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Tourist Spots around Chennai, India

While you are holidaying in Chennai, make sure to take sometime off and visit the places around. There are ancient templetowns like Mahabalipuram and Tirupati (in Andhra Pradesh),traditional townships and villages that specialise in crafts likeKanchipuram, and golden beaches like Covelong.You will alsofind beach resorts and amusement parks dotting the coastlinebeginning from Chennai.

Mahabalipuram (58 kms.):Just out of Chennai, roughly 55 kmaway, is the world-famous town of

Mahabalipuram. The Pallavadynasty of Southern India, one ofthe major lines of kings to rule inIndia after the Gupta period, madethis lovely seaside village theirsecond capital. The placeblossomed under the creative forces of that time between thefifth and eighth centuries. Today, the shore temple, the largest

bas-relief in the world called Arjuna's Penance and the famousand beautiful mandapams has made this town world famous.Almost 5km north of Mamallapuram in the village ofSalavankuppam, the tiger cave is a rock cut shrine dating from7th century. Dedicated to Durga, it has a small mandapamfeaturing a crown of carved yali heads. Another 14 km fromhere lies Tirukkalikundram a pilgrim centre with a hilltop templededicated to Lord Shiva.

Covelong (48kms):Replete with historical monuments such as forts, churches,mosques, and a lovely beach, Covelong is a place where youcan experience the history of Tamil Nadu as a whole. If you arein Chennai, do not miss a visit to this place. The remains of theFort have now been converted into a luxury beach resort thatoffers facilities for windsurfing and swimming.

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Kanchipuram (75 kms.):Along with Chennai and Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuram formsthe famous Golden Triangle of the Coromandel Coast. Almostall tourists visit Kanchipuram. Kanchipuram finds place on theglobal map because of the wonderful craftsmanship of theKanchi weavers, the makers of what is perhaps the finest silk

fabric in the world. This spectacular temple city is one of theseven sacred cities of India. It was, successively, capital of thekingdoms of the Pallavas, Cholas and rajas of Vijayanagar.The temples and gopurams are exquisite reminders of thebeauty of Dravidian architecture, from the freshness andsimplicity of the Pallavas' 7th-century Kailasanatha Templethrough to the Vijayanagar Empire's 16th-centuryEkambareshwara Temple. The latter covers nine hectares, has

a 59-metre-high gopuram, a 1000-pillared hall and a sacredmango tree said to be 3500 years old. Kanchipuram is alsofamous for its hand-woven silk fabrics.

Tirupati (152km):Situated in the Chittoor district insouthern Andhra Pradesh, Tirupatiis the abode of the legendary Lordof the Seven Hills. Tirupati is oneof the most famous shrines in thecountry where worship of the Lordhas been carried out for overthirteen centuries. Even today,Tirupati draws enormous crowdsthroughout the year. The main attractions are the PratimaMandapam, with the statue of Sri Krishnadevaraya;Tulabharam, the scales upon which materials for offerings areweighed; the Tirumalanayaka Mandapam, replete withbeautiful carvings; and Dhwajastambham, and others. Tirupati

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is situated at a distance of around 152 km from Chennai andwell connected.

Muttukadu (16 kms):

The backwaters of Muttukadu have been developed by theTamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation to serve as ascenic picnic spot and a water sports centre. In February everyyear, a windsurfing regatta is organised inMuttukadu.Competitions in windsurfing and other water sportsare held. Training and demonstration programmes areorganized for youth.

Crocodile Bank (44 kms.):Not far from Mamallapuram, Romulus Whittaker runs thiscrocodile breeding and research centre. Here several speciesof Indian and African crocodiles and alligators are bred incaptivity. The reptiles are kept in their natural habitat in openpools and can be viewed from safe proximity. This farm breedscrocodile to augment the crocodile population of the wildlifesanctuaries.

Vedanthangal (85 kms.):Vedanthangal is one of the largest bird sanctuaries in India. Itis a marshy, 30 hectare park with lake visited by over 1,00,000migratory birds every year. The majority of these birds can beseen between November and February. The 4variety of birdsinclude Herons, Darters, Spoonbills, Pelicans, Sandpipers,White Ibis and Cormorants, Blue winged teals and Swans.

V.G.P Golden Beach Resort(30km):This beach resort is popular not justwith the people of the city, but alsowith tourists. There is anentertainment arcade for childrenand for adults. There are folk dance

performances apart from an ArtCenter that sells handicrafts and articles made out ofseashells. The beach is clean and ideal for sunbathing. This is

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a cleverly planned beach resort geared to entertain the visitorwith sculptured vignettes from the past, folk dances and ethnicseafood cuisine. The V.G.P. Art Center, a part of the resortcomplex, sells merchandise ranging, from seashells to ruralhandicrafts.

