One of South India's enormous temple towns, Madurai is one and the same with the distinguished Meenakshi Temple. Positioned on the banks of river Vaigai, Madurai has a rich cultural heritage passed on from the great Tamil era more than 2500 years old. Madurai was an important cultural and commercial centre even as early as 550 AD. It was the capital city for the great Pandya kings. Madurai is delimited by several mountains. The Madurai city has 3 hills as its city boundary- Yanaimalai, Nagamalai, Pasumalai named after Elephant, Snake and Cow respectively. It is well-known for Jasmine Flowers. Jasmine flowers are transported to other cities of India from Madurai.

As the edifying capital of Tamil Nadu, Madurai has a lot of tourist attractions. The Meenakshi Temple complex is literally a city, one of the largest of its kind in India and indubitably one of the oldest too. The temple grew with the input of each dynasty and successful monarchs, into a gigantic complex extending over an area of 65000 Sq m. The temple first came in to being 2000 years ago and was significantly expanded during the regime of Thirumalai Nayak. About 1.5 Kms from the Meenakshi temple is the Thirumalai Nayak Palace which was built in 1636 by the ruler whose name it bears. The extraordinary structure is renowned for the “Stuccowork” on its domes and striking arches. The Thirupparankundram Temple is located 8 Kms South of Madurai Railway Junction. The temple here is one of the six abodes of Lord Subramanya. Its innermost shrine is cut out of a solid rock. About 21 Kms North East of Madurai, stands a celebrated Vishnu Temple dedicated to Lord Alagar. The temple is situated on a hill amidst panoramic surroundings. The shrine is known as Alagarkoil and the hill, Solaimalai. The Gandhi Museum, located in the old palace of Rani Mangammal depicts the highlights of the freedom struggle and contains a picture gallery of the Gandhian movement. The Mariamman Teppakulam is a beautiful square tank spread over a huge area of almost 16 acres, located about 5 Kms East of Meenakshi Temple. The tank is the scene of the colorful float festival held in January/February to observe the birth anniversary of King Thirumalai Nayak, who built this tank.

It is not very difficult to get to Madurai. There are daily flights to Madurai from Chennai, Bangalore, Tiruchi and Coimbatore. Madurai Airport is 10 Kms away from Madurai City. Madurai is an important railway junction of the Southern Railway and is directly connected to Chennai and Tirunelveli. The Vaigai Express, which is a super-fast day train between Chennai Egmore and Madurai, takes 7 hours for the 495 kms. There are excellent roads connecting Madurai to all parts of South India.  Madurai City has 5 Major Bus Stand.

India Holiday Travel.com provides information on Madurai and different tourist places around Tamil Nadu