VELLORE TRAVEL GUIDE

At a distance of 6.5 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, The Subramanya Swamy Temple is located in Kangeyanallur and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. The presiding deity is also known as Kangeyan.

The presiding deity Subramanya is found in a standing posture along with his consorts Valli and Devasena in wedding form in the sanctum sanctorum. Saint Arunagiriar had sung praising of the Lord of the temple in his Tirupugazh. Devotees offer their first worship to saint Arunagiriar before going to Lord.

According to legend, Devas prayed to Lord Shiva to protect them from the atrocities of the demons. Lord Shiva created six sparks from His forehead eye. Vayu and Agni took them and left in Holy River Ganga. Six children came from the sparks then and were taken care of by Karthika maidens. Mother Parvathi then came there and embraced the children together which became a single child with six faces and named Kangeyan. Lord Muruga graces in this temple with this name.

The temple .....

At a distance of 2 km from Kathalampet and 21 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Singiri Koil is a Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is situated on Vellore - Polur road.

This temple is situated on a small hillock which is about 80 feet high and can be reached by a flight of about 100 steps. As per the inscriptions around the sanctum sanctorum, this is an 8th century temple built by the local chieftain, Rajavarman at the behest of Lord Narasimha who appeared in his dream.

The main idol in the sanctum sanctorum is seen in a sitting posture with four hands - two hands hold the conch and the discus, his third hand is on his lap and fourth hand is around the waist of Goddess Lakshmi. The image of the Lord is nearly six feet in height with Goddess Lakshmi is seated on the lap of the Lord.

There is a separate shrine for Lord Anjaneya, who is known here as Sri Bala Anjaneya. The idol is one feet .....

At a distance 26 km from Vellore, Arcot is a town and suburb of Vellore city, located on the southern banks of Palar River. Arcot is a historical town which was the headquarters of Nawab of Carnatic, who ruled the region in 18th century AD. It was earlier known as Thiruvazhundur during the Chola period. Delhi Gate and Arcot Fort are important attractions in the town.

Arcot was ruled by 12 Nawabs. Carnatic Nawabdom was established by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who in 1692 appointed Zulfikar Ali as Nawab of the Carnatic, with his seat at Arcot as an honor for his triumph over the Marathas at this place. In 1740, the Maratha forces invaded Arcot. They attacked the Nawab, Dost Ali in the pass of Damalcherry. In the war that followed, Dost Ali, one of his sons Hasan Ali, and a number of prominent persons lost their lives. In 1751, The English captured the town during Carnatic Wars. In 1801, the town was annexed by the British East India Company and merged into Madras Presidency

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At a distance of 27 km from Vellore Town Railway Station, Amirthi Zoological Park is situated under the Javadu hills of Tellai across Amirthi River. Established in 1967, the zoo park occupies an area of 25 hectares. It is named after the Amirthi River which flows next to the park.

This park is popular for its waterfalls, swing and animal habitats. Half of this jungle is cleared to serve as a tourist spot while the other half is developed as a wildlife sanctuary. One km trek in the park leads to a full view of Amirthi falls, a small cascading seasonal falls. Visitors can play and swim in the pool formed by the falls here in monsoons.

Animals in the park include spotted deer, mongoose, hedgehog, foxes, reason monkeys, red headed parrots, love birds, tortoises, peacock, crocodiles, wild cats, eagles, ducks, pigeons, wild parrots, rabbits and pythons. Many herbal and medicinal plants can be seen growing in the Park. A meditation .....

At a distance of 3.5 km from Vilapakkam Bus Stop and 30 km from Vellore, Pancha Pandava Malai or Pancha Pandava hill is situated in a small town of Vilapakkam beside the State Highway 129 between Arcot and Kannamangalam. The hilly area was a flourishing Jain center between 9th & 11th centuries as it is evident from the rock cut cave temple, natural caves with Jain figures and inscriptions.

The name Pancha Pandava Malai is associated with Pandavas from Mahabharata. The hill is locally called as Tiruppanmalai, meaning Scared Milk Hill. As per an inscription from Chola period found in a structural temple in this village, it is suggested that this town was under the strong influence of the Jainism during 10th century.

The rock cut cave temple is one of the largest cave excavations built in Pallava style. This east facing cave is excavated at the foot of a large hillock. The cave has a large mukhamandapa supported by twelve pillars .....

At a distance of 1 km from Thiruparkadal Bus Stand, 4 km from Kaveripakkam and 43 km from Vellore, The twin temples of Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal and Athi Ranganatha at Thiruparkadal are situated on Chennai - Bangalore Highway on the banks of Vegavathi River. The two temples are situated very close to each other with a Pushkarini in front of them. The Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple has both Shiva and Vishnu and the Ranganatha Swamy Temple has Vishnu and Brahma - therefore it is a Trimurthi Kshetram.

The Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal temple is dedicated to Lord Venkateswara. The deity is standing on an Aavudaiyar, which forms part of the Sivalinga. It is rare to have darshan of both Vishnu and Siva in the same sanctum. The Sprawling temple was renovated by Vijayanagara kings. It also has shrines for Alamelu Mangai, Anjaneya, Garuda, Rukmini, Sathyabhama. This temple was patronized by Krishna Daveraya, and an idol of him is placed inside the sanctum.

According to history, once .....

At a distance of 3.5 km from Sholingur Bus Station and 506 km from Vellore, Sholingur Sri Yoga Narasimha temple is a famous temple and one of the 108 divya desams of Sri Vaishnavas.

The Yoga Narasimha temple is situated on a hill called Periya Malai. The presiding deity Lord Narasimha is seen here in yogic posture. It is located at an altitude of about 1000 feet and one has to climb about 1300 steps to reach the shrine.

