From Wikitravel Shared

Tamil Nadu - the land of Tamils is a state in Southern India known for its temples and architecture, food, movies and classical Indian dance and Carnatic music. The languages spoken here are predominantly Tamil (also written as Thamizh) and English in the larger cities and metro capital Chennai. People are historically called pandis or kongas.

[edit] Regions

[edit] Cities

• Aragalur
• Auroville - a popular spiritual and religious site
• Chennai (Madras) - the capital of Tamil Nadu
• Chidambaram - also known as Thillai, since the place was originally a forest of the thillai, botanically known as excecaria agallecha shrubs, is an important pilgrim centre and a holy place for Saivites as the famous Nataraja Temple is located here
• Coimbatore - on the banks of the river Noyyal, and the textile capital of South India or the Manchester of the South
• Erode (Previously Periyar District) - The turmeric & sugarcane capital of Tamilnadu. One of the South India's famous river Cauvery is flowing through this district. Cambridge of Tamilnadu.
• Kalpakkam (Chennai) - a few kms away from Mahabalipuram which has the famous Indira Gandhi Atomic Power Plant, a nuclear breeder reactor Uuranium-235,238)
• Kanchipuram - 75 kms from Chennai, one of the seven holy cities in the country, and a visit is believed to bestow salvation; renowned for its silk sarees
• Kanniyakumari
• Kodaikanal - a popular hill resort
• Kovilpatti - Known as the Matchless City of Matches, the city is very famous for the Match Industries
• Kulithalai
• Kumbakonam - A city famous for its temples (there are hundreds of them).
• Madurai - on the banks of the River Vaigai, known as Athens of the East, a place of great historical and cultural importance, and the oldest city in Tamil Nadu
• Mamallapuram - though no longer a port, Mamallapuram has retained its fame in stone, thanks to the great contribution of Pallava artisans, and is amongst the most outstanding examples of Dravidian art and architecture and a jewel in the crown of Tamil Nadu
• Naamakkal - a small historic city
• Ooty - a popular hill station, famous botanical garden, dotabetta, speciality by travelling in palchakra vandi from Mettupaalayam
• Palani - famous dhandayudhapaani (Murugan) Hill Temple
• Pondicherry - a small French city and part of a union territory within Tamil Nadu
• Rameswaram - a fine town temple and miles of empty beach a short auto ride away
• Salem - Mango City of India, This city if famous for Sago,Textiles, Silver leg chains,Magnesite ore, Boxite. Salem Steel is very famous worlwide. "Poor man ooti"-Yercaud is situated in salem. Mettur- The Stanley reservoir is also in Salem district.
• Sivakasi - cracker city of India
• Swamithoppe - a historical town with vast cultural and religious heritage, situated 8 km north-west to Kanyakumari, is one of the most important temples in Tamil Nadu. This is the religious head-quarters of Ayyavazhi and one among the five holy places of Ayyavazhi.
• Thanjavur - also called the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu, is well-known throughout the world for being the home of the Brahadeeswara temple, the magnificent palace, Rajah Serfoji's Saraswathi Mahal Library, Art Gallery and also for its exquisite handicrafts like the Art Plate, pithwork, bronze icons, Thanjavur paintings and the classical South Indian musical instruments
• Theni
• Thiruvayaru
• Tiruchy - famous for temples like Malaikottai, Srirangam, Thiruvanai Kovil, Samaya puram, Vekkali amman, Vayalore, gopaldas diamond merchants
• Tirunelveli - known for the architecture and antiquity of its temples, its main attraction is the twin temples of Kanthimathi-Nellaiappar dedicated to Parvati and Shiva respectively
• Tirupur - This is the export city of Tamilnadu exporting Hosiery garments all over the world. People are famous for their hard work and success. This non sleeping city's growth in the past 15 years is greatest
• Tiruvallur - famous for the temple of Sri VeeraraghavaSwami and the 40 foot tall Sri Viswaroopa Panchamukha AnjaneyaSwami
• Tiruvannamalai - temple of Lord Shiva
• Tuthukudi
• Tuticorin - now known as Thoothukudi, and headquarters of the Thoothukudi district, is famed for pearl fishing, production of salt, fishing and other related business
• Udumalaippettai - a mountain resort
• Vaitheeswaran koil
• Vellankani - a town situated on the shores of Bay of Bengal, fourteen kilometers from Nagapattinam, this renowned Basilica of Our Lady of Health draws pilgrims from all over the world
• Virudhaachalam
• Yelagiri - great for treks and expeditions
• Yercaud - trekker country

[edit] Other destinations

[edit] Hill-stations

The Nilgiri mountain range on the east coast is home to many hill-stations that are good for weekend trips.

