"Madurai" Madurai by tayloretc

Madurai Travel Guide: 114 reviews and 316 photos

Madurai - Madurai
Old town, heading to the temple - Madurai

Old town, heading to the temple

Madurai is supposed to be one of the oldest still-extant towns in India, with a recorded history of at least 2,000 years, and a legendary history much, much older than that. There’s a lot going on, and since the main attraction is a functioning and popular temple rather than a preserved site, Madurai is an excellent example of a south Indian temple town. If you have limited time for temple towns, don’t miss this one.

The Meenakshi Temple is a huge labyrinth of dark passages, bazaar markets, and shrines, cut by sudden and blinding open spaces. There are people absolutely everywhere. Over here, Lord Ganesh is bathed with milk and ghee and ritually dressed and adorned; over there, a group of students sits before a teacher; the police stop by Hanuman on their way to work*. You can even get blessed by one of two (maybe more) elephants, or feed the temple cows. There’s a large museum in one 1,000 pillared hall – all old stone carvings and pieces of ceiling, with limited explanation. The ceilings, in the museum and overhead, are spectacular. It takes hours to see everything, not including the parts non-Hindus aren’t allowed to enter. Unlike a lot of temples I’ve visited, no one tried to rip me off outrageously here. Sell me things, yes, but I wasn’t given especially special prices, and even my ghee lamps cost the same as everyone else’s.

Shopping in a thousand pillared hall - Madurai

Shopping in a thousand pillared hall

There are other things to do and see here, which we didn’t have time for. We didn’t get to see much of the town of Madurai, either, but the old part is bustling and colorful, and interesting in its layout. I read somewhere that the ancient square layout of the streets represents celestial power, where rectangular would be earthly power. Those streets are full of shops (not all of which are for tourists) and restaurants, and people and cows and rickshaws, and pretty much everything that’s possible to put on streets. This is one of the more interesting places I’ve seen in southern India.

* Hanuman is a protector.

  • Last visit to Madurai: Jan 2007
  • Intro Updated Mar 2, 2007
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Reviews (1)

Qualified M'eh - But Not Bad Hotels (1)

This is a mid-range hotel close to the train station and within easy and colorful walking distance of the Meenakshi... more travel advice

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Comments (2)

  • Reply
    giampiero6's Profile Photo
    Aug 10, 2011 at 5:39 PM

    You're pages are really coming to life! I had a great day in Madurai...well started as a terrible day, but ended up great :) Hi from CA.

  • Reply
    fabrice's Profile Photo
    May 19, 2009 at 12:03 AM

    marvellous place

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