Madurai Travel Guide

Madurai is more than 2500 years old and was an important cultural and commercial  centre during 550  AD. The capital of the pandyas, this ancient city is said to have been blessed by Maduram  (nectar) from Lord Siva’s locks.  The Cholas and the Nayakas  briefly  ruled  the city  whose  promotion  of art and architecture still  reflect  their  glorious  era.

This is an animated city packed with pilgrims, beggars, business people, bullock carts and underemployed rickshaw drivers. It’s one of South India’s oldest cities, and has been a centre of learning and pilgrimage for centuries.

It’s  main  attraction  is the  famous  Sri Meenakshi  temple  in the heart of the old town, a riotously baroque example  of  Dravidian  architecture  with Gopurams  covered  from top  to bottom  in a breathtaking  profusion  of multicoloured   images of gods, goddesses, animals and mythical  figures. The temple seethes with activity from dawn to dusk, its many shrines attracting pilgrims and tourists from all over the world.

Madurai’s main claim to fame is as a temple town, though it has become a major  industrial  city.  The greatest of the Nayaka rulers, Thirumalai  built  the Gopurams of  the temple. After   the Carnatic  wars  the British  destroyed  the fort  in 1840, filling the surrounding moat. The Nayakas  laid out  the old town in the pattern of a lotus with narrow streets  surrounding  the Meenakshi  temple  at the centre. The streets on the four sides of the central temple are named after the festivals, which take place in them.

Places of attraction

Meenakshi Temple : It was designed in 1560 by Vishwanatha Nayak built during the reign of Tirumalai Nayak. But its history goes back 2000years to the time when Madurai was a Pandyan capital. It has 12 towers the tallest of which is the southern tower. Also within the temple complex housed in the 1000-pillared hall is the Temple Art Museum .It  contains friezes stone and brass images as well as one of the best exhibits  on Hindu deities . Madurai’s claim to fame is the famous Meenakshi temple is the heart of the old city. It simply takes your breath away. The meticulous colourful carvings cover the Gopurams (towers) in vivid Dravidian image of Gods Goddess animals and mythical figures. The Potramaraikulam is the golden lotus tank where the Tamil Literary Society called Sangam once met. Open 7 am to 7 pm daily.

Tirumalai  Nayak Mahal built in 1523 AD was originally 4 times as large as it is today. Sound and light shows on the life of Tirumalai Nayak are a must see. About 1.5 kms southeast of the Meenakshi Temple this Indo-Sarascenic palace was built in 1636 by the ruler whose name it bears. There is a daily sound-and-light show consisting of a few coloured lights.

Mariamman  Teppakulam Tank: This tank 5 kms east of the old city covers an area almost  equal to that of the Meenakshi  temple and is the site of the  popular Teppam (Float) Festival held in January /February.
The tank was built by Tirumalai in 1646 and is connected to the Vaigai River by underground channels.

Museums
Housed  in the old palace of the Rani Mangammal, the excellent  Gandhi  memorial  museum  is set  in relaxing  grounds and has a clear historical account of India’s  struggle  for independence . The Madurai  government museum  is in the same grounds, as is a small bookshop stocked with plenty of Gandhi   reading matter.