Tamil Nadu Tours & Experiences

Things to do in Tamil Nadu

Most lie on the road south from Chennai; each place links to its own page.

Start with a day in Chennai

Both of our tours from the capital give the day you land to the Marina and Mylapore's Kapaleeshwarar Temple. A spare day adds Fort St George, the Government Museum's bronzes and T. Nagar's silk shops. More in things to do in Chennai.

Be at Madurai's temple for the evening ceremony

The Meenakshi Amman Temple closes each day with a nightly ceremony. Our South India Temple Trail is there on its first evening in the city, and the Rameswaram and Madurai temple trail includes it when timing allows. See Madurai.

Walk the corridors of Rameswaram

On an island reached by the Pamban Bridge, the Ramanathaswamy Temple is one of Shiva's twelve Jyotirlinga shrines, famous for its long pillared corridors. Pilgrims bathe at its wells to purify themselves, an optional rite for visitors, and the coast runs on to Dhanushkodi. Three of our tours stop here: see Rameswaram.

Watch the sun set where three seas meet

At the mainland's southern tip, our tours to the far south time a sunset where the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal come together, and take the ferry to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial next day, sea permitting. See Kanyakumari.

See Pallava carving by the sea

About ninety minutes down the coast from Chennai, Mahabalipuram's seventh- and eighth-century Pallava monuments are on UNESCO's World Heritage list, with dance beside them on winter evenings. Both of our tours from Chennai stay a night: see Mahabalipuram.

Spend a day in the Chola country

Thanjavur's Big Temple, completed around 1010, and the temples at Darasuram and Gangaikonda Cholapuram make up the Great Living Chola Temples. The town still makes paintings, dolls and jackfruit-wood veenas. See Thanjavur.

Eat your way round Chettinad

The merchant villages around Karaikudi are known for their mansions and for cooking built on black pepper and roasted spices. Our Chettinad food trail takes a few hours, with tastings and a restored mansion, and can be run fully vegetarian. See Chettinad.

Ride the hill railway or take a boat on Kodaikanal's lake

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, climbs 46 km from Mettupalayam through Coonoor to Ooty in about five hours; Tamil Nadu Tourism calls it the only rack railway working in India. Kodaikanal has a boat club on its lake. Our guides to Ooty and Kodaikanal have more.

Look for elephants and wintering birds

Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, on the Nilgiri slopes where Tamil Nadu meets Kerala and Karnataka, shelters elephants, gaur, tigers and leopards, says the state forest department. Vedanthangal, a bird sanctuary since 1936, fills with egrets, herons, ibises, painted storks and spoonbills in winter.

Choosing between our Tamil Nadu tours

For the whole trail, take the South India Temple Trail — 10 days, Chennai to Kanyakumari with a car, a driver and a local guide at the major temples; it suits lovers of temple architecture who are content with modest dress and bare feet on warm stone. The 10 Days South India Tour Package follows the same road to Madurai, then crosses the Western Ghats to Munnar and the Alleppey backwaters. Pilgrims who want Tirumala too choose the 6 Days Tirupati Madurai Rameshwaram Kanyakumari Tour, with help on darshan queues. The Rameswaram and Madurai temple trail takes two or three days, and the food trail a few hours. All routes: Tamil Nadu tour packages.

When to go for these

January and February are the driest months on the plains, and around Chennai March is drier still: the best time for temples and the coast. The northeast monsoon makes October to December the state's main rainy season, with November the wettest month around Chennai (India Meteorological Department), and storms can halt the Kanyakumari ferry and the trains crossing to Rameswaram. From April to June, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli average highs of 37–38°C, the months Tamil Nadu Tourism recommends for Ooty and Kodaikanal. Pongal usually falls between 13 and 16 January.

Planning around temple hours and long drives

The great temples close for a few hours after midday (the Meenakshi Amman from 12.30 to 4 pm, the Ramanathaswamy from 1 to 3 pm, on their own websites), so spend that time on the road. Cover shoulders and knees, and wear shoes that slip off; thin socks help on hot stone. On our routes, most drives between temple towns take three to five hours. For sights and history, see our Tamil Nadu travel guide.