Wildlife Sanctuaries | Mudumalai Tours

Wildlife Sanctuaries

Area: 1,30,058 sq.km; Capital: Chennai (Madras); Population: 60 million; Language: Tamil; Best time to visit: November to February; Airports: Chennai, Tiruchirapali, Coimbatore, Madurai; Popular Places: Chennai (Madras), Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai, Pondicheery, Yercaud, Chidambaram, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Nagore, Velanganni, Tiruchirappalli (Trichi), Madurai, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari (Kanniyakumari), Kuttralam (Courtallam), Kodaikanal, Coimbatore, Ooty and Mudumalai.
Highlights of Popular Places

Mudumalai Tours - Temples: Madurai, Chidambaram and Kanchipuram.

Beaches: Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), Kovalam (Covelong).

Hill Stations: Kodaikanal and Ooty.

Wildlife Sanctuaries: Mudumalai and Anamalai.

Chennai (Madras)

Chennai (formerly known as Madras) owes its origins to the British Empire, which established a fort – Fort St.George – and trading post here in the 17 th century. Small clusters of earlier hamlets were incorporated to form the 1 st Municipal Corporation in India and what is today the 4 th largest city in India. Despite its rapid growth into a bustling metropolis, Chennai is however an enthusiastic and friendly city that has retained something of its distinctive nature and is indeed the Gateway to South India.

When Indians refer to "the South", it is usually Tamil Nadu. While Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are essentially cultural transition zones buffering the Hindi speaking north, and Kerala and Goa maintains their own distinctively idiosyncratic identities, the peninsula`s massive Tamil speaking state is India`s Dravidian Hindu heartland. Traditionally protected by distance and the military might of the southern Deccan kingdoms, the region has, over the centuries, been less exposed to northern influences than its neighbors. As a result, the three powerful dynasties dominating the south - the Cholas, the Pallavas and the Pandyans - were able to develop their own unique religious and political institutions.

The most visible legacy of this protracted cultural flowering is a crop of astounding temples, whose gigantic gateway towers, or gopurams, still soar above just about every town large enough to merit a railway station. It is the image of these colossal wedge-shaped pyramids, high above the canopy of dense palm forests, or against patchworks of vibrant green paddy fields that set Tamil Nadu from the rest of India. Indeed, the garishly painted gods, goddesses and mythological creatures clinging onto the towers linger long in the memory of most travellers.

Pilgrimage Tours in Tamil Nadu: No Indian state is more dominated by its temples than Tamil Nadu where temple architecture catalogues the tastes of successive dynasties and testifies to the centrality of religion in everyday life. Most temples are built in honour of Shiva, Vishnu and their consorts; all are characterized not only by their design and sculptures but also by constant activity: devotion, dancing, singing, pujas, festivals and feasts. Each is tended by Brahmin priests, recognizable by their dhotis, a sacred thread draped over the right shoulder, and marks on the forehead.

Tamil Nadu was also influenced by Christianity during the Portuguese and British invasions. Hence the travelers will also come across a number of churches.

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