Places of Interest in Chennai

Chennai is a gracious city that has a clear skyline, long sandy beaches, parks, historic landmarks and tourist facilities which make it a convenient entry point or base to start your tour of Tamil Nadu and South India. 

(Source: http://neoavatara.com/blog/?p=4239)

              Except weather, Chennai is a very good place in terms of tourism and Tamilnadu Tourism is taking all the steps in preserving the beauty of Chennai and also other tourist places in Tamilnadu. In this post i'm going to give you a brief introduction about all the best places of interest in Chennai. I will update this post frequently with new places of interest and also will include new categories.

Chennai Adventure Destinations:

Try Scuba diving, surfing and diving courde @ Pondicherry. Started by two Australians, Padi Dive Centre has recently opened in Pondicherry. The idea is very new, as both diving and surfing appeared recently in the Bay of Bengal (south east coast), contrary to the west coast where you could find some of these activities.  Goa beaches for instance. Opening a centre in Pondicherry was thus an original initiative! The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is actually the world's largest recreational diving membership and diver training organization. For more information visit http://templeadventures.com/contact.htm

(Source:http://www.indiainvites.com/scuba_diving.htm)

Want to do parasailing, rapalling, rock climbing  and scuba diving at one place, then visit Adventure Zone which is located at a distance of 90km from Thiruvanmiyur. For more information on the packages available at Adventure zone visit http://www.adventurezone.8k.com/custom3.html

I recommend doing Catamaran ride at Taj Fisherman Cove, Kovalam. It costs around 600 per person and if you are lucky enough, you can spot dolphins too. Even though there are many operators in Kovalam operating catamaran rides at much lower price, ride organized by Taj Fisherman's Cove is the best. One can call directly to the hotel and book the ride. 

TTDC is organising water sports at mudaliarkuppam in the name of Raindrop boathouse. Mudaliar kuppam, next to mahabhalipuram on ECR (90km from chennai), is an excellent place with backwaters from the Bay of Bengal which extends to about 10 kms and has a Beach Island which can be reached after a 15-20 minute boat ride. The place has water sports such as Para sailing, Banana Boating, Water Scooter, Kayaking, Speed boat ride apart from regular rowboat and pedal boats.

 If you are interested in doing off road adventures, then try ATV ride on ECR road at OFFROAD SPORTS. It is located ata distance of 6kms after crocodile park and 8kms before Mahabalipuram on ECR. Other activities includes ATV ride on offroad and on beach, paint ball, fishing, camping and boating. For more information visit http://www.offroadecr.com/index.html

(Source: http://gayathriraghavan.blogspot.com/2010/10/atv-ride.html)

You can try Wild Tribe Ranch located on Vijayawada Highway after Redhills. It conducts activities like ATV rides, camping, Paint Ball, Trampoline Jump and some interesting activities. This is one of the best weekend destination from chennai for those who are interested to spend whole day doing adventure activities. For more information visit http://www.wildtriberanch.com

Located 36 kilometers off Chennai, Muttukadu Boat House is an unusual spot in backwaters for tourists and holidaying families. Also, Muttukadu is a paradise for anglers since prawns and jelly fish are in abundance here. Activities at Muttukadu boat house includes  wind surfing, canor, karfak, pedal Boat, Row Boat. It costs just rupees 50 per person for a three kilometer ride around the vast expanse of water that may be of 45 minutes duration.  The backwaters at Muttukadu are also favourable for a couple of adventure water sports like wind-surfing.  What thrills the visitors the most is the stunning effects caused by a rocking bridge over the backwaters.

Interested in Go-karting?? then visit Kart Attack - Chennai's oldest go-carting centre located on the East Coast Road close to VGP. The track is 300m long and the surface is concrete. And also there is one small track in Mayajaal too.


Beaches in Chennai:-
Chennai has so many beaches and among them in the city, Elliot's beach is the best beach. But these beaches are crowded all the time and  if you want privacy then opt for the private beaches on ECR.

Marina Beach: Chennai's seashore hosts the second longest  urban beach in the world, stretching for 13 kms (8 miles) along the eastern flank. The Marina, connecting Fort St. George with San Thome Basilica almost 5 kilometres away. It is a favourite place for Chennai's citizens to escape the humidity and enjoy the sea breeze. The walk along Kamarajar Salai takes in parks, tree-lined cobbled streets, spectacular colonial and Indo-Saracenic Buildings.

Elliot's Beach is located in Besant Nagar, Chennai, India. It forms the end-point of the Marina Beach shore. It has the Velankanni Church and the Ashtalakshmi Kovil nearby  The beach is a prominent hang-out zone for most of the college-going crowd in Chennai. On weekends, it becomes quite an experience to find parking space on the beach roads. The beach also has found importance with families, who now no longer travel to the famous Marina Beach. There are many restaurants near the beach.

