indian epic the Ramayana ) offered thanks to Siva.

Thousand Lights Mosque :
Close to the Anna flyover on Mount Road lies this mosque on 3 acres of land. Renovated a couple of times this century, it has two tall minarets and a separate place of worship for women. On Mount Rd.

Coimbatore:
Coimbatore is an industrial town in Tamil Nadu noted for its many cotton and silk factories. It also functions as a gateway airport for the hill stations Ootacamund and Conoor. This is a traditional city of temples and worship of beauty and peace. Here one can visit the Botanical Gardens and Lord Murgan’s birth place. A short distance away is beautiful hill station – Conoor, Lady Caning Seat, Sim’s Park, Pasteur Institute, Tiger Hill, Walker Hill, Love Dale and Lamb’s Rock.

San Thome Cathedral Basilica
San Thome at the southern end of Marina derives its name from St Thomas, the apostle of Christ who is believed to have come to Madras sometime during 52 AD. He was killed on St Thomas Mount just outside the city in 78 AD. and was interned in San Thome beach where a church was later built. Several years later, another church was built further inland and his mortal remains were transferred from the old church to the new one. In 1606 the church was rebuilt as a cathedral and in 1896 it was made a basilica. The beautiful stained glass window at the basilica portrays the story of St Thomas and the central hall has 14 wooden plaques depicting scenes from the last days of Christ. In the cathedral is a 3ft. high statue of Virgin Mary which is believed to have been brought from Portugal in 1543.
On the southern end of Marina Beach

Madurai:
Madurai, the cultural capital and second largest city of Tamil Nadu derives its name from the ‘Madhu’ (divine nectar) showered from the locks of Lord Shiva. The temple city of Madurai is situated on the banks of the River Vaigai. It is an important pilgrimage center too. The 985 beautiful pillared Meenakshi Amman Temple is the center attraction of Madurai. The city is also renowned for its textile mills, engineering industries and large university areas.

Big Mosque
Hidden behind the modern buildings on Triplicane High Road, this renowned place of worship for muslims, built in 1795, is a marvellous granite structure. On Triplicane High Rd.

Velankanni Church
This church is in honour of Our Lady of Health, the Madonna of Velankanni. Smaller in scale than the original one at Velankanni (near Nagapattinam) the devoted believe in the miraculous curative powers of the Madonna.
Elliots Beach, Chennai-90