14 Top Tourist Places to Visit in Madurai

At a distance of 2 km from Madurai Junction Railway Station, the historic Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple also called Meenakshi Amman Temple, is a sacred Hindu temple located in Madurai. It is one of the biggest and most popular temples in India, and among the must-visit places as part of Madurai trip.

Dedicated to Goddess Parvati and Lord Siva, the temple is considered an architectural marvel. It was shortlisted as one of the top 30 nominees for New Seven Wonders of the World. It is one of the the prime places to visit in Madurai. The Madurai temple forms the heart and lifeline of Madurai city which is 2,500 years old.

The original temple was built by Kulasekara Pandya, but the initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by the first Nayak king of Madurai, Viswanatha Nayak (1559-1600) under the .....

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At a distance of 3 km from Madurai Junction Railway Station and 1 km from Meenakshi Temple, Thirumalai Nayak Mahal is an ancient palace situated in Madurai. It is one of the popular places of heritage in Tamilnadu, and among the major Madurai tourist places.

Thirumalai Nayak Mahal was constructed in the Indo-Saracen style by Thirumalai Nayak in the year 1636. After Independence, this palace was declared as a national monument and to date continues to be one of the spectacular monuments of Southern India. It is one of the must include places in Madurai packages. The original palace complex was four times bigger than the present structure. The palace was designed by an Italian architect.

The main palace is divided into two parts, Swargavilasa and Rangavilasa and only the Swargavilasa is survived today. .....

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At a distance of 1 km from Madurai Junction Railway Station & 1.5 km Meenakshi Temple, The Koodal Alagar Temple, also known as Arulmigu Koodalazhagar Thirukoil, is another important temple in Madurai and among prime sightseeing to be included in your Madurai Trip. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, this temple is believed to be older than the Meenakshi temple. It is one of the important places to visit in Madurai.

A unique feature of this temple is the three different postures of the same God. The three figures of Vishnu are in standing, sitting and reclining postures. These three figures of the deity are known by three different names. The most venerated of the three figures is Lord Vishnu in the seated posture. The seated Lord Vishnu is locally known as Lord Koodal Alagar from whom the temple derives its name. The reclining idol is known as Sri Ranganatha. Sri .....

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At a distance of 8 km from Madurai Junction Railway Station, Thiruparankundram Temple, also known as Tirupparamkunram Murugan Kovil is renowned for its 8th century rock cut cave temple dedicated to Lord Murugan (Subrahmanya). It is one of the major sacred places to visit in Madurai.

Tirupparankundram Temple is one of the six abodes of Murugan and considered as the first and foremost temple of Lord Muruga. Several myths and legends are associated with this temple and one of them says that it is at this place that the Lord Muruga defeated the demon Surapadman and got married to Deivayani, daughter of the king of heaven, Indra and worshipped Lord Shiva.

The main shrine is an early rock cut temple which has cells that house the sanctums of Subramanya, Durga, Vinayakar, Shiva and Vishnu. There are several mandapas in this temple known as Kambathadi Mandapam, Ardha Mandapam, and Mahamandapam situated at different levels connected by steps. There are several architectural features .....

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At a distance of 21 km north-east of Madurai, Alagar Koil is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu situated on a picturesque wooded hill. It is one of the major temples in Tamilnadu and an important pilgrimage site near Madurai city.

The temple is the abode of Lord Vishnu and is the sacred place for several followers of Lord Vishnu in the region. It is situated in the Alagar hills and is also known as Azhagar Kovil. Here 'Vishnu' presides as Meenakshi's brother 'Azhagar'. The statue of the lord is made of stone and is a great masterpiece created from kallalgar. Several different statues in different postures of the Lord are all kept in the temple under the same roof and it is the best form of distinct temples in southern India.

The impressive main tower at the entrance is believed to have been built by the Pandyan Kings. Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (1251-1270 AD) has beautified the 'vimana' with gold plates. Later, during the reign .....

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At a distance of 80 km from Madurai and 100 km from Tirunelveli, Srivilliputhur Andal Temple is an ancient Hindu temple situated at Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district of Tamilnadu. This is one of the popular temples in Tamilnadu and also one of the 108 divya desams of Lord Vishnu. The 11 tier Raja gopuram is the tallest in Tamilnadu and is also the Emblem of Tamil Nadu Government.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, who is worshipped as Vatapatrasayi and his consort Lakshmi as Andal. It is believed to be the birthplace of two of the Alwars, namely Periazhwar and his foster daughter Andal. The Alwars lived in 8th century, so that the existence of the temple can be traced even before. Vatapatra Sayanar Temple was constructed by the King Villi who ruled the place. The tall temple tower was constructed by Peria Alwar with the help provided by the Pandian king Vallabadevan (765-815 AD). The Andal Shrine had been constructed by different kings of Pandya dynasty at different times. .....

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At a distance of 4 km from Madurai Junction Railway Station, Gandhi Museum is a museum situated in Madurai. It is one of the popular museums in Tamilnadu, and among the prime places to visit as part of Madurai tour packages.

The Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai was established in 1959 as a tribute to the efforts of our father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. It is one of the five great Gandhi Museums in the country which depict the life of the Father of the nation and India's freedom struggle from 1757 until 1947. Located in the heart of Madurai city, the museum is one of the best Madurai places to visit as it houses a wealth of remarkable mementoes associated with Indian history.

