Kanchipuram
This golden city of a Thousand Temples is
one of the seven most sacred cities of India. Kanchi is also called
the “Varanasi of the South” and is held in great reverence.
Kanchi is also famous for its finest hand-woven silk fabrics and
saris. Its famous temples are: Kailashnath Temple, Ekanibareshwara
Temple, Sri Kamakshi Temple, Sri Vaikuntaperumal Temple and Sri
Vardaraja Temple. Kanchi or Kanchipuram is connected with Chennai
both by rail and road. The State Tourism Development Corporation
runs many conducted tours from Madras.
Pondicherry
A former French Enclave and a provincial
town, Pondicherry is a Union Territory. The chief attraction here
is Aurobindo Ashram. Sri Aurobindo, a revolutionary, patriot,
philosopher and a great humanist established this Ashram in 1926,
following his political trial by the British. He wrote many books,
the chief being The Life Divine and Savitri. He died in 1950 and
then the Ashram was under the guidance of a French Woman called
the “Mothe She also died in 1973 at a very mature age of
97. The Ashram and the Smadhi where the mortal remains of Sri
Aurobindo and the Mother lie can be visited between 10.30 AM and
11.45 AM. Nearby is Auroville, designed by the French Architect
Roger Auger. It is an International Community Centre, founded
by the Mother in 1968. The Pondicherry Express is the direct train
from Madras, which takes 5 hours to cover 159 kms. distance. By
road Pondicherry is 160 kms. from Madras and there is regular
bus service. There are good guest houses but the best place to
stay here is the Ashram, International Guest House, Gingy Salai
Steet.
Ooty
Ootacummund, or Ooty for short is the hill
resort of Tamilnadu but it is easily accessible from Bangalore
or Mysore. It is a beauty will all modern facilities and salubrious
climate.
Tiruchirapalli
One of the most famous temple town of Tamilnadu,
also called Tiruchi, this is the fourth largest town of Tamilnadu.
The important temples are Rock Fort& Temple, Ranganathswamy
Temple and Jambukeshwaram Temple. Tiruchi is linked with Madras
by air, rail and road and has many good hotels for visitors’
stay.
Tanjavur
Also called Tanjore, this town is the ‘Art
Capital of South India’. The bronzes made here are still
the best and in January every year a great music festival is held
where in master musician of Karnatak Music assemble here. The
temple, fort and the palaces of Tanjore have been a silent witness
to the great cultural and artistic awakening that it once experienced.
The important spots here are: Brilfadeshwara Temple, the Palace
and the Art Gallery. Tanjore is well-connected with Chennai, Trichy
and Madurai with trains and buses. Trichy (58 kms. away) is the
nearest airport. There are many good lodges and tourist bungalow
to provide accommodation to the visitors.
Madurai
Madurai is also one of the ancient most cities
of India and renowned for its Meenakshi Temple. The temple, measuring
255 metres by 217 meters and punctuated by four gateways, it itself
a city within city. There are two main shrines, one dedicated
to Meenakshi Amman (Parvati) and other to Shiva Sundareshwara,
her lord. To the left of Meenakshi Shrine is the Golden Lotus
Pool, surrounded by colonnade where the pilgrimes baths and do
ablutions. Then there is a thousand pillard hail, an architectural
and engineering marvel. Madurai is also a city of festivals and
festivities. The biggest of the festivals held here is the Chitrai
Festival (March-April) celebrating Lord Shiva’s marriage
to Meenakshi. Madurai is very well connected with Madras by air,
rail and road routes. There are scores of good hotels and lodges.
Rameshwaram
About 160 kms. from Madurai, Rameshwaram,
is situated on an island in the Palk Straits. This sacred island
is the site where Lord Rama erected lingam after killing the demon
Ravana. It is a great pilgrimage centre. The most important temples
here are Ramnath Swamy Temple and Kothandara Swamy Temple, both
mainly dedicated to Lord Rama.
This holy island is connected with the main land only by rail
so far but a road bridge is also likely to be ready. From Chennai
it takes 17 hours to reach here by train. But the journey is quite
fascinating as it offers fine view of the sea. There are many
goods hotels, guest houses and lodges besides the Railway Retiring
Rooms for visitor’s stay.
Kanyakumari
This is India’s Land’s End,
the tip of peninsular India where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian
Ocean and the Arabian Sea meet. There is a temple dedicated to
Kanyakumari, one of the incarnations of Parvati, the consort of
Shiva. Off shore there are two huge rocks where Vivekananda once
meditated. One of them has now the Viveknanda Rock Memorial with
the
Swami’s statue, built in 1970. Trivandrum (Kerala) is the
nearest (87 kms.) railhead, Buses are also available from Chennai.
There arc good hotels also.
