TravelingBeats

Location: Dindigul District is located at the mid eastern part of Tamil Nadu. It shares boundary with Tiruchirappalli District and Theni District in the south east, Madurai district on the south, Erode district and Karur district in the east, Tiruppur District in the west and the Indian state of Kerela also in the west.

District Headquarter: Dindigul

Distance: Around 395 km from Chennai, 402 km from Bangalore, 2071 km from Kolkata, 79 km from Tiruchchirappalli, 330 km from Thiruvananthapuram, 133 km from Thanjavur, 2441 km from Delhi, 301 km from Kanyakumari, 177 km from Salem, 942 km from Hyderabad, 275 km from Pondicherry, 3113 km from Guwahati, 56 km from Madurai, 563 km from Mangalore, 1378 km from Mumbai

Journey time: Around 9 hours by train or bus from Bangalore, around 7.5 hrs from Chennai

How to reach there: By Train – Tuticorin Exp and Nagarcoil Exp from Bangalore, by KSRTC bus, Tamil Nadu government bus, private bus and private vehicle. From Chennai by Tamil Nadu government bus (SETC), train and private bus.

Route:

From Bangalore: Bangalore – Hosur – Kathujuganapalli – Dharmapuri – Salem – Karur – Dindigul

From Chennai: Chennai – Maduranthakam – Villupuram – Perambalur – Tiruchirapalli – Dindigul

Where to stay:

1. Hotel Rockfort Palace
132A, Madurai Road, Begambur,
Dindigul, Tamilnadu, India – 624002
Ph: 0451-2400855 / 2400866
E-Mail: hotelrfp@rediffmail.com
Website: http://www.hotelrockfortpalace.com/

2. Parsons Court
Mengles Road, Nagal Nagar,
Dindgul. PIN – 624001.
TamilNadu, India.
Ph: 91-451-6451111 (5 lines), 91-451-2421575
Fax : 91-451-2420575
Mobile : 96777 02007
Email: parsonscourt@yahoo.co.in, parsonscourt@gmail.com
Website: http://www.parsonscourt.net.in/
Note: Little expensive – starts from Rs 1500

3. Hotel Malajyothi
1111/1B-17, Spencer compound,
Dindigul,
Ph: 0451-2434316

4. Kurunji Hotel
4, Spencer Compound,
Near Bus Stand,
Dindigul 624001

Where to eat:

1. Venu’s Briyani, Thalappakatti and Koli Nadar for special Dindigul briyani.

2. If you are like for south Indian darshini kind of restaurant then head for Arya Bhavan near bus stand or Ashok Bhavan on Main road.

Language spoken: Mainly Tamil. English and Hindi is understood to an extent.

Dindigul  has a long history. It has been at the border of there famous south Indian kingdoms of Pandays, Cholas and Pallavs and it seen many wars between them. In the early 17th century the Nayakkar kings built the Dindigul fort. In 1736 the Marathas under Sanda Saheb conquered Dindigul. In 1742 the Mysore kingdom annexed Dindigul. In 1792 the British got control of Mysore after the send Anglo – Mysore war. Dindigul district was created as a separate district out of Madurai district in 1985.

What to See:

Places to visit in Dindigul district can be clustered into three groups:

Dindigul fort: Dindigul fort is the main icon of Dindigul town. The fort was built in the early 17th century by two Naicker kings Muthi Krishna Naicker and Thirumalai Naicker. It is located on top of a hill and has seen many bloody battles. Sri Kottai Mariamman Kovil is located inside the fort.

Sirumalai Hill Resort: Sirumalai located around 20 km from Dindigul town is a hill resort town. People like watching birds or taking pictures of birds then it is an ideal place. Also, it very nice scenery.

St.Joseph Church: This Roman Catholic church was built in the late 18th century and has a nice architecture.

Begambur Big Mosque: This mosque was built by Hyder Ali when he was posted there as governor of Dindigul.

You can also visit some other temples like Abirami amman temple, Nadupatti – Anjaneyar Temple and Thadikombu – Perumal Temple.

2. Kodaikanal: Kodaikanal is a beautiful hill station located in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. For complete information on travel to Kodaikanal read my post on Kodaikanal Trip.

