Travel Guide - Madurai

Madurai

Madurai is a temple town of India located in southern region of India. People from several different religions and cultures are residing in the place and all different kinds of festivals are celebrated here in unison. It is situated on the bank of river Vaigai and has been the kingdom of Pandya kings in the past century. The place has a great cultural heritage and strong mythological history to be passed on to the next coming generations. The place is more than 2500 years old and the commercial center was developed in 550 AD. The city is constructed in the form of a lotus and is known as lotus city too. There is a beautiful temple constructed by the Pandyan kings and Lord Shiva is worshiped here. It was believed that divine nectar was showered at that place and due to it the Jasmine flowers bloom in the place all around. Jasmine flower too has its foundation in the city. In 16th century, it was ruled by Nayal emperors and also Christianity has been cultivated in these regions too. The Tamil dynasty too had its footings long back in the pre-Christian area and it developed in association with Christianity in the place. Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple is the excellent master piece of the area. The temples are surrounded by concentric circles all around giving the essence of the cosmos, henceforth it is also known as the cosmos city. It has several small temples all around, rather there is a temple on every cross road of the city. It is aptly known as the temple city of India.

When To Go

Summers (March - June) are exceedingly hot with temperature hovering around 26°C to 40°C. Winters are pleasant during December to February within the temperature band of 18°C to 29°C. South west monsoon crosses the city during June to August and medium to heavy annual rainfall is noted.

Important festivals celebrated here with much enthusiasm, pomp and show are pongal during January, chithirai festival during April - May months.

The best time to visit Madurai is from October to March.

History

The history of Madurai goes back to the 3rd century BC when Megasthenese mentioned the city in his document. Madurai was then known as ‘Methora’. The city also finds its mention in the Kautilya’s Arthshasta and in the Sangam Literature, wherein Madurai was described to be under the rule of Pandyan Dynasty. Madurai is also known to have been mentioned by the Roman historians – Pliny the Younger and Ptolemy and Greek geographer, Strabo.

After the Sangam period, almost all of Tamil Nadu is known to come under the reigns of Kalabhra rulers, which continued till the mid of 6th century C.E. It then came under the wings of the Pandayan rulers before being conquered by the rulers of Chola dynasty. The great Indian epics, Mahabharata, Ramayana also contain mentions about the city.

In the year 1323, Madurai came under the rule of Tughlaks and the Delhi Sultanate. The Madurai Sultanate then seized the city and till the acquisition by the Vijayanagar Empire, the city functioned as an independent state. After the fall of the next rulers of Madurai, the Nayaks, the city constantly changed hands between the Chanda Sahib, Arcot Nawab and Muhammed Yusuf Khan.

It was in the year 1801, when Madurali like the whole of India, came under the rule of the British East India Company. To cater to the vast increase in population, the city was expanded in 1837 on the orders of John Blackburn. Since then Madurai remained under the British till the independence in 1947.

Travel within city

Madurai is an important city locates in Southern India, and is the second largest city in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is a very important destination commercially, and is one of the prime destinations that is rising in the southern part of the country. Travelling through the city of Madurai is easy, as many buses, auto rickshaws, cabs and cars are available for easy commute.

Bus

You can opt for the government run local buses in order to travel around the city, and this is one of the easiest modes of travel in Madurai. The local buses cover the entire expanse of the city, and by taking one of the regularly plying buses, you can reach any destination in a matter of minutes. You can also opt for deluxe buses which are slightly more expensive but less crowded and more comfortable. Travelling by bus through the night is also safe, so buses are the best mode of travel in Madurai. Bus fares will range from Rs 3 to 8. There are four major bus stands and these are Periyar Bus Stand, Arapalayam Bus Stand, Shopping Complex Bus Stand and Matthuthavani Bus Stand.

Auto Rickshaw

Auto rickshaws in Madurai do not run on meter and a fare should be negotiated beforehand. Day time travel will cost you around Rs 10 per kilometer and night fares are Rs 15 per kilometer. These are easily accessible, present in all major locations.

Attractions

Meenakshi Temple

    mustsee

Meenakshi Temple is the holy temple of hindus located in the city of Madurai in southern India. It is a vast temple of Lord Shiva and Goddess parvati. It is the best temple in which both God and Goddess are worshipped together. It is the life line of the country, especially southern India as Lord shiva is the highly worshiped god of the country. It has its foundation way back in the 2500 AD.

According to the mythology, Lord shiva visited Madurai to marry Parvati and it has been the sacred abode of Goddess Parvarti since her birth. The wonderful architecture of the place is amongst the seven wonders of the world and the construction is highly minute with great art piece incorporated the walls and pillars of the temple.

Koodal Azhagar Temple

    popular The temple is situated in the city of Azhaghar, the beautiful city of southern India. It is the temple of lord Vishnu with great monument of lord Vishnu encarved in front of the temple. Koodal is the second name for the city of Madurai and Koodal temple indicates the temple of Madurai as suggested by its name. It is one of the oldest temples in southern India and is one of the 108 temples of lord Vishnu constructed all over India.

