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Madurai Tour: Local Insights and Hidden Gems
4.9
14 Ratings
Thiruparankundram
Witness the vibrant ‘Going to Bed Ceremony’ at Meenakshi Temple with a private guide. Experience local culture and spirituality in Madurai.
Witness the vibrant ‘Going to Bed Ceremony’ at Meenakshi Temple with a private guide. Experience local culture and spirituality in Madurai.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Thiruparankundram Temple - The Subramaniya Swamy Temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Murugan, known as the handsome son of Lord Shiva. As one of the most revered deities among Tamils, this temple in Madurai attracts a large number of devotees and pilgrims daily and throughout the year.
- Vilachery Main Road - Located on the outskirts of…
- Thiruparankundram Temple - The Subramaniya Swamy Temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Murugan, known as the handsome son of Lord Shiva. As one of the most revered deities among Tamils, this temple in Madurai attracts a large number of devotees and pilgrims daily and throughout the year.
- Vilachery Main Road - Located on the outskirts of Madurai near Thiruparankundram, the charming village of Vilachery is home to about 200 families who craft small idols of Lord Ganesh for Ganesh Chaturthi and Bommai Kolu dolls for Navaratri using clay. They also create nativity sets for Christmas. Visitors can stroll through the village and observe the artisans at work in their homes.
- Banana Market - Madurai’s wholesale banana market is a captivating place to explore. It is said that 16 varieties of bananas are available here! They arrive in clusters on branches, delivered by the cartload.
- Mattuthavani Flower Market - The Flower Market is a delightful experience for the senses, particularly for sight and smell. It is also an excellent place to interact with locals. Despite being popular with tourists, it remains one of the most traditional bazaars in Madurai.
- Samanar Hills - The Samanar Hills in Madurai have been recognized as a historically significant site and protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India. The hills are named so because it is common in Tamil Nadu to refer to ascetic sites, especially of the Jain tradition, as Samanar.
- Kochadai Arulmigu Sri Villayudhamudaya Ayyanar Swamy, Sri Muthaiya Swamy, Sri Karuppana Swamy, Sri Nagappa Swamy Thirukovil - This is one of the renowned local folklore temples in Madurai.
What's Included
- Private Walking Tour
- Private Tour Guide
- Entry Fee for Foreigners
- All fees and/or taxes
- Private Walking Tour
- Private Tour Guide
- Entry Fee for Foreigners
- All fees and/or taxes
What's Not Included
- Own Expenses
- Own Expenses
Additional Information
Explore the city from a local’s perspective with a personalized guide. Without a fixed schedule, you have the flexibility to tailor the tour or rely on the local expert for a captivating introduction to the city. Our private tours allow you to bypass ordinary historical tours and see the city through the lens of a true local. Our licensed local guides…
Explore the city from a local’s perspective with a personalized guide. Without a fixed schedule, you have the flexibility to tailor the tour or rely on the local expert for a captivating introduction to the city. Our private tours allow you to bypass ordinary historical tours and see the city through the lens of a true local. Our licensed local guides are enthusiastic about their city and keen to share their knowledge and insights. They provide an authentic and personal experience. By the end of the tour, you’ll feel at ease navigating the city and confident that you have all the information needed to maximize your stay.
Enjoy a private tour exclusively for you and your group. Your guide will tailor the tour to match your interests and personality. Gain a deeper understanding of Madurai’s life than you could on your own. Experience Madurai through a local’s eyes and uncover its hidden treasures.
