Tamil Nadu Tourism - Madurai

Madurai is the second largest city of the state of Tamil Nadu and is one of the oldest temple cities of South India. It famous for its temples, especially for the celebrated Meenakshi Temple. It is situated on the banks of river Vaigai, it derives its name from the divine nectar (Madhu) that was showered from the locks of Lord Shiva according to a popular legend. The city has a rich cultural heritage which it has inherited from the great Tamil era, which is more than 2500 years old. Once the capital of the great Pandya kings, Madurai was an important cultural and commercial center even as early as 550 AD.

Madurai is a centre of learning and pilgrimage. There are several tourist attractions in and around the city. Today, Madurai is a well-known producer of some of the finest textiles in India and some of the best harvests of jasmine flowers. The city of Madurai is also mentioned in Megasthenes' Indica. He was an ancient Greek diplomat and envoy to India in the 3rd century BC, who wrote praises about this temple city. Madurai's glory reached its peak, during the reign of the Cholas and then during the Pandyas' regime in the 13th century.









¤ Tourist Attractions of Madurai

* Alagar Koil
Alagar Koil is a beautiful temple situated in the north east of Madurai. The temple is the abode of Lord Vishnu and is the sacred place for several followers of Lord Vishnu in the region. It is situated in the Alagar hills and is also known as Azhagarkovil. The statue of the lord is made of stone and is a great masterpiece created from kallalgar. Several different statues in different postures of the Lord are all kept in the temple under the same roof and is the best form of distinct temples in southern India. The people of the region consider Lord Vishnu to be a wonderful king or ruler of the earth and offer holy prayers from the bottom of the heart. The temple has wonderful halls and other facilities to perform different rituals with sacred mantras in the holy environment.

* Gandhi Museum
Gandhi museum is a great master piece in Southern India and it has great historical background and mythology in its background. There are several Gandhi museums across the nation and the Gandhi museum of the southen India is basically a Tamukkam bungalow which means summer house in Tamil, which is the local language of the place. The museum is square in share and created at the height of 5 metres from the ground level and it has a wonderful dome in the centre which is about 7 metres diagonally. It was constructed by Nayak Queen Rani in the earlier 1700 AD. Great cost was incurred in establishing the museum and it was all invested by the government of India, in memory of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation.

* Anglican Cathedral
Towards west of Madurai, is a magnificent Church, designed by Robert Fellowes Chisholm and was consecrated in 1881. This church is a fine example of Neo-Gothic architecture of the British era, a widely visited site in Madurai.

* Koodal Azhagar Temple
The temple is situated in the city of Azhaghar, the beautiful city of southern India. It is the temple of lord Vishnu with great monument of lord Vishnu encarved in front of the temple. Koodal is the second name for the city of Madurai and Koodal temple indicates the temple of Madurai as suggested by its name. It is one of the oldest temples in southern India and is one of the 108 temples of lord Vishnu constructed all over India. The temple is very close to the main bus stop of Madurai and it becomes easy for the people to visit the temple once they are in the city of madurai in Tamil Nadu. Several different lodging and boarding facilities is provided in the place and hence it becomes convenient to the travelers, who would love to visit the place and take the sacred blessings of Lord Vishnu.

* Mariamman Teppakulam
This is a temple made in the memory of Lord Vigneshwara. It is situated about 5 kms from the meenakshi temple. It has a huge tank in the compound of the temple and is the biggest tank in the region of Tamil Nadu. The tank is filled with water all year long and the idol of the temple too was obtained from the bottom of the tank, while it was dug in the olden times and hence the temple was constructed at that place itself. So the tank gained its popularity since then and the temple too was constructed in its memory. Several different kinds of festivals are celebrated in the temple and all rituals are done with great pomp and pleasure and the people have a wonderful time while they are in the temple.

* Meenakshi Temple
Meenakshi Temple is the holy temple of hindus located in the city of Madurai in southern India. It is a vast temple of Lord Shiva and Goddess parvati. It is the best temple in which both God and Goddess are worshipped together. It is the life line of the country, especially southern India as Lord shiva is the highly worshiped god of the country. It has its foundation way back in the 2500 AD. According to the mythology, Lord shiva visited Madurai to marry Parvati and it has been the sacred abode of Goddess Parvarti since her birth. The wonderful architecture of the place is amongst the seven wonders of the world and the construction is highly minute with great art piece incorporated the walls and pillars of the temple.

* Pazhamudhir Solai
Pazhamudhir Solai is a beautiful temple created in the memory of Lord Subramaniya who is worshipped by several people in southern India. It has great sculptures of lord subramaniya encarved in wood and marble and is a wonderful temple with giant steps in the front of it. People worship the temple by moving across the periphery of the temple a several number of times, with the hope that their wish would come true. It is the giant temple of Lord subhramaniya in southern India and one of the most beautiful too. Its located on the hills of Azharar koil and falls in Madurai in Tamil nadu.

* Thirumalai Nayak Mahal
Thirumalai Nayak Mahal was constructed way back in the 17th century. Several buildings and temples had been constructed by him in the region and they have been splendid piece of construction. It was constructed by kings of muslim dynasty which covered several regions of coimbatore, Madurai districts and other few places in southern Tamil Nadu. It is a great piece of art and all of the sculptures are encarved in the Madurai style. Several old temples too have been renovated in this new style and the whole city seems to have the construction of the similar make, which is a good feature of the place.

* Tirupparankundram Murugan Temple
Tirupparankundram Murugan temple is one of the pilgrimage places in the southern India. The temple is an excellent master piece of art and is devoted to mother earth for all the benedictions it has bestowed on the holy earth. The region is hilly and is also known as southern Himalayas of India. It is a beautiful place where the sun and moon can be seen together at several instances of the day. It is considered to be the holy place for marriages and most of the marriages in the suburbs take place in this temple itself. The marriage of Lord Subhrahmanya was celebrated in this temple and since then several people have been bound in the marital bonds in front of the god in this temple.

* Vaigai Dam
Vaigai dam is a giant dam constructed on the river Vaigai and is situated near Andipatti in southern India. The dam has been the life line of the agricultural lands in the neighbourhood and because of it the areas have flourished in leaps and bounds. It provides clean and fresh drinking water to whole of the region of Madurai and Andipatti. Agricultural research institution too has been developed near the dam so as to research on a wide variety of crops including cereals and pulses. Several issues about the water supply in the dry seasons have been curbed down after the construction of the dam and it has provided life to the region of southern India.

* Tombs of the Madurai Sultans
Towards the north of Vaigai River are the tombs of the Madurai rulers. The sultans were buried to the north of the city. The complex includes Alaauddin’s Mosque with its flat-roofed prayer hall and the tomb of a local Sufi saint, Bara Mastan Sada built in the 16th century.