Places to Visit in Velankanni

A large modern Roman Catholic church at Velankanni and the newest of the cluster of shrines around the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health. It is noted as an architectural landmark whose vast interior is built without a single internal pillar. It complements the main pilgrimage circuit that draws millions of devotees to Velankanni each year.

Morning Star Church, Velankanni is best understood through its defining feature, its relationship with Velankanni and the evidence that survives at the site today.

On a quiet stretch of the Tamil Nadu coast stands a white Gothic shrine that draws millions of pilgrims of every faith, and that famously survived the 2004 tsunami.

A Vishnu temple counted among the 108 Divya Desams and glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham of the Alvars, where the deity is worshipped as Neelamegha Perumal (Sowriraja Perumal) with his consort Thirukkannapura Nayagi. It is one of the Pancha Krishna Kshetrams and the third most-sung Divya Desam, with 128 verses, most composed by Thirumangai Alvar. A towering 95-foot seven-tiered rajagopuram faces a large sacred tank known as the Nithya Pushkarani.

A Shiva temple near the southern tip of Point Calimere among the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams revered in the 7th-century Tevaram, where the deity is worshipped as Kodi Kuzhagar (Amirthakadeswarar) and the goddess as Anjanakshi. It is regarded as one of the southernmost of the Cauvery-delta Saiva shrines. Built in granite in the 10th century over an earlier structure, it has three prakarams and a five-tiered rajagopuram.

A Vishnu temple among the 108 Divya Desams where the deity is worshipped as Loganatha Perumal with his consort Loganayagi. A Krishnaranya Kshetram and one of the Pancha Narayana and Pancha Krishna Kshetrams, it is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. Built in Dravidian style, it is attributed to the medieval Cholas of the late 9th century, with later additions by Vijayanagara and Madurai Nayak rulers.

Two days along the Nagapattinam–Mayiladuthurai coast — Velankanni’s basilica, Nagore’s dargah, Chola Shiva temples and the Danish fort at Tranquebar, in a workable route.

A Shiva temple among the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams, praised in the Tevaram by the saints Appar and Sambandar, with the presiding deity Rathnagiriswarar and the goddess Aamothala Nayaki (Vanduvar Kuzhali). It is regarded as a Maadakovil temple built on an elevation by the early Chola king Kochengat Chola. Its name derives from a marugal plantain said to grow within the temple.

A Shiva temple about 3 km from Vedaranyam that is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams revered in the 7th-century Tevaram, with the presiding deity Agastiswara and the goddess Pakampiriyal Nayagi. The site is linked to worship by the sage Agastya, from whom the village takes its name. It carries Chola-period inscriptions of Raja Raja Chola I, Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola.