Tamil Nadu is a land of varied beauty with majestically sculptured grand temples. Tamil Nadu with it's 32 districts has an area of 130,058 sq km. Tamil Nadu receives 2 million foreign and 50 million domestic tourists. Thousand Lights mosque, Chennai is one of the largest mosques in the country. Marina Beach in Chennai is one of the longest beaches in the world. The Chettinad region of the state is renowned for its Palatial houses and cuisine.

Tamil Nadu boasts some of the grandest Hindu temples of Dravidian architecture. These temples are of a distinct style renowned for their towering Gopurams.

The main temples having artistic beauty and archeological importance are located at Chennai (Kapaleeswar Temple of Mylapore), Mahabalipuram (Shore temple & rathas), Kanchipuram, Palani Subramanya temple (Kavadi festival), Madurai (Meenakshi Amman temple), Kumbakonam, Chidambaram, Srivilliputtur, Trichy, Srirangam (Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, the largest Hindu temple with tallest gopuram), Thanjavur (Brihadishwara Temple), Rameshwaram, Suchindram near Nagarkovil, Kanyakumari, Airavateswara temple in Darasuram, Nellaiappar Shiva temple of Tirunelveli, Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Thiruvannaamalai (Arunachal temple, tower), Tiruttani, Swamithoppe, Tiruchendur and Tiruvallur.

Festivals

The colorful festivals with a variety of customs will be an enchanting experience to the tourist.

Pongal (January 14), also called as Tamizhar Thirunaal (festival of Tamils) or Makara Sankranti elsewhere in India, a four-day harvest festival is one of the most widely celebrated festivals throughout Tamil Nadu. The Tamil language saying Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum — literally meaning, the birth of the month of Thai will pave way for new opportunities — is often quoted with reference to this festival. The first day, Bhogi Pongal, is celebrated by throwing away and destroying old clothes and materials by setting them on fire to mark the end of the old and emergence of the new. The second day, Surya Pongal, is the main day which falls on the first day of the tenth Tamil month Thai (January 14 or January 15 in western calendar). The third day, Maattu Pongal, is meant to offer thanks to the cattle, as they provide milk and are used to plough the lands.

Jallikattu, a bull taming contest, marks the main event of this day. During this final day, Kaanum Pongal — the word "kaanum", means 'to view' in Tamil — youths used to gather at river banks to view and select their future life partners, but
that practice has declined.



Chitrai festival, Madurai (Mid April) : The first month in the Tamil calendar is Chitterai and the first day of this month in mid-April is celebrated as Tamil New Year. Thiruvalluvar Calendar is 31 years ahead of Gregorian Calendar. Aadi Perukku is celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month Aadi, which celebrates the rising of the water level in the river Cauvery.

Apart from these major festivals, in every village and town of Tamil Nadu, the inhabitants celebrate festivals for the local gods once a year and the time varies from place to place. Most of these festivals are related to the goddess Maariyamman, the goddess of rain.

Festivals including Deepavali, Ayudha Pooja, Dasara, Krishna Jayanthi and Vinayaka Chathurthi are celebrated widely.