With an enchanting medley of entrancing past and a deep-seated culture, Madurai is surefire a fascinating city to be explored. It has carved its own path refusing to modernize, embracing its history. The land is bestowed with many beautiful and ornate temples that are an ode to the architectural brilliance of its past rulers. With intricate carvings, sky-high gopurams and uncountable gods and goddesses, the city will promise you a rip-roaring ride back in time.
The most prominent landmark of Madurai is this 2500-year-old temple lying on the bank of Vaigai River. It is dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi (a form of Parvati) and her consort, Sundareshwar (a form of Shiva). The massive structure awaits you to explore its 14 gopurams (gateway towers), mandapams (pavilions) ornamented with nearly 33,000 sculptures, aesthetic paintings, iconography and more.
Continue your journey to the world of impeccable art by heading to 17th-century palace built by King Thirumalai Nayakar of Nayaka dynasty. It will make your jaws drop with its entrancing blend of Dravidian and Islamic architecture. Admire the domes and arches embellished with impressive stucco work. Unfortunately, it faced huge damage in the earlier times but was later restored by the then Governor of Madras, Lord Napier.
Every step in Madurai will introduce you to distinctively embellished temples; one of them is Koodal Azhagar temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu. ‘Koodal’ is another name of Madurai and ‘Azghar’ means beautiful, hence it implies Beautiful Madurai. Witness this inspiring example of the classic Dravidian style of architecture. The complex, glorified with shrines, is enclosed within granite walls. It is highly revered for being one of the 108 Divya Desams.
Also called Subramanya Swamy Temple, it is an ancient rock-cut temple located in Thiruparankundram (8 km from Madurai). The significance lies in it being one of the six abodes of Murugan. Check out the detailed carvings adorning the interiors as well as exteriors. The main deity you will see is of Muruga, other shrines include Vishnu, Shiva, Durga and Vinayaka.
The city also showcases the modern history, preserved in this museum of national importance. You can find it inside the old Palace of Rani Mangammal. The gallery has a noteworthy collection of personal belongings and art pieces pertaining to Mahatma Gandhi, Kasturba Gandhi and Indian Freedom Struggle. It will engage you with exhibits such as original relics, journals, books, photographs and documents.
By Air- Madurai Airport is the prime airport and is located 12 km from the main city. It offers domestic flights and some international flights to Colombo, Dubai and Singapore.
By Rail- Madurai Junction is the main railhead that offers direct trains to all cities of India.
By Road- The city is linked with National Highways NH 7, NH 45B, NH 208 and NH 49 that allow you to reach here comfortably by road. Furthermore, it has three bus terminals: M.G.R. Bus Stand and Arappalayam (for intercity buses) and Periyar Bus stand (for intra city buses).
MarcoFrance1965
UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE !
I just came back from a 12 days Rajasthan tour. It was just myself and my 14 year olde daughter. I found Caper surfing the web and had non suggestion from friends and had never read comments or reviews about it. Totally "blind-choice". I was very lucky. The organization was really excellent. The agent that followed us, Mr. Praveen Juyal did a great job. I decided our itinerary and he punctually gave me suggestions on the best management of my choices. The hotel choice was fine and confirmed expectations. We had tour guides in every site seeing location and they were all extremely professional, very punctual and really kind and polite.
But I must say that what made the trip even better was our driver; Mr. Deshraj.
One of those persons that you really wish you could meet once in your life. Not only an excellent driver but always helpful, respectful and friendly. He explained us many things about Indian life along the journey and sometimes stopped for short breaks in beautiful places on the road that were not even mentioned in the guide books. My only regret is that at the end of the trip I didn't have much money left and I left a tip probably not adeguate for the kind of service but I will definitely send him try to sort this maybe in a next trip. Thank you very much Caper and Deshraj.
Dreamer802943
A Memorable Trip
We recently concluded a 12 day driving tour of New Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan with Caper Travel. It was most enjoyable !! The logistics arrangements were excellent - from tour planning , hotel selection , vehicle condition to driver. Mr Alok handled the planning, and Mr Vikram was our Tempo driver throughout the journey. Mr Vikram was very helpful , accommodating and patient throughout the tour, despite long hours of driving on the roads ( not to mention India traffic}. We would not hesitate to recommend Caper to our fellow travellers who are thinking of visiting India. Thank You Caper !
goochie33, London, United Kingdom
Golden triangle goa and mumbia
Just come back from an amazing 2 week trip to India. First we done the golden triangle which we chose to do the train trip from Delhi to Agra a must you have to do if not just for the experience. All the cities were wonderful but be prepared to see lots of temple one seems to run into another but wow the taj was my highlight along with the Hindu temple in Delhi. The driving the cows the dogs are everywhere are all an experience. Goa was beautiful we stayed at the taj exotica. In mumbia we done a city tour and ended our trip in the taj for afternoon tea another must. It is a exhilarating trip but one I will never forget. From booking with Manika to all the drivers and guides they were always there to meet us from the airport and hotels on time. They really looked after us thank you all.
Aileen M
Wonderful trip
We have just returned from our first trip to India and we must say it was absolutely fascinating. The itinerary was first class and covered everything we could have wished for. On arrival we were met by a very nice rep and driver who took us to our hotel and sorted out the necessary paperwork with us. We had our driver Vishan for our time in the north and he was terrific, kept the vehicle spotless and kept us supplied with water. We then flew to the south of India and met up with our driver Suhdeer who again was very nice and very informative about things as we drove along. The guides we had on all our trips were excellent and again very informative.
The only down side to it all was that in our package we paid for the drivers accommodation, food and allowance only to find out that the drivers don’t receive this money and if they want accommodation they have to pay for it themselves. We ended up paying one of our drivers an amount for the nights that we had him for him to get somewhere to sleep and food as we were concerned that if he slept in his car he wouldn’t be rested enough to take on the next day driving for 4-5 hours.
All in all Caper Travel are excellent in their planning and can’t fault them for that.
Urquiola, New York City, New York
Caper travel
Recently traveled to India on a private guided tour with Caper Travel. Ms. Mumtaz Khan worked with me on arranging my itinerary.
She was always available to answer all my concerns immediately. On my arrival in Delhi I was welcome with warm smile at the airport by a young gentleman name Kapol Joshi . My experience with the company was amazing and I would highly recommend to anyone traveling to India.
I would also like to mention the personal attention I received at Amritsar by Aman Shara and his lovely wife who welcomed me and my son to their home
and soon to open their beautiful hotel.
Any Query? Please write us at info@india-travel-packages.in
