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Popular tourist places of interest in Chennai are the temples and churches. Each year a great number of tourists visit here.
Located in the Tiruvallikeni, the temple is the oldest of its kind in the city. It is said to be dated back to the 8th century and has been mentioned in the Vaishnavite works of the Alwar saints. The Temple has impressions of significant historic dynasties like Vijaynagar, Pallavas and Cholas.
Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the temple is one of the most visited temples in Chennai. Located in Mylapore, the temple is an illustration of Dravidian culture.
The 300 years old temple has the shrines of Kapaleeswar (Shiva) and Karpagambal (Parvati). During the ten Days long Arupathu Moovar Vizha Festival, the place remains packed with huge crowds giving the temple a new mood of excitement.
Built in 1976, the temple is situated in Besant Nagar and is located at the southern tip of Elliot's beach. It is the only temple that features the eight manifestations of the Goddess Lakshmi.
Attributing the Dravidian temple architecture, the temple demonstrates great enthusiasm in festivals like Pongal, Navratri and Deepavali.
The Thousand Lights Mosque lies on the Anna Salai Road in Chennai. Its name is derived after the illumination of thousand oil lamps. In the 19th century, the mosque was built over an assembling place where the Shias (a sect of Muslims) used to meet in the month of Moharram. It's a famous pilgrimage place for the Shias.
Located towards the south of Marina Drive, the place where the Cathedral stands used to be known as Betuma, where one of the twelve apostles, St. Thomas is said to have arrived in 1st century A.D.
He started preaching at a place called Little Mount and was later martyred at St. Thomas Mount in 72 A.D. A church was built over his burial place and after a series of renovations throughout centuries stands as Santhome Basilica Cathedral.
Other holy Places in Chennai are:
The monuments and museums store the splendor of the past and the rich history related with them, most of them were built during the British era.
The society was founded by Annie Besant in 1875 is located along the Adyar River. Its main objective was to revive the Hindu culture that had been extremely affected by colonial rule. Amongst its campus there are a number of houses, library, shrines and worshipping places and a huge banyan tree.
In the year 1640, the building of Fort St. George marks the birth of formerly known Madras city. Fort St George is an important Historical monument. The fort was named after St George.
The fort is an example of British military architecture of the long-gone era. The Fort also consist one of the oldest British Church in India and a museum that contains some of the British occupation in India archives.
Located on the Pantheon Road, the museum is one of the key attractions in the city. It is a great tourist destination in the state, besides temples and monuments. The museum exhibits a number of sections that have some rare collections throughout India.
The complex is divided into various sections based on defined fields and one section is dedicated to children. There are four galleries in the museum: Bronze Gallery, Hindu Sculpture Gallery, National Art Gallery and the Amravathi Gallery.
Located in Kotturpuram, it is a fully computerized planetarium and a connected part of Periyar Science and Technology Centre. Built in the memory of B.M Birla, the industrialist and visionary of India. The planetarium hosts regular shows of astronomy and is frequently visited by tourists, environmentalists, students and people related to astronomy.
Other Monuments and Museums in Chennai are:
The Beaches lighten up the coastlines providing a front for exciting beach activities and the wildlife gives a thrill of adventure.
It is the most famous tourist attraction in southern India. The beach is given the credit of being the world's second largest beach and the Asia's largest Beach. Stretched over 12 km, the beach offers various activities. There are different memorials, parks, Aquarium and Ice house at the Marina.
Stretched in the city premises, the park is one of a kind to be situated within the city suburbs. Guindy National Park lies at a place called Adyar. The park has amazing bio-diversity and the flora and fauna makes it one of the best tourist destinations in the city. The park also has many reptile and amphibian species.
Other Beaches and wildlife destinations in Chennai are:
Excursions can be made form Chennai to neighboring places to make a temple tour of Tamil Nadu with its rich temple history.
