Travel Guide Chennai, India

Chennai is India's fourth largest city, along with being the largest city in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai has the second largest sea shore in the world and is situated along the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, and was formerly known as Madras. Established by the British, it is also the capital of the Tamil Nadu.

Culture:

As already mentioned, Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu, and therefore, Tamil culture is practiced widely here. Tamil culture is very extensive; ranging from sculpture and literature to music, dance and cinema. Being endowed with rich heritage of culture, literature and art, it is also known as the Gateway to South India.

Cultural events here are very famous among tourists; especially the season of Bharatnatyam and Carnatic Music draws tourists from all over the world. The language spoken most widely isTamil, and English is widely spoken and understood to aid the tourists. However, Hindi language is not spoken nor preferred in Chennai.

They even have the second largest film industry of India Kollywood. Tamil films are very famous and widely watched and enjoyed. Many Tamil films have even been acclaimed in international film festivals.

Climate:

Chennai receives around 125-150 cm of rainfall annually. Mostly the north-east monsoon contributes toward this bountiful rain from October to December. As it is a coastal city, the climate is pretty humid throughout the year, and the south-west monsoon does not contribute much to the rainfall received in Chennai.

Places to visit:

* The beautiful Marina Beach in Chennai is one of the longest beaches found in the world, and is very famous amongst tourists, especially amongst Honeymooners.

* Shopping is not very expensive here, and all those who love shopping can visit the Abirami Mega Mall which has a snow world for kids; Prince Plaza; and the famous Spencer Plaza. Spencer plaza is one of the largest shopping malls found in India, and you can almost anything you want from here!

* As Chennai is famous for its film industry, a visit to the local cinemas is a must for every tourist!

* The Birla Planetarium is the most modern planetarium in India. This is an interesting visit for students, science scholars and other tourists as Perivar Science and Technology Museum is situated adjoining the Planetarium.

* Elliots Beach is an amazing place to relax and cool down. It is a very good picnic spot for tourists.

* Guindy National Park and Guindy Snake Park are also places worth visiting!

Most visitors who visit Chennai also go to Kanchipuram, a city of thousand temples which is only a few hours away. Apart from this the beach resorts near Mamallapuram are also only two hours south of Chennai and are a World Heritage Site worth visiting.