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Kanchipuram tourism
Kancheepuram is one of the 21 places of International Tourism importance in Tamil Nadu. Being a place of great historical and religious importance, the town is visited by a number of domestic and foreign tourists. Its closeness to Chennai metropolis and Mamallapuram adds to the attraction especially for foreign tourists. It also finds a place in the one-day itinerary of the State Tourism Department covering Chennai-Mamallapuram-Kancheepuram. A number of other places of tourists are also located around the town.
Flow of Tourism
According to 2001 statistics, 24.58 Million tourists visited Tamil Nadu, of whom 97 were domestic and 3 were foreigners. The pilgrims constituted about 30. The Tourists stay mostly for 2 to 3 months duration and visit many tourist places in India. National Tourists are usually religious groups who travel in buses, vans, cars, and taxis to visit Kancheepuram. They come from different parts of the country, viz., West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
According to the Tourism Department of Tamil Nadu, on average 3.7 lakhs local tourists and 67.1 lakhs national tourists and about 30,000 international tourists visit this temple town every year.
History of Kancheepuram Temples
The Pallavas ruled between the 6th and 8th century AD over a large portion of Tamil Nadu with Kanchipuram as their base. Their reign was marked by battles with the Chalukyas of the north and the Pandyas of the south. Among the greatest Pallava rulers were Mahendravarman-l and his son Narasimhavarman.Among the famous temples built by the Pallavas are the temples of Kanchipuram, the Kapaliswarar and Parthasarathy temples at Chennai, and last but not the least, the magnificent poetry in rock and stone at Mamallapuram. Kanchi has been described extensively by the Chinese traveller Huan Tsu Ang
Ancient Kanchipuram, the city of thousand temples, is one of the seven most sacred pilgrim centres for the Hindus. There now remain about 126 temples in Kanchi and a few more in its outskirts.