Exciting Chennai Vacation package to discover the splendor of Chennai

Explore the splendor of culture, religion and architecture of Tamil state on Vacation Tour to Chennai. Exclusive Chennai tour & holiday packages to travel around temple city of India dotted with numerous temples, historic monuments, and unspoiled sandy beaches on Vacation Tour to Chennai. Get ready to be mesmerized by tour packages Chennai offering Travel guide to Chennai for magnificent insight in to the Chennai India.

Chennai is the fourth largest city of India (almost 6 million inhabitants) and the capital of the state Tamil Nadu. Originally, there were several small angler villages (of which two carried the names of Madraspatnam and Chennapatnam), which in the course of the centuries merged. Two thousand years ago Chennai was a major trade route with merchants from Mediterranean Sea cultures and from China. During 58 A.D., the apostle Thomas lived here up to his assassination in 78 A.D. In 1504 the "San Thome Cathedral" was built in his memory and houses his remains. In 1611, the British East India Company erected its first trade post at the north of Madraspatnam. This was transferred in 1639 to Madraspatnam. During 1640, fort St. George was established here, around which George Town was built and now is part of Chennai. This settlement obtained its municipal rights during 1688 by King James II.

The predominance of the Englishmen was challenged by the Frenchmen, who in 1676 founded 33 miles south of Pondicherry their "French East India Company" - later known as "Compagnie of India”. From there, the Frenchmen fought the Carnatic and tried to banish the Englishmen. However, in 1756, the French were uprooted, and with that, the Englishmen were able to expand their post to one of the most important places as "British imperial India". However, by signing the treaty of Paris, the Frenchmen were allowed to still dominate over Pondicherry.

Despite of the hectic traffic, the noise and the crowds of people, Chennai has a friendly, almost relaxed atmosphere. In Chennai the old Tamil traditions and arts of the colonial powers of Portugal, Holland, France and above all England stand side by side with the achievements of the modern age.

Chennai is home to multitudinous production industries, service industries, and a large film industry that competes with Mumbai. It is also a central location for education, art and culture institutes. The world headquarters of the "Theosophical society" with its collection of old books resides in Chennai. The most important historic buildings you see during the city tour are churches, temples and mosques. Visitors can also walk along the beautiful "Marina Beach", considered the longest beach of the world at 39 miles.

Fort St. George

The fort was built around 1650 by the Portuguese. It was later controlled by the British and is now used as Tamil Nadu’s Federal Government building and administration building. The old St. Mary's Church (1680) is the oldest Anglican Church in the country. North of the fort visitors find the High Court, another typical building of the colonial time (1892), with cupolas, window arches and red white facade. The fort museum is a treasure trove of the Indian history with porcelain of the Muslim Nawabs, a gallery of British majesties and governors, old cityscapes and maps and contemporary paintings.

Kapaleeswarar temple

This old Shiva temple and masterwork of the Dravidian architecture is the largest temple in Chennai (Madras).

Sri Parthasarathy temple

This temple dedicated to Krishna was erected in the 8th century by the rulers of the Pallava dynasty.

St. Thomas Cathedral

Erected between the 14th and 15th centuries, today it is a historic pilgrim site. On the St. Thomas Mountain, near the airport, Apostle Thomas is supposed to have died.

Snake park

Snake, lizard and turtle lovers will enjoy a visit to the Snake Park.

Theosophical Society

A quiet place on the bank of the Adyar-river, visitors will see an old banyan tree, whose branches cover an area of 4500 square feet.

Kalakashetra

Visitors can enroll in classes on classic dances and music, textile designing and weaving.

Further sightseeing:

B.M. Birla Planetarium, Marine Beach, the National Art Gallery and the Government Museum.

Chennai offers excellent lodging and restaurants. It also offers a wide range of shops that sell high-quality cotton and silk products.

Excursions:

Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram)

Mamallapuram (also called Mahabalipuram) is a village 30 miles south of Chennai (Madras) on the Coromandel Coast in the south Indian state Tamilnadu. It was a busy port of Pallava Dynasty during the 7th and 8th centuries, the reign of Narasimhavarman II. Since 1985, the temple district of Mamallapuram has belonged to the UNESCO world cultural heritage list.

