BEST OF TIRUNELVELI (FROMTIRUNELVELI)

At a distance of 4 km from Tirunelveli Railway Station, Nellaiappar Temple is a popular Hindu temple situated on the banks of the river Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli. This is one of the largest temples in Tamilnadu, and among the best Tirunelveli places to visit.

Sri Nellaiappar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. According to history, both the gopurams were built by Pandiyas and the sanctums of the temple were constructed by Nindraseer Nedumaran who ruled Tirunelveli in the 7th century CE. This is one of the Pancha Sabha temples (Copper) that are revered as the five Cosmic Dance halls of Lord Shiva. The other four are Chidambaram with gold, Madurai with silver, Tiruvalankadu with ruby, and Kutralam with images.

Nellaiappar Temple is spread over an area of 14 acres and is one of the biggest temples in Pandiya Naadu, and among the must include .....

At a distance of 1 km from Tirunelveli Railway Station, Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple is an ancient and well known Vishnu temple lies on the banks of Thamirabarani River at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. It is considered as one of the oldest temples in South India and also one of the top Places to visit in Tirunelveli.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The main deity of the temple is Veeraraghavan and the Ustava Moorthy is Sri Varadharaja Perumal, after whom the temple is named. According to the history, king Krishnavarma was ruling this region. Once he found an idol made of blue stone while bathing in Thamirabarani River. He built a temple installing the deity and named him Varadaraja Perumal. Deeply plunged in the worship of the Lord, the king was not prepared militarily to face the invasion on his land. He prayed to the Lord to protect him, his subjects and his land. Responding to the prayers of the king, Lord came to the battlefield in his form, fought and drove the enemies back. .....

At a distance of 4 km from Tirunelveli Railway Station, Sri Rajagopala Swamy Temple is an ancient Hindu temple situated in Palayamkottai area of Tirunelveli in Tamilnadu state. Also known as Sri Vedanarayana Temple, this is one of the oldest temples in South India and also one of the best places to visit in Tirunelveli.

This temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu and is worshipped as Rajagopala Swamy and Vedanarayan Perumal. This east facing temple dates back to the Pandiya period. According to legend, the demons were giving lot of troubles to Indira, the king of Devas. Once, Arjuna went to Indra's kingdom, he asked Arjuna to defeat and kill them and free him. Arjuna destroyed them by using his Pasupathastra. Pleased Indra gifted the Gopala Swamy idol which he was worshipping. Few days later, Lord Krishna appeared in the dream of Arjuna and asked him to leave the idol in Ganga which Arjuna did. The Pandiya king Sripathy got the idol while bathing in Ganga, brought it to this place, installed .....

At a distance of 1.5 km from Tirunelveli Railway Station, District Science Centre is a museum situated on the banks of Thamirabarani River at Palayamkottai of Tirunelveli town in Tamilnadu state. It is part of the National Council of Science Museums and is among the 124 science centers in India.

The District Science Centre was opened to the public on 27th February 1987 with a gallery on 'Treasures from Ocean' and a Science Park. Soon the Centre became one of the most popular centers in NCSM network with the spontaneous support of the local community. The Centre aim is to popularize science and technology among public and to supplement science education in schools and colleges to foster a spirit of scientific enquiry among the students.

At present, the Centre has four galleries on the topics 'Fun Science', 'Popular Science', 'Electronics' and a 'New Wing of Electronics'. It has a well-equipped planetarium and a sky observatory, where one could enjoy the view of heavenly bodies .....

At a distance of 10 km from Tirunelveli, Sri Venkatachalapathy Temple is situated atop Swetha Varaha hill in Mela Thiruvenkatanathapuram village on the banks of Thamirabarani River in Tirunelveli district. Also known as Thirunankovil Temple, the temple is revered as 'Then Thirupathi' and visiting this temple is considered equivalent to visiting Tirupathi.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Srinivasa, a form of Lord Vishnu. According to the legend, Sage Pylor, one of the disciples of Maharishi Vyasa was meditated here on the banks of the Thamirabarani River. Mahavishnu, satisfied by his penance, appeared before him as Lord Srinivasa and blessed him. At the request of Sage Pylor, the deity agreed to be present at the place permanently. The sage is responsible for the building of the temple initially. The current structure of temple itself was constructed by Venkatappa Nayak about 700 years ago.

This east facing temple is built as a 'maada kovil' with the main shrine on the elevated .....

