The temple of Nellaiappar and Kanthimathi is situated in the centre of the town and at a distance of 2 km. from the Railway station. The very name of the town, Tirunelveli which was known in the past as Then Pandyanagaram is a part of the town which has developed around the temple of Nellaiyappar.
About 13 km away is Krishnapuram. The temple here is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Some breathtakingly beautiful life size sculptures carved with great intricacy adorn the temple.
Srivaikuntam, 27 kms away from Tirunelveli, is one of the Nava Tirupathis visited and commemorated in song by the great saint Nammazhwar. It is famous for the temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Its lofty tower and the Tiruvenkata Mudaliyar mandapam rich with sculptures of yazhis, elephants and warriors are worth seeing.
56 kms away is Sankarankovil. This unique temple is dedicated to Sankaranarayana who is the combined manifestation of Siva and Vishnu. There are two other shrines dedicated to Siva and Parvathi. Twice a year, the sun rays fall on the pedestal of the temple.
The Visvanathar Temple and the Tenkasi town were constructed by King Parakrama Pandya, who styled himself as Jatilavarman Tribhuvana Chakravarthi Arikesarideva Ponnin Permal, Parakrama Pandyan in his inscriptions.
Situated 55 kms away from Tirunelveli, these sanctuary fonts an area of 567 sqkms.This sanctuary is a Project Tiger area, so one might well be rewarded with a glimpse of this magnificent beast. Trekking is allowed with prior permission from the forest department.
A tiny village in the far south, Koonthankulam in Nanguneri Taluk of Tirunelveli District is emerging as a new favourite of the migratory birds. It is just 38 Kms. away from Tirunelveli and is in the nearby Nanguneri Taluk. It may soon be catapulted into the list of popular water bird sanctuaries in the country.
Manjolai is 57 km away from Tirunelveli and is at an elevation of 1162 sq. metre. There are many tea plantations in and around this place. Bombay Burma Tea estate is famous one in this area. About 4000 people are working in these tea plantations. Manjolai is noteworthy for the climate, scenery and calm atmosphere.
48 kms away from Tirunelveli is Tiruchendur, one of the 6 abodes of Lord Muruga. Situated on the shore of the Bay of Bengal Sea, the temple draws a perennial stream of devotees. For more info about tiruchendur kovil
85 kms away from Tirunelveli is Kanyakumari which lies at the southern most tip of India where the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Sea of the Bay of Bengal meet. The temple of Kanyakumari, Gandhi Memorial, Rock memorial of Vivekananda and the gigantic statue of Tiruvalluvar are worth seeing, as well as the spectacular sun rise and sunset which attracts tourists from all over the country. For more information about kanyakumari
West Gopura of Madurai Meenakshi Temple
Map view of Meenakshi kovil
Entering Madurai Meenakshi Temple
Thiruchendur Murugan temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Muruga and one of the Arupadaiveedu (six major abodes) of Lord Muruga. It is placed in the small town of Thiruchendur in the district of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India and is 55 km south-east of Tirunelveli,40 km from Tuticorin and 75 km north-east of Kanyakumari. It is easily accessible either by bus or car.
Lord Murugan is more popular in South India compared to other parts of India.He is the God of war and the patron deity of the Tamil land (Tamil Nadu). Like most Hindu deities, He is known by many other names, including Senthil, Saravana, Kārttikeya (meaning 'son of Krittika' ), Arumugam or Shanmukha (meaning 'one with six faces'), Kumāra (meaning 'child or son'), Guha, Skanda (meaning 'that which is spilled or oozed, namely seed' in Sanskrit), Subrahmanya, Vēlan and Swaminatha.
Each Arupadaiveedu has an event mentioned in the 'puranas'. Thiruchendur is said to be second in importance among his six abodes. This place is also referred to by other names in religious poems and literature as Thirucheeralaivai, Thiruchenthil, Thiruchenthiyoor, etc. The deity is worshipped by various names such as Senthilandavan, Senthilkumaran and so on. The Arupadiveedus are Palani (120 km west of Madurai), Swamimalai (150 km east of Madurai), Thiruthani (50 km from Chennai), Pazhamudircholai (10 km north of Madurai) and Thiruparamkunram (10 km south of Madurai).
The temple is situated so close to the sea that waves from the Gulf of Mannar lap at the eastern perimeter wall of the temple.
Papanasam is a small beautiful village away from the tourist trail and located at the foot hills of Western Ghats, on the banks of river Thamiraparni. The place is easily approachable from the nearest town Tirunelveli. Papanasam Temple. It is 45km from Tirunelveli from where buses ply to Papanasam. It is located in tirunelveli district of tamilnadu. It is 35km away from courtalam falls tourist place.
It is believed, once there was a Pandyan king who converted to Buddhism and ill-treated those amongst his subjects who did not convert to Buddhism as he decreed. Unable to face the harassment, a family with who were ardent devotees of Lord Shiva, left their home with their two children and went to a neighboring state. Unfortunately the family got caught up in a war that was raging there and the children, one boy and the other a girl, got separated from each other. Many years later they arrived in Banares the holy city, where they met each other, fell in love and got married without realising that they were brother and sister. They establish out their mistake afterwards and sought ways of absolving their sin. By chance they met each other, fell in love and got married without realising that they were siblings. They were advised to wear black and to bathe in all the sacred waters in India and when their black clothes turning white sill be an indication that they were absolved of their sin. Accordingly they go from place to place in search of redemption and finally when they bathed in the river Thamiraparni at Papanasam their clothes turned white thus indicating the absolution of their sin. Hence the deity in this temple, Siva, is refered to as ‘Papavinaseswarar’ - the redeemer of sins. The river Thamiraparni passes in front of the Temple. The Papanasam water falls and Banatheertham water falls in the river up hills are very sacred, beautiful places.
