Tamil Nadu Cities

Chennai:
Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is also its principal harbour and has one of the finest beaches in Asia. It was founded at Fort St.George in 1640 A.D. by Francis Day of the East India Company.

Chennai, the cultural centre of South India and gateway to the state of Tamil Nadu, is a fascinating jumble dominated by glittering high-rise emporia and corporate buildings.

Chennai offers excellent hotels and transport, a terrific range of food and various shopping centres for silks, cottons and course, magnificent old Hindus temples that offer more than just a fabulous photo opportunity to the discerning! Cinema and politics are the major beats on the streets.

Prime Attractions / Places to see :

Marina Beach - Golden sand, good surf and a shimmering clean blue sea; this in a nutshell is Marina beach. This beach is counted among one of the longest beaches in Asia.

Theosophical Society - On a vast expanse of over 250 acres on the banks of the Adyar estuary lies the more-than-a-century-old Theosophical Society, amidst the woods, marshes, gardens and waters.

Kapaleeswara Temple - The Kapaleeswara Temple situated in Mylapore is very famous and attracts thousands of devotees, especially during festival days.

How to reach Chennai ?

Chennai, is an international arrivel point and is well connected by Air from all the major national and international cities around the world. Regular train services also connect Chennai (Madras) directly with all the major cities and National Highway connect the city with excelllant road network from other capitals and major tourist places in India.



Mahabalipuram:
The history of Mahabalipuram dates back to two thousand years, it contains nearly forty monuments of different types including an "open air bas relief" which is the largest in the world, for centuries it has been a centre of pilgrimage, it figures in the early annals of the British search for the picturesque in India in the 18th century, today it attracts shoals of foreigners in search of relaxation and sea bathing, and most strange of all, it has an atomic power plant for neighbour. A small library has been written on it. Over its history and that of its monuments a number of scholarly controversies rage.

Mahabalipuram was already a centre of pilgrimage when, in the 7th century Mamalla made it a seaport and began to make temples fashioned of rock. It was through Mahabalipuram that many Indian colonists, who included sages and artists, migrated to Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka's national chronicle, the "Mahavamsa" testifies to this fact.

Mahabalipuram - A Classical Site Of Indian Historical Archaeology

When the first British visitors went to Mahabalipuram in the eighteenth century, they found the monuments under sand, a few completely so. It must have fallen into neglect after the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire or, at least, Vijayanagar authority. It had prospered under the Cholas and their successors until about the seventeenth century. Europe knew of it as early as the 13th century when, following Marco Polo's visit, it appears in the Catalan Map of 1275.

The first European to mention it directly, but with no personal knowledge, of it, did so in 1582. The first English visitor was William Chambers in 1788. Following this, earnest antiquarians from Madras puzzled over it. One of them, Colin Mackenzie, dug out some of the monuments from sand and deputed assistants to collect its traditions and coins. In this way Mahabalipuram became one of the classical sites of Indian historical archaeology.

How to get there ?

Air - Chennai (58-km) is the nearest airport with both domestic and international terminus. Chennai is connected with all the major places in India through the numerous domestic flights. International flights operate from various parts of the world to Chennai.

Rail - The nearest railway stations are Chengalpattu (29-km) and Chennai (58-km). From these stations one has to take road to reach the Mahabalipuram.

Road - Buses are available from Pondicherry, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu and Chennai to Mahabalipuram daily. The road to Mahabalipuram is good. Tourists can also hire a taxi from Chennai.