• Ooty - popularised by movies, a tad crowded
• Kodaikanal - prettier than Ooty, and less crowded
• Palani - A popular Hill Temple for Murugan
• Yercaud - hidden away and unsung
• Yelagiri - not very well-known, but worth a trip.

[edit] National Parks

• Mudumalai National Park - abundant wildlife, abuts Bandipur and Waynad

[edit] Waterfalls

• Hogenakkal - Twenty Waterfalls

[edit] Understand

[edit] Talk

Tamils are fiercely proud of the Tamil language, which is one of the few still living classical languages, with two millenia of written tradition. Unlike most Indian languages, it belongs to the Dravidian language family, not Indo-Aryan, and is hence not so closely related to Sanskrit. For historical reasons, there is some residual hostility to Hindi, so try to pick up some Tamil or get by on English instead.

[edit] Get in

Chennai is the main gateway to enter Tamil Nadu (TN), though one could enter TN from other towns/cities in the neighburing states. Chennai boasts of connectivity through air (to all important cities in India and to most of the South-East Asian/European cities by Major International Airlines), through road (Chennai is a major hub for the Golden Quadrilateral Highways project which links all major cities in India), rail (convenient train connections to all cities/towns in India) and sea. From Kerala, one could enter Coimbatore to go to other places in TN. From Karnataka, Hosur is the nearest TN town from Bangalore (Karnataka). The International Airports in TN are in Chennai - Anna International Airport, Chennai (flights to London, Paris, Frankfurt, Dubai, Bahrain, Colombo, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok, Mauritius etc.) Trichy - Trichy International Airport (flights to Colombo)

Other airports in TN: Madurai, Coimbatore and Tuticorin.

Chennai Railways: Chennai Central and Egmore stations provide connections to both outside and within the state.

Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus: Road Connections to all cities/towns in TN and also to major cities in neighbouring states.

[edit] Get around

[edit] See

[edit] Tourist attractions

• Hill stations - Ooty, Kodaikanal
• Mamallapuram- Pallava dynasty rock cut temples
• Kanchipuram-temples and sarees
• Thanjavur-temples
• Thiruchy - temples, fort
• Kumbakonam-famous upilliyapan temple
• Chidambaram- the seat of the cosmic dancer Nataraja
• Sirkazhi
• Palani - A Murugan Hill Temple
• Madurai - one of the oldest cities of Tamilnadu, documented since 4th century BC, seat of Kadai Sangam,the Pandiya capital is famous for Meenakshi-Sundareswarar Shrine
• Tranquebar
• Poompuhar, for its heritage of sculpture
• Swamithoppe Ayya Vaikundar Pathi
• Kanniyakumari (Cape Comorin), the southern-most tip of peninsular India, where u have Kanniyakumariamman temple on the sea shore where the mookuthy (nose stud) which is in the face of goddess shines so much that it guided ships passing by.Vivekanandha Rock,Saint Thiruvalluvar Statue
• Rameswaram Ramanathaswamy Temple

[edit] Itineraries

[edit] Do

[edit] Festivals

Natyanjali is celebrated in many Hindu temples at the end of February and beginning of March, and includes daily classical Indian dance and music performances.

"December Festival" in Chennai and "Mahabalipuram Festival" are also dedicated to the classical Indian dance and music performances, and attract large crowds.

Jan 1 New Year is celebrated right from dec 31st of every previous year and special prayers are offered in churches in the form of midnight services,in houses ladies like villaku to goddess at home or candles to christ or mother mary,and prayers are offered in mosque also.

