Palani - Hill Station of Tamil Nadu

Are you in need of place where you can spend you holidays? Do you want your holidays to be memorable? Reach Palani a wonderful place on earth that is popular for its greenery, hills and forest life. However, the town is containing lots of other tourist destinations so overall this place is going to make you happiest person on the earth. Many people link the Palani hills to Palani town which is not exactly correct thinking. The town is having countless spots for travelers whereas the hill area contains valleys and dense forest. 

When we talk about the hill area of Palani this oldest hill range is dated of prehistoric Pre-Cambrian era. The mount of Palani is made of gneisses, schist’s and charnockites. 

Palani is located in south India comes under the state Tamil Nadu. Palani city is positioned under Dindigul region of TN (Tamil Nadu) and famous religious city Madurai is 100 km away from Palani. Coimbatore City is just 60 kms far from the city. Experts say Palani is the home of god Kartikeya. Approximately 7 million followers are reaching Palani every year.

Attraction of Palani: 

Ayakudi: First place for travelers of Palani is Ayakudi that is Gram Panchayat town. Here the popular thing is guava cultivation and local markets. Ayakudi is also recognized for sugarcane, paddy, cotton, lime and farming of mango. The top feature of town is their productive items are exported to the different nations. 

Keeranur: Next location is Keeranur that is also a small village lies between Palani and Dharapuram. Don’t miss to visit the Hindu temples in Keeranur like Karuppanna Swamy Shrine, Mariamman Temple, Semmandi Amman and Pappathi Amman Temple. 

Palani Hills: Wonderful spot of Palani town is their hill area spread in 2068 square km area. The hill is housing rarest type of birds, amphibians, plants and butterflies. Coffee plantation gives different view to voyagers because the complete slope area of the hill is covered with coffee farming. You must attain to two streams of Palani hills such as Vaigai and Amaravathi. 

Palani Murugan Temple: A shrine where you can take blessings of God Murugan is our next destination in Palani. However, you have to climb nearly 670 steps of the hilltop to reach temple. People who have difficulty in walk or not able to move freely can take help of Haulage Winch or the small rope cabin. Its a kind of rope car available for the voyagers to reach the hilltop. 

Palani Hill Temple: Hilly areas are always favorite destinations for adventure lovers and if the place is linked to religion then it becomes more interesting spot. Palani Hill shrine is positioned on hills of Palani devoted to God Murugan. The idol is in the form of Dhandayutha Pani. The average height of temple is 1500 feet from the sea level. Two more spots reachable from Palani Hill temple are Tiruchirappalli/Trichy and Madurai. Here you can take a dip in holy pool Saravana Poigai. 

There are many more holy and attractive destinations in Palani such as Mariamman Temple, Madattukkulam, Aivarmalai, Bison Wells, Tiru Avinankudi Temple, Dhandayuthapani Temple, LNPT (Laxmi Narayana Perumal Temple), Saravana Poigai, Varathamanathi Dam, Periya Nayaki Temple, Idumban Temple, Bhogar Samadhi, Palar Dam, Thekkanthottam, Kuthiraiyar Dam Falls, Shanmuga Nadi Temples, Kannadi Perumal Temple, etc. 

General Traveling Tips for Palani: This small town is having good accommodation facility, but as people are reaching Palani in large amount you should book your hotel in advance. Get the stay facility before you start your journey. 

Attaining to Palani:

By Air: Nearest airport for Palani is Coimbatore located at 100 km distance. Coimbatore is properly linked to major cities of India such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi /Cochin, Ahmadabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

By Road: To reach any hill station road is the major transport mode. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation is having frequent buses for Palani from Trivandrum, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore and Chennai. If you are coming from Madurai you have to travel for 112 km, though Tiruchirappalli/Trichy is 152 km away and Kodaikanal is 65.4 km far. 

By Train: Railway station of Palani is available for you. Direct trains for Palani are available from Palakkadu, Madurai and Coimbatore.

