Places to visit in and around chennai

Dear Shanvy & Fellow Ilites,
I'm having plans to travel to the following places, but have no idea as to which place to go first and from their link up.I want my tour to be like a circuit and dunt want to go round robin.We are travelling by car.

Singaperumal kovil
chettipunyam
Kanchipuram
Thiruvannamalai
Thiruthani
Sholinghur

Please let me know all the info(like distance in kms/good hotels or place to eat n stay) you know abt these place and most important please guide me which place to go first and then so on...

Thanks in advance.

Dear aishu,

I have not gone to most of these places. veda has gone and some of our friends. i am trying to compile the list so that it will be useful for lot of us.most of the info is from THE HINDU

so let us assume you are starting at tambaram...


Kalyana Anjaneya Thailavaram.- on nh..on the way to maraimalai nagar..


the moolavar is eight feet tall. The Lord holds the customary mace in his hand that he rests on his right shoulder. His left hand is placed on his hip. The utsava moorthi of Anjaneya is with his consort Suvarchala Devi. The Lord is depicted with four arms and is descriptively called Suvarchala Devi Sametha Chaturbhuja Subhamangala Varada Anjaneya Swami. This is a small temple but has an enormous bell about 32 feet high. The top portion of the bell, measures 18 feet with a flag at its mast. The 18 feet concept is said to stand for the 18 chapters of the `Bhagavad Gita.'
he bell called Ghanta Sthamba also functions as a sannidhi for Lord Rama with his consort Sita and brother Lakshmana. The utsava moorthi of this Lord blesses the devotees. The moola vigraham, housed deep inside the bell and not visible to the visitor, is made of Rosewood.
At the base of the bell are four small statues of Anjaneya, with hands folded.
This bell is said to represent the great Vaishnava Acharya, Swami Desika, who according to traditional accounts was an incarnation of the bell of the Tirumala temple.

It was built by ramani who had built the 32 ft nanganallur anjaneyar.

Maraimalai nagar- lakshmi narasihma temple
THE LORD Lakshmi Nrisimha Temple, situated off the NH-45 opposite Ford Car Factory at Maraimalai Nagar, is 50 km from Chennai. Though the temple was constructed in the 1990s, the deity enshrined here has an ancient history.
The Lakshmi Nrisimhaswami Moolavar idol, which is the presiding deity of this temple, was excavated in the presence of the then District Collector of Chingleput and the Archaeological authorities in 1990. It is estimated to be about 1,300 years old, probably of the Pallava era.
Lord Nrisimha is believed to have appeared in the dream of the temple priest Srinivasa Ragavan and his wife Choodamani Ammal and given directions to the place of his presence underground. According to them, the deity was worshipped by Viswamitra before he turned a sage, when he was well-known as King Kowsika, which dates back to Thretha Yuga.
The temple, constructed by the priest and his wife, now stands on a four-ground plot at Vivekananda Nagar, Maraimalai Nagar. Built with the help of their resources and contributions from a few devotees, the temple is in perfect accordance with the Agama Sastras as dictated by Brigu Muni, a sage of the Dwapara Yuga.

Chettipunyam - Hayagrivar Temple

Chettipunnyam village, three km west of Singaperumalkoil, near Chengalpattu.
It is difficult to take one's eyes off the images at this temple, not only those of Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Anjaneya, but also those of Lord Devanathan, Goddess Hemabjavalli, Yoga Hayagriva, Lord Varadaraja and Andal.
Hayagriva images are generally found along with Goddess Lakshmi. But the idol at Chettipunnyam temple, though small in size, is that of Yoga Hayagriva, which is said to be a rarity.
Hayagriva (Haya - horse; Greeva- neck), the horse faced form of Vishnu, is the god of Vidya - knowledge and prosperity. There are different myths about Hayagriva of which the two most important ones being (1)Vishnu took this form to save Vedas from an Asura of the same name (2) In this form Vishnu reveled the Devi Bhagavatam and the Lalitha Sahasranaamam to Agastya at Kanchi.

Tirukachur-Sivan temples
Tirukkachur is 4 kms from Maraimalai Nagar railway station. When you are coming from Chennai, go all the way till ford factory, take a U turn and then turn at the second left. You will reach a railway gate adjacent to Maraimalai Nagar railway station. Keep going straight for another 4 kms and you will reach the Thygaraja Swamy Temple.
Thyagaraja Swamy Temple.This is a temple, where Lord Vishnu worshipped Lord Siva in the form of a turtle.
Irandhitteeshwarar temple
Its not actually a temple. There is a single Siva Linga near a water tank.
Marundeeshwarar Temple
According to mythology, if you worship here, you will be cured of all ailments(if any). And this temple is atop a small hill. And People do Girivalam here as well. And very popular during Pournami days.By the way, this temple is open only in the mornings.

Singaperumal Koil -Padaladri Narasimhaswamy Temple, popularly known as Singaperumalkoil, 48 km from Chennai on the National Highway to Chengalpattu.
The Lord's image has been carved out on the hillock itself and hence one who wants to go in circumambulation of the Lord has to do so by going round the hillock itself.
According to "Brahmanda Puranam" the temple was surrounded by a big forest where Sage Jabali was doing penance praying to the Lord to appear before him.

It was the time of Narasimha incarnation and He appeared before the sage as "Ugra Narasimha" after slaying the demon, Hiranyakasipu.
The Lord even now gives darshan to the devotees in the same form with four hands, two of them holding Sudarsana and Panchajanya and the third in "Abaya Hastha" pose with the fourth pointing towards the earth. Found in sitting posture the Lord has three eyes, and wears the Salagrama and Sahasranama garlands.

Agora Veerabadra Swamy (Shivan) temple at Hanumanthapuram
From Singaperumal koil 10 kms towards east at hanumanthapuram, temple for Agora veerabadrar. This temple is famous to cure mentally ill people and there will be many such people wandering over. The road to the temple is deserted with Govt reserved forest area for a few kms. So you may not want to visit during the nights.

Vyagrapureeswarar temple at Pulipakkam
On the way to Chengelpattu from Chennai, immediately after the Tollgate, one can see a board written “Siva, Siva” on a roadside hillock on the right side.take the road that goes to the hillside..after the tollgate. The tollgate is located in the Pulipakkam village. Atop the hill is the Vyagrapureeswarar temple with rich historic value. We can have a clear view of the Chengalpattu lake (Kolavai lake)..and is a nice scenic spot to visit. Right now this area has lot of land promoters.

Sri Kothanda Ramaswami temple-

The temple is about 5 km from Chengapattu junction railway station. It is also known as Kodanda Rama Temple. The presiding deities are Lord Keerthinarayana and Lord Kodandarama. There is a separate shrine to house the shivalingam called Vasishteswarar. Other idols worshipped here are those of Sriram, Sita and Lakshman.

There is a separate sannadhi for Veera Anjaneya where he is in a unique posture pinning Sri Sani Bhagawan to the ground. I really never knew the story behind this until i got to know this temple. will post the story later..

Dear Aishu
Regarding kanchipuram, and tiruvannamalai...will give you details if you want.

regarding hotels, tiruvannamalai has some good hotels. others don't have so good ones..

If you are going with kids, better stock water, even food can be taken from home itself..with a little planning you can enjoy....