• The harvest festival of Pongal is celebrated during the Tamil month of Thai (January 15th or thereabouts). The first day is Bogi Pongal usually celebrated in the early morning (before sunrise) by burning household items like mats, brooms that have been junked or replaced by newer ones. offerings to god are thengai poli , parupu poli,vella paayasam,appam,vadai,zeera poli,paal poli-

The second day of Pongal is when respects are paid to the Sun God by cooking melagu pongal in the earthen pot,sarkarai pongal made of vellam and venpongal too are offered to god. The third day is Maatu Pongal (Maatu - Cow) where the respects are paid to cattle.on the day of maatu pongal the cattles are washed neatly,kulupaati,and they are painted in their horns called kombu,and salangai is put newly on the cows neck and it is taken to amman temple,or any other temple nearby, when the cow is back home ,mangala aarathy is taken with kumkum,and pottu is kept for cows.in villages on this day challikattu competitions are kept between cows. the cow is a very sacred animal apart from being a domestic animal in south india.it is called gomaatha,we can know the importance of cows from our hindu mythology,cow in the form of erumai is the vaaganam for eman-lord of death and the vaasal of kailasam where lord shiva resides is guarded by nandhi in the form of cow. on this day thengai pongal,puliyodharai,thengai saadam,lemon rice,tomato rice without onion,ellu saadam,kalkandu pongal,melagu saadam,curd rice,vegetable fried rice without onion are offered to god and to cow,they offer grass,pul in tamil they say ,vaikol etc. The fourth day is celebrated as kaanum Pongal where the local people visit family and friends. It's customary for locals to give new clothes and money to the maids and servants employed in the house.

• Karadaiyaa nonbu just when maasi maadham and panguni join they celebrate preparing kaaradai as offering to god,ladies do this pooja to protect their maangalyam.

• Panguni Utaram utsavam in Ranganathar temple

• Tamil Puththandu (New Year) - The 1st day of the Tamil month of Chitirai. Usually sometime in Mid April mostly on april 14 th or april 13th or april 15th.

• Akshaya Tritiya - The third day after the new moon day that follows the tamil new year. Localities believe that anything done on this day is equivalent doing it a thousand times over. However people usually buy Gold with the belief that buying on this day will ensure prosperity throughout their life time and they will have the good fortune to buy more gold over the years.on the day of akshaya tritiya fresh cows milk is taken and they make curd and prepare curd rice and is offered as a service prasadham to many in olden days,this practise must now continue in future

• Aadi maadamspread from july 16th to aug 15th all over tamil nadu in all amman temples famous mundakaniamman temple etc in chennai,karpakamaal in mylapore all over tamil nadu celebrate amman festivals on all tuesdays and fridays and offer sarkarai pongal,maavilaku maavu,then they offer bangles to goddess on aadi puram day,aadi krithikai,aadi ammaavaasai,and aadi-18 are celebrated in a grand manner in trichy,nammakkal places,all people prepare good food and sit in the banks of river cauvery and pray for their family welfare.

slokam-lalitha sahasranamam,abirami anthathi,etc some more festivals in aadi aavani maadam

• Ayya Vaikunda Avatharam - The incarnational day of Ayya Vaikundar from the sea at Tiruchendur. This is the most important festival of Ayyavazhi and on this day the celebrations in Swamithoppe is considered with high religious importance. Though it was celebrated with processions all over Tamil Nadu, its celebrations are in grand scale in the south. Two processions, one from Tiruchendur, connected with the incarnation of Vaikundar, and another from Thiruvananthapuram, noting the relese of Vaikundar unifies at Nagercoil and proceed towards Swamithoppe, the geographical focus point of Ayyavazhi.