At a distance of 1 km from Mela Thiruvenkatanathapuram Temple and 9 km from Tirunelveli, Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple is an ancient temple situated on the banks of the Thamirabarani River in Keezha Tiruvenkatanathapuram or Keezha Tirupathi.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the form of Varadaraja Perumal. It was built by King Verapandian in the 12th century AD. Due to the abundant presence of Red Soil around the temple, this place got the name Sengani, where Sen meaning Red and Kani meaning Land in Tamil. The name later changed to Sangani. The Kubera vassal, the main entrance of the temple is constructed on the northern side of the shrine. This is followed by Maha mandapam, Artha mandapam and Garbhagriha.

The presiding deity Sri Varadaraja Perumal stands in the center with Sridevi to the right and Bhudevi to the left in the sanctum sanctorum. He has 'chakra and dhana rekha' in his right hands and 'sankhu and kadayutham' in his lefts hands. The lord was placed in .....

At a distance of 3 km from Cheranmahadevi Railway Station and 22 km from Tirunelveli, Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple is an ancient temple situated in the small village called Cheranmahadevi of Tamilnadu. It is architecturally beautiful and has so many excellent sculptures. The site is a centrally protected monument under the control of Archaeological Survey of India since 1921. It can be considered as one of the best heritage sites in Tamil Nadu state.

Bhaktavatsala Perumal temple is located in the outskirts of Cheranmahadevi amidst paddy fields on the bank of Thamirabarani River. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The temple was built by Pandiyas in the 12th century AD. The temple contains late Chola and Pandiya inscriptions. Out of the 108 divya desams, it lies in the 17th place. This place is also called as Sapthamirtha Kshetram.

The temple complex is big and houses two shrines. The smaller shrine is dedicated Bala Krishnan. It is a very attractive sculpture. The bigger .....

At a distance of 15 km from Ambasamudram and 47 km from Tirunelveli, Papanasam is a small town in Ambasamudram Taluk of Tirunelveli district in Tamilnadu. It is one of the popular picnic spots in Tirunelveli.

Papanasam has a famous temple called the Papanasam Sivan Temple which lies on the banks of Thamirabarani River. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the holy shrine is dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati who are worshipped as Papanasanathar and Ulagammai respectively. This is the place where Saint Agasthiyar got the Kalyana dharshan of Lord Shiva and Parvati along with his wife Lopamudra.

The Shiva lingam of the temple is completely made up of Rudraksha. Of the nine Kailash Kshetras - Nava Kailash, Papanasam is the first place and is attributed to Sun God. Hence, the place is known as Surya Kshetra and Surya Kailash. Devotees strongly believe that Lord Shiva in this temple is most powerful and cures all kind of diseases. The temple is famous .....

At a distance of 4 km from Papanasam and 51 km from Tirunelveli, Papanasam Falls, also known as Agasthiyar Falls is a stunning waterfall located near the town of Papanasam in the Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu. Located in the Western Ghats, Papanasam Falls is a prominent waterfalls in Tamilnadu, and among the most popular Tirunelveli tourist places.

Formed over Thamirabarani River, Papanasam Falls drop down from a height of 120 m. The river Thamirabarani, which flows from the Western Ghats of the Podhigai Hills, reaches the plains at Papanasam. This is highly revered by the locals both for their immense beauty and religious significance. Papanasam means absolution of sins and it is an important pilgrim center where people take bath in the sacred water to relieve themselves from sins.

Agasthiyar Temple is situated near the falls, among the .....

At a distance of 16 km from Papanasam and 45 km from Tirunelveli, Manimuthar Dam is an artificial dam in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. This is one of the largest dams in Tirunelveli district and also one of the top places to visit in Tirunelveli.

Situated at the foothills of the scenic Podhigai Hills, Manimuthar Dam was built across the Manimuthar River just three km above its confluence with Thamirabarani River in 1957. The maximum storage capacity of the dam is 118 feet. The river Manimuthar is the major tributary of Thamirabarani. The Dam is an ideal picnic spot blessed with beautiful garden and peaceful atmosphere. Boating in this picturesque dam is one of the most memorable things to do in Tirunelveli.

About 6 km from Manimuthar Dam is Manimuthar Falls which is created by the waters of Manimuthar River. This natural waterfall cascades down from a height of 25 feet into a pond. The pond is 90 feet in deep and is very dangerous. The water is so fresh and less crowded .....