The temples were erected at the beach on rock between the 5th and 8th centuries under the rule of the Pallava dynasty. They were chiseled out of rocks. During this time, Mamallapuram was one of the most important harbor cities of the total Tamil empire. The sanctuaries served at that time, therefore, not only as a temple, but rather as a beacon for the navigator. On the chiseled rock relief, legends, myths and everyday life scenes are represented. Many of these reliefs have decomposed under the influence of the sea climate. In some of the temples, stand sculptures of Gods and animals. Many buildings remained however unfinished. After the downfall of the Tamil empire, Shivaism spread, which is why most of the holy towers are dedicated to Hindu God Shiva.

The temple district has a large number of Hindu monuments, which are dedicated to God Shiva and Vishnu, and to Krishna, the hero of the Epic Mahabharata. The three most important are: The Bas-Relief (known as Penance of the Arjuna or the Descent of Ganges), The Shore Temples and the Pancha Ratha (temples in the form of chariots).
The Bas-Relief originated in the 7th and 8th centuries and is one of the largest (perhaps the largest) in the world. This giant open-air relief is chiseled out of monolithic rock. The bas-relief comprising of two gigantic rocks measuring 71 feet by 27 feet. The bas-relief is known as the Penance of Arjuna, because of the figure of Arjuna, hero of epic Mahabharata, showing him practicing penance in order to get the boon from God Shiva, which could help him while fighting the war of Mahabharata.

This relief is also called the Descent of Ganges, because of the story it depicts. The legend reports that the king Bhagiratha let the flow of the Ganges River from heaven in order to purify the souls of his ancestors and to overcome the scarcity of water on the earth. However, the things did not happen as planned and the king noticed that the Ganges would inundate the entire earth. Therefore, he practiced penance with the goal of receiving aid of Shiva, in order to turn away the catastrophe to be expected. Therefore, the God Shiva came down to the earth and conquered the Ganges, in which he let the Ganges flow through his hairs.

The most famous part of the base relief is the slit between both of the rocks; here the image of Shiva is found. Under that, one finds ruins of a water tank that let assumed that once here water flowed, that should represent the Ganges. Next to numerous divine images, the relief represents the village life of India in the 7th century. In the upper part, right of the slit, one sees the donor and patron Pallava king Mahendravarman (580-630) accompanying his three wives. Under that, one sees a figure of Yogi Cat, standing on one leg, posing as an ascetic in meditation posture with mice dancing around. The scene depicts an Indian saying that advises to distrust false Sadhus.

The Shore Temple is the only preserved temple out of a complex of seven temples that were built with granite blocks at the end of the 8th century by the Pallava king Rajasimha Narasimhavarman II. The complex should have covered 10 kilometers along the coast. These temples lie on the main coast of Bay of Bengal. In spite of other rock-cut temples lying in the ambiance, Shore temple is a five-storeyed structural Hindu temple. The temple is surrounded by a row of bulls carved out of rock. There are two shrines in the temple, of which one is dedicated to Shiva and the other to Vishnu.

The Pancha Ratha (five temples in the form of chariots), named after the heroes of great epic Mahabharatha - Yudhisthira (or Dharmaraja), Bhima, Arjuna, Draupadi and Nakula-Sahadeva, are the monolithic monuments of different size and forms, excavated out of a small hill south of the village. Each shrine (Ratha) is carved from one single large piece of granite stone. They are one of the best examples of monolith Indian rock-cut architecture in the late 7th century. These Ratha represent architectural models of the temple forms. The concept Ratha (chariot) actually denotes the vehicles for procession. The Ratha of Mamallapuram have however no wheels, in contrast to the Sun temple in Konark, that is formed in form of a vehicle with wheels, pulled by horses.