• varalakshmi pooja-usually on this day ladies married ones keep kalasam in front of ammaan and thengai they keep and do pooja,beautiful decorations for amman like thaazham poo,kunjalam vaichu pini,beautiful alangaram with saree they do.

they give vettalai paakku,saree blouse or even saree depending on their financial condition to other women before they eat along with bangles mostly glass bangles they give,however varities of bangles come,the real beauty in offering to goddess and other women is in glass bangles only. neivedhyam to goddess-appam, parupu vadai, vella paayasam,kozhakatai,idli,etc. slokam-lalitha sahasranamam,abirami anthathi,etc

• krishna jeyanthi or gokulashtamion this day

special prayer is offered to lord krishna in the evening-ladies put maakolam,sheman ettu,they put krishnar kaal and they do pooja for lord krishna offerings,muruku,thatai,vellai cheedai,upu chedai, thenkozhal,muthusaarai,appam,vella paayasam,vennai, thengai vethalai paaku,aval, vadai,thayir vadai,etc. slokam-narayaneeyam,vishnu sahasranamam,etc.

• Gowri PoojaSimilar to varlakshmi pooja is done on the eve of vinnayakar chaturthi,for all these amman festivals karugumani is mandatory to be offered to goddess,and even in maangalyam ladies can wear in addition to gold and is safe nowadays because gold is capable of getting stolen.
• 'vinaayakar chaturthi-on this day arukampul,mun vinaaykar is bought freshly and they do pooja for it,offerings- vellam pottu thengai kozhakattai,ellu kozakattai,ulundu kozhakatai,vella paayasam,APPAM ,VADAI,ETC.

in the evening,all residents go and visit nearby vinaayakar temples and on the 3rd day of this festival the mun vinaayakar is immersed in beach or well. slokam-ganesha pancharathnam,music -all famous songs in raagams hanmsadhwani and naatai,eg-mahaganapathim-naatai,vaatapi ganapathim,vinaayaka ninu-hamasadhwani, and many more

• Purataasi Maadham famous for lord venkatachalapathy,many slokas,dance programmes,music concerts are all done in praise of lord narayana and brahmotsawam is done in thirupathi in grand scale.
• Navarathri celebtrations for 10 days starting from mahalaya amaavasya,idols in the form of dolls are kept in many houses and invitations are prepared and get togethers are organised in a large scale,and daily offering to god is done in the form of vella paayasam and sundal(mandatory) and at least one lady is given a vethalai paaku during this time for every womans prosperity and family welfare,in the end of navarathri we have *saraswathi pooja .here students and elders keep books in front of this goddess and offer pooja for this goddess and all activities like studying,playing instrument are stopped just for a day in mark respect of this goddess.next we have *vijayadasami ,this is a day next to saraswathi pooja where many students learn new art or skill in the form of music or violin or guitar or if they are already persuing any of these ,they learn a new song or composition in these.
• Deepavalicrackers are burst ,new dresses are bought ,oil bath is taken and ganga snanam enquiry is done,all bakshanams are prepared in a large scale like mixture,bombay mixture,ordinary mixture,cornflex mixture, halwaa-cashnewnut,baadam,pista,wheet,pumpkin beetroot,carrot,laddus,kunjaladdu,rava laddu,manoharam,

maalaadu,payathalaadu,etc. apart from these madurai special items like vellaiyapam is prepared hot on diwali mornings

• Karthigailord ayappas month,men generally start the fasting period for 40-45 days and special pooja and bhajans are sung in praise of lord ayappa and irumudi katti is done during this month and a team is formed and people go to sabarimalai every year.

chennai ayappan temple near chettinaad school r.a.puram is famous.famous song-kattu kattu sabarimalaiku kallum mullum kaaluku metthai,swaamiyee ayappa,ayaapaa,swaamiyee,swaami charanam ayapa charanam,ayapa charanam swaami charanam.

• Karthigaideepam this is another festival in the month of kaarthigai where women light villaku and prepare pori urundai,vella paayasam appam and offer to god as neivedyam.

among the other festivals are id-ulfiter,Ramzaan,bakrid,etc are celebrated according to the movable dates and calender followed by people reading quran. some other festivals are christhmas-dec 25th,len period,good friday,easter sunday etc.apart from christmas all other dates are movable according to one followed in roman calendar, Annai Velankani Shrine festival for 10 days between august middle and september middle every year.

