Destination: Chennai, India

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. Chennai has an estimated polulation of 7.5 million (2007), making it India's fourth largest metropolitan city and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the word. Chennai is the most spectacular coastal city in India with great attention given (by the public and government alike) to tourism and treatment of tourists. It has a population of around 7.5 million and is renowned all over the world for its cultural llegacy and temple architecture.

The city lies on the thermal equator and due to its coastal location, extreme variation in seasonal temperature does not occur. January is one of Chennai's two coolest months and is the best time for tourists to visit the city with average daily temperatures ranging from 68-87°F and mean temperatures in the mid 70s.

With its historic landmarks and buildings, long sandy beaches, cultural and art centers, and parks, Chennai's tourism offers many interesting locations to visitors. One of the most important tourist attractions of Chennai is actually the neighboring town of Mahabalipuram with its ancient temples and rock carvings of the 7th century Pallava kingdom. As Chennai is very well connected by road, rail, and airlines with the rest of India, it is an excellent base for visiting all over the country. Other popular sites include:

Place	Description
Marina Beach	The 2nd largest beach in the world and Chennai's most famous tourist attraction.
Crocodile Bank	A crocodile breeding and research center where several species of Indian and African crocodiles and alligators are bred in captivity. The reptiles are kept in their natural habitat in open pools and can be viewed from safe proximity. The farm breeds crocodiles to augment the crocodile population of the wildlife sanctuaries.
Mahabalipuram and Arjuna's Penance	The worlds most famous of Mahabalipuram art.
Kanchipuram (Kanchi)	Along with Chennai and Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuram forms the famous Golden Triangle. Kanchi i known as the city of 1,000 temples, however only 126 temples remain. This area is also known for having the finest hand-woven silk fabric.
Thanjavur	Referred to as the "Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu." Location of the Thanjavur palace and Sri brihadeeswar temple.
Vedanthangal	One of the largest bird sanctuaries in India. This marshy 30-hectare park is visited by over 1 million migratory birds every year, the majority of which can be seen between November and February.
Tirupati	Lord Venkateshwara temple - an important pilgrim center for Hindus and one of the few temples in south India that allows non-Hindus to enter the inner sanctum. It is the most visited and richest in India. It eclipses Jerusalem and Rome in numbers of pilgrims it attracks - 25,000 a day and up to 100,000 on festival days.
Pondicherry and Aurbindo Ashram
Tiruvannamalai
Fort St. George	Built by the British East India Company in 1640 and contains numerous important landmarks. It is remarkable structure, a must visit.
Kapaleeshwara Temple	Ancient temple dedicated to Shiva and is among the area's most popular landmarks.
Valluvar Kottam	One of the most modern landmarks of Chennai built in 1976 in memory of poet-saint Thiruvalluvar.
Kalakshetra	Center for the revival of Indian art and crafts.
National Gallery of Art	Built in 1907 and offering a collection of old paintings and sculptures.
St. Mary's Church	The first English Church in India built iin 1653
St. George's Cathedral