Chennai Tours

Tourist information about Chennai   

Location of Chennai   

• Situated in south-eastern coast of India
• Lying in north-eastern part of Tamil Nadu
• It has its part on flat coastal plan called Eastern Coastal Plan
• Located along the shores of Coromandel Coast
• Two rivers Cooum and Adyar River flowing through center and south of Chennai respectively

Best time to visit Chennai

• Pre-monsoon and winter months are ideal
• Months from October to February is right to visit

Temperature of Chennai 

• Situated 6 meters above sea level
• Average annual temperature goes up to 28.6 degrees Celsius
• May is considered the month with highest temperature
• Lowest temperature is 13.9 degree Celsius with the highest going up to 45 degrees Celsius

 

How to reach Chennai?

By Train

There are two railway stations in Chennai

• Chennai Central and Chennai Egmore
• Stations easily connects to major cities

By Bus

• Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminal is Asia’s largest bus stations
• Other seven state owned bus services run in Chennai connecting to other major cities
• Bus services connecting to Bangalore and Calicut are also available

By Air

• Chennai International airport is located at 7 kilometers from city
• Airport has both domestic and international flight facilities
• Airport connects well to other major cities

 

What is Chennai famous for?

Unique Culture

• Local people are proud of Chennai culture
• Prefer communicating in Tamil language
• Important festivals are celebrated in the city

Jallikattu

• This is considered inseparable for Tamil’s culture
• Locals participate in bull fighting in Chennai
• Bos indicusbulls are bred for using it in the game

Pongal

• Popular festivals in the country
• Four day long festival in which farmers offer prayer to God
• Celebrated during the second week of January
• People buy new clothes and prepare sakkarai pongal
• Special dish is offered to sun

Tropical Climate

• Known for humid climate
• Located at thermal equator and experiences hot and wet temperature
• Best way is to enjoy coconut water in the beach

Chettinad Food

• Popular food choice in Chennai
• Originated in Chettinad area of the city
• Dish is prepared with different ingredients including species
• Popular food are Parambriym, Amala, Dakshin

 

Things to do when traveling to Chennai  

Spending time at Marina Beach  

• Spread over a distance of 13 kilometers along Bay of Bengal
• Most visited beaches by tourists
• Considered to be second largest in the world
• Almost 30,000 visitors visit in a day

Visit MGR film city

• Managed by state government department
• Built in memory of MG Ramachandran
• Built during 1994, considered new structure in the city

Play gun games at VGP Holden beach

• Clean and beautiful beach in the city
• Suitable to visit spending a day with friends and family
• Beach is part of VGP Universal Kingdom
• Beach is second longest in the world

Experience scuba diving

• Scuba diving helps discover the world under sea
• Beat the heat during summer months by indulging in such activities
• Top-rated activities when traveling to Chennai

Trekking to Koli Hills

• Located in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu
• Untouched by commercial benefits, so retains natural elegance
• Most thrilling things to engage in Chennai
• Name indicates ‘mountain of death’

 

Places to visit in Chennai

1. Marina Beach

• Situated at a distance of 4 kilometers from the city
• Stretched over an area of 13 kilometers
• Longest natural breach with 30,000 daily

2. Breezy Beach

• Remote and serenity of the place is great
• Perfect gateway for evening outing in Chennai
• Located at a distance of 9 kilometers from the city

3. Marundeeswarar Temple

• Situated at 8 kilometers distance from the city
• Temple is located at Tiruvanmiyur
• People having disease and facing problem visit the temple to worship god
• Temple is evidence of Dravidian architecture

4. Arignar Anna Zoological Park

• Known as Vandalur Zoo located in Vandalur area
• Zoological garden is spread over 602 hectares
• Home for 3000 species of fauna and flora including 46 endangered animals

5. Connemara Public Library

• Included among four famous deposits libraries in India
• Situated at 1 kilometers distance from the middle of the city

6. Kolli Hills

• Located at 279 kilometers from the center of the city
• Mountain range is situated towards Namakkal district
• Place has retained natural beauty

7. ISKCON Temple Chennai

• Temple is devoted to Lord Krishna
• Located on east coast road in southern part of Chennai
• Spread over 1.5 acres of land, one of the biggest Radha Krishna temple
• Opened on 26^th April, 2012

Famous festivals at Chennai  

Pongal

• Celebrated to thank Sun God
• Boil first rice of the season as tribute to Sun God
• Pongal is known as the name of the rice dish
• One month before the festival women make patterns with rice and color in front of the house

Natyanjali Dance Festival

• On this day, dancers offer tribute to Lord Nataraja
• Festival celebrated in Nataraja temple
• In this 300 to 400 dancers dance on one floor

Mahamaham Festival

• Festival is celebrated after 12 years in Tamil Nadu
• Festival is celebrated in the town of Kumbakonam
• Celebrated in the month of February or March

Thiruvaiyaru Festival

• Celebrated in Thiruvaiyaru, town in Tamil Nadu
• Festival held near River Cauvery
• Celebrated on the day of Pushya Bahula Panchami day

Karthigai Deepam

• Festival is known as the Festival of Lights
• It is celebrated in the month of November to middle of December
• Main idea is to keep away from bad things

Food culture of Chennai 

Kothu Parotta

• Famous south Indian delicacy with Kerala Parotta as its base
• Symbolizes food culture and ingenuity of Chennai
• Famous street food option

Madras Atho

• Dish has its origin in Burmese delicacy with base as noodles
• Easily available in the shops

Nethili Fry

• Great option of sea food
• Spicy finger-food dish
• Main ingredients are anchovies which is fried and served with lime

Sundal

• Popular roadside food option available in beaches and temples
• To get the best version, one should try from Marina beach
• Prepared from soaked chana with species, coconut, sliced mangoes along with chilies

Important advice for tourists

• For shopping from local market, bargain
• When hiring taxi service to roam around in the city, make sure that you are not overcharged
• Try visiting local attractions by own
• Be careful when tasting local food and water
• Heavy monsoon can be a problem to stroll around, so November to February is the best time
• Take along breathable cotton garments as you can experience high humidity in the city
• Better to get mid-range hotels located in the middle of the city

Important contact numbers

• Chennai Corporation Complaints – 1913
• Tourist enquiry – 1913
• Railway Enquiry – 139
• Tourism Office of Government of Tamil Nadu – 25368538
• Police – 100