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Tamil Nadu - Tourists Places
Other Tourists Places In The Chennai -
» the 13th century Kapaleeswarar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva.
» the 16th century slim-spired Santhome Basilica.
» the Government Museum and National Art Gallery - excellent sculptures and bronzes.
» including the famous 10th century Nataraja that stands nearly 60 cms (2 ft) high.
» the Deer Sanctuary, Snake Park at Guindy and the Crocodile Farm near Covelong.
Shopping In Chennai - Kancheepuram silks with their
exquisite 'zari' embroidery (designs woven with gold thread); colourful cotton
sarees and textiles with ethnic designs from Madurai and Coimbatore; bronze
icons, gold and gem studded jewellery; granite sculptures & soapstone
images of deities, and sandalwood carvings are some of the things that you can
buy.
The most reputed place for sarees is Nalli. Other places to try out
are Spencer Plaza for everything under one roof, Vummidiars for authentic
diamonds, Design for leather goods and Victoria Technical Institute for good
handicrafts and the best lace hand embroidery done by nuns.
Chennai is a
good base from which to visit the nearby Kancheepuram and
Mamallapuram and also a launch-pad for embarking on an exploration of
Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur that hold some of the
marvels of Tamil Nadu's temple architecture.
KANCHEEPURAM -Lying 70 kms west of Chennai,
Kancheepuram is one of the seven sacred Hindu cities of India and also one of
the most spectacular of the temple towns with a skyline studded with gopurams.
The Ekambareshwara Temple is famous for its 1000-pillared hall, enormous
gopuram (57m high) and a thousand-year old mango tree whose fruit is said to
impart knowledge!
Mamallapuram - All
that remains of the great city built by the Pallava ruler Mahendra Varman in
the 7th century, are some breathtaking rock sculptures and monuments on a low,
boulder-strewn hill by the sea, 60 km south of Chennai. 'Mandapams'
(cave temples), 'rathas' (temple chariots), the world's largest
bas-relief (called 'Arjuna's Penance' - 27 m long and 6 m high) and a
solitary pagoda-shaped Shore Temple - all hewn out of solid granite, lie
scattered in the area.
The serenely beautiful Shore Temple,
dedicated to both Lord Vishnu and Shiva, now stands right near the sea and has
been protected from the pounding waves by a modern boundary wall.
Madurai (City Of Nectar) - Tamil Nadu's second largest
city is synonymous with the temple built in honour of Lord Shiva's consort, the
'fish-eyed' goddess Meenakshi Temple. Thousands of pilgrims from all
over India visit the temple every day. The enormous gopurams are lavishly
covered with multi-coloured carvings of gods, goddesses, mythical figures and
animals - the biggest gopuram having more than 1500 sculptures!
Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) - A mammoth 83 m high
outcrop of rock, rising unexpectedly out of an otherwise flat landscape, and
topped by a fort and then a temple - that is the enduring image of
Tiruchirapalli, better known as Trichy. Dedicated to the elephant-headed God,
Ganesha, the temple is reached by climbing 344 steps carved out of the
rock.
Trichy lies on the banks of the Kaveri river 320 kms south of
Chennai. Being in the heart of Tamil Nadu it is a convenient base for visiting destinations in the
southern part of the State. Five km to its North, at Srirangam, is the
enormous Ranganathaswamy Temple set on an island in the river. The
temple complex is spread over a staggering 250 hectares, and almost the whole
of Srirangam town lies within its 7 concentric walls! And this complex has no
less than 22 gopurams, each depicting the architectural style of the times in
which it was built. The tallest gopuram is an amazing 73 m (241 ft)
high!
Thanjavur (Tanjore) - The ancient
capital of the Cholas, Thanjavur is 55 kms east of Trichy. In addition to the
paintings and bronze icons that are made here, Thanjavur is also famous for the
Brihadeeshwara Temple built by Raja Raja Chola in the 10th century. An
amazing feature of the temple is that the 66.5 m high 'vimana' (temple tower
above the main shrine) is capped by a massive cupola carved out of a single
granite block estimated to weigh more than 80 tonnes.
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