2 DAY TRIP FROM CHENNAI | KANCHIPURAM - VELLORE - RATNAGIRI

At a distance of 1 km from Kanchipuram Bus Station and 2 kms from Railway Station, Kamakshi Amman Temple is the landmark of Kanchipuram. It is believed that the Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram was existing even before Aadi Sankaracharya's period (788-820 AD). It has been told that there are three major Shakti's (Amman) in India. They are 'Kanchi Kamakshi, Madurai Meenakshi and Kaasi Visalakshi'.

Even most of the locals are unaware of the fact that there are no shrines for Shakti in any of the Shiva temples in Kanchipuram. The Kamakshi temple is the only traditional temple dedicated to Shakti in Kanchipuram.

The sannathi (sanctum) is covered with a gold plated roof. The temple has a golden charriot of which the procession takes place during festive seasons.

Timings: 6 AM - 12 noon & 4 PM - 8.30 PM

At a distance of 2 km from Kanchipuram Bus Station and 3 kms from Railway Station, Sri Ekambareswarar Temple is also known as 'Ekambaranathar Temple' (temple of Lord Shiva). The 'Pallavas' demolished the old structure and rebuilt the existing structure during 600 AD and 700 AD.

The total area of the whole temple is about 40 acres. The temple tower at the main entrance (Raja Gopuram) that you see here was constructed by the king Krishnadevaraya (Vijayanagar Dynasty). The height of this temple tower is 174 feet (about 57 m).

Until recently there was a mango tree in this temple, which was about 3500 years old. The tree has perished about 2 years ago due to its age. It is believed that Goddess Kamakshi Amman, whose temple is about 1/2 km away from here, worshipped Lord Shiva under this mango tree.

Timings: 6 AM - 12.30 PM & 4 PM - 8.30 PM.

At a distance of 3 kms from Kanchipuram Bus Station and 4 kms from Railway Station, the Kailasanathar temple (Shiva Temple) was built during the period from 685 A.D. to 705 A.D. by the Pallava king Rajasimha Pallava, and his son, Mahendra Varma Pallava.

Kailasanathar temple was constructed using sandstones for most of the sculptures. All the walls around and inside the temple are filled with great sculptures.

The architecture and sculpture of this temple resembles the temples found in Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) which were also constructed by Pallavas.

This might be the only temple in Kanchipuram which has not been modified after its original creation.

Timings: 6 AM - 12 noon & 4 PM - 7 PM.

At a distance of 3 km from Kanchipuram Bus Station and 4 kms from Railway Station, Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple is also known as Devarajaswami Temple. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

The 100 ft high temple tower (gopuram) was built in 11th century AD and was renovated by the Vijyanagar Kings in the 16th century. This temple has a 100 pillar hall (mandapam) which is beautifully carved. There is a chain that is carved out of a single stone.

The temple owns a chariot (ther) which is parked on Gandhi road. The chariot is taken out for procession (chariot festival) around the city once in a year (during the month of May).

Timings: 6.30 AM - 12 noon & 3.30 PM - 8 PM

At a distance of 650 m from Virinjipuram Bus Stop and 13 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, Sri Margabandeswarar Temple is a 13th century temple situated on Bangalore - Chennai National Highway. The temple has rich sculptures and artistic pillars. The temple was built by Cholas Kings in 13th Century while Bomma Nayakars, who built Vellore Jalagandeswarar temple, made several extensions to the temple including beautiful kalyana mandapa.

The main deity of this temple is Swayambu Lingam known as Margabandeeswarar. The Siva Lingam is slightly leaning to North East direction. The Goddess of the temple is Maragadambal. Other deities seen in the temple are Ganapathy, Subramanya, Chandra Mouleeswara, Pancha Mukha Lingam, Saptha Matrukas, Lakshmi, Saraswathy & Durga. In this temple Lord Brahma is worshiped as Virinjan. He worshipped Lord Shiva .....

At a distance of 1.5 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, Vellore Fort is the 16th century granite fort surrounded by a deep moat set in the heart of the town. It was built by Bommi and Thimma Reddy in the 16th century during the reign of the Vijayanagar king Krishnadeva Raya. The fort was captured in the 17th century by the Adil Shahis, the Muslim rulers from Bijapur. It was then taken by the Marathas, and later by Daud Khan of Delhi in the early 18th century. The British took control of this fort in 1768 and controlled it until Independence. During British rule, the Tipu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Rajasinha were held in as prisoners in the fort. The fort is an excellent example of military architecture and has withstood several attacks.

The Vellore Fort was constructed with granite from the nearby quarries in Arcot and Chittor districts. It spreads over an area of 133 acres. It has huge double walls .....

At a distance of 1.5 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, The Tipu Mahal and Hyder Mahal are the palaces located inside the Vellore Fort. The Tipu Mahal has 180 rooms with a central pillar hall and the Hyder Mahal on the same campus housed over 200 rooms.

It is believed that Tipu resided here with his family during the war against the British. The palaces are closed to public nowadays as they serve as a high security prison. During the British rule, Tipu Sultan's family was detained here and the last king of Sri Lanka in captivity.

On July 10, 1806, before sunrise, the Indian sepoys stationed in the fort attacked the European barracks there, and had killed about 15 Officers and 100 English soldiers and ransacked their houses. Some of the rebelling soldiers also urged the sons of Tipu Sultan to lead the campaign. After this Sepoy Mutiny, the British transferred Tipu's sons and daughters to Calcutta. The Tombs of Bakshi Begum, widow of Hyder Ali and Padshah Begum, Tipu's wife, .....

At a distance of 1.5 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, St John's Church is an ancient church located inside the Vellore Fort. This church is one of the oldest churches in Vellore.

St. Johns Church is a part of the Churches of South India and is one of the biggest churches in South India. The church was started in 1846 by the Reform Church of America (RCA). The church was shifted from the Filterbed Road to its present location in the fort. The British soldiers who lost their life during the Sepoy Mutiny have been buried in the church premises. There are many inscriptions preserved in the church that provide history of the shrine. Regular prayers are still held in this church.

At a distance of 1.5 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, Vellore Fort Mosque is situated inside the Vellore Fort. This mosque is also known as Nawab Chanda Sahib Mosque.

This Mosque was built in 1750 by Nawab Chanda Sahib. It is one of the important attractions in Vellore Fort. The entrance of the Masjid is on the northern side of the Vellore Fort. This mosque has been constructed using Brick and lime and still stands in good shape. This Indo-Saracenic style mosque has a prayer hall and the dimensions of the hall are 40 feet in length and 15 feet in breadth. At the centre of the mosque there is a big dome with minars on the sides. The mosque is decorated with floral designs.

Presently prayers are not conducted inside the mosque.

At a distance of 400 m from Ratnagiri Bus Stop and 17 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, Ratnagiri Balamurugan Temple is an ancient temple located on top of a hillock in Ratnagiri on Vellore - Chennai National Highway. It is one of the important temples around Vellore.

The Ratnagiri Temple is dedicated to Lord Murugan. There are two forms of the deity in this temple, one is Lord Thirukkolam, seen with his wives Valli and Devasena and the other is Lord Gurukkolam. The idol of the main deity Bala Murugan was installed in a chariot which is made of granite. The garbhagriha is made of granite and is modeled according to the Chola architecture. The wall surrounding the shrine has small idols of Ganesha, Dakshinamurthy, Murugan, Brahma, Durga, and Chandikeswarar. There are 2 temples for the Lord Vinayaka, one on top of the hill and another at the bottom of hill.

This temple was built .....