The best place to start a temple tour is Mamallapuram, a seaside village. The pilgrimage city of Kanchipuram is filled with reminders of an ancient history while further down the coast is one of India's rare French colonial possessions, Pondicherry, where Auroville has found a new role in the 'New Age'. The road south from Pondicherry puts one back on the temple trail, leading to Chidambaram. Thanjavur is another famous temple city famed as the birthplace of the Bharatnatyam dance. Tiruchirapalli is a commercial town with the temple complex in neighboring Srirangam being one of south India's largest. Rameshwaram, on the long spit of land extending towards Sri Lanka, and Kanyakumari, are both important pilgrimage centers, with the added attraction of a beautiful beach along the sea.
In the west of the state, the hill stations of Kodaikanal and Ooty are the premier attractions with sylvan hills and a network of trails which wind through forests and tea and coffee plantations. The Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuaryoffers a good chance of spotting elephants, tigers and leopards. The Annamalai Sanctuary, closer to Kodaikanal in the Palani hills, is better known for its lion-tailed macaques (black-maned monkeys). The wetlands ofVedanthangal, near Chennai, and Point Calimere provide perfect resting places for migratory birds.
The main festival of Tamil Nadu state is Pongal, which is a harvest festival celebrated in the month of January. TheDance Festival at Mamallapuram is held in the month of January and is famous throughout the country. TheSummer festival at Ooty, Kodaikanal and Yercaud attracts thousands of tourists every year and is marked by boat races and flower and fruit shows. The Tyagaraja Music Festival at Thiruvaiyur in January attracts music lovers from all corners of the world.
Last Updated : 5/19/2014
Holy Places in Chennai
Popular tourist places of interest in Chennai are the temples and churches. Each year a great number of tourists visit here.
Parthasarathy Temple
Located in the Tiruvallikeni, the temple is the oldest of its kind in the city. It is said to be dated back to the 8th century and has been mentioned in the Vaishnavite works of the Alwar saints. The Temple has impressions of significant historic dynasties like Vijaynagar, Pallavas and Cholas.
Kapaleeswarar Temple
Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the temple is one of the most visited temples in Chennai. Located in Mylapore, the temple is an illustration of Dravidian culture.
The 300 years old temple has the shrines of Kapaleeswar (Shiva) and Karpagambal (Parvati). During the ten Days long Arupathu Moovar Vizha Festival, the place remains packed with huge crowds giving the temple a new mood of excitement.
Ashtalakshmi Temple
Built in 1976, the temple is situated in Besant Nagar and is located at the southern tip of Elliot's beach. It is the only temple that features the eight manifestations of the Goddess Lakshmi.
Attributing the Dravidian temple architecture, the temple demonstrates great enthusiasm in festivals like Pongal, Navratri and Deepavali.
Thousand Lights Mosque
The Thousand Lights Mosque lies on the Anna Salai Road in Chennai. Its name is derived after the illumination of thousand oil lamps. In the 19th century, the mosque was built over an assembling place where the Shias (a sect of Muslims) used to meet in the month of Moharram. It's a famous pilgrimage place for the Shias.
Santhome Cathedral Basilica
Located towards the south of Marina Drive, the place where the Cathedral stands used to be known as Betuma, where one of the twelve apostles, St. Thomas is said to have arrived in 1st century A.D.
He started preaching at a place called Little Mount and was later martyred at St. Thomas Mount in 72 A.D. A church was built over his burial place and after a series of renovations throughout centuries stands as Santhome Basilica Cathedral.
Other holy Places in Chennai are:
- Vadapalani Temple
- Marundeeswarar Temple
- Kandaswamy Temple
- St. Mary's Church
- St. Andrew's Church
- Christ the King Church
- Shree Gujarati Swetamber
- Guru Nanak Sat Sangh Sabha
- Big Mosque
Monuments and Museums in Chennai
The monuments and museums store the splendor of the past and the rich history related with them, most of them were built during the British era.
Theosophical Society
The society was founded by Annie Besant in 1875 is located along the Adyar River. Its main objective was to revive the Hindu culture that had been extremely affected by colonial rule. Amongst its campus there are a number of houses, library, shrines and worshipping places and a huge banyan tree.
