Madurai is one of the historical places in Tamil Nadu and described as Temple City which is located 450 kms south from Tamilnadu. Madurai is identical with the celebrated Meenakshi Temple is situated on the banks of river Vaigai, has a enlightening tradition passed on from the great Tamil period more than 2500 years old. Madurai was a significant artistic and commercial centre even as early as 550 AD. It was the capital city for the great Pandya kings. The Kulasekarar, Pandian King constructed a great temple and created a lotus shaped city around the temple...Myth says Madurai is known as Kadambavanam, is a forest. Lord Indra was devotion with Swayambhu Lingam (Lingam was under Kadamba tree) in the forest .It was noticed by a farmer... He told the information to King Kulasekara Pandiya what he saw in Kadambavanam. Then the King clears the forest in the place and builds a temple around the Lingam... When the temple was created it is said that a drop of honey dropped on the town from the hair of Lord Shiva. Then the city was named as Mathuram, meaning sweetness in Tamil, which is now changed to Madurai.

PLACES TO SEE

Sree Meenakshi Temple
Tamil Nadu is the temple state of India. It is home to a large number of temples. One of the most illustrious temples of Tamil Nadu is Meenakshi Temple is the main place of pilgrimage to visit in Madurai... The Meenakshi temple at Madurai is a temple devoted to the Goddess Parvati. According to myth, Parvati was born on earth as the Princess Meenakshi --whose eyes are like that of a fish. The beautiful Meenakshi’s heart could be won only by Lord Shiva who came to earth as Sundareshwaran .The wedding ceremony of Meenakshi and Sundara is part of myths. The Meenakshi temple is one of the main Hindu temples. The temple is famous for its long corridors. It is a huge temple complex and has four entries -North, South, and East and West towers. There are several small temples within the complex devoted to Vishalakshi, Bhairava, Mahalakshmi, Ganesha, Kamakshi Devi, etc. Golden lotus tank at the centre of the temple is surrounded by row of pillars. There is no uncertainty that the Madurai temple is one of the enormous temples of India and is must visited for a pilgrimage.

Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam
Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam was built in 1646 by Thirumalai Nayak and is located at 5 kms from the Meenakshi Amman Temple. There is a huge tank and in the middle is situated a Vinayakar temple. It is said that the lake get water from the River Vaigai it is the largest temple tank in Tamil Nadu and is one of the major tourist attractions as.

Azhagar Kovil
Alagar Koil is a temple to be found around 20 km towards the north of Madurai .This beautiful temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu .here Lord Vishnu is known by the name of Azhagar, brother of Goddess Meenakshi and when the wedding of the Lord and Goddess takes place in the month of Chithrai, Azhagar travels from here to Madurai to witness the wedding of the Lord... The temple is positioned at the top of the hills and is worth seeing.

Thirumalai Nayak Palace
Thirumalai Nayak Palace is a glorious palace and famous tourist spot in Madurai was built in 16th century by Nayak ruler Thirumalai Nayak. The palace has 248 pillars, The ceiling of the palace has huge paintings and architecture is awesome.

Gandhi Museum
Gandhi Museum, dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi – as the name indicates. Personal belongings of Gandhi are on display here along with a picture gallery. The museum was earlier the palace of Rani Mangammal of the Nayak Empire. It was afterwards changed into Gandhi Museum

Thirupparankundram Murugan Temple
Thirupparankundram Murugan Temple is situated at a distance of 8 km from the centre of Madurai city. The Temple is surrounded by beautiful nature. It was built in 8th century by Pandya King, God worshipped as Lord Subramanyam and he weds Shri Deivanai and Shri Deivanai was the daughter of Devindran. The temple houses place of pilgrimage of Lord Subramanya, Goddess Durga, Lord Shiva, Lord Vinayaka, Lord Vishnu and other deities.   

Athiseyam
Adhisyam, situated at a distance of 15 km from the city centre established in the year 2000. It is a water theme park. It is now the largest water park in Madurai.

HOW TO REACH

By Air
Madurai having its own airport, which is situated 10 km away from the city center. There are daily flights from Madurai to Chennai, Bangalore, Tiruchi and Coimbatore.

By Rail
A good quality rail network links Madurai with all major cities in South India.
Madurai is well connected by roads and government and private buses to all the major cities of the region.

By Road
There are outstanding roads connecting Madurai to all the major cities in South India. With as many as 5 major bus stands, the city offers comfortable travel by road.

WEATHER
Madurai can best be visited from the months of October to March due to pleasant weather conditions.