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Situated on the east coast, Chennai is 4th largest of the Indian city after Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. It is most convenient entry point for people wishing to travel in Southern India.
Chennai city is aligned north to south along the coast, at the northern tip of Tamil Nadu. It has spread far beyond its original site in the north and west to encompass later colonial buildings, the coach factory, cycle and other industries. The city, has number of rivers and canals, like the Adyar River and the Cooum, along which are gardens and facilities for boat rides. On Adyar river are some fine building, like the Madras Club, Madras Boat Club, the Chettinad Palace and the Theosophical Society buildings and gardens.
Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is also its principal harbor and has one of the finest beaches in Asia. It was founded at Fort St. George in 1640 A.D. by Francis Day of the East India Company. For the visitor wishing to explore southern India extensively, Chennai, is the most convenient point of entry. It has an international airport, a seaport and a rail and road network that links it to all major towns and cities of the region.
General Information
Altitude: 26 meter
Best Season: Throughout the year (Preferably October to March).
Temperature:
Summer- Max. 37, Min. 22.1; Winter- Max. 32, Min. 19.8.
STD Code:
044
How to get there
Air
Chennai is directly linked by air to Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Goa, Bombay, Bhubaneshwar, Calcutta, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Port Blair, Madurai, Pune, Tirupati, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Puttaparthy, Vishakhapatnam and to Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore.
Rail
Chennai is connected by rail with Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kodai Road, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Ooty ( via Mettupalayam ), Rameshwaram, Trichy, Tirupati Trivandrum and Varanasi.
Road
Chennai is connected by road with all the major towns in India. Some of the road-distances are Bombay 1329 Km, Bangalore 334 Km, Hyderabad 669 Km, Kanyakumari 693 Km, Madurai 461 Km, Mahabalipuram 60 Km, Pondicherry 162 Km, Rameshwaram 619 Km, Kanchipuram 71 Km, Tirupati 143 Km, Ooty 535 Km, Kodaikanal 498 Km, Trivandrum 709 Km, and Thanjavur 334 Km.
In and around
Fort St. George
Founded by the British East India Company in 1653. Its main entrance is from the east by the sea. At present it houses the offices of the Secretariat and the Legislative assembly.
St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's Church, is the most interesting. It is the earliest English building surviving intact in India and the oldest Anglican church in the east.
Fort St. George Museum
Fort St. George Museum contains some fascinating items belonging to the early days of the East India company and the colonial period. Coins, weapons, pictures and books form part of the interesting collection.
The San Thome church
The San Thome church on the main beach road is associated with the Apostle, St. Thomas. It is believed that he was martyred on what is called St Thoma's Mount in Chennai and that his remains were enshrined in this church.
Kapaleshwara Temple
Kapaleshwara Temple, an ancient Shiva temple, is the biggest temple in Chennai. A masterpiece of Dravidian architecture, there are some fragmentary inscription dating back to 1250 AD.
The Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society has its headquarter on the banks of the Adyar river. It boasts a vast library of books on all religion, and in the gardens that lead up to the river and the sea is a sprawling banyan tree, said to be one of the largest in India.
The Marina beach
The Marina beach, almost 13 km long, is a wide sandy beach with a drive along it fringed with palm sand casuarinas, running along the whole length of Chennai.
B.M. Birla Planetarium
B.M. Birla Planetarium houses a modern, fully computerized projector, which depicts the heavens on a hemispherical dome
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