Fort St. George
In the year 1640, the building of Fort St. George marks the birth of formerly known Madras city. Fort St George is an important Historical monument. The fort was named after St George.
The fort is an example of British military architecture of the long-gone era. The Fort also consist one of the oldest British Church in India and a museum that contains some of the British occupation in India archives.
Government Museum
Located on the Pantheon Road, the museum is one of the key attractions in the city. It is a great tourist destination in the state, besides temples and monuments. The museum exhibits a number of sections that have some rare collections throughout India.
The complex is divided into various sections based on defined fields and one section is dedicated to children. There are four galleries in the museum: Bronze Gallery, Hindu Sculpture Gallery, National Art Gallery and the Amravathi Gallery.
Birla Planetarium
Located in Kotturpuram, it is a fully computerized planetarium and a connected part of Periyar Science and Technology Centre. Built in the memory of B.M Birla, the industrialist and visionary of India. The planetarium hosts regular shows of astronomy and is frequently visited by tourists, environmentalists, students and people related to astronomy.
Other Monuments and Museums in Chennai are:
- Madras War Cemetery
- Freemason's Hall
- Ripon Building
- Valluvar Kottam
- Pancha Mandapams
- Doveton House
- Kamaraj Memorial House
- Senate House
- Anna Square
- Bharathiyar Illam
- MGR Film City
- Vivekananda Illam
- Periyar Science & Technology
- Raj Bhavan
Beaches and Wildlife in Chennai
The Beaches lighten up the coastlines providing a front for exciting beach activities and the wildlife gives a thrill of adventure.
Marina Beach
It is the most famous tourist attraction in southern India. The beach is given the credit of being the world's second largest beach and the Asia's largest Beach. Stretched over 12 km, the beach offers various activities. There are different memorials, parks, Aquarium and Ice house at the Marina.
Guindy National Park
Stretched in the city premises, the park is one of a kind to be situated within the city suburbs. Guindy National Park lies at a place called Adyar. The park has amazing bio-diversity and the flora and fauna makes it one of the best tourist destinations in the city. The park also has many reptile and amphibian species.
Other Beaches and wildlife destinations in Chennai are:
- Elliot's Beach
- Covelong Beach
- Snake Park
- Arignar Anna Zoological Park
- Nageswara Park
- Sivan Park
- Natesan Park.
Tourist Places around Chennai
Excursions can be made form Chennai to neighboring places to make a temple tour of Tamil Nadu with its rich temple history.
The best place to start a temple tour is Mamallapuram, a seaside village. The pilgrimage city of Kanchipuram is filled with reminders of an ancient history while further down the coast is one of India's rare French colonial possessions, Pondicherry, where Auroville has found a new role in the 'New Age'. The road south from Pondicherry puts one back on the temple trail, leading to Chidambaram. Thanjavur is another famous temple city famed as the birthplace of the Bharatnatyam dance. Tiruchirapalli is a commercial town with the temple complex in neighboring Srirangam being one of south India's largest. Rameshwaram, on the long spit of land extending towards Sri Lanka, and Kanyakumari, are both important pilgrimage centers, with the added attraction of a beautiful beach along the sea.
In the west of the state, the hill stations of Kodaikanal and Ooty are the premier attractions with sylvan hills and a network of trails which wind through forests and tea and coffee plantations. The Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuaryoffers a good chance of spotting elephants, tigers and leopards. The Annamalai Sanctuary, closer to Kodaikanal in the Palani hills, is better known for its lion-tailed macaques (black-maned monkeys). The wetlands ofVedanthangal, near Chennai, and Point Calimere provide perfect resting places for migratory birds.
Festivals in Chennai
The main festival of Tamil Nadu state is Pongal, which is a harvest festival celebrated in the month of January. TheDance Festival at Mamallapuram is held in the month of January and is famous throughout the country. TheSummer festival at Ooty, Kodaikanal and Yercaud attracts thousands of tourists every year and is marked by boat races and flower and fruit shows. The Tyagaraja Music Festival at Thiruvaiyur in January attracts music lovers from all corners of the world.
Last Updated : 5/19/2014
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