Chidambaram

Chidambaram greets us with a beautiful temple, dedicated to Lord Nataraja- God Siva in the form of a Cosmic Dancer. This is one of the few temples where Siva and Vishnu are enshrined under one roof. The Tamil Nadu between Vada Venkatam (North Thirupati) and Ten-Kumari is the holiest spot on earth - A Paradise on Earth and to merit this eulogy a divine fragrance permeates the Tamil land. Tamil itself is Sivam and it will be quite in order, to say that the Tamil land is a huge Siva shrine.

Thanjavur

Thanjavur was once the capital of the Chola dynasty and later of the Thanjavur Nayak and the Maratha rulers. The Cholas built most of the 93 odd temples here. Although they were great patrons of arts and lavished their wealth on building temples, they also encouraged the practice of donating part of one's wealth to the temples for spiritual gain.

Rameshwaram

The sacred island of Rameshwaram, 163km southeast of Medora and less than 20km from Sri Lanka across the Gulf of Mannar is, along with Madurai, South India's most important pilgrimage site. Often referred to as the ' Island of Prayer', and also considered the Varanasi of the South India. Those who go to Kasi have to consummate their pilgrimage at Rameswaram.The north Indians and south Indians thus emerge as true Indians by this integration.

Kanyakumari

It is 75 km away from Chennai. A City of Thousand Temples, Kanchipuram is one of the seven sacred cities and considered as the second holiest place in India. It was successively the capital of the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Rayas of Vijaynagar. The city was also the seat of learning Shree Sankaracharya, Appar and Siruthonder. The great Buddhist Vhikku Bodhidharna lived and worked here. There are 126 temples in Kanchi and a few more on the outskirts. Ekambarnatha Temples, the largest temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, was built originally by Pallavas and later improved by the Cholas and the king of Vijaynagar.

Madurai

More than 2500 years old ancient city, situated on the banks of the river Vaigai. Madurai is believed to have b Loeen built by the Pandyan King Kulasekara. Legend has it that drops of Maduram (nectar) fell fromrd Shiva's locks when he came to bless its people for constructing a temple for him. Madurai's history can be divided into four periods, beginning over 2000 years ago, when it was the capital of the Pandyan Kings. Apart from a brief period it fell to the Cholas, ­Madurai remain with Pandyan till the decline of the empire. The 200 year old reign of the Nayakas marked the golden era when art, architecture and learning scaled new heights.

The Pandiyan rulers made Madurai their capital and ruled from here for 4 centuries till the 10th century AD when the Cholas took over briefly before handing it back to the Pandiyans who late lost it to the invading Muslims led by Malik Kaufer.In the 14 th century the Hindu Vijayanagar kings of Hampi captured Madurai.In the 16 th century, the Nayaks took over and it was during the glorious reign of Tirumalai Nayak (1623-1655) that Madurai become the cultural centreof the Tamils, playing a pivotal role in the development of the Tamil language.

Trichy

Tiruchirappalli, situated on the banks of the river Cauvery is the fourth largest city in Tamil Nadu. It was a citadel of the early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas. Trichy is a fine blend of tradition and modernity built around the Rock Fort. Apart from the Fort, there are several Churches, Colleges and Missions dating back to the 1760s. The town and its fort, now in Trichy were built by the Nayaks of Madurai. This city has given great Tamil scholars whose contributions to the Tamil literature have been very significant.

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