Places to Visit in Sivagangai

Sivagangai Tourism

Sivagangai is another name of Sivaganga, a popular tourist destination in the state of Tamil Nadu.

It is a small municipality and town and forms a part of the district of the same name. The first monarch of the Sivaganga family, Sasivarnana Periya Udaya Thevar, established the town. The biggest city in the district is Karaikudi.

Shopping

Sivagangai provides outstanding shopping opportunities to the visitors. You can purchase a variety of handicrafts, curio items, works of art, and hand-made mattresses. Groundnut is one of the popular buys here as well. Delicately designed and sculpted statues of gods and goddesses are sold in front of the shrines and marketplaces.

Places to see in and around Sivagangai

• Thirukotiyur Temple- This shrine is a popular place of worship for the Vaishnavas in Sivaganga. The name of the deity to which the shrine is dedicated to is Sowmiya Narayana Perumal. The shrine features among the 108 Divaya Desams. The temple is one of the top tourist attractions in the place. It lies in the middle of the way from Tiruppatur Road to Sivaganga and is 8 km away from Tiruppatur.
• Vettangudi Bird Sanctuary- This bird sanctuary is closely located to Tirupattur. A big variety of wandering birds come to this area including the Asian openbill stork and night heron. Threatened avi-fauna varieties like the gray heron and flamingos gather in this place.
• Idaikattur Church- Idaikattur Church is a famous place of worship for the Christians in Sivagangai. The cathedral has been designed according to the French Gothic pattern.
• Pillaiyarpatti Temple- This shrine is a stone - cut place of worship which lies at a distance of around 12 kilometers from Karaikudi. The shrine comes on the way between Madurai and Karaikudi and has a history of more than 16 centuries.
• Kaleeswarar Temple- This is a sacred place of worship for the Hindus. Another name of this shrine is Kalaiyarkoil. The name Kalaiyarkoil originated from this shrine. There are two gopurams in this shrine and both of them are huge.
• Kandadevi Temple- Kandadevi is a small hamlet which lies at a distance of 3 km from Devakottai municipality. There is a shrine which is named as Siragilinather and it is known for the annual Aanni Urchavam festival. The Amman is known as PeriyaNayaki Amman and the shrine has a history of more than three and a half centuries.
• Kundrakudi Temple- This shrine is known for its spiritual importance and lies 10 km away from Karaikudi. Another name of this shrine is Arultharu Shanmuganathan. This place of worship has a history of more than 11 centuries. The principal god worshiped in the shrine is Lord Shanmuganathan and it has been mentioned in the Mayuragiri Puranam. The monarchs belonging to the Marudhu Pandiyars dynasty revamped the shrine during their rule.
• Deivam Wonderland- The distance of Deivam Wonderland from Karaikudi is 14 km and it is closely situated to Pillayarpatti (the distance is just 1 km). The popular tourist draw falls on NH7 connecting Madurai and Rameswaram. There is a museum in this place which is famous for its relics all over the globe. You will find many magnificent carvings of Lord Ganesha in this museum which are its prized possessions.
• Karaikudi- Karaikudi lies at a distance of 45 km from Sivagangai. It is famous for the palatial residences and citadels built by the Chettiars. The architecture and decorations of these mansions are noteworthy.
• Marudupandiyar Memorial- This monument was built to show respect to the Maruthu brothers who were hanged by the British administration in 1801. Chinna Maruthu and Periya Maruthu were the two brothers. You will see the monument in the compound of the Swedish Mission Hospital and was open to the tourists since 1992.
• Kannadasan Memorial- This monument has been constructed to pay tribute to Kannadasan; a famous songwriter who worked for the Tamil film industry. His hometown is Karaikudi. It was open to the visitors in 1992 and lies in front of the new bus depot.
• Chettinad- Chettinad houses an affluent group of people who are involved in trade and lending activities and they are known as the Nagarathar or Nattukottai Chettiars. Chettinad is also famous for its food which is quite hot and peppery. The place is home to a range of exotic restaurants that serve high-quality South Indian dishes. A conventional dish comes with meat on a banana leaf and a host of other items.
• Sri Arulmigu Athikuntha Varatha Ayyanar Koil
• Nalukottai
• Aadi Ratneswarar Temple
• Thiruvaadanai
• Koviloor Temple
• Karaikudi
• Durgai Amman Kovil
• Sivagangai
• Sri Malaikolunthu Eswarar
• Thirumalai
• Arulmigu Sri Muthu Mariamman Kovil - Kottur

Best Time to visit

November to February

Nearest Airport

The nearest airport to Sivagangai is the Madurai Airport, and the distance from the town is 60 km.

Nearest Railway Station

Sivaganga has a railway sation of its own but Madurai junction is the major railway station to this place.

Languages Spoken

Tamil, Hindi, English