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Madurai , Rameshwaram Tour Package

History about Madurai 

Madurai, formerly (until 1949) Madura, South-Central Tamil Nadu State Capital, South India. It is situated about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Dindigul on the Vaigai River. Madurai is the state's third most populous, and possibly the oldest, city.

The region's ancient history is connected with the Pandya kings, and Madurai (4th-11th century CE) was the site of the capital of Pandya. Chola, Vijayanagar, Muslim, Maratha, and British rulers later occupied it. It became known as the centre of the civil disobedience movement against the British Raj in the 1940s, and it remained an important political leadership seat.

In the Vijayanagar era (16th-17th century), after the complete devastation of the city in 1310, the temple, Tirumala Nayak palace, Teppakulam tank (an earthen embankment reservoir), and a 1,000-pillared hall were rebuilt. In 1837, the British demolished the city walls to allow Madurai to expand, and administrative and residential quarters were set up north of the river.

With road and rail lines radiating from the city, Madurai is a major transportation hub for southern India. Just south of the town, there is also an airport, providing both domestic and international passenger and freight services. In the suburbs, large-scale factories have developed. The spinning and weaving of cotton and the processing of transport machinery, tobacco, and sugar are predominant. It remains necessary to weave small-scale hand-loom silks and cottons, which have made Madurai popular throughout history.

Madurai was well-known for its Tamil sangam (literary society) in the early years of CE, and a new sangam was founded in 1901. The city is home to the University of Madurai Kamaraj (founded in 1966), as well as medical and law colleges. In addition, the city has a bench at the Chennai Madras High Court (Madras).

Top most sightseeing places in Madurai.

Meenakshi Amman Temple:It is believed that at the site where the temple is currently situated, Lord Shiva assumed the form of Sundareswarar (the handsome one and married Parvati (Meenakshi).

Meenakshi Temple, renowned for its amazing architecture, was nominated as one of the world's wonders, but could not make it into the 'Seven Wonders of the World' list. The temple, however is undoubtedly one of the 'Wonders of India'. With thousands of devotees thronging it every day, it is also one of South India's key attractions. The temple draws more than a million devotees during the 'Tirukalyanam Festival,' which takes place over a span of 10 days.

It is said that the temple was constructed by Kulashekarar Pandyan, a king who ruled over the Pandyan dynasty, as per the instructions provided by Lord Shiva in his dream. A few religious texts from the 1st to 4th centuries C.E. speak of the temple and identify it as the city's central structure. The temple is mentioned in texts dating back to the early 6th century as a place where scholars met to discuss important topics.

Thirumalai Nayak Palace : In the city of Madurai, India, Thirumalai Nayak Palace is a 17th-century palace founded in 1636 AD by King Tirumala Nayaka, a king of the Nayaka dynasty of Madurai who ruled Madurai from 1623-59. This Palace is a classic combination of the styles of Dravidian and Rajput. The main palace in which the King resided was the house that can be seen today. The original Palace Complex was four times larger than the structure at present.

The palace was considered to be one of the marvels of the South in its heyday. This palace is located 2 km south east of the Meenakshi Amman Temple.

Over a period of 400 years, many parts of the buildings have endured a great deal over time, and not inconsiderably... Some, however are sufficiently in repair to be converted into use by the garrison, such as granaries, store-houses, powder magazines during the times of the East India Company, by the destructive effects of war.

In order to build his own palace in Tiruchirapalli, King Thirumalai Nayak's grandson demolished most of the fine structure and removed most of the jewels and woodcarvings. Nevertheless in 1866-72, Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras, partially restored the palace and the subsequent restoration works carried out many years ago, we can see the Entrance Gate, the Main Hall and the Dance Hall today.

Interesting Facts About Rameshwaram

Rameswaram Island is one of India's most popular pilgrimage sites and a tourist destination. For its sacredness stated in ancient Indian scriptures such as puranas and epic Ramayana, it is well recognised by the Hindu devotees & Pilgrims. 'Rameshwaram' is visited by millions of pilgrims and visitors all year round.

The island town of Rameswaram is situated in the sea area known as the "Gulf of Mannar Bio sphere reserve" surrounded by sea water on all its sides ("Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean" merges at the very tip of this island), this island is located precisely between India and Srilanka. It is separated by the "Pamban Channel" from the main land of the Indian Peninsula.

Rameswaram Island is situated between latitudes E 79 ° 12 '30' and E 79 ° 27 '30' and longitudes N 9 ° 8 '55' and N 9 ° 19' in the eastern part of Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, with an average altitude of 9 metres above mean sea level. It has landforms such as beaches, beach ridges and swales, mudflats, dunes and sandy plains, elevated terraces of coral, lagoons, mudflats, spits, creeks and living corals.
  

Interesting spots in Rameshwaram

Ramanathaswamy Temple: We can end up in the epic Ramayana written by the sage Valmiki in the historical records of the Rameswaram Temple laid back in the sands of time. There is so much debate about the age of Ramayana. (Modern historians position the life of Valmiki between 500 and 100 BC in different ways. Rama was born in Thretha yuga (1.2 million years ago) according to the scriptures, and at the same time Valmiki was also a contemporary of Lord Rama. Scientific Ramayana dating conducted by astronomical scholars said that Lord Rama came to Rameswaram and worshipped Lord Shiva (Ramanathasamy) by 7292 BC. But there is no clear evidence that decipheres the exact timing of the arrival of the Ramas to Rameswaram and the shiva linga(the main deity of the temple of rameswaram) built in the Rameswaram by Lord Rama.

We can get the following information by means of notes contained in some Vedas and puranas (ancient books of India) that Rameswaram land was called "Gandhamadhanam" at that ancient period, and it is also said that there was a shiva temple in the Rameswaram even before the arrival of Rama. Here you can get a list of the various ancient Indian scriptures that speak about Rameswaram and its sacredness (the link to the scripture list should be linked).

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Itinerary

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Day 1 - Madurai Sightseeing Day 2 - Madurai to Rameshwaram Day 3 - Dhanushkodi Sightseeing