Madurai??

Luckycat

Hi guys,

I am planning a trip to Soutern India in Jan, but unfortunately only for 3 weeks. Reading about Madurai, it sounds as though it could be a bit overwhelming - first trip and travelling on my own. Would I be missing a fantastic opportunity if i were to skip it and see some of the other temples instead, for example in Trichy and Thanjore? Also because I have limited time is Pondicherry worth a stop at?

Thanks for any advice.

sannna

Madurai: don't skip. It is not more overwhelming than any other (temple or other) place in India. It will be one of the highlights of your trip.

Pondy: Depends on what your interest is. I like it very much, the oddness of the street plan, the french colonial times reminders, the croissants, the sea.

theyyamdancer

Madurai is fantastic, don't miss it. But try to go early in the morning before the crowds or - even better - in the evening.

In my opinion, Pondicherry is good fun for a visit too. Just to wander about and chill out.

Try to go also to Mamallapuram, which is not far away, for the fascinating rock sculptures and easy-going atmosphere. You'll find lots of threads here on IM about it as well as photos in the photo section, which might inspire you.

ananda2193

My first time in India I was lucky enough to visit Madurai. Wasn't overwhelming, infact it was the highlight of my trip. For me, Madurai and Varanasi are the quintessential Indian cities. Not to be missed. It's almost like stepping back in a time machine. Do go!!!

And there's some interesting temples within 10-15 km. of Madurai worth visiting. Like Alagarkoil(now appearantly called, "Azhagar Kovil") and Thiruppamkundram.

www.madurai.com

Mysore is also a nice, pleasant easygoing place with a really nice Maharaja Palace. Do go if your in the area.

www.mysore.net

Luckycat

Thanks for answering. Madurai it is and a stop in Pondi

carlyb

i would definitely recommend going to madurai, the sri meenakshi temple was a highlight of my last trip

snonymous

I preferred Srirangam / Trichy and Tanjore to Madurai. Also if you look at other threads you will find that restoration work is in progress at Madurai. I also thought Pondicherry was highly over rated, but I admit that may not be a fair conclusion as we merely drove through. The reason why I did not enjoy Madurai was mainly because of the crowds in the temple, and it was not even a special day.

Nick-H

Just noticed the spelling mistake in the thread title. Thought it meant you were going there in the monsoon!

Corrected Mudurai to Madurai

Nick-H

Warning: based on a very small sample...

I have found that tourists enjoy Madurai temple more than visiting Hindus, who complain about the commercialisation of the place.

I thought it was wonderful.

theyyamdancer

Very interesting comment, Nick, considering that as tourists we are not even allowed to visit the inner temple, the "Holy of the Holies". (I tried.)

What I found interesting at Sri Meenakshi was the vastness and the variety, from the flower sellers to the sculptures, the elephants, the camels, the puja, everything.

The gopurams as well have to be seen to be believed! Is that the part currently under renovation?

One other comment to the OP, you will be beseiged by touts offering you "the best view of the temple", which translated into English from toutspeak means "opposite, from the balcony of my uncle's shop which sells incredibly expensive Kashmiri carpets". You can go, and see, and you don't have to buy anything, even if sorely tempted to do so.

carlyb

I'm sad to say that my friend and I fell into that very trap It was pretty annoying as we'd have a brilliant time wandering round the temple with a guide who, up to til the last minute, had been brilliant and extremely knowledgeable but then on the way back to the car he suggested that we might want to see the amazing view from the roof of the shop across from the temple. Not wanting to be impolite off we went to see the decidedly average view and of course right into the hard sell!

In the end my friend and I did the good cop bad cop routine and managed to extract ourselves after being called "bad English people"!

Absolutely no harm done but if we'd have known about this little scam we obviously wouldn't have headed up to the roof!!

Nick-H

I bought a tiny, and very cheap, ornament from such a shop!

Merchant

If you are making a short trip, Madurai is a great spot. Yes, the Meenakshi temple is in the middle of the city and is very crowded, but there is other stuff to see too.

The temple at Alagar Koil, outside the city, is worth a trip. There is a large temple complex at the base of the hill, but the interesting stuff is at the top. You can drive all the way up. There is a small temple at the top, with a spring where Hindus bathe and draw water for blessings. You have to climb up a bunch of stairs, avoiding the monkeys. The place has an Indian Jones feel to it.

Pictures:
http://archive.prestonmerchant.com/g...d=707955&aid=1

http://archive.prestonmerchant.com/g...d=707969&aid=1

From Madurai, you can also get to Kodaikanal and Rameswaram easily.

But the Meenakshi temple has always been the big draw. William Dalrymple has written about it:

"At the Court of the Fish-eyed Goddess"

Lord Average

I second Merchant's advice about Alagar Koil and nearby Thirupparankundram. I enjoyed these even more than Meenakshi.

I would also reccommend a visit to the vegetable and flower markets for a full-on and friendly experience, as well as a trip to the dhobi wallah area of the river.

Speaking to other travellers / tourists, we found that people either love of hate Madurai (at a ratio of around 75% love to 25% hate)

We loved it (but did find it intense)

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dhans

Madurai more or less symbolises India for me. Don't miss it.

Hans

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