The museum building is a former 17th-century palace constructed by Nayak Queen Rani. Gandhi Museum comes under the Peace Museums Worldwide selected by the United Nations .....

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At a distance of 5 Kms from Madurai Junction Railway Station (on NH 49, towards the banks of Vaigai river), Vandiyur Mariamman Temple is built in the memory of Lord Vigneshwara. It is a popular temples near Madurai city.

It has a huge tank in the compound of the temple and is the biggest tank in the region of Tamil Nadu. The tank is filled with water all year long and the idol of the temple too was obtained from the bottom of the tank, while it was dug in the olden times and hence the temple was constructed at that place itself. So the tank gained its popularity since then and the temple too was constructed in its memory.

Float festival is conducted in the month of Jan/Feb in the tank in a colourful way, which attracts thousands of tourists.

Timings: 8 AM to 7 PM

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At a distance of 12 kms from Madurai, Narasingam is famous for the Cave temple of Yoga Narasinga Perumal constructed in 770 AD by Madurakavi who was the minister of the Madurai King Paraanthaka Nedunchelzyan. The sculpture of Narasinga Perumal is carved out of the Aanaimalai Hill rocks. This temple is a good example of the cave sculpturing of the Pandya Kingdom. In front of this there is a stone temple for the goddess Sri Narasingavalli.

To the west of Narasinga Perumal temple, there is another cave temple constructed in 8th century AD by Pandia King. In this temple the deity Muruga and the goddess Devasena are seen. On the outer wall of this temple the sculptures of the cock and peacocks are formed beautifully.

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At a distance of 23 kms north-east of Madurai (4 Kms from Alagar Koil), Pazhamudhir Solai is a beautiful temple created in the memory of Lord Subramaniya who is worshipped by several people in southern India. It has great sculptures of lord subramaniya encarved in wood and marble and is a wonderful temple with giant steps in the front of it.

People worship the temple by moving across the periphery of the temple a several number of times, with the hope that their wish would come true. It is the giant temple of Lord subhramaniya in southern India and one of the most beautiful too. It is located on the hills of Alagar koil.

Timings: Not Available.

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At a distance of 70 km from Madurai, Vaigai Dam is a giant dam situated at Andipatti near Madurai. It is one of the popular places to visit during your Madurai Trip.

The Vaigai Dam is built in the year 1959 across the Vaigai River. The dam measures 111 ft in height and the total storage capacity is 6,143 mcft. Counted as one of the most famous tourist places near Madurai, the dam has been the lifeline of the agricultural lands in the districts of Madurai and Dindigul. It also provides drinking water to Madurai and Andipatti. Near the dam, the Government of Tamil Nadu has constructed an Agricultural Research Station to research on a wide variety of crops including cereals and pulses.

There is a beautiful garden known as Little Brindavan for visitors. The garden has a variety of exotic flowers and plants. It also harbours a musical fountain that .....

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At a distance of 8 km from Periyakulam, 78 km from Thekkady, and 85 km from Madurai, the Kumbakkarai Waterfall is a scenic waterfall situated near Madurai. Located close to Madurai - Kodaikanal road, it is one of the popular waterfalls in tamilnadu, and among the must include places in Madurai tour packages.

Situated at the foothills of the Kodaikanal hills, the Kumbakkarai Falls cascades down from a height of about 87 feet in two layers. In the first stage, the water comes greeting the rocks that are given names of wild animals like elephant, snake, tiger to name a few. In the next stage, the water flows for a straight 0.5 km and then hugs the Kumbakkarai cascade. It is one of the most prominent Madurai sightseeing places.

Even though the waterfall is not as renowned as the other popular waterfalls .....

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At a distance of 123 kms from Madurai, 22 Kms from Thekkady (via Gudalur & Karuna Muthevan Patti), 10 Kms from Kambam (via Suruli Patti) & 548 Kms from Chennai, Suruli Falls are situated amidst rich flora fauna and serve as a perfect picnic spot.

The falls originate from the Megamalai hills and descend from a height of 150 feet. They are surrounded by the astounding beauty of the dense forest. The best feature of Suruli Falls is that they are round-the-year Falls, best time is June to October.

The falls serve as the venue of Summer Festival, organized every year by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department. The Kailasanathar Temple Cave is also an added attraction of the place. There are also other 18 caves in and around the Suruli Falls. The Kailasanatha temple and Suruli Velappar temple are also nearby the falls.

The falls are reachable by road from Kambam and Gudalur towns. About 1-2 Kms trek through dense forest is required to reach the falls from nearest road.

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At a distance of 95 km from Dindigul, 117 km from Madurai, 162 km from Munnar, 169 km from Coimbatore, 253 km from Ooty, 272 km from Kochi, 469 km from Bangalore, & 528 km from Chennai, Kodaikanal, also referred to as Kodai is a beautiful hill station in the Dindigul district of Tamilnadu. It is one of the best hill stations not to miss in a South India tour and among the top places to visit in Tamilnadu.

Often referred to as the 'Princess of Hill stations', Kodai is one of the popular places to visit in summer as part of honeymoon trip. It is situated at an altitude of about 7000 feet (2133 m) on the southern tip of the upper Palani hills. It has several scenic natural attractions which are enjoyed by its visitors and make it a popular romantic destination. Coaker's Walk, Silver Cascade, and Kodai Lake are among the must include .....

Distance (From Madurai): 106 Kms
Trip Duration (From Madurai - Including Travel): 1-2 Days
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