Jalakanteshwar Temple, Vellore Fort The gopuram at the entrance of the Jalakanteshwar Temple within the Vellore Fort. Vellore Fort was the location of the famous Vellore Mutiny, possibly the first seed for i

Fort

Vellore Fort, built by the Nayakar chieftains of the Vijayanagar Empire is completely built of granite blocks. It was built in the 16th century and frequently exchanged hands between various strong empires. But still it holds an aura about its personality that is inferior to none. The fort is now promoted by the state government as a historical tourist destination. This is the main attraction of the Vellore city and sees the maximum number of foot falls to any attraction in the city.

Jalakanteshwara Temple

Jalakanteshwara Temple was built in the year 1550 A.D. The temple is a small architectural wonder of Vijayanagar. The temple is within the fort complex and the walls of the temple are full of carvings of Nandi and small gopuras. You will find amazing work in the corridors as well. The temple was considered a masterpiece at the time of its construction and now it has become a marvel on this land of Vellore.

Muthu Mandapam

Muthu Mandapam is also called the 'Pearl Palace'. This is a memorial, which is built around the tombstone of the last Kandy Tamil ruler, Vikramraja Singh. It is situated just steps away from Vellore town towards north and is built on the bed of River Palar. The memorial is on a major alteration plan and is said that it will be added with a Children park, an aquarium and a lot more.

Government Museum

The Government Museum is situated besides the main bus stand in Lakshmanaswamy Town Hall. The museum is under the watch of Department of Museums. This might be the most unusual museum that you will ever see. It has in its collection, artifacts from many fields like anthropology, art, archeology, pre-history, botany, geology. Except for government holidays, the museum is open on all days from 9a.m to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 5p.m.

Accommodation

There are not many hotels or lodges in the city but few that are there, are clean and cheap. They are not luxury hotels but they cater to all basic needs of tourists. The hotels you can look upon for a pleasant stay are Hotel Prince Manor and Hotel River View.

Getting There

By Air

Banglore in the state of Karnataka is the nearest airport around 103 km away. Flights from all over the country come to Banglore everyday.

By Rail

Katpadi station is the nearest station. Although it is not a very important station but most of the train passing through here, have a 2-minute halt.

By Road

It takes around 2.5 hrs from Chennai and around 3.5 hrs from Banglore to reach here. There are regular transport buses that come here from Chennai and Banglore apart from other main cities of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Local Transport

Buses are the main mode of transport. You will also find taxis and auto rickshaws in good number.