3. Palani: Palani is located around 60 km from Dindigul town and is famous from lord Murugan temple. One can also reach Palani from Madurai after travelling 112 km. To know more about Palani temple and Palani read my earlier post on Palani Murugan temple.

Tamil Nadu government tourism department provides the following tours from Chennai through TTDC. Following are the tours along with their itinerary and cost.

1. One Day Pondicherry Tour

This tour takes places only in the weekends – Saturday and Sunday. It starts at 6.30 am in the morning and comes to an end around 7 pm in the evening.

Places of visit: Pondicherry, Aurobindo Ashram, Museum, Beach, Auroville and Boating at Mudaliar Kuppam – Chennai

Cost of the tour for non a/c bus is Rs 500, a/c bus is Rs 750 and A/c Volvo is Rs 850.

2. One day Golden Temple Tour

This tour takes place each day of the week and starts at 7 am in the morning and ends at 8 pm in the evening.

Places of visit: Rathinagiri Murugan Temple, Sripuram Golden Temple, Vellore Jalagandeswar Temple

Cost of the tour for non a/c bus is Rs 350, for a/c bus is Rs 550 and a/c Volvo is Rs 600.

3. 14 Days – Sunny south Tour

This tour takes place on every Wednesday of the week. The bus leaves Chennai at 7 am in the morning and comes back on the evening of the 14th day.

Places of visit: Thiruthani, Thirupathi, Thiruchanoor, Bangalore, Hosur, Mysore, Mudumalai Wild Life Sanctuary, Ooty, Marudhamalai, Coimbatore, Guruvayur, Cochin, Kovalam, Trivandrum, Suchindram, Knyakumari, Tiruchendur, Rameswaram, Thiruparamkundram, Madurai, Palani, Trichy, Thanjavur, Swamimalai, Poompuhar, Chidambaram, Pondicherry, Mamallapuram, Kanchepuram

If you go for non a/c bus and non a/c single room the cost of the tour will be Rs 12500 and for a/c bus and a/c single room is Rs 21100.

4. 6 days south India Tour

This tour takes place on every Friday of the week. The bus leaves Chennai at 7 am in the morning and comes back on Wednesday next week by 5 pm.

Places of visit: Yercaud, Ooty, Mudumalai, Mysore, Brindhavan Garden, Chamundeswari Temple, Medikari, Tala kaveri, Bangalore, Vellore Sripuram Golden Temple.

If you go for non a/c bus and non a/c single room it will cost your Rs 7000 and for a/c bus and a/c single room Rs 9700.

5. 8 days – Goa – Mantralayam Tour

This takes place every Saturday. The bus leaves Chennai on every Saturday morning 7 am and comes back to Chennai on the following Saturday by 8 pm.

Places of visit: Ahobilam, Nandyal, Mahanandi, Srisailam, Manthralayam, Hampi-Hospet, Goa, Bangalore

If you go for non a/c bus and non a/c single room the cost of the tour will be Rs 7250. If you go for a/c bus and a/c single room, it will cost you Rs 12100.

6. One day Mamallapuram Tour

This tour takes place on every day of the week. It starts from morning 6 am and end at 7 pm in the evening.

Places of visit: Kancheepuram, Mamallapuram, Muttukadu Boating, VGP Golden Beach

Cost of the tour for non a/c bus is Rs 385, for a/c bus is Rs 550 and only on saturday and Sunday you can go for a Volvo bus which cost Rs 650.

7. Half day Chennai City Sight Seeing Tour

This tour takes place every day of the week. It starts at 1.30 pm in the afternoon and comes to an end around 6.30 pm in the evening.

Places of visit: Fort St. George, Govt. Museum, Valluvarkottam, Snake Park, Kapaleeswarar Temple and Marina Beach.

Note: 1. Govt.Museum will be closed on Fridays and Birla Planetarium will be covered on that day.

2. Snake Park will be closed on Tuesday

Cost if the tour for non a/c bus is Rs 140, a/c bus is Rs 200 and a/c Volvo is Rs 230.

Note: You can check the various other combination of accommodation on the Tamil Nadu government tourism website. There are also other tours which you can book on TTDC website.

For more info you may also contact:

Tamil Nadu Tourism Complex,
No.2, Wallajah Road,
Chennai – 600 002.
E-Mail Id :ttdc@vsnl.com
Phone Number:-044-25368358
Mobile:-9176995863