Features of the Pancha Ratha:

• Draupadi, in form of a hut with thatched roof, dedicated to the goddess Durga
• Arjuna, in form of a pyramid, certainly dedicated to Shiva, as the presence of the bull Nandi suggests.
• Bhima, a step temple, dedicated to Vishnu
• Dharmaja (or Yudhistira), crowned by a three layered pyramid structure, unfinished, dedicated to Shiva, is the only Ratha that carries an inscription, which mentions the Pallava king Nârasimhavarman I.
• Nakula-Sahadeva, unfinished, dedicated to Indra (God of the gods)

Today Mahabalipuram is a peaceful small town with its clean beaches. It is a secret tip for the beach lovers. Visitors and tourists come here not only to explore the world cultural heritage sites but also to relax at the quite beach resorts.

Kanchipuram

Kanchipuram (short form "Kanchi", earlier also anglicized Conjeevaram) is a city in the south Indian state Tamil Nadu. It lies at a small tributary of the Palar at the Coromandel Coast, approximately 21 miles southwest of Chennai. The population is over 155,400 (January 2006). Kanchipuram, one of the oldest cities of south India, is among the seven holy places of Hinduism. Shiva and Vishnu are revered here equally.

Kanchipuram existed already in the pre-Christian period. In the 3rd century BC, the Andhra Pradesh archaic Pallava dynasty extended its territory to the Kanchipuram city and chose it as their capital. The Pallavas were themselves the patronizer of the Hinduism, nevertheless Kanchipuram was also an important center of the Mahayana Buddhism and Jainismus. The Chinese monk Xuan Zang, who visited Kanchipuram in the 7th century, reported 80 Hindu temples in the city and a large Buddhist monastery. Today severl of the temples out of 7th and 8th century are still located within the city. In addition, Kanchipuram was an important site of the Sanskrit and Tamil learning.

After the conquest through the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, Kanchipuram lost admittedly its roll as a ruler seat, remained however an important religious center. From the 13th century, it experienced frequent ruler changes: the Chola following Pandya, the Chalukya of Badami and the Vijayanagar Empire. At the end of the 18th century, Kanchipuram was part of the British East India Company.

Kanchipuram is also well known as the "City of Thousand Temples". Today approximately 200 Hindu temples are preserved, including several exceptional temples built during the heyday of the Pallava dynasty in the 7th and 8th century. Over 1000 temples stood in Kanchipuram, of which 124 exist yet today. The Gopurams, typical south Indian temple towers, are still seen from afar. Pilgrims always visit Kanchi.

The most important business of the city is the manufacture of Silk Saris, mostly with handlooms. Most silk weavers are organized in unions. Tourism is also of great importance.

Important Temples in Kanchipuram

Ekambaresvara temple:

The largest temple of Kanchipuram originates from the Vijayanagar epoch. It was built in 1509 in honor of Shiva around a holy mango tree. The 29-foot-high Gopuram over the south gate is typical for the later Dravidian architecture. The actual shrine lies in one of the five patios of the complex and comprises two entrance halls. On the several hectares large compound, there are numerous smaller shrines as well as two ponds. The Temple interior is impassable for non-Hindus, but visitors can walk around the complex to the temple pond with the holy fishes and to the holy mango tree, that carries at four branches four different mango fruits which symbolize the four Vedas (holy writings).

Kailasanatha temple:

The oldest of all yet-preserved temples is the Kailasanatha temple made of sandstone and dedicated to Lord Shivas. It was built toward the end of the 7th century under further development of the Mamallapuram architecture. Until today, it experienced hardly any structural changes and is one of the most exceptional examples of the early Hindu temple architecture in the south Indian Dravidian style. Although the sandstone decorations are weather-beaten, the wall paintings out of the edification period in the interior of the temple are well preserved, which impart an impression of former splendor.

Vaigunda Perumal Temple:

This temple, erected in the 8th century, is a good example of the more mature architectures of the Pallava period. It is dedicated to God Vishnu, who is represented in the rooms: one superimposed on the other, as a sculpture standing, sitting and/or lying. Especially skillful are the lion-decorated porticoes of the entrance hall. Relief along the boundary wall of the temple tell the story of the Pallava dynasty.

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