The Goddess of this temple is known as Amirtha Valli Thayar. The unique feature of this temple is that Lord Yoga Narasimha is seated in a yoga asana with Salagrama Hara (necklace) and Chaturbuja (four arms). He holds Sanka and Chakra in two arms; the other two arms signify a meditative posture.

According to legend, Narasimha is the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, after slaying the demon Hiranyakashipu, reached this hill. It is believed that worshipping the lord at this temple would relieve the devotees .....

At a distance of 58 km from Vellore, 36 km from Arcot and 25 km from Arakkonam, Mahendravadi is a small village situated near to Sholingur. This village is famous for the Mahendravadi rock temple that was constructed by Pallava King Mahendra Varman I. Inscriptions mentioned here note that the temple was excavated by Gunabhara.

The temple is a monolithic rock-cut cave temple, which is under the maintenance of Archeological Survey of India. This cave temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The sanctum sanctorum of this temple holds an image of Lord Narasimha, depicting Yoga Narasimha posture. The inscription found in this temple calls this place Mahendra Vishnu Graha.

The cave temple is east facing with front facade supported by two by two pillars nicely carved with lotus designs. The sanctum carved towards the back wall of the cave. The entrance of the shrine has two well carved Dwarapalakas. The idol of Yoga Narasimha is placed inside the sanctum.

There is another temple .....

At a distance of 75 km from Chennai, 68 km from Vellore, 65 km from Mahabalipuram, 108 km from Tirupati & 127 km from Pondicherry, Kanchipuram or Kanchi is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district. Kanchipuram is one of the most popular weekend getaways from Chennai and one of the major Places to visit in Tamilnadu.

Kanchipuram has rich history and it's one of the oldest cities in India. The temples of Kanchipuram are known for their grandeur and great architecture. The architecture of Kanchi monuments were trendsetting with great sculpture work and unique style and became a benchmark for South Indian architecture.

The city served as the capital of Pallava Dynasty, and most of the known temples .....

Distance (From Vellore): 70 Kms
Trip Duration (From Vellore - Including Travel): Full Day
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At a distance of 77 km from Vellore and 54 km from Yelagiri, The Vainu Bappu Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It is located at Kavalur in the Javadi hills near Vaniyambadi in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu.

The Kavalur Observatory is located in a 100 acre forest land. The observatory houses a number of optical telescopes, including currently India's largest optical telescope the 2.3m Vainu Bappu telescope, 1.3 meter J.C Bhattacharya telescope, 1m Carl Zeiss Telescope and many other smaller ones. Apart from the Telescopes, there is also a Fabry-Perot Interferometer which is being used to study airglow emissions from the Earth's thermosphere. The observatory is situated at an altitude of 725m. Several varieties of plants, some wildlife and different birds are spotted in the campus.

The observatory traces its origin back to the year 1786 when William Petrie set up .....

Distance (From Vellore): 77 Kms
Trip Duration (From Vellore - Including Travel): 4 Hours/Half Day
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At a distance of 2 km from Gingee Bus Stand, 71 km from Puducherry, 85 km from Kanchipuram and 93 km from Vellore, Gingee Fort or Senji Fort in Villupuram District is one of the largest surviving forts in Tamil Nadu. The fort was historically considered most impregnable and it was called the 'Troy of the East' by the British. The fort is one of the prominent tourist places to visit near Villupuram & Chennai also among the best weekend getaways from Chennai & Pondicherry for a day trip.

Originally the site had a small fort built by the Chola dynasty during 9th century. Gingee Fort, also known as Chinji or Jinji, was modified by Kurumbar while fighting the Cholas and again by the Vijayanagara Empire during the 13th century. As per one account, the fort was built during the 15-16th century by the Gingee Nayaks, the lieutenants of the .....

At a distance of 120 Kms from Kanchipuram, 195 Kms from Chennai, 204 Kms from Bangalore and 83 Kms from Vellore, the famous Arunachala Temple in Thiruvannaamalai is one of the greatest Shaiva temples in South India. Tiruvannamalai along with Gingee Fort is one of the ideal Chennai weekend getaways and a major pilgrimage site in Tamilnadu.

Built within an area of 25 acres, this temple was constructed by Vijayanagara kings between 16th and the 17th centuries. This temple is famous for its huge & massive gopurams built on four sides of the temple. The Rajagopuram on East Gateway is 217 feet high with 11 storeys. The base measure 135 feet by 98 feet. This tower was built by King Krishna Devaraya of Vijayanagar. The Thousand Pillared Mantapam and the tank opposite to it were also constructed by Krishna Devaraya. The temple is fortified by a huge wall. Each of the prakarams has a huge Nandi.

The KARTHIGAI DEEPAM FESTIVAL celebrated .....

Distance (From Vellore): 93 Kms
Trip Duration (From Vellore - Including Travel): 4-6 Hours
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At a distance of 2.5 km from Kaigal Village, 28 km from Palamaner, 55 km from Kolar, 92 km from Horsley Hills, 142 km from Tirupati, 123 km from Bangalore, 68 from Chittoor, 78 km from Kanipakam, 96 km from Vellore & 225 km from Chennai, Kaigal Water Falls, also known as Dumukurallu Waterfalls is a nice waterfall located on the Palamaner - Kuppam Highway.

The waterfall is natural, perennial and water comes from a big rock at a height of 40 feet, irrespective of seasons. But its force and beauty is increased during the Monsoon season. The name Dumukurallu waterfalls came into prominence because of its sound resembling the fall of stones from above.

The falls is formed by the Kaigal stream which is one of the two streams flowing through Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary. There is a big pond below the waterfalls and this is a nice place to visit for nature lovers. It is situated in a .....

Distance (From Vellore): 96 Kms
Trip Duration (From Vellore - Including Travel): 6 Hours
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