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Fresh
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| South Indian Travel & Tour
Operator offers South India tour, Tour of
South India, Tours to South India, South India tour
package, South India travel tour, South India tourism,
South India religious tour, Ayurveda South India tour,
Spiritual South India tour, Luxury tour South India,
South India tour operator, holiday packages, tailor-made
tours suiting to all categories in South India, Nepal,
Bhutan, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Maldives, on very
competitive prices. We are members of numerous
prestigious National & International Associations
and have multilingual staff in our office; clubbing all
these qualities shall ensure you top most quality on
most competitive prices.
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| Tamil Nadu
Tours |
ABOUT
TAMILNADU
Tamil Nadu, the heart of the Dravidian culture and
tradition, has for time immemorial, been a pioneer of
peace and knowledge, and the visual legacy of the
culture of the state, is among the most satisfying
spectacles in South India. Sharing boundaries with the
states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala, Tamil
Nadu has an unbroken coast line, edging the Bay of
Bengal. Densely forested uplands which abound in
wildlife, intensively cultivated farmlands interspersed
with rocky wastes, mountain chains of the Western Ghats,
which give way to fertile coastal plains and plateaus
form the geographical features of Tamil Nadu.
Tamilians learn to
appreciate culture, from a very young age, and have a
deep interest in music, dance and literature. Classical
dancing in the form of Bharatnatyam, has its origin in
the temples of the South East, and continues to be
followed with a lot of fervour and dedication in Tamil
Nadu. Carnatic music is another art form, that has
flourished over the ages, producing artists of great
repute. Festivals are a daily feature in this region.
Navaratri or Dussehra (September/October), Diwali
(October/ November), Karthika (November/December) and
Pongal (January) are the major occasions, celebrated
with great enthusiasm. A unique festival of Carnatic
music, the Thyagaraja festival, is held annually in
January at Thiruvariyar, the birth place of famous
singer poet Thyagaraja, where one can witness the
amazing spectacle of mass performance, in total harmony
and rhythm.
The
places of tourist interest in the state are Chennai, the
beautiful capital city; Mamallapuram, the beach resort;
Kanchipuram, the land of 1000 temples; Madurai, famous
for the Meenakshi temple; Rameswaram, Tiruchirapalli and
Thanjavur, the temple trio; the charming hill resorts of
Yercaud, Ootacamund and Kodaikanal and Kanyakumari, the
southern tip of South India, renowned for its sunrise
and sunset.
TEMPLES IN
TAMILNADU
There are more than 30,000 temples in
Tamil Nadu, which has given the state the distinctive
title of 'A Land of Temples'. Built by various dynasties
these temples bear a superficial resemblance to each
other in that they share the same physical features -
the gopuram or the imposing tower over the entrance,
from all four directions the vimanam which is the tower
over the sanctum and the spacious halls and corridors.
The temple was also much more than a place of worship.
It was a place for social gathering, for education, for
celebration - not just of the king's victories in
battles but also of local functions and ceremonies such
as marriages. The temple was also used as a store house
of sorts for emergencies and, many a temple also
maintained hospitals. The temple was a place where art,
in all its forms i.e. music, dance, drama and
handicrafts received encouragement and
flourished.
But, above all, the temple was a place of worship.
And what was of utmost importance is the beautiful
sculptures that adorned them. Every temple has
architectural beauty of its own, peculiar to the
presiding deity. You will not miss the
Universal.
The Tamils have always been a God-fearing people and are
ardent worshippers of Siva, Vishnu, their consorts
Parvati and Lakshmi, Vinayaka, Subramanya (also known as
Muruga). And each of these gods take on different names
at different temples depending on the legend of the
temple. For example, at Rameswaram, Ramanathaswamy,
which means 'He who was worshipped by Rama' and at
Chidambaram He is called Nataraja or the 'Cosmic
Dancer'. In simple terms, for the sake of identification
it is enough to know that whenever 'Eswaran' is the
suffix in the name of the presiding deity, the temple is
dedicated to Lord Siva. The South has very few temples
where Siva is depicted as anything other than a lingam.
A few notable exceptions are the temple of the Cosmic
Dancer at Chidambaram and the Ardhanareeswarar temple at
Tiruchengodu. Siva is also worshipped as the five
elements i.e. as Sky or Space in Chidambaram, Water in
Tiruvanaikkaval, Fire in Tiruvannamalai, Earth in
Kanchipuram and Air in Sri Kalahasti (Andhra Pradesh).
