Monday, October 7, 2013

Kalugumalai, South India

 Kalugumalai is a village or rather a small town in southern Tamil Nadu. It is a lesser known tourist destination in Tamil Nadu and I am sure only few people outside South Tamil Nadu know about this place.
   There is a small hill here which is the Kalugumalai and I guess the town gets its name from this hill. Kalugumalai means Hill of Vultures though I didn't see any vulture there. There is a temple at the foothills but we didn't see that. We didn't have a lot of time and I was interested in only seeing the cave temples on the hill. 
  It was a hot summer afternoon and though the hill was a fairly small one I was puffing and panting. Apart from a small family of father and sons we were the only visitors. 
  We first saw the Vettuvan Kovil which is an incomplete monolithic temple.  It was built in the 8th or 9th century.
    Then we saw the Jain cave temple.

The cave temple is usually kept locked and only opened upon visitor's request. We were advised not to go into the caves for fear of snakes and bats but my husband managed to click a few photos. 

  
 Can you spot the bats?


It was a nice trip and I hope next time I will be able to visit the Kalugasalamoorthi temple at the foothills of Kalugumalai.

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11 comments:

  1. Wow! Those are some amazing shots! The temple is so ornate--I can only imagine the work that went into it. What a great place to visit. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. This place is now added to my wish list. Carvings are exquisite. The temple reminds me of Ellora.

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  3. Wow - stunning shots of so much history and beauty!

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  4. The cave temple is just amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your photos!

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  5. Interesting. Don´t think I have seen it before.

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  6. Where in TN is this? Pls share the exact location. Great pics. I am tempted to visit.

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    Replies
    1. It is near Kovilpatti in Tuticorin district.

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  7. Always great fotos
    Have a nice day, greeting from Belgium
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  8. so wunderbare Bilder,bin sehr beeindruckt..
    enorm was mache Kulturen für wunderbare Baudenkmale hinterlassen haben

    LG zum Sonntag vom katerchen

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