Tamil Nadu tour is not just for cultural lovers. It is a whole package. There are hill stations, cultural centers, beach attractions, scenic places, and many others. It is one of the 29 states in India. This state has the meeting point of the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats. This state is filled with flora and fauna. The state was ruled in pieces by three main dynasties who took turns building temples, monuments, and other architectural marvels to increase the beauty of this place.
If you are planning to take a Tamil Nadu tour, you should know that there are various places in this state where you can focus on like Chennai, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Kanyakumari, and so on. You cannot visit all cities in this place in one vacation. If you are visiting the place for the very first time.
Other attractions near Chennai are Yelagiri Hills and Sripeumbudur. Inside Chennai, you have a lot of temples like Kabaleeshwarar temple, Santhome church, the big Mosque, Kattubava Mosque, Vadapalani Murugan temple and others. Top monuments to visit are St. George’s Fort, Vivekananda house, Victory war memorial and St. Thomas mount. This city has the world’s second-longest beach, the Marina beach.
There are other beaches too. If you are looking for theme parks, there are MGM, Kishkintha, Queens land and VGP golden beach. There is a large wildlife sanctuary in Chennai which is one of the biggest in Asia. The Arignar Anna zoological park is also called as Vandaloor Zoo.
Climate: hot and humid
Best time to visit: October to March
The beach is tri-colored due to differences in the depth at various parts of the sea. This place marks the point where the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean meet. It is a picturesque place. Vivekananda rock and the gigantic monolith statue of Thiruvallur are the attractions in the sea.
Padmanabapuram palace is a place of lot of news, lately. It is an important temple built during the 17th century. There is a fort with a small museum in this temple where you can find many antiques like Chinese jars, daggers, and others. Apart from these, there are Thanumalayan temple, Suseendram Hanuman temple, Vattakottai fort, Udayagiri Fort and many others. There are a lot of temples and many scenic places like Tirparappu waterfalls, Ullakaarvi, courtallam falls and Olakaruvi falls.
Climate: Humid
Season: September to March
Top places to visit are Ooty Lake, Doddabetta, rose garden, Avalanche lake, Emerald lake, Murkurthi park, Stone house, and botanical garden. It is scenic everywhere and you can buy fresh carrots that are just dugout. Homemade chocolates of Ooty are very famous. Top activities include trekking, sightseeing, boating and horse riding. On your way back, do not forget to take the Ooty toy train. It is a heritage site and will be a wonderful experience.
Climate: cool and mild
Season: throughout the year
As stated before, there are a lot of other destinations in Tamil Nadu. There are a lot of South India packages that couples various places together. Every city in this state has a couple of things to offer. Do not miss any city in your package and if possible, do not miss any of the above stated four destinations. Plan your trip to South India with Maharajas Express train and feel like a King.
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Here are the top four destinations that you should visit in Tamil Nadu:
Chennai
Chennai is the capital of the state. Every Tamil Nadu tour will have Chennai in its itinerary. This place has an international airport that connects many major cities around the world. The domestic airport connects almost all important cities in the country. The first attraction to visit in Chennai is actually a little away from the heart of the city. Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is a cultural hub. It has a collection of stone temples, rock-cut temples, statues, and beach temples of the 7th century. These were built by kings to welcome merchants to their cities. The beach has other attractions like boating, fishing, and others. This place is 60 km away from the heart of the city.
Kanyakumari
This is the southernmost tip of the country. Kanyakumari is an important destination in many South India tour packages. This place had been ruled by various dynasties in the past and had been one of the main portals through which Christianity entered India. Thus, you can find a lot of churches and various monuments from different centuries. This city is very famous for its beach-related activities.
Madurai
Madurai is one of the oldest cities in India. It had been the hub where the language Tamil grew. There are a lot of attractions in this place. This place is very famous for the Meenakshi Amman temple. This temple complex has 26 temples inside it. It is one of the jewels of monuments of this place. Apart from this, there are other attractions like Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Gandhi memorial museum, Koodal Azhagar Temple, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Banana market and Thriuparankundram. If you want to enjoy the real culture of this place, visit Madurai during January. Pongal (Jan 15 to 17) is the main festival of this place. You can find a lot of performances and cultural programs. Bullfight is a common sport during this festival. Sugarcane and sweet rice porridge of Pongal are very famous. Climate: Very hot Season: October to MarchOoty
Ooty is the queen of hill stations. It is one of the most visited honeymoon vacation spots in Tamil Nadu. Though the state is a tropical region, this hill station has mild climate throughout the year. The best time to visit is between December and February. If you want to enjoy some floral attractions, visit during the summer.