In Tamil Nadu, Vishnu is worshipped as Vishnu himself
rather than as one of his incarnations, though there are
some temples dedicated to Rama and Krishna both of whom
are incarnations of the Lord. He is known by various
names such as Varadaraja Perumal in Kanchi, Kallalagar
in Madurai and Ranganathaswamy at
Srirangam.
Of the consorts, there are several temples
dedicated to Parvati where there are also shrines to
Lord Siva. The most prominent of these of course is the
twin temple dedicated to Meenakshi and Sundareswarar at
Madurai, and the Kamakshi temple at Kanchi. Apart from
this, the goddess is also worshipped as Kali Amman or
Durga.
Vinayaka
or Pillayar is perhaps the most worshipped of the gods
and is also called Vigneswara or Ganapati or Ganesa. He
is the elephant-headed elder son of Siva and Parvati and
is extremely benign in appearance. During any festival
or celebration, worship of this God is given precedence
over others. The largest Pillayar temple is at
Pillayarpatti near Karaikkudi. Vinayaka's younger
brother Subramanya is the Lord of the mountains and his
six abodes of Aarupadaiveedu - Tiruttani, Swamimalai,
Palani, Thiruparankunram, Pazhamudircholai and
Tiruchchendur.
Two terms that one often comes across in reference to
the temples in Tamil Nadu are Saivism and Vaishnavism.
As the words imply, Saivites are followers of Lord Siva
while Vaishnavites are followers of Lord Vishnu. Not all
that long ago, the men of the two sects could be
identified by the distinct religious marks on their
forehead. The Saivites wore three horizontal strokes of
the vibhoothi or sacred ash while their Vaishnavite
counterparts wore a long 'U' shaped decoration in white
with a vertical stroke of vermillion stretching between
the eye brows. These marks are no longer in use as
catholicity, now marks the Hindu
faith.
WILD LIFE IN
TAMILNADU
Tamil Nadu, the cultural hot seat of
South India has added another feather in its cap owing
to its diverse natural heritage. Tamil Nadu Wildlife
Tours are thus quite naturally a rage among the
tourists.
Tamil Nadu is marked by a varied topography. The
state encompasses an area of 1,30,058 sq km land area,
out of which 17.6% is covered with forests. The lush
terrains comprise of fertile low-lying plains, lofty
mountains and the Western Ghats. A delightful blend of
dry and wet deciduous forests, wet evergreen forests,
sholas, grasslands and thorny scrubs and mangroves make
up the state’s natural vegetation.
One of Tamil
Nadu’s prized possessions is its assorted flora and
varieties of wildlife. Elephants, tigers, bisons,
monkeys and deer inhabit the lofty jungle-clad hills. As
a natural corollary to this, some of the state’s leading
wildlife sanctuaries like the Madumalai and Annamalai
(Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary) are situated on the
hilly terrains.
Tamil Nadu is also spectacular
breeding ground for variegated species of resident as
well as migratory birds. The state houses cormorants,
herons, storks, pelicans, grebes, darters and several
other varieties of birds that are a real treat to
behold. The Point Calimere Bird Sanctuary and the
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary are two such eminent bird
reserves of the state.
Tamil Nadu also houses
crocodile and fish farms, a sanctuary that is solely
dedicated to squirrels as well as several arboreal
species.
A glimpse of Tamil Nadu’s diverse
heritage can be obtained by a mere stopover at one or
all of the following sanctuaries:
» Indira
Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary And National Park
»
Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary And National Park
»
Mukkurthi National Park
» Kalakkudu Wildlife
Sanctuary
» Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary
»
Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary
» Guindy National Park
» Vallanadu Black Buck
Sanctuary
» Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary
»
Viralimalai Wildlife Sanctuary
» Anna Zoological
Park, Chennai. | |
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| We offer an excellent
opportunity of North India Tour and South
India Tour. Choosing the India tours you can
visit the Himalayan range where you experience the
thrilling and exciting adventures. The panoramic
beauty of the high mountain peaks and the breathtaking
sceneries of the Himalayas had never failed to allure
the tourists. Some of the adventure includes
mountaineering, river rafting, trekking, and
biking etc. While by availing the South India
Tour, the travelers can witness the fabulous beaches
of Goa and Kerala. These beaches offer luxurious holiday
spots for many tourists all over the world. There
are many other exotic places in India, which the tourist
can witness by availing the South India Tour that
is provided by the India Tour
Operators. | |
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