Tall palms and taller gopurams, the towering, intricately carved temple towers amidst a land of oriental lushness greet the travelle to Tamil Nadu, a land that is truly the soul of the South itself. A lane of sun and warmth, of temples and legends and of silver lined beaches.

Tamil Nadu, lush and colour drenched, sunburnt and roman offering the essence of the Eastern life-style, is inexpensive, with best of accommodation available to suit every pocket and every taste.

Tamil Nadu is a window to the modem South as much as it is a wide open archive of ancient legacies. Yet amazingly, for all modernity, Tamil Nadu retains its old-world charm. The blend of the ancient and the new and the picturesque is truly remarkable. It is the land that has seen the rise and fall of many an ancient kingdom viz., the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Cheras, the Pallavas and many others, each leaving behind incredible cultural treasures.

From Chennai, the capital and gateway to Tamil Nadu, no place is too far. Excellent road, rail and air services take the tourist to any point in the state. Spread around are capitals of once-proud kingdom. The magnificent Madurai, with its Meenakshi temple, one of the wonders of India, and Thanjavur, with its Brahadeeswarar temple, a tribute to the splendour of Chola architecture beckon the insatiable tourist. Here are the Pailava towns of Kancheepuram, and Mamallapuram the former, one of the seven major Hindu pilgirm centres and the latter.famed for its monuments and sculpture and now becoming increasingly popular as one of India's finest beach resorts. Here are Tiruchirappalli and Kanniyakumari, where ancient legends live on, in rock, plaster and wood. Here are hill stations that waft the aroma of tea and coffee, eucalyptus and pine, hill resorts that call to mind the English countryside, that is as rugged as India's own.

The Chidambaram Temple is dedicated to Lord Nataraja, God Siva in the form of Cosmic Dancer, Tiruchirappalli is famous for its rock Temple built on a rock rising abruptly to over 83 mts. The holy town of Rameshwaram on the South-eastern tip of the Indian peninsula, contains one of India's most venerated temples, distinguished for its carved and pillared corridors.

All along the cast of South India are long stretches of warm sands, shaded by groves of casuarinas and stately palms. But perhaps the most wondrous of all is Kanniyakumari, the tip of India, washed by the three seas. Here you find sand that is not merely golden, it is sparkling while, pale pink, creamy yellow and even dark red. At the dawn of new millennium year a colossal statue of Poet - Saint Thiruvalluvar, with amazing height of 133 feet, was formally dedicated by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

The Marina in Chennai is the second longest beach in the world and is an open stretch of sparkling blue invitation reminiscent perhaps, of the French Riviera.

The states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka merge in a lovely cluster of hills called the Nilgiris or Blue Mountains. Crowning the Nilgiris is the delightful hill-station of Udhagamandalam (Ooty) with a wealth of eucalyptus trees that give the air a distinct freshness."Snooty Ooty", the queen of hill resorts, boast of botanical gardens, annual flower shows, select hotels and clubs, golf, tennis, horse-racing and shopping. It also nestles close to Kotagiri, Coonoor, Doddabetta, Snowdown, Elk-Hill, Cairn Hill and Mukurti Peak. Furher South is Kodaikanal, carpeted with wild flowers and faintly scented with honey suckle. It exhibits the famous coffee plantations of the South. A lake with a promenade along its fringes, Coaker's Walk, Silver Cascade, a number of water falls and a century-old observatory make Kodai, a treasure house of Nature's bounty.

Forests and sanctuaries untouched by man, Mudumalai, Anaimalai, Vedanthangal and Point Calimere, where the deer and the bison roam and the stork, the flamingo and the egret nest, where you can enjoy a thrilling elephant ride into a forest of antelopes, monkeys, tigers and leopards that will stay in your memory.

The Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary is on the Ooty-Mysore Road; tiger, leopard, slothbear, elephant, bison, sambar, chital, and barking deer wander on its terrain in wild abandonment. The Chennai Aquarium displays a wide variety of aquatic life. The National Deer Park at Guindy, Chennai, is the only one of its kind in the country and the Snake Park is a showcase for reptilian wildlife. Cool forests everywhere provide refuge to myriads of species of animals and birds. Tamil Nadu is also the home of Carnatic music and Bharatha Natyam, a legacy of temple songs and dances handed down through the centuries, the home of many a stately schools of art and architecture, and of great cultures and philosophies. Gloriously ancient. Proud preserver of India's traditions. Now magnificent, modern and splendid.