Tamil Nadu Tourism
Tamil Nadu is one of the major tourist attractions situated in the Southern region of India. Tamil Nadu is famous for its fascinating cultural heritage, wonderful temples and colonial structures, enchanting beaches and hill stations, and the last but not least for its amazing wildlife, Tamil Nadu is the land of varied beauty and a wonderful tourist’s destination to be in. This place features a vast range of flora and fauna, enchanting hill stations, famous Hindu Temples featuring Dravidian architecture, exotic beaches and various pilgrimage sites. Tamil Nadu is located on a long coastline of the Bay of Bengal. Some of the tourist places are:
- Chennai: Being capital city of Tamil Nadu, this place is also a key access point for the domestic and foreign visitors. With blending of urban planning and ancient traditions, the must see places of Tamil Nadu are Kapaleeshwarar temple, Parthasarathy temple, San Thome Basilica, Fort St. George and Guindy National Park. Chennai is also famous for its beaches including Marina Beach, which one of the famous beaches in India. The other beaches are Edward Elliot’s Beach, Breezy Beaches and Covelong Beach.
- Kanyakumari: This place is famous for its temple called The Kumari Ammani or the Kanyakumari Temple. This temple is located on the shore and dedicated to manifestation of Parvati, the virgin goddess who did penance to obtain Lord Shiva’s hand in marriage. Kanyakumari is the major attraction in Tamil Nadu and famous for its sunrises & sunsets, particularly on full moon days. Vivekananda Rock is the other tourist attraction here. This rock is about a 100 meter high has two Mandaps (halls); one belonging to Swami Vivekananda and the other belonging to a Holy Foot. The Holy Foot is a foot shaped carving found on the rock and is believed to be the footprint of Goddess Kumari who stood on this rock on one leg and performed the Tapasya (penance). The Rock memorial has a tall statue of Swami Vivekananda whose photographs are not allowed to be taken from inside the hall. Below the statue was mentioned the year of death of the Swamiji and the “probable” dates when Swamiji attained Samadhi on the rock. Here you can see both sunrise and sunset and it is one of the main tourist attractions here.
- Rameshwaram: This stunning island is located in the Gulf of Mannar and important pilgrim center of the Hindus. Rameshwaram Temple is the major attraction of this place. As per Indian mythology, Lord Rama is said to have built the mythical bridge to Sri Lanka in order to save Sita, his wife, from the captivity of Ravana.
- Tiruchirappalli: This place is also called Tiruchi or Trichy and it is located on the banks of Kaveri River. Tiruchirappalli is believed to have been named after the three-headed demon Trishira of Hindu mythology who is believed to have indulged in penance and obtained favours at this place. Tiruchirappalli is famous for its temples, monuments, churches and mosques.
- Udhagamandalam: This place is one of the most charming hill stations of South India and one of the top tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu. Udhagamandalam is popularly known as Ooty and has many must see places like Botanical garden, St. Stephen’s Church and Government Museum are some of the must see things at this hill station.
- Beaches: Apart from temples and religious places Tamil Nadu is famous for its Beaches. The Marina Beach is one of the loveliest beaches in India and this beach is called The Pride of Chennai. The other beaches to visit are Kanyakumari Beach, Mahabalipuram Beach, Rameshwaram Beach, Covelong Beach, Muttukaddu Beach and Kurusadai Island.