Madurai Holy Place in Tamil Nadu

Madurai or the "city of nectar" is the oldest and second largest city of Tamil Nadu. This city is located on Vaigai River and was the capital of Pandyan rulers till the 14th century. Madurai is an animated city packed with pilgrims, beggars, businesspeople, bullock carts and legions of underemployed rickshaw- wallahs. Dating about 2500 years back in time, it is one of southern India's oldest cities, and has been a centre of learning and pilgrimage for centuries. Reading through inscriptions, travelogues and the writings of missionaries, one can gather that Madurai was the cynosure of all eyes because of its prosperity. Ibn Batuta describes the beauty of Madurai in the midst of the destruction, as having a layout and scheme that was centred round the Vaigai. Have a sneak peek of the rich past of the city with Madurai tourism.

Travel through the historical gateway of the Cholas with Madurai tourism. The Imperial Cholas of Thanjavur maintained a hegemony over Madurai. The city had the title Maduraikondan, or the "Vanquisher of Madurai". This led to a period of sullen co-existence and the Pandyas of Madurai wooed Sri Lanka and Kerala to throw in their lot with them to create multi-focal disturbances in order to get back power.Later, when Madurai came under the Vijayanagara Kings and established a governorship under Nagamma Nayak, the city played a pivotal role in holding together the southern regions of the empire. The development of an army and the accumulation of wealth. Often hidden and unaccounted for, from the central power helped the Nayaks to break free and establish an independent state centred around Madurai. Gangadevi, the author of Madhuravijayam, has established that the conquest of Madurai was most crucial to the building of the Vijayanagara Empire, as controlling this town permitted them to hold sway over the heartland in the South.

The Pandyas, who ruled Madurai through two millennia, were a sea-faring dynasty and maintained close links with Sri Lanka and other nations and islands in the Indian Ocean. Back home, it was with Kerala. They established trade, the products being pearls, spices, cloth and other commodities. Imperial Rome coveted these riches and the impact of counter-trade can be judged going by the discovery of numerous Roman coins in excavations at Madurai.

Airways : There are daily flights to and from Tiruchirapalli, Madras and Bangalore.

Railways : There are train connections to Madurai from Madras, which takes eight hours via Trichy and from Rameshwaram, takes six hours. If you approach Madurai from Kerala, some spectacular scenes of the Western Ghats can be viewed.

Roadways : There is very good service from Madurai to most of the major cities in the state. State run or private buses commute at regular intervals.