Pilgrimage tours bring huge economic gains

TIRUCHY: Tamil Nadu is the land of pilgrimages and has a history that dates back several thousand years.

The state is abound with monuments and temples that are ancient and each has its own story of religious, artistic, and cultural accomplishment and specialty waiting to be heard there are numerous religious places located in the state which attract pilgrims from across the world.

As the State has been considered astonishingly impressive in pilgrimage tourism. It is blessed with plenty of well-known religious destinations. Pilgrimages to these destinations bring enormous economic gains to local residents.

According to a study, the number of persons visiting pilgrimage centres is almost equal to the population of the State. Tamil Nadu has a lot of pilgrimage potentialities, some of the major places are Kancheepuram, Karaikal, Mahabalipuram, Velankanni, Pondicherry, Chidambaram, Thanjavur, Tiruvannamalai, Madurai, Rameshwaram, Karaikal, Tiruchy etc.

Among the temples, Big Temple in Thanjavur and Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple in Srirangam attract more visitors not only for religious importance but also for its architectural beauty. The inhabitants of Tamil Nadu also include Muslims, Jew, Jains, and Sikhs, and thus, a number of mosques, synagogues, and gurudwaras represent the sentiments of their respective religions. Of all the worship places, temples are the oldest.

Meanwhile, in recent days, leaders and celebrities who follow different religions are in a tendency of visiting their respective religious places. For instance, the music composer AR Rahman never misses the Nagore Kandoori fest every year.