There is a Siva temple in Papanasam worshipped by sage Agasthiyar. The deity here is known by the name ‘Papa Vinasar’ meaning one who removes our sins. People have a faith that their sins will be removed if they take a bath in Agasthiyar Falls and worship Lord Papavinasar. A huge mass of people gather here everyyear on the full moon day of the Tamil month Chittirai.
Papavinaseshvara Temple which is nearer to the water fall has broad flights of steps leading down to the water.
Panatheertham: The holy river Tambrabarni commences its course from "Panar theertham". It is located just opposite to the upper dam. One can reach this spot crossing the dam by boat.
Kalyanitheertham : This is a holy Pool which is located at an elevation of 125 feet from Agasthiyar falls is getting water flow from this Pool only. Near the Pool, there is a temple dedicated to Lord Siva.
Agasthiyar Falls & Temple:
Legend has it that it was close to the Papanasam Falls, on the banks of the Tamiraparani river that as Siva and Parvati appeared before Agasthiya, the falls came to be known as the "Agasthiya falls". When Shiva married Parvati, he was worried that the influx of people from the South attending the wedding in the North would cause the North to sink, so he dispatched Agasthiyar to the South (to this waterfall, naturally) in order to balance the world.To commemorate the visit of the divine couple, The Agasthya temple was built there This is located half way to the Panatheertham which is at a distance of 4 Kms from Papanasam Siva Temple. One can reach these Agasthiyar Falls and temple by trekking a distance of 3 kms.
Location:
Papanasam is
45 kms west of Tirunelveli,
180 Kms. south from Madurai,
100 Kms. north from Kanniyakumari and
140 Kms. northeast from Thiruvananthapuram.
Access:
Airport: Trivandrum-international Airport (140 Kms) / Madurai-domestic Airport (180 kms.)
Railway station:Ambasamudram Railway station 5 kms.
Bus stop: Regular bus services are available to near by towns
The river Kodayar makes it’s descend at Tirparappu and the water fall at this place is about 13km. from Pechiparai dam. The river bed is rocky and about 300 feet in length. The water falls from a height of nearly 50 feet and the water flows for about seven months in a year. The whole bed above the falls is one rocky mass which extends up to a distance of about quarter of a kilometer upstream where the famous Thirparappu weir has been constructed for supplying water to the paddy fields. On either side of the river, on the left bank of the river in between the water falls and the weir, there is a temple dedicated to Siva enclosed by strong fortification. The District Administration has recently constructed a swimming pool for children over here which is very popular among the children.
kutrallam is the foot hills of the podhigai mountains an easterly extension of western ghats. It, is abt 5 km from Tenkasi and Shencottai railway stations in Tirunelveli district of Tamilnadu. It is also very well connected with the rest of the state and bordering towns in Kerala. kutrallam is favorite tourist place of tamilnadu. It is dedicated to Lord Thirukutralanathar (Siva). It is said that Lord Siva send saint Agastheyar to the south to avoid imbalance due to overcrowding in the mount Kailas on his celestial wedding. Another notable feature of kutrallam is Chithra Sabha (in which a number of mural paintings of rural deities and stories from epics are depicted in the central hall. This sabha is one of the five Sabas where Lord Nataraja performed the Cosmic-dance. Moreover this temple contains many inscriptions about Chola and Pandya Kings. Chitra Sabha is made out of medicinal herbs. The wooden carved planks serve as doors. Numerous rivers such as the Chittar River, the Manimuthar River, the Pachaiyar River and the Tambaraparani River originate here. It is famous for its waterfalls and has a number of health resorts. This is not only a tourist spot but also a health resort. kutrallam water has medical properties since the water runs through forests of herbs and the water therapeutic qualities to cure physical ailments. During the season (period June to September in every year) thousands of tourists from far and near visit this place. The waters of the falls are believed to have medicinal properties as they run through forests of herbs before their descent. Tourists who visit and bathe in the waters claim that the water has a smoothing effect, help the old feel young and the sick heal rapidly.
This place has a chill and a superb climate with sizzling of rain drops over us removes the stresses in our mind. The pure wind that starts from pothigai malai (mountain) removes the tiredness from our body. 'The Fruit Garden falls' is the pampered kid of Courtallam. Seeds and cuttings of different plants and trees that give exotic varieties of fruits can be got from here. Some of the fruits that grow here are ramdan, mangoosten, egg fruit, dorian...... The main produce is clove, cardamom, jack fruit and mangoosten.
These are exported not only to other parts of our country, but also to foreign countries. For those 'urbanites' who bathe under a 'shower' the experience of bathing in the falls will be something to cherish. When one puts one's head below the huge amount of water hurtling down the mountain, one does feel scared, but once one stands under the falls, it is nothing but bliss. With the advent of the season the masseurs are in great demand. In tirunelveli many rivers such as the Chittar River, the Manimuthar River, the Pachaiyar River and the Tambaraparani River originate here. In this falls is 6 km from Tenkasi, 160 km from Madurai, 137 km from Kanniyakumari and 112 km from Thiruvananthapuram, 64 km from Rajapalayam. The nearest airport to kutrallam is Tuticorin Airport (TCR) approximately 86 km away. 152 km from Alleppey in kerala. The nearest railway station to kutrallam is Tenkasi which is just 5 km from here.
