View 46
photos

Tamil Nadu Tourism

3.9 / 5

Download Free PDF Guide

India

Beaches | Hills & Valleys

₹ 3,000 onwards (View Packages)

Get Customized Package

Ideal duration: 4 - 12 days

Best time: October to March (Read More)

Major Airports: Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli

"Enchanting Tamil Nadu"

Tamil Nadu, India

Tamil Nadu- A land of cultural and religious heritage, offers every chance to its tourists and pilgrims to be enchanted with the vast plethora of history and beauty that it has. It is a blend of both- the modern and the ancient, which makes Tamil Nadu a beautiful destination to explore and experience our past cultural heritage with all the amenities of the present.

Lying along the Bay of Bengal, Tamil Nadu has a glorious history that spans to a millennium and a present, that is paving a way for it in becoming one of the most promising states in the country. This state has seen the rise and fall of many dynasties such as the Cholas, the Cheras and the Pallavas. Each dynasty has enriched the place with its customs and traditions. Tamil Nadu sees a lot of tourists coming from all over the world to see the famous Meenakshi Temple, the tip of India - Kanyakumari or the beautiful hill station of Ooty. There is a great fascination to explore the ruins of the forts and palaces of the then great dynasties. The intricately carved structure of Mahabalipuram offers an insight into the architectural splendour of the Indian Civilization.

Download Tamil Nadu PDF Guide

Free . Works Offline . Share Anywhere

Download Now

Top Places to Visit In Tamil Nadu

Rameshwaram

Chennai

Ooty

Kanyakumari

Kanchipuram

Kodaikanal

View Top Places to Visit in Tamil Nadu >>

Top Attractions In Tamil Nadu

Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Ooty

Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Kanyakumari

Brahadeshwara Temple, Thanjavur

Kodai Lake, Kodaikanal

Mahabalipuram Beach, Mahabalipuram

Marudhamalai Hill Temple, Coimbatore

Stories about Tamil Nadu

Traditional Dresses Of Tamil Nadu - Dressing Style and Culture!

Tamil Nadu Food - A Guide to Traditional Tamil Cuisine

Culture And Traditions Of Tamil Nadu

Airports in Tamil Nadu

Best Honeymoon Places in Tamil Nadu

Top Hill Stations in Tamil Nadu

View All Collections From Tamil Nadu >>

What's Great?

Very well connected nationally and internationally by land, sea and air. Diverse range of tourist activities. Many beaches, hill stations and forests.

What's not so Great?

Summers may get very hot. The state is prone to cyclones during the late monsoons. Some popular tourist destinations may get very crowded during peak season.

For Whom

Tami Nadu is an ideal holiday destination for families, honeymooners, adventure travellers, wildlife enthusiasts, history aficionados and backpackers.

Tamil Nadu Photos

+ 46
photos

All Photos of Tamil Nadu >>

The Land of Temples

Tamil Nadu has a very rich history of cultural enrichment and architecture. Art and literature, too have been patronised by the successive rulers in this region. This has resulted in temples that are considered to be marvels of architecture and stand even today as testaments of the devotion of the people. There are over thirty thousand temples in Tamil Nadu built in the Dravida style of ancient temple architecture. Temples are also places of social and cultural gathering and have vast halls that host dances and musical performances dedicated to the respective gods. Mahabalipuram, Gangaikondacholapuram, Brihadeshwara, Nataraja, Tanjore (Thanjavur) and Meenakshipuram are some of the famous temples located in temple towns all over the state. Many of these temples have been declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Wildlife of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is rich in biodiversity because of the great variety in habitats found in the state. The meeting of the Eastern and Western Ghats forms a corridor of dense forest that is inhabited by large and small animals including tigers, leopards, elephants and endangered species like the Golden Langur and the black buck. There is also a vast variety of birds of which, some birds like the flamingos and terns are migratory. There are 17 wildlife sanctuaries and five national parks in Tamil Nadu of which one is a tiger reserve. Mudhumalai, Nagarhole and Bandipur are some of the most famous forest reserves in the state.

Dances and Music of Tamil Nadu

The culture of Tamil Nadu has a rich history, and the present forms of dance and music reflect the years of influence the land has received from various factors. Bharatnatyam is the traditional Tamilian dance form practised in temples before the gods. It has now become popular in all of India and is recognised as one of the seven classical dances of India. Kuchipudi, the dance from Andhra Pradesh is also very popular in this state. Carnatic music, which has the same base as Hindustani Classical but uses different instruments and tones is also highly developed in Tamil Nadu. Natyanjali and Mamallapuram dance festivals are both held during the winter and draw huge crowds from all over the world. Similarly, the Thyagaraja Music Festival celebrates varieties of Carnatic music and witnesses large crowds.

Arts and Crafts of Tamil Nadu

The rich heritage of Tamil craftsmanship has been documented in many chronicles since before the Mauryan times. The most famous of the art forms is the Tanjore painting which is done using a mixture of chalk and glue inlaid with precious stones and pearls. These pictures give an amazing three-dimensional effect. Woodcarving too is highly developed in this state and has been used to make pillars of temples and everyday kitchen items that bear intricate carvings. Because of the abundance of sandalwood, many ceremonial items are carved from this scented wood. The metalwork from bell metal was a speciality of temple towns of yore and continues to be a dominant handicraft product even today.

History of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu's history goes back to the prehistoric times, and there is evidence that this region was inhabited since before the Indus Valley civilisation. Many great kingdoms like those of the Pallavas, Cholas and the Vijayanagara Empire were built in this region and stretched as far north as the shore of the Ganga.

During this time, many majestic temples have been constructed on the seashores and are admired as pieces of fascination even today. The British then took over this region and after many bloody battles with the then ruling Nayak Dynasty, formed the Madras presidency, one of the three most important parts of British India. Tamil Nadu, in its present form, was constituted in 1969 and renamed from the earlier Madras state.

Geography of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the four Southern states of India and is bordered by Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and the Union Territory of Pondicherry. On the South-eastern side, it shares a maritime boundary with Sri Lanka. Kanyakumari is the southernmost point on the Indian landmass where the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea meet.

This state is also very rich in vegetation and different types of forests including evergreen, deciduous and scrub forests. The Western and Eastern Ghats, two of the country's most biologically diverse zones converge at the Nilgiri hills. Tamil Nadu also has one of the most extensive coastline, second only to Gujarat. The capital of this state is Chennai (formerly known as Madras) and Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Trichy and Salem are some of the other main cities.

People Of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu state is one of the most urbanised states in India, though a lot of people are still living in the rural parts of the state. Around 80% of the population follow Hinduism which includes the caste system and is still a significant issue here. A majority of the population live in Chennai and cities like Madurai, Coimbatore, etc. which is the commercial concentration of the state. Tamil is the official language spoken here. However, there are different dialects of the same and over 18 other languages exist here too. Tamil Nadu has a great tradition of heritage and culture that developed over 2,000 years ago and continues to flourish. The people here are very particular about their culture, traditions and customs. Even the most modern person here will be likely to follow the age-old traditions. The people of Tamil Nadu are rather welcoming and warm.

Local Food and Cuisine of Tamil Nadu

The food of Tamil Nadu is rich in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. The diet mainly consists of rice, lentils, legumes with spices such as curry leaves, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, garlic etc. Coconut is widely used in various forms.
Read More about local food of Tamil Nadu >