LOCATION Vellore is a small town located in the South Indian State Tamil Nadu, about 145 km from Chennai. CLIMATE Vellore enjoys a moderate tropical climate. | |||||||||||
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PAST Vellur, 145 km from Chennai is a semi-rural bazaar town. Concerning the importance of tourism, only the Vijayanagar fort and its temple are noteworthy. Those are in the excellent state of preservation and worth visiting. The famous rivers Palar and Ponnar are snakes through the Vellore town. The town has a church, which is relatively modern built in an ancient cemetery where the prominent captain of British India rests forever who died in 1799 on the glorious war against Tipu Sulthan that had at last favorably ended to the British. Here there is also a memorial for the victims of the little known “Vellur Mutiny”. For the time being, Vellore is noted for its CMC hospital to where people from all parts of India arrives for better medical care. Vellur had a privilege of being the seat of Chola, Pallava, Nayak, Maratha, Arcot the Bijapur Sulthans. Since the sixth Century AD it has achieved prominence as a developing city. The fort constructed around the Seventeenth Century is one of the fine examples of military architecture in South India. It was considered as the strongest in Carnatic and is a witness of the great massacre occurred in the mutiny of 1806 AD. The district of North Arcot houses many Old Stone Age monuments to many of the present day monuments. They have also mute witnesses of the ebb and flow of the time. Now these monuments are coming under the preservation of Tamil Nadu Archeological Department. Some of the major monuments to be visited are the Siva temple of Virinja puram, Jain sculptures of Vallimalai, Rock cut temple of Mahendravadi etc. |
SITES TO VISIT
Vellur fort belongs to the early thirteenth century is one of the attractions of the history enthusisists. The historical relics can be seen in its ramparts, turrets, posts, and the sally gates. The presence of the perennial water supply intensifies the enthusiasm of the visitors. In the premises of the fort there is a church and the other buildings are now converted as public offices.
Pearl Palace is the memorial built around the tomb of last king of Tamil Nadu, Vikramadithya Singh. This Palace locates on the shores of Palar River just one kilometer of Vellore town.
Jalagandeeswarer Temple is an exquisite example of craft works situated inside the temple. The main deity is Jalagandeeswara. This temple belongs to Vijayanagar architecture and probably built around 1550. It has a large marriage hall adorned with elegant engravings and monolithic sculptures. For quite a long time, this temple was used as an arsenal and remained as an idol less temple. Later the deity of Lord Siva had been installed here and the tourists and pilgrims are visiting frequently. The large statues of Ganesh and the temple’s pillared mandapam with its carved statues grace the temple’s architectural excellence. The visiting time of this temple is 6 a.m to 1 p.m, and 3 p.m to 8 p.m. Temple is open daily.
The Government Museum situated very close to the central bus stand near the Laxmanaswamy town hall houses many ancient as well as present day articles spanning over various topics from archeology, anthropology, archeology, art & culture, botany, geology, geology etc. Except on holidays this museum is opened to all the visitors on fre of charge from 9 a.m to 12.30 at morning and from 2.p.m to 5.p.m.
Arcot fort and Delhi Gate is yet another point of attraction, which had been captured by Robert Clive in 1751, then renamed it as Delhi gate as the victory was the beginning of his capture of Delhi. At the entrance one can see a Mugal arch.
SITES NEARBY
Vellamalai situates about 18 kms from Vellore is named after one of the wives of Lord Muruga that has carved out of a big rock at the top portion of a hill. The temple enshrines the images of Lord Muruga and two of his wives. From Vellure it will take hardly a drive of one hour.
Amirthi is a forest lays 24 kms away from Vellore town, which is panoramic and rich with its flora and fauna. One portion of the forest is preserved as a wildlife sanctuary while the other portion is considered as a tourist spot.
SHOPPING
Vellore is having many handicraft shops where one can get South Indian art pieces and Thanjavur paintings.
WHERE TO STAY
Being Vellore is acclaimed for its medical colleges accommodation on various levels are available. The cheap hotels are concentrated along the roads south part of the hospital. One can also find some budget hotels in the Filterbed road.
HOW TO REACH
By Air: Chennai is the nearest international airport in the vicinity of Vellore
By Rail: The main railway station near to Vellur is that of Katpadi, 5 km north of Vellore. This junction is a broad gauge line from Bangalore to Chennai , and the meter gauge Thirupathy to Madurai line runs through Thiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Chidambaram, Thanjavur and Thiruchirapally.
By Road: As elsewhere in Tamil Nadu in Vellore the regional bus transportation company
(TSTC) and Tamil Nadu State Express Transportation Company conducts the long distance bus operation. But the main point to be noted is that as almost every other parts of Tamil Nadu the information is on bus arrival and departure is written in Tamil only. Buses to Chennai, Banglore, Mysore, Krishnapuri, Hosur, Dharmapuri, Shenkottai, Thirunelveli, Thiruchirapally Tanjavur etc are available.
INFORMATION
Good communication facilities like STD, ISD, FAX, and Internet etc are plenty in Vellur.