Chidambaram

One of the solid tourist destinations of India is Chidambaram of Tamil Nadu State. As we discussed earlier in blog India is full of locations with different climate conditions and features. If you are planning for visit any religious place than nothing is better than Chidambaram town. A short description and the information of various tourist places of the city is mentioned in this blog. Plan your trip and attain this spiritual place to get the blessings of Lord Shiva. 

Ancient shrines and structural design of the city is amazing. Chidambaram is not a big city but a small temple town of State Tamil Nadu, India. It is the place where the Indian culture, religious rituals and tradition are conserved with artistic values. The word “Chidambaram” is synonym to God Shiva and devotees of Lord Shiva reach this spot every year in huge mass value. Chidambaram Natarajan temple is the main spot to visit in the town.  

The shrines of Chidambaram are mentioned in Mythologies and Puranas. People of India are having different beliefs about this town like some believe the shrine of Lord Shiva is the one where the air and natural elements like body and world are created. However, the town is completely peaceful and full of religious values.  

Impressive tourist spots of Chidambaram: 

Nataraja Temple: travelers must attain to Nataraja Temple first that is dedicated to Nataraja (Lord Shiva). Location is central part of the town, though town faced countless renovations during Chola and Pallava rulers. The shrine is famous for gopurams, carvings, inscriptions and mandapams. Huge walls and tall shikharas of shrine are impressive and able to attract the visitors. Timing for temple is morning 6 to 12 and evening 4:30 to 10. You can plan your visit according to timings so that blessing of Lord Shiva can be taken.  

Neyveli: The initial place where travelers can attain to is Neyveli that is a spot famous for lignite mines. Located at 30 km distance and must see spot are lush green vegetation areas.  

Annamalai University: another location for travelers is the Annamalai University spread in 300 acres land. Founder of the University was King Annamalai Chettiar and year was 1929.  

Tarangambadi: a historic place known as Tarangamadi is popular for decaying condition of fort Dansborg built in 17th era.  

Vaitheeswaran Koil: another religious spot located at 24 km distance from Chidambaram is available. This is again the temple of Lord Siva dedicated to Vaidya Natheswarar. People believe if the bath in taken in holy pond of Siddhamirtham then all diseases will get cure.  

Pichavaram Mangrove Forest: a small but dense forest of Chidambaram is one more natural attractive tourist destination.  

Thillai Kali Amman Shrine: one oldest temple of Swami Nataraja is next place to visit. Thillai kali shrine is located close to Natarajan Temple. Goddess Kali idol is placed in this temple having four faces.

Sivakami Amman Temple: another shrine popular for Siva Ganga Tank is next destination for visitors. There are thousand pillars in hall that sounds different when you touch.  

Two more attractive spots of Chidambaram are Chathapurinathar shrine and Tiruvetkalam Temple. There are many other small temples in the town located in different areas.  

Attaining to Chidambaram: 

By Train: Chidambaram railway station is properly linked to many big cities of India. Trains reaching to Chennai from major cities are going through Chidambaram. Train towards Tiruchirappali is also crossing the town so reaching through train is easy option for travelers. You can attain train from Mayiladuthurai, Vridhachalam Jn, Pondicherry, Chennai, Madurai, Tirupati, Varanasi, Tiruchendur, Tiruchy, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Mysore, Mumbai, Delhi and many other cities.  

By Air: closest airport for Chidambaram is Tiruchirappali however it’s a domestic airport and located at gap of 195 kms. Frequent flights from Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi are allowing visitors to reach spot easily. You can hire the taxi from Tiruchirappalli to town Chidambaram and fare will be around 2200 Rs. CIA (Chennai International Airport) is linked to almost every international city so abroad travelers can easily reach the destination from their nation.   

By Bus: road is another convenient way to reach the Chidambaram town. State buses are major sources for local and other cities people. Tamil Nadu state transport is having countless buses from various parts of the nation to reach Chidambaram. Buses from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are also available in good quantity. Bus service from Madurai, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Trichy, Trivandrum, Pondicherry and Thanjavur are available in large amount.