Chennai (Madras)
Between the Adyar River and the coast, the 100-hectare grounds of the Theosophical Society provide a peaceful, green, vehicle-free retreat from the city…
Must-see attractions in Tamil Nadu
The Western Ghats
Just 2km north of Kotagiri centre, the house built in 1819 by Ooty founder John Sullivan has been refurbished in bright red and filled with fascinating…
Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
At the southern end of the Mamallapuram Hill complex, the Mahishamardini Mandapa is carved from the rock, displaying very fine scenes from the Puranas …
Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
Home to some of Mamallapuram's most brilliant carvings, the Varaha Mandapa depicts Vishnu's boar avatar, Varaha, lifting the earth out of the oceans (left…
Tamil Nadu
Founded by the Cholas in 886, this is Kumbakonam's oldest temple, dedicated to Shiva as Nagaraja, the serpent king. On three days of the year (in April or…
Chennai (Madras)
This 1821 neoclassical Scottish Presbyterian church is one of India's most exquisite churches, rising up in leafy grounds in the middle of frenzied Egmore…
Tamil Nadu
Just 8km southwest of Pudukkottai, this is an outstanding village shrine dedicated to the pre-Hindu guardian-god Ayyanar, worshipped only in rural Tamil…
Chennai (Madras)
A leafy, frangipani-scented haven in the midst of the George Town mayhem, the 18th-century Armenian Church is testament to the city's once-flourishing…
Tamil Nadu
With perhaps the most exquisitely painted wood-carved ceilings in Chettinadu, Athangudi Palace is a popular film set. Take in the especially fine…
Tamil Nadu
Kumbeshwara Temple, entered via a nine-storey gopuram, a small bazaar and a long porticoed mandapa, is Kumbakonam's biggest Shiva temple. It dates from…
Tamil Nadu
The relics of Chettinadu's bygone days are on display at this wonderful museum, 4km north of Pudukkottai train station. Its eclectic collection includes…
Kodaikanal (Kodai)
Visiting forest-fringed Berijam Lake, 21km southwest of Kodaikanal, requires a Forest Department permit (₹250). Taxi drivers will organise this, if asked…
Tamil Nadu
Backed by the typical succession of pillar-lined courtyards, the impressive reception hall of this 'twin house' is shared by two branches of the same…
Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
Just south of the Arjuna's Penance relief carving, the Krisha Mandapa has a fine 16th-century colonnade and contains a famous carving of Krishna…
Chennai (Madras)
Styled with blue-and-white baroque elegance, pretty little palm-fringed Luz Church is Chennai's oldest European building, dating to 1516 – which also…
Tamil Nadu
One of Chettinadu's oldest mansions, built in 1870 with distinctive egg-plaster walls, Burmese-teak columns, patterned tiled floors and intricate wood…
Institut Français de Pondichéry
Puducherry (Pondicherry)
This grand 19th-century neoclassical building is also a flourishing research institution devoted to Indian culture, history and ecology. Visitors can…
Kodaikanal (Kodai)
Assuming it isn't cloaked in opaque mist, the views from paved Coaker’s Walk are beautiful, all the way down to the plains 2000m below. The stroll takes…
Chennai (Madras)
The printing workshop of Tara Books, where you can watch pages being silk-screened and hand-bound into books.
Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
Decorated with lion-shaped pillar bases, the Ganesh Ratha is carved from a single rock and was originally a Shiva shrine.
Kodaikanal (Kodai)
About 7km west of town, these towering boulders have jaw-dropping views to the Tamil Nadu plains below.
Chennai (Madras)
Take an early morning or evening stroll (you don’t want to roast here at any other time) along the 3km-long main stretch of Marina Beach and you’ll pass…
Ooty (Udhagamandalam)
Perched above Ooty's centre, immaculate pale-yellow St Stephen’s, built in 1829, is the Nilgiris' oldest church. It has lovely stained glass, huge wooden…
Tamil Nadu
The legends say the kanya (virgin) goddess Kumari, a manifestation of the Great Goddess Devi, single-handedly conquered demons and secured freedom for the…
Chennai (Madras)
Finished in 1653 by the British East India Company, the fort has undergone many facelifts. Inside the vast perimeter walls (the ramparts are 18th-century…
Tamil Nadu
Housing the world’s most sacred sand mound (a lingam said to have been created by Rama's wife Sita, so he could worship Shiva), this temple is one of…
Chennai (Madras)
Founded in 1936, Kalakshetra is a leading serious school of Tamil classical dance and music (sponsoring many students from disadvantaged backgrounds), set…
Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
This marshy bird sanctuary, 55km southwest of Mamallapuram (an easy day trip), is a spectacular 30-hectare breeding ground for many kinds of waterbirds,…
Chennai (Madras)
This 1976 memorial honours the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar and his classic work, the 133-chapter Thirukural. Its most striking element is a 31m-high stone…
Tamil Nadu
Just 1km north of Kanyakumari, this peaceful ashram (offering a variety of yoga retreats) is the headquarters of spiritual organisation Vivekananda Kendra…
Chennai (Madras)
Behind San Thome Cathedral is the entrance to the weirdly chintzy tomb of St Thomas the Apostle.
Ooty (Udhagamandalam)
This quaint little haven in a crumbling, earthy-red 1867 building houses more than 30,000 books, including rare titles on the Nilgiris and hill tribes,…
Tamil Nadu
Looking like an Indian Colossus of Rhodes, the towering statue on the smaller island next to the Vivekananda Memorial is of the ancient Tamil poet…
The Western Ghats
In mornings and evenings you can see the reserve's working elephants being fed at the elephant camp just east of the Mudumalai reception centre, where you…
Tamil Nadu
Surrounded by 16 pavilions, the huge Mahamaham Tank is one of Kumbakonam's most sacred sites. It’s believed that every 12 years the waters of India's…
Chennai (Madras)
For part of his South Indian sojourn, St Thomas supposedly lived in hiding in a cave just south of the Adyar River. This grottolike space can be entered…
Tamil Nadu
Sarangapani is Kumbakonam's largest Vishnu temple, with a 45m-high eastern gopuram embellished with low-level dancing panels as its main entrance. Past…
Tamil Nadu
The most impressive things about this fort, 20km south of Pudukkottai, are the massive boulders it's built on – it's just a wall enclosing an area about…
Chennai (Madras)
Built under the 8th-century Pallavas and unusually dedicated to Krishna (a form of Vishnu) as the charioteer Parthasarathy, this is one of Chennai's…
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