Madurai in Tamil Nadu is the 3rd largest city that is situated on the Shores of Vaigai River. It is an ancient city and popular for its temples that were built by Madurai Nayak and Pandyan kings in the Dravidian style.

Madurai lies in the Southern part of India and is bounded by eight hills that once protected the city from the attack of enemy forces.
Three small hillocks out of these have prominent and interesting legends related to them. These hillocks are Yanaimalai (elephant hill), Nagamalai (snake hill) and Pasumalai (Cow hill) respectively.

Samanar Hill is of historical significance and lies opposite to Nagamalai. Samanars or Tamil Jains were believed to have stayed on this hill because they were afraid of harassment carried out by the monarch of Madurai. There are several stone statues and many other objet d'art present in Nagamalai.

Nagamalai is famous for biodiversity in snakes and there is a proposal carried out by the Government to build a snake park for ecotourism in that region. On the top of the hillocks there are naturally formed rocks that resemble the shape of a crocodile. Although there is no source of water on top of the hillock, there is an enduring water flow on one side. This is herbal water and can be drunk directly.

Samanar hill is largely composed of granite. In the interior part of the hill are numerous caves. It is a vital archeological site and home for countless insectivorous bats of 9 species. For thousands of years bats have been perching in these eight caves of Samanar Hills and are actually found to be dangerous to the wellbeing of local atmosphere.
However, insectivorous bats are significant marauders, who include the night flying insects in their diet. Many of these insects are regarded as crop pests. Thus, bats are important in this leading agricultural region.

The other caves in the Samanar Hills are full of archeological treasures. Carvings and sculptures were left by the Jain traders (Jains is a pious sect), who stopped and lived in these caves in the sixth century. Jain priests still worship here and the local villagers trust Samanar to be their guardian and the house of their devoted God.
Archeologists find this place enthralling, when they charter bus rentals and come in groups for research on these caves.

Even though Samanar Hills is regarded as a €sheltered nationalized monument' and is a famous place for the tourists, who hire a bus and visit this spot for a memorable picnic. The local villagers also find this place vey holy and call it, €sacred hill'. Agriculture thrives around Samanar and is the major occupation of the villagers.

Some interesting places to see in Madurai are the Sri Meenakshi temple (old and awesome holy place), Aayiram Kaal Mandapam (Thousand pillars with great work of art), Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal (The Indo-Saracen style of architecture), Gandhi museum (an inspirational historical place) and many other places.

To reach Samara Hills you have to reach Madurai city, which can be accessed by rail, road and air. You can make bookings of bus tickets online and plan your package tour around the interesting destinations.