Vellore! A picturesque town nested near banks of palar river in the north eastern part of Tamil nadu. This town is often referred to as a ‘centre of medical tourism’ as it is the bases of India’s top 2 medical colleges namely christen medical college and vit.
It has bagged a position in top 27 cities which are to be converted to smart cities by Indian government. As this town is a major exporter of leather and leather related items, you may find many leather goods at an incredible low price. This region is mainly surrounded by babul trees also known as velan trees due to which this town got its name.
Some interesting places to visit at Vellore are:
Vellore fort
Talking about a prominent landmark of the city – Vellore fort will never disappoint you even for a bit.
It was in this fort that Tipu Sultan’s family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Rajasinha, were held as royal prisoners in the fort. This massive fort houses a church, a mosque and a Hindu temple, which is known for its carvings.
The fortifications mainly consist of a main rampart, broken at irregular intervals by round towers and rectangular projections.
Jalakanteswara Temple- another landmark is present within this fort. It is in this very fort that housed the Tipu Mahal where Tipu Sultan is believed to have stayed with his family during the war which was going on with Britishers.The graves of Tipu’s sons were found at Vellore.
The state government museum is housed inside this fort which consists of objects of art, archaeology, prehistory, weapons, sculptures, bronzes, wood carvings, handicrafts, numismatics, philately, botany, geology and zoology.
Sree Lakshmi temple
This temple which resembles a chunk of gold is popularly known as Golden Temple. This is a newly built temple and spiritual park in Thirumalaikodi.
This place is located approximately 8 km from the Vellore bus terminus. This temple covers a massive area of 100 acres which was constructed by Vellore-based Sri Narayani Peedam and headed by Sakthi Amma.
This temple is known for its unique, intricate carvings, which were hand-made by hundreds of gold artisans specializing in temple architecture.
The exterior is laid out with gold sheets and plates .The overall construction reported to have cost Rs.300 crores (US$65 million). About 1,500 kg of gold was used, the largest amount in the world.
Truly a bang for buck deal!
Shri Ramar temple
This beautifully sculpted temple is situated at Kattu Puthur and it is devoted to Lord Rama.
Cuisine to relish on:
Basically when we talk about southern part of india, the food is mainly made out of rice flour, lentils and yup coconut milk with spices.
Some of the foods stuffs which are available locally are: sambhar, dosa, Upma Chettinadu food.
Virundhu saapadu is very popular and is quite an appetizer. murukku, pakoda, paniyaram, Bhajji, chips, Vada are some of the other popular street food.
SHOPPIN’
Vellore is famous for its leather made items and hosiery items.
Some must place shopping streets are Gandhi Nagar, Long Bazaar , Mutton Market, Burma Bazaar and finally the Main Bazaar.
The best time to visit this wonderful place is in October to march.