Vellore town which is the headquarters of Vellore district is located in Tamilnadu state about 145 kms away from Chennai. This town has great historical significance. It was the capital of Pallava, Chola, Nayak, Maratha, Arcot Nawabs and Bijapur Sultan Kingdoms. Today Vellore is known for the renowned Christian Medical College and Hospital. The town also has many other colleges as well as ancient temples. There are many places of tourist’s interest in and around the town.
Vellore Fort
The main attraction in Vellore is the fort constructed around the 16th century during the Vijananagr empire rule. The outer wall of this fort is completely built of granite blocks fort and it is fortified by double walls. This fort is a testimony of Military architecture in South India. One interesting fact about fort is that there is a Hindu temple, Christian church and Muslim mosque within its ramparts. The Jalakandeswarar Temple known for its sculptures is inside the Fort. The fort was the site for the Sepoy mutiny of 1806. The Fort is under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India.
Golden Temple (Sripuram)
It is approximately 8 km from the Vellore Town Bus Terminus. Golden temple of Sripuram is located at the foot of a small range of hills in a place known as Malaikodi. The magnificence of this enormous temple complex attracts many tourists. The Sri Lakshmi Narayani Temple located here is unique because the vimanam and ardha mandapam of the temple have been coated with gold. The construction of this temple is reported to have cost Rs.300 crores (Rs.3 billion).
Government Museum
Museum of Vellore is a museum cum archive. The museum has many curios relating to Anthropology, Art and Archaeology, Botany, Geology, Numismatics, Pre-history, Zoology etc. One can also find here ivory chess board and coins used by Vikrama Raja Singha who was the last Kandian King of Sri Lanka, stone sculptures from Late Pallava to Vijayanagar periods etc. This multipurpose museum is maintained by The Government of Tamilnadu.
Muthu Mandapam
This place is just one km from the Vellore town. Muthu Mandapam is also called the 'Pearl Palace'. This is a memorial built around the tombstone of Vikramraja Singh.
Jalagandeeswarar Temple
Jalagandeeswarar Temple is situated inside the Vellore Fort. This temple is known for its sculptures. The temple also has big wedding hall which is adorned with elegant reliefs and monolithic sculptures.
Amrithi Zoological Park
Amirthi zoological park is about 25 kms from Vellore. Spread across 25 acres this park has many birds and animals. A children’s play area is also present here.
Clock Tower Vellore
Clock tower was built honouring the coronation of King George V and also to commemorate the death 22 soldiers who lost their lives during World War 1.
St. Johns Church
This is one of the biggest churches in the south which is nearly 150 years old. The British soldiers who died during the Sepoy Mutiny are buried in the vicinity of this church.
Apart from this there are many other places worth visiting in and around Vellore like the Kavalur Observatory, Javadu Hills, Jalagampaari Falls, Yalagiri hills, Virinjipuram, Thiruvannamalai etc.
How to reach Vellore
Bangalore international airport in Karnataka is the nearest airport which is around 103 km away. The other nearest airport is Chennai International Airport (130 km). Katpadi railway junction which falls in Chennai-Bangalore-Mumbai line is the nearest station to Vellore and is located 5 km north of main Bus stand. Vellore is well connected by a network of state as well as national highways with the south Indian states. There are regular buses from Chennai and Bangalore apart from many other main cities of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to Vellore.
Accommodation
Vellore has some good luxury as well as budget hotels which cater to the different budgets of the tourists.