A beautiful temple town in the Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram is famous for housing the marvellous Lord Nataraja Temple and the famed chariot festival. Situated 250 kms away from the city of Chennai, Chidambaram has been a place of architectural glory and religious importance since antiquity.
It has been ruled by several dynasties over time namely Cholas, Pandyas, Vijayanagar rulers, Marathas and the British. Due to the cultural influences, it boasts of a rich heritage and traditions. It is famous for its many temples which are a marvellous rendition of the Dravidian style of architecture and a beautiful representation of Dravidian culture.
Apart from its authentic history, the town is a slice of paradise for nature lovers and bird watchers. Pichavaram backwater is one of the many highlights of this region. For tourists, Chidambaram is all about relishing nature's beauty and soaking up the spirituality ambience.
This city is well connected by road and rail but does not have an airport. Being a major temple town, there are daily buses to surrounding cities like Bangalore, Madurai, Salem, Chennai and other part of the state. Taxis and cars for hire are less common for intercity travel. Trains connecting this city to all the central stations nearby are also frequent, and the train station is just one kilometer away from the Nataraja temple.
Chidambaram is located near the coast of the Bay of Bengal and so has a moderate climate throughout the year. Monsoon is not a distinct season, and there is some rainfall throughout the year. The maximum temperature is 33 degrees Celcius and the minimum ranges around 23 degrees Celcius. Winter is the best season to visit this city, but summers are also popular with tourists.
If you are looking for the purest of Dravidian culture, Chidambaram is the best place to go to in South India. Located about 250 km from the capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, this small town is spread over an area of 5 sq. km and is a spot for performing pilgrimage by devotees of Lord Shiva. The town belonged to the Cholas of Southern India and is one of the most famous and sought-after travel destination when it comes to culture tourism. The other name of this town is Thillai because in the olden days, this was a forest of mangrove trees by the name of Thillai. The two renowned saints, Patanjali and Vyagrapada, lived here and as the legend goes, Lord Shiva was so pleased by the devotion and dedication of these two saints that on the day of Thaipoosam, Lord Shiva performed the Nataraja dance. Revolving around this legend, life in this town developed and so did contemporary history; the golden hall of dance was built by Sundra Pandya covering it in gold plates.
The temple holds inscriptions telling the history and importance of this place as it has inscriptions of the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Pallavas and the Vijayanagara and altogether, this temple holds inscriptions of empires reigning for almost 5 centuries. Apart from a rich history, Chidambaram's scenic beauty surpasses numerous places in South India and adds to the growth of tourism here. It is a perfect place for nature lovers as one could get lost amidst the beauty of the forests and will be astonished by the backwaters of Pichavaram. For bird lovers too, Chidambaram shall not disappoint as migratory birds, in significant numbers, come to the Pichavaram Mangrove Forest.