Places to Visit in Ettayapuram

For two thousand years divers went down off this coast for pearls. Today Thoothukudi guards a marine biosphere, a white basilica and the sea-facing shrine of Tiruchendur.

The mother goddess of rain, fever and protection — and the trail of temples where Tamil Nadu still worships her.

A multi-district trail through Tamil Nadu’s Christian heritage — the apostle’s tomb in Chennai, the great basilicas of Velankanni and Thoothukudi, and the Danish mission churches of Tranquebar.

Two unhurried days on Tamil Nadu’s deep-south coast, from the only seaside abode of Murugan to the salt pans and pearl-trading harbours of the Pearl City.

From ascetics’ stone beds near Madurai to the painted ceiling of Sittanavasal — tracing the often-overlooked Jain landmarks that once flourished across the Tamil country.

From the Marina in Chennai to the tip of the peninsula — the towers that light the Coromandel and Gulf-of-Mannar coast, and how to climb them.