Alagar Kovil, Thiruparankundram and Meenakshi Amman
Madurai · 11 hrs · Cab included · Pickup from your stay
From ₹2990 for the whole vehicle, up to 8 people. The price is per car, not per person.
Vehicles
- Swift Dzire: Sedan. Best for a couple or a small family. ₹2990 for the vehicle.
- Tata Sumo: Rugged 8-seater. The most room for the money. ₹3490 for the vehicle.
- Innova or Ertiga: The comfortable one on a long hill day. ₹4990 for the vehicle.
Madurai's temples, in the order their doors allow
Every temple on this day closes in the middle of it. Alagar Kovil shuts from about noon to four, Meenakshi from about half past twelve to four, and the hill temples keep similar hours. Get the order wrong and you spend the afternoon parked outside a locked gopuram in the heat.
So the day goes out of town first, to Alagar Kovil and Pazhamudircholai on the hill above it while the morning is cool, then back to Thiruparankundram on the city's other edge before it closes. The palace is the afternoon stop because it stays open through the hours the temples are shut. Meenakshi is last, from the moment it reopens.
Madurai has ride-hailing inside the city, and that is fine for a single hop. The hill road to Pazhamudircholai is 25 km out with nothing to call back from it, and the whole day crosses the city twice. The car is yours from seven until you are done at Meenakshi, at one flat price for the vehicle.
Your day, stop by stop
1. Alagar Kovil
A Vishnu temple at the foot of the Alagar hills, 21 km north-east of the city, inside the remains of an old fort wall. It is the temple whose deity rides into Madurai for the Chithirai festival, and on an ordinary morning it is calm.
2. Pazhamudircholai
A few kilometres further up the same hill road, one of the six abodes of Murugan, with Noopura Gangai's spring above it. The road is narrow and the monkeys are bold; keep food in the car.
3. Thiruparankundram
Another of Murugan's six abodes, cut into the base of a rock hill on the south-west edge of the city. The shrine is partly rock-cut, which is why it feels older and closer than the city temples.
4. Thirumalai Nayak Palace
What is left of a 1636 palace: one enormous courtyard of white pillars and a domed hall that makes a whisper carry. A short visit in the middle of the day, when the temples are shut anyway.
Entry ticket at the gate, and a camera fee
5. Meenakshi Amman Temple
The reason most people come to Madurai: fourteen gopurams, the thousand-pillar hall and corridors that are a town in themselves. It reopens in the late afternoon and this day puts you at the gate when it does.
In your price
- Private vehicle with driver for the day
- Pickup and drop at your stay in Madurai
- Fuel, tolls, driver allowance and parking at every stop
- A route ordered around the temples' midday closures
- GoExplorer support number for the day
Not included
- Special darshan tickets
- Palace entry and camera fee
- Meals
- Anything personal
What you pay on the day
- Special darshan tickets at any temple, if you want to skip the free queue
- Entry and camera fee at Thirumalai Nayak Palace
- Footwear and phone deposits at the temples
- Lunch and anything personal
Who this suits
Pilgrims and anyone interested in temple architecture. There is a lot of barefoot walking on stone, some of it hot by the afternoon, and Meenakshi alone is a long walk. Non-Hindus are welcome in the temple complexes but not beyond the flagstaff into the inner shrines. The sedan seats four, the Tata Sumo eight and the Innova six, each at one flat price for the car.
What to bring
Clothes for the temples: men in trousers or a dhoti, women with shoulders and legs covered, no shorts or sleeveless tops for anyone. Cash for tickets, deposits and lunch, and water for the car.
Cancellation
- More than 24 hrs before: Full refund
- Within 24 hrs: 50% refund, or reschedule free once
- No show: No refund
Safety and the operator
Run by a licensed local ground operator, one driver per vehicle, commercially registered and insured. The hill road to Pazhamudircholai is narrow with sharp bends and monkeys on it. Festival days, especially Chithirai in April or May, bring enormous crowds to Alagar Kovil and Meenakshi; book with that in mind.
Questions
Is the price per person?
No. It is one price for the whole vehicle for the day. Four of you in the Swift Dzire pay ₹2,990 between you, not each.
Can non-Hindus visit these temples?
Yes, the complexes and their corridors are open to everyone. Under a Madras High Court direction, non-Hindus are not permitted beyond the flagstaff into the inner shrines, and the temples post boards saying so.
Can we take phones into Meenakshi?
No. Phones, cameras and bags go into the temple's deposit counters at the entrance, and footwear into the shoe stands. Leave as much as you can in the car.
Is the palace open every day?
The state archaeology department lists a Friday holiday for the site museum inside the palace. On a Friday your driver checks the gate first, and if it is shut you get a longer afternoon at Meenakshi instead.