Dotted with temples, with spirituality engulfing you, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu is a must-visit city. Apart from temples, the city also has natural wonders which make it a place not only for those on a spiritual quest, but for nature lovers too. This nearly 2,000-year-old ancient city is situated in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. In 1790, it became an important hub for the East India Company. The city is called Nellai Mavattam by the Tamil-speaking population all over the world.
The city is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli district and, back in the day, it was ruled by many Pandya rulers and served as their headquarters too. History reveals that the city was ruled by many different rulers like the Vijayangara rulers, Palayankars and Madhurai Nayaks, among many others before coming under the British rule.
The city is growing rapidly and has already started experiencing urbanization, but the traditional aspect is not yet lost. While some people wake up to make it to work, some wake up to make it to the various places of worship.
Tirunelveli has many temples that are present at every other corner in the city. The Kanthimathi Nellaiappar temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is perhaps the most famous temple in the city and attracts many tourists. The Sri Varadharja Perumal Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, and the Pottalpudur Dargah, which is a mosque built in the form of a Hindu temple, are also important places of worship here.
The city also has the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, which is rich in flora and fauna and houses many different species of birds, animals and plants. The District Science Center is a tourist destination in the city that attracts many visitors and offers them a different way of looking at science and technology.
Not too far away from the city are some beautiful places to enjoy natural beauty in the form of waterfalls and hills.
The Thirunelveli Halwa, which is a smooth, brown sweet is named after the city and is a specialty here. It is available at all the local sweet shops and shouldn’t be missed.
Tirunelveli is also well known for its locally made handicrafts, which you should pick up before leaving the city.
Getting around Tirunelveli is fairly convenient. There are buses that run across the city and connect all the different corners. Auto-rickshaws are also available and help you commute around town. Cycle-rickshaws can be used to travel short distances. In order to travel comfortably, you can choose hire a taxi or private car.
On a daily basis there are approximately 75 flights that operate at Trivandrum International Airport.Air India Express, IndiGo and Air India are the most popular airline brands that fly frequently to this airport.
Besides flying you can also reach Tirunelveli through train.Tirunelveliis one of the most popular train stations in Tirunelveli.On an average about 64 trains pass through Tirunelveli on a daily basis.Nagercoil to Tirunelveli, Vadakkuvalliyur to Tirunelveli, Kovilpatti to Tirunelveliare some of the most popular routes to Tirunelveli with 84, 73, 23 trains weekly respectively.
By road Tirunelveli is surrounded by Thoothukkudi, Kovilpatti, Nagercoil which are 32.25 km, 33.56 km, 40.9 km away respectively. These places are ideal spots for people to plan their short weekend break.
Tirunelveli has a total of 12 hotels.There are 12 hotels in Tirunelveli with the popular ones being Hotel MNH Royal Park, Saaral Resort, The Kuttalam Heritage, Hotel Raams Parks, Hotel AppletTree, Aryaas Ressidence etc.