Train station of Madurai
We stayed one day and one night in the city of Madurai. But I believe we had enough time to discover the amazing, beautiful and huge Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple.
With more than 33 000 statues, it is a temple dedicated to Parvati (known as Meenakshi) and her consort, Shiva a.k.a. Sundareswarar. The Temple has multiples gopurams (gateway towers) and the tallest is the southern one, of 51.9 meters. As soon as you get in, you will find a labyrinth of deities, devotion, candles, incense and colors.
We stayed in the Hotel New Keerthi, located between the train station and the Temple and just a slingshot from the temple itself . It is a budget hotel with nice views, clean and in a good position… perfect for our stay! As soon as we got there we left the backpacks in the room and then went exploring !
On the way to the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, there are dozens of people stopping you for a photo, offering a ride on a tuk-tuk, bracelets, a guide, a blessing… We usually don’t stop but at some point we heard “Best views of the Meenakshi Temple”. Yeah, that’s the moment we pulled the handbrake ! A man explained us that you cannot get to the top of any tower of the Temple -later we found it was true-, and that instead he knew the best place to see the whole complex from a spot overlooking the city. Look at our photos posted below!
We got curious and followed him. On the way to the place we even happen to see the celebration of a wedding as well as a colored and animated funeral. What a strange encounter ! In front of one of the gates, we followed the man into an art gallery and walked up on the top of the house to a very dodgy looking point. Walking up, I have to say that the art gallery was super super nice !
Celebration of a wedding in front of the temple complex
On the contrary, the view from the rooftop is not as nice. Yes, you can see the towers… actually just some of them, but I’m not sure if it was worth to follow the guy around the city just to end up there. Nothing bad happened luckily but you never know !
Finally, after exiting the gallery we deiced to enter the Temple (barefoot obviously) just to discover that cameras were not allowed. No cameras !!! Wow ! First time this has ever happened ! Apparently they are very very strict with bringing anything inside: no phones, no cameras, no liquids at all, nothing! Mad Max was royally pissed about having to leave his cameras and lenses outside, with the guards (of questionable trust).
Street life of Madurai City
Our eyes as lenses, and our minds as cameras, we did our best to have the most gorgeous mental photographs of the beautiful temple. In the middle of the labyrinthine Temple, there’s a golden lotus in the middle of a small lake. Need a tip ? Just sit there and relax for a bit; you’ll be surrounded by small cats and people from all India enjoying the time there as much as you are. You’ll even be able to buy some food (but remember to drink before entering the temple)!
After leaving the temple, followed only by the camera equipment recovery mission, we started looking for a restaurant. After some misses, we ended up in a rooftop of a restaurant in the same street of our hotel. What an amazing sight that restaurant had ! We could see the nightlife of Madurai, Temples included, from the top of the world ! And this, while enjoying a cold Kingfisher beer (yes they had beer!!!), made our day even better !
P.S. (The restaurant was called Surya Roof Top Veg. Restaurant)
View of the Meenakshi Temple complex from the Surya restaurant
A LITTLE POCKET GUIDE
Where we slept
- Hotel New Keerthi: Nice, clean, it’s a good deal. Perfect location: between the Tiruchichirappalli Junction and the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple . Although, the breakfast was not good as it was served in a greasy room on the ground floor where we even had to pay for water !!! Breakfast is definitely better somewhere else…
What we visited
- Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple: Wonderful, big and labyrinthine temple. We enjoyed all the time spent there, getting lost in every corner ! Be sure to drink before entering the temple and to leave the cameras and phones in your hotel (since they can not get inside the temple)! It is annoying to leave your valuable objects alone…
- Walking outside the Temple, the crazy streets of Madurai are funny and interesting !
- The rooftop of the Surya Roof Top Veg. Restaurant. It’s a bit expensive but it was worth the money to relax and eat good food in front of the amazing night sight.
How we moved
- By foot. We walked a lot in Madurai ! It is the best way to move around the center of the Temple & surroundings and the cheapest as well !
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