Rameswaram

Rameswaram is located 143 Kilometers away from our village. There are lot of bus facilities from here. Rameswaram is one of the holy places in India. Sri Ramanathswamy temple is famous for India's longest temple corridor ever built. It is a small island in the Gulf of Mannar and also known for its 22 theerthas in and around the main temple. This place is equally sacred to both Vaishnavites and Shaivites. According to Hindu Mythological history, if one visits Rameswaram and prays to Lord Shiva one will be relieved of their sins. It is 197 metres long.

Besides pilgrimage, Rameswaram Island has several tourist spots, which are ideal picnic spots. There are beautiful beaches at Olaikuda, Dhanushkodi and Pamban. The Olaikuda beach is 1 km from the main temple and is engulfed by coral reefs, which makes bathing in the sea safe and enjoyable. With diving glasses and respiration tubes, scuba diving is safe and possible. Flamingos, sea gulls and a variety of birds migrate to the Rameswaram Island during winter.


Rameswaram is a one of the major fishing centre of Tamil Nadu. Variety of fishes including export quality fish like prawns, sea cucumber, and lobster are available here. Rameswaram is also famous for its dry fish.

Temples around the village

Every people in our village are worshiping Sri Durgai Amman Temple and Sri Sangaiyaa Swamy Temple. Sri Durgai Amman Temple is located in few hundred meters east from the Thoothai main road while Sri Sangaiyaa Temple is also located at very few hundred meters west from the Thoothai bus stop.

Madurai

Madurai - One of the most important place, which every one needs to visit. Madurai is built around the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple. Concentric rectangular streets surround the temple, symbolizing the structure of the cosmos. The entire city is laid out in the shape of the lotus.

Vandiyoor Mariamman Teppakulam

Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam is situated at a distance of about 5 km from the Meenakshi Amman Temple. The area of the tank, and the island pavilion with a garden in the center, is approximately equal to the area of Meenakshi Temple. It is one of the largest temple tanks in South India and gets water supply from the Vaigai River. There is a Vinayakar temple situated right in the middle of the tank, which is dedicated to Lord Vigneshwara, the Elephant-faced God.

According to mythology, earth was dug out from the tank to build the Tirumalai Nayakkar Mahal. The place was supposed to be blessed and was later converted into a Teppakulam (tank). The tank is connected to Vaigai River via underground channels. It has total of 12 long stairs (steps) made of granite on all four sides. The temple as well as the stairs was built by the King Thirumalai Nayak.

Mariamman Teppakulam is famous for the celebrations of the Float festival, which is celebrated in the Tamil month of Thai. The festival commemorates the birthday of King Thirumalai Nayak. The celebrations take place on a full moon night and the pristine water turns colourful as the temple is lit. The deities of the temple come down to the tank in colorful floats, presenting a mesmerizing sight. Pilgrims across India come to Madurai to participate in the festival.

Roadways

Madurai has several major bus stands: Madurai Integrated Bus Terminus (MIBT) at Maattuthavani (North), Palanganatham (South), Arappalayam (West), Periyar (Central) and Anna Bus stand (East). From MIBT, many buses to locations all over the south India operate round the clock. From Arapalayam bus stand, buses to places of western Tamil Nadu like Theni, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Salem operate and Periyar bus stand is where only city buses and private buses to major cities operate. Anna bus stand and Palanganatham are not in operation currently.

Apart fom city buses, three-wheeled, black and yellow auto-rickshaws, referred to as autos, are available for travel with in the city. MIBT has pre-paid auto counter where commuters can pay fixed auto-fare depends on destination and hire.

Madurai is connected by the following major National Highways:

NH 7 : (North-south Corridor Expressway) Bangalore – Salem – Dindigul – Madurai – Tirunelveli – Kanyakumari

NH 45B : Trichy – Madurai – Thoothukudi

NH 49 : Madurai – Rameswaram

NH 49 Extn : Madurai – Theni – Bodi – Cochin

Bridges have been constructed across the Vaigai river to connect Madurai at various points. Flyovers have been constructed within the city to overcome traffic congestion. Four lane express highways to Chennai and Bangalore make Madurai well-connected by road.

Airways

Madurai Airport is approximately 9 kilometers from the Madurai railway station, and it offers 11 daily flights to major Indian cities like Chennai, Mumbai and Bangalore. It also offers flights to Hyderabad, Pune, Goa and Ahmedabad through Chennai. Airlines that serve the Madurai Airport are Jet Airways, Air Deccan, Paramount Airways, Star Aviation (upcoming) and Indian Airlines. International flights from Madurai to Colombo, Singapore and Gulf countries are proposed in the future. The nearest international airport is in Tiruchirapalli International Airport, which is 130 km from Madurai. The airport code for Madurai is IXM.



*Sources: Wikipedia, Madurai.org