Besant nagar beach

East Coast Road popularly known as ECR starts from Thiruvanmiyur, hosts many beautiful beaches. There are many resorts and private beaches in the ECR stretch. Among them beach at Fisherman's cove is very beautiful with white sands, but it is not open to everyone.

Fisherman's cove Beach

Theme Parks in Chennai:

Chennai is one of the best destination in India for the theme park lovers. Chennai has many theme parks situated in ECR road, sriperumbudur and Tambaram . The best among them are:

Kishkinta: India's No.1 Theme Park at Tambaram. Offers among other amusements hi-tech ones like space shuttle, wave pool, white water and Kiddies Kingdom. Visit http://www.kishkinta.in/ for more information

Queen's Land: Queens Land, Chennai, is a very good amusement park for both kids as well as adults. There are about 50 rides and it would take a whole day for you. So, reach the park as early as possible (by 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM) so that you can enjoy the fun.Visit http://www.queenslandamusementpark.com/ for more information

MGM "Dizzee World" Beach Resort: Situated 24 kms towards Mahabalipuram, (Near Muttukadu). Amusement park with unique water sports. Visit http://mgmdizzeeworld.com/ for more information

VGP Universal Kingdom, Golden Beach: Located on ECR road VGP is a popular beach resort and amusement park filled with children's games, parks and seaside restaurant. For more information visit http://vgpuniversalkingdom.in/


Dash 'N Splash: Located 30 kms from Central Station. It is South India's exclusive water park. Go for wave spiral and free fall slides and flumes from height of 12ft to 35ft. For more information visit http://www.dashnsplash.co.in/

 

Shopping in Chennai:

T Nagar: No shopping in Chennai is complete without a trip to Ranganathan Street - if you are up to tackling the crowds that throng this busy street. Ranganathan Street, T Nagar is a good place to shop for a variety of items. From safety pins to exquisite jewellery, the place is choc-a-bloc with stores brimming with goods.Ranganathan Street is a shopper's paradise for people belonging to all ages. Right from tots, school kids, teens and the elderly, Ranganathan Street has a lot to allure every visitor. 

(Source: http://chennaicityconnect.com/mtc-copythathouston/archives/117)

Spencer Plaza: Spencer Plaza, one of the biggest shopping malls in South Asia, is located on Mount Road, and is one of the landmarks of modern Chennai. 

Express Avenue Mall: It is Chennai's largest shopping mall and South India's second-largest mall, with 900,000 sq. ft. of retail space. It is also home to the largest gaming arcade in South India.

Ritchie street: It is the electronic shopping hub of Chennai city (earlier known as Madras) in India. All types of electronic goods imported from different part of world especially from China and Korea are available at moderate to cheap rates here.  It is located near Anna salai opposite to Walajah road crossing and between Higginbothams and Bata mount Road show room. Ritchie Street is credited by the Second Largest Electronic Market for computer spares and peripherals in India. The street is always crowded and very little space is available for movement of vehicles or pedestrians. For more information visit http://www.ritchiestreet.info/

Places of worship in Chennai:-

Sri Kapaleswarar Temple : This temple is situated near Kutchery Road, Mylapore. This ancient Siva temple is a delightful introduction to Dravidian temple sculpture and architecture. The magnificent 37 meter tall gopuram is one of the main attractions of this temple. It is very famous for its astonishing sculpture, which has an interesting story behind it. It is believed that a saint known as Gnanasambandar sung and brought a dead girl back to life.

(Source: http://mmkmanish.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html)

Vadapalani Temple: The Vadapalani temple is dedicated to Lord Muruga situated in Kodambakkam. This temple attracts a large number of devotees. The Shiva temple at Tiruvotriyur - 12 kilometers north of Chennai is associated with Pattinathar, a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Innumerable legends are woven around Sundarar. Valluvar Kottam, located at the meeting of the Kodambakkam High road and the Village road, is one of the modern landmarks of modern Chennai.

Parthasarathi Temple: It is at Peter's Road, Triplicane. It is one of the oldest temples in Chennai, built by Pallavas in the 8th century and rebuilt by the Vijayanagar Kings in the 11th century.

Basilica of Santhome: This Cathedral is at the end of Kutchery Road, Mylapore. It is believed that the Apostle Saint Thomas lived his last years in South India. This Cathedral was originally built in 1504. It was rebuilt in 1890 with a 180 ft basilica. It is believed that St. Thoma's body was entombed inside this neo-Gothic structure.

(Source: http://www.indiantouristdestiny.com/chennai-spots.html)