[edit] Eat

Tamil Nadu provides the visitor with a wide variety of delicious food both for the vegetarians as well as the non-vegetarians, though most food in Tamil Nadu consists of grains, lentils, rice and vegetables. Spices are added to give a distinctive taste.

Breakfast or tiffin includes idli or steamed rice dumplings, dosai is a crisp pancake made from a batter of rice and lentils, vada is a deep fried doughnut made from a batter of lentils, pongal is a mixture of rice and lentils cooked together and seasoned with ghee, cashew nuts, pepper and cumin seed), uppuma is semolina cooked, seasoned in oil with mustard, pepper, cumin seed and dry lentils.

There are several variations of the dishes mentioned above which are eaten with coconut chutney, sambar which is a seasoned lentil dish and mulaga podi which is a powdered mix of several roasted lentils and red chilli blended with oil.

• Meat Madras- This is a spicy but delicious curry is named after Chennai, the metropolis in southern India perhaps because in the humid south, people rather eat hot food. Strange though it may seem, this is because hot and spicy food makes one perspire thereby cooling the body.

• Plain idlis- Plain Idlis are similar to rice cakes, but they are eaten with a coconut side dish made out of beaten coconut white mixed with a little spice. Its called Coconut (Thenga in Tamil) Chutney. Also typically served are Tomato chutney (the difference is here tomato pulp is used) and Dal sambar. The Idlis are served steaming hot. They are meant to be eaten with hand.

• Kancheepuram idlis - Hot and spicy. These differ from the normal Idlis due to the extra ingredients added usually to make it a little more spicy.

• Pal payasam (rice pudding) - This is a sweet dish made from rice and thick milk.

• Dosai or dosa - This is Indias answer to the French Crepes, though the answer could arguably have been given much before the question was asked. It is made from rice flour. Rice flour is mixed with an optimum level of water. Finding the optimum level is an art which most of the Indian women are born with. As too much or too less can make your Dosa non-appetizing. Dosas again come in a variety of forms and sizes. A dosa with potato curry stuffed inside becomes a Masala Dosa. A Dosa made from Rice flour and Fine semolina (Rawa) becomes a Rawa Dosa. Like idlis, dosas are usually eaten with coconut chutney, tomato chutney and sambar.

• Aapam
• Ven Pongal
• Lemon Rice
• Tamarind Rice
• Curd Rice
• Rasam
• Murukku
• Adhirasam
• Bajji
• Vetral Kuzhambu

[edit] Drink

The famous Filter Coffee special to Tamil Nadu is carefully made from chosen coffee beans, and roasted to preserve the original aroma of the beans.

These roasted beans are powdered and the flavour of rich ground coffee powder is used to make filter coffee, enjoyed by every one. The water that you add has to be at boiling point so for the coffee powder to release its flavour. It is not possible to make coffee with tepid water.

[edit] Sleep

Tamilnadu has a wide range of accommodation to provide to its visitors, be it the class-conscious tourist or the budget-backpacker. Seeing the success of Homestay type accommodation promoted by the Kerala Ministry of Tourism, the Tamilnadu counterpart introduced the "Bed and Breakfast" scheme. Under this scheme accommodation is provided at nominal rates and at the same time with hygienic conditions. And as a bonus you can experience the local life style. "Bed and Breakfast" scheme was introduced by Tourism Department Tamilnadu in 2001-2002. The scheme derives inspiration from a quote of Late Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, which goes like this "Receive a guest and send back a friend ". Under this scheme, a house owner can let out a few rooms to tourists. During the stay of the tourists in his house, the tourists will be provided with accommodation and food by the house owner. A detailed booklet containing the Names, addresses, Telephone Nos. etc. of the Bed and Breakfast scheme providers was published during 2001-2002 and this information was also put on the website of TTDC.

During the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 as many as 3,258 tourists had availed of this scheme. The Bed and Breakfast service providers are scattered throughout the length and breath of Tamil Nadu as stated below.

• Chennai 117
• Madurai - 12
• Tirunelveli - 6
• Kanniyakumari - 4
• Thanjavur - 2
• Kodaikanal - 1
• Virudhunagar - 1
• Salem - 1

The house owners require the services of helpers to attend to the needs of the tourists. Hence, in 2004-2005 a project was established to train such helpers in the field of health and personal hygiene, cleanliness, basic service techniques, basic nutrition values etc.

