10 Must Visits in Chennai

A place of rich culture discovers the historic heritage of Sangam dynasties, Mughals, British raj, all at one place in Chennai. Along with its grandeur and significance in India as a whole, Chennai also has beaches to laze your days around.

The best time to visit Chennai is December to February. During this time of the year, the weather is at a pleasant 15 degree to 20 degree. The rest of the year is mostly humid and hot. The summers are comprised of scorching heat and the rains fill the atmosphere with humidity.

MARINA BEACH

Being the second longest beach in the world, Marina beach is the epitome of seashore beauty enclosed with rich produce of palm and coconut trees along its promenade. The beach offers various sports like parasailing, jet ski, waterboarding or surfing, beach volleyball and much more. Apart from this, Marina Beach also has horse riding facilities that take you through these shores of Bay of Bengal.

KAPALEESWARAR TEMPLE

Kapaleeswarar temple is a Saivite temple dedicated of Lord Arulmigu Kapaleeswar and Goddess Karpagambal, incarnations of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, respectively. Built by the kings of Pallava dynasty in 7^th century AD, this temple is a historical marvel constructed with utmost precision of Dravidian style architecture. The temple has grand gopurams and mandapas. It offers 6 major prayers to its deities every day.

SANTHOME CATHEDRAL BASILICA CHURCH

Santhome Cathedral Basilica Church was built in 52 AD to commemorate the death of Saint Thomas, a great Christian saint who introduced Christianity to India and a lot of other parts of the world. Saint Thomas was one of the 12 great apostles of Jesus. Later on, with the advent of Europeans in the 1600s, the Portuguese added Basilica to the Church due to its antiquity. The Church was rebuilt in the 1700s by Britishers and is preserved as such to date.

MARUNDHEESWARAR TEMPLE

Marundheeswarar Temple’s main deity is Lord Shiva in his incarnation as Lord Marundheeswarar – the healer of all ailments. It is a local belief here that Lord Shiva relieves its followers from any and every hardship they face in life. The temple premises include 1 acre full of vanni trees dedicated to Lord Ram. This is because Sage Valmiki worshiped Lord Ram under the vanni tree. Keeping faith in both Lord Shiva and Lord Ram, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Marundheeswarar temple is both a Saivite and a Vaishnavaite temple.

FORT ST. GEORGE

Fort Saint George is the first establishment of Britishers in India. It was made in 1644 AD on the coasts of Bay of Bengal. The fort is architecture to be as British as possible with high ceilings and white walls. It also has the infamous Saint Mary’s Church within the fort and a Wellesley museum. Being as new as it was built to date, Fort Saint George was Tamil Nadu’s house for Legislative Assembly for a good ten years.

EKAMBARESWARAR TEMPLE

Ekambareswarar Temple was built by Alangantha Pillai, a high society businessman of the time in collaboration with the British Raj in 1680. The temple preaches and worships Lord Shiva, Goddess Sakthi, Goddess Kamakshi, Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesha and Lord Surya. Apart from this, the temple has a smaller temple inside it dedicated to the 9 nabagrahas. Ekambareswarar temple is architecture in Dravidian style with carved Gopurams, huge, pillared walkways and fancy mandapas for various offerings.

GUINDY NATIONAL PARK

A jungle safari spices up your vacation. Guindy National Park is the first and last national park of India located within the suburbs. A relatively smaller national park, this ecosystem habitats deer, elephants, wild cats, reptiles of all types (especially King Cobra) along with a thick and dense green cover of wild trees and ponds. Chennai is also famous of its Turtle walks at midnights to see olive-ridely turtles, a species exclusive to India.

THIRUMALA THIRUPATHI DEVASTHANAM TEMPLE

Located on the shores of Sri Swami Pushkaarini, Thirupathi temple has gained the most importance out of all the temples in Chennai. This temple has the highest footfall on weekends as well as on various festivities. The jaw-dropping entrance is engraved with carvings of various religious chapters from history and the shrine is dedicated to Lord Venkatachalapathi, another name for Lord Venkateshwara.

MYLAPORE

If you want to explore the raw and earliest of Chennai, Mylapore is a must visit. The place is adorned with Megaliths from 4,00,000 BC to temples and forts of Pandya and Pallava dynasty to fancy establishments of the British raj. Walk down the narrow streets of Mylapore and experience the true essence of Tamil Nadu. Don’t forget to visit the authentically beautiful flower markets at 5 am selling fresh blooms for prayers and offerings of the day.

KALIKAMBAL TEMPLE

The temple of Kalikambal was originally located near the seashores of Bay of Bengal in Chennai. However, in 1640 AD, the temple was rebuilt at its current place and has been the same ever since. Kalikambal Temple worships Lord Kaligambal and Kamateswarar. History tells us that the earlier temple worshiped a more fierce (almost scary) form of the deity, but the current temple has a more calm and subtle statue. Shivaji of Maratha was a regular visit payer to this temple.

While your vacation in Chennai and stay at Ginger Vadapalani or Ginger Tharamani for the coziest stays. Melt in satiny mattresses and roll in fleecy sheets that give you the most comfortable sleep while you rejoice all your zeal for the expedition of the next day.