Vandalur:Spread over an area of 1,265 acres, the Anna Zoological Parkat Vandalur is the largest in South Asia with a rich variety ofdifferent species of mammals, reptiles and birds. The animalsroam in natural surroundings with a special enclosure fornocturnal creatures. The coast road from Chennai toMamallapuram is dotted with beach resorts, recreational areas

and artist's communities.

Cholamandal Artist's Village:Located 18 km south of Chennai. Contemporary art, sculpture,batik and craft flourish in this little palm-studded sea-rimmedartists' commune started in 1966. Artists and sculptors live andwork here and also exhibit and sell their work. Its open-airauditorium is also the venue of avant-garde theatre, poetry-

reading and dance recitals. It has a gallery with finecontemporary paintings and sculptures.

Dakshinachitra:Located 12 km south of Cholamandal, a reasonably new placepresented by the Chennai Crafts Foundation as a showpieceof different living styles in the South. You can admire traditionalarts from Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka and AndhraPradesh.

Contains recreations of Brahmin, Chettinad, potters, a basketweaver's, a silk weaver's houses along with liverepresentations of their craft. Similarly the Kerala section has aSyrian Christian house, a Menon house etc. Very authenticsince the dwellings were actually bought from their places oforigin and replanted here. There is an accompanying audio-visual presentation and a little gift shop. Very well done anddefinitely worth a visit.

Pulicat (54 km):Site of an Old Dutch settlement dating back to 1609, today,

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Pulicat is a picnic spot famed for its lake. There are amenitiesfor swimming, fishing, and windsurfing. History-buffs canwander around the ancient Dutch cemetery with its well-preserved tombstones.

MGM Dizee World (20 km):An amusement park completewith Roller Coasters and WaterSlides and Giant CatherineWheels - fun place for kids.

Madurai:One of the oldest towns in South India is the abode of goddessMeenakshi, the consort of Lord Sundereswarar (Shiva).Legend has it, that when a Pandya king founded the town of

Madurai some thousands of years ago, Lord Shiva waspresent. Moreover, the nectar falling off his hair gave the townits name of Madurai or city of nectar

Tiruchirapalli:The famous Rock Fort is precariously perched atop a massiveoutcrop of rock that rises abruptly out of the flat surroundingplain. Set in the middle of the town on the bank of the riverCauvery, it is visible for miles around and it. A citadel of theChola kings in the Sangam period (2 BC to 2 AD) the RockFort has had a long and chequered history.

Thanjavur:Just 58 km away lays Thanjavur, once the capital of the CholaEmpire referred to as the "Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu". Nearly athousand years ago around the 11th century, Thanjavur wasthe capital of a powerful dynasty, the imperial Cholas whoseempire extended beyond South India and Sri Lanka to thekingdoms of South-East Asia.The Chola kings used theirwealth to encourage arts and craft and built innumerable

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temples and shrines to ornament their land.

Palani:Palani, a pilgrim spot atop a hill dedicated to LordSubramanium, is easily accessible.

Pondicherry (157km):Lying 162 km south of Chennai, this town has an imminentFrench influence. It is here the famous philosopher SriAurobindo once lived. For sight seeing, interesting placesinclude churches, museum, beach, the Aurobindo ashram, andAuroville.

Close by lies Chidambaram, an ancient Chola temple with agilded roof, tall gopurams and a thousand pillared halls. This isthe most venerated shrine of Lord Shiva represented here asNataraja, the cosmic dancer.

Point Calimere wildlife sanctuary lies close by.

The mangrove forests of Pichavaram, an ideal spot for

boating, fishing and water sports is also nearby.

Rameswaram:Rameswaram lies 176 km fromMadurai. This conch shaped islandin the Gulf of Mannar is a holy spotfor Hindus. The magnificentRamanathaswamy temple is well

known for its longest corridors inthe country, extending over alength of 1220 m long with itsmarvelous carved pillars. Thosewho visit here bathe in the sacred waters of Agaitheertam, astretch of Clam Sea near the temple.

Kanyakumari:

Proceed to Kanyakumari, the land's end of India to view thespectacular sunrise and sunset at the beach. The temple,Vivekananda Rock and Gandhi Mandap are among the places

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of interest.

Vellore (145km):Famous for Fort and Vijaynagar temple. It is also worldrenowned for CMC hospital-a leader in research and health

care recognised as one of the finest hospitals in SouthIndia.Vellore Fort was built in 16th century but occupied byBritish in 1760.The small government museum inside the fortcomplex contains sculptures dating back to Pallava and Cholatimes. The Jalakanteshwara Temple is a gem of Vijaynagararchitecture built about 1566.Within the temple; the pillaredmandapam is famous for yali and other mythical creatures.Large statues of Ganesh grace the entrance and mandapam.