Kailasanatha Temple At Kanchipuram

Introduction and history: The city of Kanchipuram is one of the famous of the ‘temple cities’ of Tamil Nadu, which is famous for its Dravidian style architecture. It was also the political capital of the Pallava rulers during the 7th - 9th centuries. The Kailasanatha temple is the finest structural project of the Pallava ruler Rajasimha. The temple is almost entirely constructed of sandstone and is integrated into a coherent complex. A polished lingam (symbol of Shiva) is enshrined within. The city also remained an important city during the succeeding Chola and Vijayanagara periods as well.

What to see and when to go: The city truly lives up to the name of temple city by having an array of ancient temple. Starting with Kamakshi Amman Temple the list contains important temples like Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Vaikunda Perumal Temple, Ekambaranathar Temple, Ulagalandha Perumal Temple, Yathoktakari Perumal Temple, Deepaprakasa Perumal Temple, Kandakottam , Subramanya Swami Temple, Kachapeswarar Temple, Sankupani Vinayakar Temple, Pandava Thoodha Perumal and Jain temples. The city is also an epitome of Shaivaite sector within Hinduism. The Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham is another Shaivaite landmark, which was Sri Adi Sankara in the year 482 B.C.

Accommodation: There are very few good lodges in Kanchipuram. This is because not many travelers stay in the city itself as it is very near to Chennai. The good hotels are easily accessible from the Kanchipuram Bus Stand. The ideal travel plan would be to stay in Chennai and travel to the city via local transport.

Mode of transport: Chennai (75 km) is the nearest airport from Kanchipuram. Trains for Kanchipuram are available from Chennai, Chengalpattu, Thirupathi, and Bangalore. It is also well connected by a good network of roads. Local travel is mainly done by hiring taxis.

Related links:
• Official website: http://kanchi.nic.in/
• Tourist information: http://www.kanchipuram.com/

Interesting point: Kanchipuram is famous for hand-woven silk fabrics and saris. The weavers use the highest quality silk and pure gold thread. Kanchipuram is also known as Silk City.