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Sri Vijayaraghava Perumal Temple
One of the 108 Divya desams, it is said to be the site where Lord Rama is said to have performed the funeral rites for Jatayu, the giant bird who sacrifices his life for him.
Sri Ekambareswara Temple
The deity Sri Ekambareswara here is in the form of 'Prithvi Lingam'. According to a legend, Kailash Parvathy, Shiva's consort, playfully closed his eyes bringing darkness to the entire world. Lord Shiva angrily cursed her to become black like Kali. The goddess however did penance here and made a lingam under a mango tree. The temple is spread over an area of 20 acres and has a 58.5 m tall south gopuram.
Sri Kailasanatha Temple
The 8th century temple was made by Rajasimha of the Pallava in red sandstone. Among the innumerable carvings, the Urdhva Tandava dance of Siva and the laughing face of Parvati are fabulous. The architecture of the temple looks like that of the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram.
Sri Vardaraja Perumal Temple
The highlight of the Vishnu Kanchi is the temple of Varadarajaswamy constructed by the Vijayanagar rulers. The amazing sculptures of the pillars and the ornamental rings carved out of single stone at the Four Corners of the mandapam attract attention.
Sri Kamakshiamman Temple
One of the three Shakti peethas of India, the patron deity of Kanchi is Goddess Kamakshi, having Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati as her eyes. The sanctum sanctorum faces southeast in the centre of Gayatri Mandapam, a delightful grove of Champaka trees.
Sri Ulagalandar Temple
This Vaishnava Temple of Chola period, it features the idol of the main deity as 35 feet high and 24 feet wide, called Trivikrama. This temple is said to be one of the 108 Divya Desam's of Lord Vishnu.
Sri Vaikunda Perumal Temple
This 7th century temple is famous for its architecture with the God in the seated posture and Goddess known as Sri Vaikunthavalli Tayar. It has great sculptures and inscriptions and its inner walls are decorated with lion shaped pillars.
Sri Kacchapaeswarar Temple
In this temple, Lord Vishnu is shown worshipping Lord Siva in the form of turtle (kurmemerali).
Sri Subramaniya Swami Temple
Built around in 1915, this temple gained its significance due to its location for Hindus on pilgrimage. According to the Hindu scriptures, this temple is located in the city in the rare 'Soma Skandha' Posture.
Jain Temples at Tirupparuthikkundram
The 9th century temples of the Jain Tirthankaras contain several fresco paintings and a grand image of Bhagwan Mahaveer.
Devarajaswami Temple
Built by the Vijayanagar rulers, this temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu and features elaborately sculpted pillared halls. The prime highlight of the temple is a massive chain carved out of a single piece of stone. There is also a statue of Vishnu submerged in a large water tank within the temple.
Ashtabuja Perumal Temple
The deity in the shrine has got eight hands which is something super natural. Lord Vishnu is portrayed in a standing posture, facing the Western side. This is a very old temple and tourists can find many stone carvings in this temple.
Vedanthangal And Karikili Bird's Sanctuaries
Both Vedanthangal and Karikili Bird's Sanctuaries are situated in the interiors of Kanchipuram covering an area of 30 hectare and 61 hectare respectively. These sanctuaries are full of Babool and Barringtonia trees. You can also find dry evergreen scrub and thorn forests. The sanctuaries receive birds from Pakistan and Sri Lanka other than birds from far flung areas like Siberia and Australia and New Zealand. Species like Pintails, Stilts, Garganey Teals and Sandpipers are frequently seen in these sanctuaries. Overall 115 species have been recorded in Vedanthangal And Karikili Bird's Sanctuaries.
Anna Memorial
Kanchipuram is the birth place of Dr. C.N. Annadurai, the scholar statesman, affectionately called Anna - The Elder Brother - by the general public. His ancestral house located here has been converted into a memorial.
Handloom Industry
Kanchipuram's exquisite silk sarees are woven from pure mulberry silk in contrasting colours and have an enviable reputation for texture, lustre, durability and finish. More than 5,000 families are engaged in this industry and their spectacular creations are marketed by a number of co-operative socities, located all over the state. The Tamil Nadu Handloom House offers attractive rebates.
Elagiri Hills
Located very near to Chennai, this serves as an ideal location for organizing one day or two days Trekking.An isolated, attractive picnic spot in the Eastern Ghats is the Elagiri Hills, at an elevation of about 1000 metres. A salubrious climate, scenic surroundings and a quaint Murugan temple are some of the attractions of this place.
Sriperumpudur
It is 29kms from Chennai on the way to Kanchipuram. It is the birth place of Saint Ramanujar, the Father of Visishtadvaida philosophy of Vaishnavism and hence an important pilgirim centre for the Vaishnavites.
Arignar Anna Zoological Park
This zoological park is located in Vandalore which is 35 km away from Chennai. The Natural environment in this zoological park helps the animals to move around freely without any disturbance. There are moat type enclosures in this park. Nocturnal Animals, pre-historical Animal sectors, Aviary and reptiles are found here. The Lion Safari park is very beautiful and adds special credit to the zoo. Vehicles operated through batteries are run to go around the park. Tuesdays are holidays. The entrance ticket for adults is Rs.15 and Rs.10 for children.
Kishkintha
This is a theme park, located nearly 30 km from Chennai. This place is called ‘Chennai Contalam’. The attractions found here are water rides, Bumper car, Twister, Trooper and 30 Cinema shows. The fee varies. The funpackage for adult is Rs.190 and Rs. 130 for children. The Megafun package is Rs.290 for adults and Rs.250 for children. This spot is located near Tambaram.
Madurantakam
In Madurantakam, there is an Earikatha Ramar Koil. This is situated 90 km away from Chennai on the Chengalpet-Villupuram high ways. This temple is located near the Agricultural Reservoir Bund. There is no portrayal or Statue or idol of Anjaneya (Hanuman) but he is not separated from Sri Rama Sri Ramanujam met one of his mentors, Maha purna (Peria Nambi) and acquired wisdom under the Bakula tree in the Rama temple.
Rajiv Gandhi Memorial
On the way to Kanchipuram from Chennai lies Sriperumputhur. This place is the birth place of Saint Ramanujar who was a vaishnavite philosopher. Saint Ramanujar is the founder of Vishisdadhvaidham. The former prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated here on May 21, 1991. A memorial was built on this spot. There are no holidays for this memorial. The visiting hour is between 10 am and 6 pm. Sri perumputhur is one of the important pilgrim centre of the Vaishnavites.
Thiruparuthikundram
This village lies on the banks of the palar River, a suburb of the Pillaiyaar palayam of Kanchipuram. There are 2 great monuments of Jainism that flourished in Kanchipuram’s ancient times. Now Siva kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi exists. This area can be termed Jina Kanchi. This goes to the 9th century AD and Lord Mahveer is the main idol of the temple.
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