Day-1
Chennai - Tirupati Balaji Temple - Vellore(560 km-10hr)
For me it was a proud moment to took my parents to Tamilnadu trip.I am so lucky that I had a chance to take my mother and father for a trip.This trip obviously different than any other trip of my. It was a spiritual one as well as this trip connect me to my soul with lots of emotions of parent love. This trip was also different because it had been driven me to the pure Indian culture.
November to February is the best time to visit Tamilnadu not so much cold not so much hot its is perfect time to explore while you are in temple trip.
We started our journey from Ahmedabad. For my parents this was the first journey by the airbus. I guess they would be excited too.
We reached early morning at Chennai Airport and the spiritual journey started towards to Tirupati Balaji temple.From Chennai to Tirupati it takes 3 hours by road. while you are in Tirupati make sure that you should follow proper dress code for man and woman. for man Dhoti is necessary and for women no western outfits are allowed there. Before going to Tirupati Balaji temple it is advisable to make online darsan reservations from website https://www.tirumala.org/.Which will save your precious time.As I said, we already registered our darshan so we easily made darshan of Tirupati Balaji bhagwan.The atmosphere of the temple enchants you with continuous chant of "Om Namo Veketashvaraya Namah". After darshan we proceed to Papavinasanam Teertham and Akashganga.The place has a mesmerizing waterfall whose water is believed to be sacred and that a dip in it washes away all the sins and misdeeds. The day was ended after washing our sins and we reached at Vellore, there was our night stay. It was a very tired day, but it worth too.
Day-2
Vellore - Tanjore(310 km- 5hr)
The next morning we left for the first place on our list of today's sight seen. This was Vellore golden temple which is devoted to Goddess Lakshmi. The temple with its gold (1500 kg) covering has intricate work done by artisans specializing in temple art using gold. After that we had proceed to Tanjore it’s about 310 km from Vellore by road. We got there in the afternoon and visit Brihadeshwara temple .This temple is dedicated to Shiva located in South bank of Kaveri river in Thanjavur.It is one of the largest South Indian temples and an exemplary example of a fully realized Tamil architecture. It is called as Dakshina Meru (Meru of south).Built by Tamil king Raja Raja Chola I between 1003 and 1010 AD, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", along with the Chola dynasty era Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple that are about 70 kilometres (43 mi) and 40 kilometres (25 mi) to its northeast respectively.Then we went to other temples of Tanjore like Thanjavur Shri Bangaru Kamatchiamman Temple, Divya Desam Sri Neelamega Perumal Temple,Thanjapureswarar Temple, Thanjavur Shri Aadhi Mariamman Temple.
Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari(310km-5.30hr)
After breakfast we went to Dhanush Kodi without wasting our precious time.This is 10 km away from Rameshwaram.Dhanush Kodi is also called "The Last Land of India" because the border of Sri Lanka is 24 km away from there. This place is also famous for "Ram Setu" which was built by lord Hanumanji according to ancient mythology.
after visiting Dhanush kodi we went to National memorial of Dr. A.J.Kalam in Rameshwaram.After that we had proceed for Kanyakumari is 310 km from Rameshwaram.On the way we had visited Suchindram temple. There is also a dress code, dhoti without shirt for men and no shorts are allowed for women.
Before sun goes down we reached Kanyakumari and we were witness of scenic sunset of Kanyakumari.Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of Indian sub continent also a fantastic tourist spot with the specialty as three major sea joints together there(Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal). The point where three oceans meets is Gandhi Mandapam.In the same row Kanyakumari devi temple is situated. We had visited both the place and then check in to hotel.
Day-5
Kanyakumari-Madurai(212km 5hr)
Kanyakumari also represents the site where the spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda spent days in meditation upon a rock off of the coast. So we decided to go there, before going to Madurai. You can reach there by boat only, it takes only 10 to 15 minutes. After visited Swami Vivekananda memorial we leave from Kanyakumari and went towards to Madurai. Distance from Kanyakumari to Madurai is 212 km.after 4 to 5 hr journey from Kanyakumari to Madurai we reached at our first divine destination Meenaxi Amma temple which is one of the very famous temple in Tamilnadu.This temple is devoted to devi Parvati.In the evening we were visited Thirumalai Nayak palace to watch the light and sound show about the story of Silapathikaram is organized at the palace. The show is held in English and Tamil language.Show timings for English show is from 6.45 PM to 7.35 PM. The show in tamil is held from 8 PM to 8.50 PM. And the day was ended and we back to our hotel.
Day-6
Madurai-Kanchipuram(410km-6.5km)
After having breakfast we proceed to Kanchipuram but before that our first stop was Tiruvannamalai temple which is come between Madurai to Kanchipuram. It takes 5hr from Madurai by road for the distance of 318km.
Tiruvannamalai temple is also called Arunachaleshwara temple because it's situated on foothills of Arunachala hill.This temple is devoted to lord Shiva.
As we decided earlier that one day we would spent for shopping in our entire journey. So that as per our tour itinerary last destination was Kanchipuram which is very famous for Kanchipuram silk sari. If you ever travel to Kanchipuram and you want to buy something as a travel souvenir, you can buy Kanchipuram silk sarees.Here I am suggesting some shops like.A.S.Babu shah shop, Lakshaya silk sarees, Shri Srvalakhsmi sarees.
Day-7
Kanchipuram-Chennai
Last but not the least our final tourist place was Rajiv Gandhi Memorial.This is the site were the former Priminister of India was assasinated,through a bomb blast.The bomb blast site is surrounded by seven pillers,there is also a museum dedicated to RajivGandhi.
Then our driver cum guide dropped us at Chennai airport. We took flight back to Ahmedabad from Chennai.After having so much blessings from the Divine world our journey ended here.
Day-3
Tanjore-Chettinad-Rameshwram(240km -5hr)
It was 3rd day of holy trip our next destination was Rameshwaram temple but before that we visited swami Ranganathaswamy temple which is world largest temple and it is situated at Trichy.This temple devoted to loard Vishnu. It is huge temple with stunning architectural art. One should not miss this place while you are in Tamilnadu.Then we had proceed to Chettinad.Chettinad is famous for his delicious cuisine and for old architectural houses.Anyone can visit any of the houses there by paying fees, it’s around 50 to 100 rupees per person. Fortunately we had chance to visit Kanadukathan palace generally it is not open for general tourists.
After that we went to Rameshwaram. Along the way we stopped to look at the famous Padmanabham Bridge and took a few photos of India's first Sea Bridge. We reached at Rameshwaram temple which is devoted to lord Shiva.It is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples. After taking bath in Agnitirth we took blessings from lord Shiva and went to our hotel.