Apart from this the Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) has 36 Hotels in Tamilnadu that are hygienic and suits the budget to middle category travellers. TTDC Corporation was incorporated during the year 1971. It made a modest beginning with Five Tourist Bungalows and with two coaches. It has made rapid strides since then, and today has earned the proud distinction of owning the largest chain of Hotels in South India numbering 36. The bed strength has increased from 253 in 1971 to 2504 in 1998. 24 fleet of coaches are in use at present. Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation has established the following Tourist's amenities in the State:-

• 1. Hotels : 36
• 2. Youth Hostels : 8 (intended for Budget Tourists)

More Information can be found on The Tamilnadu Department of Tourism's website.

Apart from the Governtment maintained Hotels, there is a plethora of choice to choose from in the private sector. Accommodations in Tamilnadu can be had from Rs 70 ($1.5) to Rs 20000($450).

City specific choice of Hotels in various categories at Hotels at tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu

[edit] Budget

Decent budget categories abound from Rs 300 ($7) to Rs 700 ($20). The former will get you a Non-Ac room with clean bed, TV and most probably a shared bathroom in most parts of Tamilnadu. The latter will fetch you a Ac single room with basic ammenities like TV, Bed, Room service and attached bathroom. If travelling as a couple expect to pay around Rs 500($10) to Rs 1100 ($23). Though you might be lucky to find a decent English speaking concierge at this range, you will find lots of people well-versed in Tanglish (a concoction of Tamil and English) which can be understood quite clearly if you listen hard and pay attention. Please take due precautions with your luggage and other essential documents and money. It is advisable to not leave any money in the room and to always carry your passport in person. Bring a good lock both for your luggage and the hotel door. If you are carrying Laptops or Digi-cams, keep them under lock and key when not taking them on person.

[edit] Medium

Meduim category hotels can be had from Rs 1500 ($27) to Rs 4000 ($80). These will be your 2 to 4 Stars rated Hotels. You will most probably be given a well furnished (by Indian standards) Air conditiobed room with good lightings, bed, TV, attached bathroom with a bathtub and warm water during most of the day and hot water from 6AM-10AM and 6PM-10PM and a good concierge (who will serve you well provided you tip him the moment you see him rather than the last moment). Follow this advice when it comes to tipping. If you have reserved or kept in mind a certain ammount for tipping, tip 20% of the ammount at the begining itself and the rest of the ammount should be watered down subsequently on each tip with the final 20% as the last tip. Do not pay a flat rate tip all the time.

Safety in this category of hotels is more, though it is always advisable to be a little paranoid if you are carrying very expensive items. The safety issue is not a constant and will vary according to the city you are visiting and the hotel you are staying.

Most of the hotels in this category will have an in house restaurant and a bar. If you are lucky or choose well you might even get one with a Pub and a Discotheque around which the nightlife of the city is centered, though these kind of hotels are limited to the major cities which will serve you as a stop-gap in between visiting places of tourist interest. Expect a buffet breakfast to be thrown in as a compliment.

Individual cottages at beach resorts can be had within this budget.

[edit] Splurge

Unlike Rajasthan, you will not be finding any Heritage Hotels (ancient Palaces that have been converted in to hotels) in Tamilnadu. You will have to splurge on 5 star and 5 star deluxe hotels. They will cost you anywhere from Rs 5000 ($110) to Rs 20000 ($450). They are usually run by an international chain and so needs not much description as checking into them here is akin to checking into them in San Francisco or Amsterdam.

These hotels are mostly limited to in and around the city of Chennai. Generally speaking Tamilnadu is a haven for the back-packers and the medium-budget travellers. As a result in the more tourist oriented cities, good hotels with good food and service come cheap. You will be hard pressed to find a hotel where you can splurge these ammounts. But of course what you save on your stay can be channelled into some good Kancheepuram silk sarrees for the beautiful ladies or into stone carvings of beautiful women for the Gentlemen.

[edit] Stay safe

[edit] Get out

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