The Famous tourist places to visit in Madurai

About Madurai

During Chandragupta MauryaEmpire a city that flourished on the banks of river Vaigai is Madurai. In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Madurai is the third largest city. Madurai city is well known because of its ancient temples.

Madurai is also known as a sleepless city, a city of temples, and Jasmine city. It is one of the oldest and most traditional cities. It has well kept its thousands of year-old tradition.

Apart from temples, one can visit Gandhi Memorial Museum, Rajaji Children’s park, Kazimar, etc. To go around in this city book a car on rent and travel with full comfort.

Major attractions of Madurai City:

• Meenakshi Amman Temple: The temple situated at the center of the city is a 2500-year-old temple. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Meenakshi. The Gopurams are attractive because of the art done on them. Devotees from all over India visit here to worship.
• Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace: To know about its rich and glorious past and about the lavish lifestyle lived during those times then this palace is the best place to visit. Built in the 17^th century this palace is splendid and grand.

• YanaiMalai: It is a mixture of nature, history, and a place of worship. This place is mainly known for idols carved on stones related to Jainism. It’s an open place away from the city’s crowd.
• VandiyurMariammanTeppakulam: It is a huge pool of water spread over 16 acres. A temple is built at the center here. Most devotees visit here on the day of ‘Purnima’.
• Koodal Alagar Temple: An elegant temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This temple demonstrates three postures of the Lord i.e. sitting, standing, and lying down. This temple is worth seeing because of its beautiful architecture.

• Thiruparankundram: Ancient temple dedicated to Lord Murgan-Karthikeya (son of Lord Shiva). This massive temple attracts many devotees to its interiors.

Favorable time to visit Madurai

Being in the south, this city faces a hot and humid climate for eight months. The temperature in summer reaches till 40degrees, which makes it feel sweaty. V

isiting your favorite destination at this scorching temperature could be a bit difficult. From January till March, the temperature is favorable as the cool breeze blows.

During these months traveling from one place to another can be done conveniently. Winters can see the drop-down of temperature up to 10 degrees.

The cold wind and soothing climate will make your journey of exploring Madurai city memorable. As Madurai is considered a temple city so visiting the temples during winter would be better rather than in summer.

Festivals celebrated at a grand level in Madurai

• Pongal: It’s a four-day harvest festival in which a sweet dish named ‘Pongal’ is prepared that is offered to God and then distributed between all as a ‘Prashad’.
• On these three days, all of them worship the Sun, nature, and livestock. This is celebrated in January every year. It’s a thanksgiving to the Lord for providing us food to feed ourselves.
• The dish Pongal is made up of rice, milk, jaggery, or sugar. Four days of this festival are celebrated with full enthusiasm and energy. All the rituals are followed properly. Especially in temples, this festival is celebrated at a grand level.

• Dance Festival: The dance festival is organized by the tourist department. It is a cultural festival of 15 days. In this festival, various forms of dance are performed. Artists from all over India participate in this 15-day festival to showcase their dance form.
• This cultural festival has regained popularity and visitors get knowledge of the various dance forms in India and how they are performed.
• Chithirai Festival: This festival occurs from mid-April-May. These months are considered as Hindu month of Chithirai. Millions of devotees visit Madurai during this time. The major events that occurred are:

1. Day 1: For the official start of the festival, flag hoisting is done
2. Day 8: Meenakshi Amman temple’s coronation
3. Day 9: Goddess Procession
4. Day 10: Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswar’s celestial marriage
5. Day 11: Procession of Chariot
6. Day 12: Procession of Float

• Float Festival: This festival was started in the 17^th century by King ThirumalaiNayakkar. This festival is basically celebrated in Meenakshi Amman Temple, where deities are taken on a boat ride and worshipped. The king on the occasion of his birthday started to celebrate this floating festival. Now, it is celebrated every year on a large scale full of energy.

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• Jallikattu: During the Pongal celebration, this Jallikattufestival is also celebrated. It is a game in which a few bull tamers try to control the furious and uncontrollable bull and bring them under their control. This festival is also shown in the famous South Indian movie ‘Kantara’.

Shopping in Madurai

There are a few famous items in Madurai like cotton Sungidi sarees, Handicrafts, antiques, and Tanjore paintings. Known markets in Madurai are East Masi Street, South Avanimoola Street, Town Hall Road, and Pudumandapam.

Go out for random shopping at these marketplaces and get the items of you need. Saree lovers can also get to purchase a good collection of sarees from the market. Sarees are Hand looms made by the local artisans of Madurai.

Rest Handicrafts and antiques are also unique and different one can purchase them for their memories of the Madurai trip. Apart from temples do experience shopping at the local market.

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Reach Madurai via road

Madurai is connected to various multiple-lane highways. From almost all the major cities of the South traveling to Madurai by road is an easy affair. From cities like Chennai and Bangalore, it will take near about 8 to 10 hours to reach Madurai.

The best way is to a private cab from any major city in the South and travels to Madurai city with full comfort. The cab will be with us throughout the trip.

You can visit temples and other attractions in Madurai at your convenience. Highways are well kept and roads are in a proper running condition which makes on-road journeys trouble-free.

Stay in Madurai

Madurai has a few best hotels and restaurants for a stay. As this city witnesses huge tourist so they have made special provisions for stay too. Rooms are well maintained and provide a good stay experience with yummy food.

From expensive to low budget all kinds of rooms are available here for stay. The interiors of a few hotels and resorts are mind-blowing. You would love your stay there. A few places that can be looked at for a stay are:

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• Hotel President
• Fortune PandiyanHotel
• The Thangam Grand
• Royal Court
• JC Residency
• Gopuram Residency
• The Gateway Hotel
• Hotel Temple view
• Mount Retreat

A few delicious delicacies of Madurai:

Madurai is famous for South Indian food like Spongy and soft Idly, Bun Parotta, Golden and crisp dosa, Idiyappam, ParuthiPaal, etc. For non-vegetarian lovers, restaurants like Kumar Mess and Amma Mess are must-visit places.

These two places serve tasty non-veg food. A few other restaurants that serve lip-smacking food are Murugan Idly Shop, Hotel SreeSabarees, Hotel Kanna, Modern Restaurant, Jaffer’s Home Biryani, Chappati Park, etc.

If you are a food lover then this place will never disappoint you as it has numerous options to fulfill all kinds of cravings.  From snacks to the main courses all the food items are easily available in this city.

Best cities to travel near Madurai

• Kodaikanal: A hill station with a mesmerizing landscape is the ideal destination for a honeymoon. This place even helps us to stay away from the scorching heat during summer for some time. The temperature here is soothing and the view is mind-blowing.
• Munnar: It is another hill station on the Western Ghats of Kerala. The lush greenery, mountains, and amazing weather make the travel experience unforgettable. Enjoy with your near and dear ones here.

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• Thekkady: A place that is a paradise for all nature lovers and is rich in greenery. Have a look at cardamom, tea, and coffee plantations. Many can also visit mountains, waterfalls, and rivers.

Conclusion

Madurai is one of those cities that is a perfect mixture that can satisfy your Spiritual, historical, etc kind of interests. This place witnesses a huge rush of tourists every year as many people are keen to know about its history and are willing to visit the temples, especially during festivals time.

To explore every nook and corner of the city you can reserve a taxi from Chiku Cab. Our online portal will help you to book a cab from your home.

You don’t have to travel anywhere regarding booking. For your convenience, our payment is done online. Book through our website www.chikucab.com.

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