The temple is very close to the main bus stop of Madurai and it becomes easy for the people to visit the temple once they are in the city of madurai in Tamil Nadu. Several different lodging and boarding facilities is provided in the place and hence it becomes convenient to the travelers, who would love to visit the place and take the sacred blessings of Lord Vishnu.

Mariamman Teppakulam

    popular This is a temple made in the memory of Lord Vigneshwara. It is situated about 5 kms from the meenakshi temple. It has a huge tank in the compound of the temple and is the biggest tank in the region of Tamil Nadu. The tank is filled with water all year long and the idol of the temple too was obtained from the bottom of the tank, while it was dug in the olden times and hence the temple was constructed at that place itself. So the tank gained its popularity since then and the temple too was constructed in its memory.

Several different kinds of festivals are celebrated in the temple and all rituals are done with great pomp and pleasure and the people have a wonderful time while they are in the temple.

Thirumalai Nayak Mahal

    popular Thirumalai Nayak Mahal was constructed way back in the 17th century. Several buildings and temples had been constructed by him in the region and they have been splendid piece of construction. It was constructed by kings of muslim dynasty which covered several regions of coimbatore, Madurai districts and other few places in southern Tamil Nadu. It is a great piece of art and all of the sculptures are encarved in the Madurai style.

Several old temples too have been renovated in this new style and the whole city seems to have the construction of the similar make, which is a good feature of the place. Charges: Rs 10 per person  

Alagar Koil

   Alagar Koil is a beautiful temple situated in the north east of Madurai. The temple is the abode of Lord Vishnu and is the sacred place for several followers of Lord Vishnu in the region. It is situated in the Alagar hills and is also known as Azhagarkovil. The statue of the lord is made of stone and is a great masterpiece created from kallalgar. Several different statues in different postures of the Lord are all kept in the temple under the same roof and is the best form of distinct temples in southern India.

The people of the region consider Lord Vishnu to be a wonderful king or ruler of the earth and offer holy prayers from the bottom of the heart. The temple has wonderful halls and other facilities to perform different rituals with sacred mantras in the holy environment.

Gandhi Museum

  

Gandhi museum is a great master piece in Southern India and it has great historical background and mythology in its background. There are several Gandhi museums across the nation and the Gandhi museum of the southen India is basically a Tamukkam bungalow which means summer house in Tamil, which is the local language of the place.

The museum is square in share and created at the height of 5 metres from the ground level and it has a wonderful dome in the centre which is about 7 metres diagonally. It was constructed by Nayak Queen Rani in the earlier 1700 AD. Great cost was incurred in establishing the museum and it was all invested by the government of India, in memory of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. Timings: Open daily 9 am - 6:30 pm, except Wednesdays  

Pazhamudhir Solai

   Pazhamudhir Solai is a beautiful temple created in the memory of Lord Subramaniya who is worshipped by several people in southern India. It has great sculptures of lord subramaniya encarved in wood and marble and is a wonderful temple with giant steps in the front of it.

People worship the temple by moving across the periphery of the temple a several number of times, with the hope that their wish would come true. It is the giant temple of Lord subhramaniya in southern India and one of the most beautiful too. Its located on the hills of Azharar koil and falls in Madurai in Tamil nadu.

Tirupparankundram Murugan Temple

   Tirupparankundram Murugan temple is one of the pilgrimage places in the southern India. The temple is an excellent master piece of art and is devoted to mother earth for all the benedictions it has bestowed on the holy earth. The region is hilly and is also known as southern Himalayas of India. It is a beautiful place where the sun and moon can be seen together at several instances of the day.

It is considered to be the holy place for marriages and most of the marriages in the suburbs take place in this temple itself. The marriage of Lord Subhrahmanya was celebrated in this temple and since then several people have been bound in the marital bonds in front of the god in this temple.

Vaigai Dam

   Vaigai dam is a giant dam constructed on the river Vaigai and is situated near Andipatti in southern India. The dam has been the life line of the agricultural lands in the neighbourhood and because of it the areas have flourished in leaps and bounds. It provides clean and fresh drinking water to whole of the region of Madurai and Andipatti. Agricultural research institution too has been developed near the dam so as to research on a wide variety of crops including cereals and pulses.

Several issues about the water supply in the dry seasons have been curbed down after the construction of the dam and it has provided life to the region of southern India.

Itineraries

Distances

Kodaikanal	40 km	20m
Rameswaram	170 km	3h, 40m
Coimbatore	221 km	4h, 10m
Kochi	234 km	3h, 30m
Kanyakumari	247 km	4h, 10m
Trivandrum	258 km	4h, 20m
Ooty	280 km	4h, 50m
Bangalore	448 km	6h, 50m
Chennai	464 km	7h, 10m
Mangalore	625 km	9h

Posted in: Travel