- Not recommended for people has knee problem
Location
Thiruparankundram Temple
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(14 Ratings)
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1 star
Yotamb818
Oct 27, 2024
Tour review - We had a great experience with our guide. He was knowledgeable in many matters. The tour was very interesting and in lighting. In addition we were taken to several local places to try the food which was a fun addition. The guide also helped us to plan our next day in Madurai.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wander13490164882
Oct 25, 2024
Excellent guide! - We highly recommend Dhanabalan for a private guide tour of the Meenaskhi temple. He was responsive to all our questions regarding the temple, as well as the religion and indian society itself. His English was fluent!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michellep260
Oct 22, 2024
Fascinating temple, great guide - A fascinating trip to the beautiful ancient temple after dark, full of pilgrims and interesting architecture. Our guide Dhanabalan was well read and friendly and indulged my interest in history and poetry, very kindly sending on English translations of Tamil inscriptions and giving us interesting and knowledgeable stories about both the temple and the Thousand Pillars museum which contains beautiful carvings. He also kindly helped us make an offering of sweets to Ganesh without making fools of ourselves! Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wander295022
Oct 22, 2024
Great choice,deep,man of values ,professional service - Dhanabal ,the guide,is an exelent guide ,professional with great knowledg, passionate about his region, and feminist , a man of values.
We did an evenning and a long day tour,Dhanabal tailor made the trip with us ,he has an experience to see what is good by your carecter . Trough the trip he is very sensitive to your needs and knows well how to realize them. His enthusiasm needs sometime to be cool down but feel free to ask him to, he has a good sence of humor and your enjoiment is most important to him
Review provided by Tripadvisor
774narasimhak
Sep 28, 2024
Madurai Meenakshi visit is not complete unless you have a guide of Mr Dhanapalan's calliber. - After a gap of 10 years, I visited Madurai with my sister and brother in law. All 3 of us are seniors.
On the day we arrived, we had darshan of Godess Meenaxi and Sundareshwar. Following morning, we had booked for an abhisheka,and that went well.
The temple is so magnificent that we needed a guide to give us a good brief.
Mr Dhanapalan is a God's gift to us. We were very fortunate to have him as our guide. We reported to him at 320 pm in front of South Gate. He assisted us in getting our mobile phones and footwear deposited. He arranged our special darshan of the dieties. After that, he took us for a guided tour of the temple premises. Over 2 and half hours, he narrated the history of Madurai and the significance of the temple. We were thrilled with both the contents and his style of presentation. Madurai Meenakshi must have blessed him immensely to be so well informed of the details of the temple and its several creators over 1000 plus years.
We are 1000% satisfied with his service and highly recommend engaging him on your next visit to Madurai.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
430nagarajuc
Sep 22, 2024
Guided tour of Meenakshi Amman temple by Mr Bala - The guided walking tour conducted by Mr Bala is excellent. This was my first trip to Madurai and I was interested to know the history of the temple and the information available on public domain is in bits and pieces. Mr Bala gave us the importance of the temple the way it was told in mythology and also it was written in old tamil literature. He is a treasure of knowledge and made the trip and the entire guided tour a memorable one
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Birgitteg487
Sep 8, 2024
Amazing experience of Meenakshi temple at night! - My 2 kids and I went on this evening tour with Dhanabalan Perumal (Bala), having visited other temples in Chennai and Trichy during the day. Being able to watch the ceremony at night was amazing and completely mesmerizing! Guide Bala was full of interesting facts - not only about the ceremony and the temple but also about the history and culture - told in a very engaging way with lots of opportunity for questions. highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marti
Aug 20, 2024
Amazing experience - The temple is very beautiful and the experience of the night ceremony is awesome and very traditional, zero tourist-driven purposes. The guide was also absolutely amazing and provided a lot of meaningful inside to fully understand the culture.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ariannar241
Jun 26, 2024
Good experience - A special guide with whom we visited Meenakshi temple.
With professionalism and great generosity he explained to us in depth and in simple language the history and characteristics of the temple.
he also accompanied us in a knowledge of Hinduism and Indian religious and social life in a real vision.
He introduced us to a ceremony celebrating the nocturnal meeting of the divine couple of Shiva and Parvati.
Absolutely recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R671tsalexanders
Jun 3, 2024
Amazing tourguide! Highly recommended - Amazing tour guide! His tour was really essential for our understanding of the temple, Culture in Tamil Nadu and India in general. Highly highly recommend this tour to everyone
The tour guide speaks very well and clear and could answer all of our questions while also sharing with us nice stories and insider information
Review provided by Tripadvisor