Chidambaram is a small town in the State of Tamilnadu in INDIA. It is located at a distance of 250kms from Chennai, Capital of Tamilnadu. Though the town covers only an area of 5 sq km, it has a strong Cultural and historical background. It is a famous pilgrim spot. This place is known for its Culture and tradition. There many places which stands proof of the rich heritage of Chidambaram. The main place is the Chidambaram temple.
Nataraja Temple
The Chidambaram temple is very famous; Lord Shiva is the main lord of this Temple. Though there are many Shiva temples all around Tamilnadu, this temple is very unique because in this temple the lord Shiva would be in the form of “Nataraja”. In Tamil, “Nataraja” means “Dancing King (Shiva-God)”, he is the King of Dance. Bharatanatyam, the world famous dance form is connected to this temple. The Towers of the temple has engravings of 108 dance poses of Lord Nataraja. The Bharatanatya Dancers get the blessings of Nataraja before they dance, at the end of the performance, they thank him.
Festival
Every year Dance festivals takes place in Chidambaram in the month of February-March, this festival takes place in the temple and it would happen for five days. This Festival is called “Natyangali Dance Festival”, Bharatanatyam Dancers from all over the world would take part in this cultural performance.
The temple is around 40 acres, is situated in the heart of the town and exhibits the Dravidian Architecture
Other Places to Visit
Thillaikaliamman Temple
This temple is believed to be built in 1229 and 1278AD. This is said to be built by the King named “Kopperunjingam”. The Main Goddess in this Temple is Kali. The legend story goes like this, after killing the Demon Tarakasura, Kali’s anger was not reduced, hence Lord Nataraja danced to make her cool, this dance is called “Tandava Dance”. So it is said that If you visit Nataraj Temple you must visit Tillaikaliamman Temple also.
Poompuhar
Poompuhar is a very small town, located at 40 kms from Chidambaram, but this town also had a strong cultural background, A famous Tamil literature epic called “Silapathigaram”, and the story of the epic is believed to be taken place in this town before thousands of years and a gallery is in this town depicting the famous literature. This is a seashore town, which would looks really beautiful and would be very peaceful and isolated with rocks adding beauty to the sea.Visit this place during evening hours to enjoy the beauty of sea.
Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Gangaikonda Cholapuram is known for its temple with beautiful Sculptures depicting Chola dynasty. It is about 42 km from Chidambaram.
Pichavaram
Pichavaram is a tourist spot, it is a back water destination. Many activities are done here, to attract tourists like boating, parasailing, canoeing and rowing. This place is around 16 kms from Chidambaram.
Food and Accommodation
Every street would have many Fast foods, Hotels and restaurants. Since Chidambaram is a famous town all types of hotels are available in this town. The Grand Park is 3-star hotel located in this town.
Getting There
The nearest Airport is the Tiruchirapalli airport at a distance of 195Kms and the Chennai International Airport at a distance of 245 kms. Chennai is a metropolitan city which has flights to all the major cities in India and abroad. The Nearest railway station is Tiruchirapalli Junction. There are frequent buses to Chidambaram from Chennai. And many tourist services arrange private cars and vehicles to visit this place. Incredible India and Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) also provide assistance in visiting this place.
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