QUICK TOUR OF KANCHIPURAM (FROM CHENNAI)

Historical & Heritage | Pilgrimage

Photo Credit: Flickr

ITINERARY SUMMARY

Trip Starting Point: Chennai City

Mode of Travel: Car (or Cab)

Trip Duration: 1 Day

Ideal Start Time: 7 AM

Total Places Visited: 4

DAY 1 : KANCHIPURAM

Travel from Chennai to Kanchipuram

Pilgrimage

At a distance of 1 km from Kanchipuram Bus Station and 2 km from Kanchi Railway Station, Kamakshi Amman Temple is an ancient Hindu temple located in the town of Kanchipuram. It s one of the popular temples in South India, and among the famous places to visit as part of Kanchipuram packages.

The Kamakshi Temple is dedicated to Kamakshi, who is believed to be an incarnation of Parvati, the Hindu goddess of love, fertility, and strength. It is one of the prominent pilgrimage sites near Chennai. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas, which are sacred shrines built around the falling body parts from the corpse of Goddess Sati from heaven. It is believed the naval part of her body fell at this site, thus making it a holy abode.

The Temple was most probably built by the Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram. .....

Historical & Heritage | Pilgrimage

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.

Pilgrimage

At a distance of 3 km from Kanchipuram Bus Station and 4 km from Railway Station, the Kailasanathar temple (Shiva Temple) is an ancient Hindu temple situated in the sacred town of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of the Vedavathi River, it is one of the oldest Shiva temples in Tamilnadu, and among the must include places in Kanchi tour.

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Kailasanathar Temple holds great significance and value for the Hindu devotees and is visited by a large number of tourists all year round. It was built during the period from 685 AD to 705 AD by the Pallava king Rajasimha Pallava, and his son, Mahendra Varma Pallava. 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 .....

Pilgrimage

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

Travel from Chennai to Chennai