Last week I travelled by road to Salem with a friend and below are the individual blog posts with pictures and details.
Gingee Fort or Senji Fort in Tamil Nadu
Though it is only 150 kilometres from my city, Chennai, I have never visited Gingee fort aka Senji fort (செங்கிக் கோட்டை). Today I got the chance during a trip this week with a friend to Salem for a few days. We opted to travel by the GST Road towards Ulundurpet, instead of the Bengaluru Highway via Krishnagiri. Continue reading
Sankagiri Fort in Erode, Tamil Nadu
Wikipedia says Sankagiri Fort (சங்ககிரி மலைக்கோட்டை) was built at various times, it existed before the 15th century and was held by the Vijayanagar empire, Tipu Sultan and the British. Continue reading
Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple
Namakkal Sri Anjaneyar is one of the famous temples for Lord Hanuman in the state and is over a millennium old. The 18-feet idol is composed of a single stone and is believed to be growing slowly in height every year, as a result, there is no roof for the holy idol. Continue reading
Sri Ardhanareeswarar Temple, Tiruchengode
We had a good darshan at Arulmigu Ardhanareeswarar Temple at Tiruchengode Hills (திருச்செங்கோடு அர்த்தநாரீசுவரர் கோயில்). The sacred hill is about 650 feet high, the drive-by car is short, about ten minutes and by foot, it will be a climb of 1156 steps. From Namakkal where we had offered our prayers earlier, Tiruchengode was a 45-minutes’ drive-by Salem-Trichy (Tamil Nadu State Highway 94), from Salem city it will be about an hour. Continue reading
TexValley, a large Textile Mall in Erode
After our trip to Sankagiri Fort and then our Lunch, a friend recommended we visit one of the largest Textile Malls in the state before we go back to the hotel in Salem where we were staying. Called TexValley the malls are in Erode (Google map), about 75 minutes from Salem City and are on the National Highway 544 (Salem to Kochi). Continue reading
Farm visit near Pochampalli Town
When he came to know of my visit to Salem this week, Mr Selva Murali of Visual Media Technologies invited me to visit his hometown Pochampalli, near Krishnagiri. He enticed me by offering to show me, a city boy, to visit his organic farmlands, taste the native produce and enjoy the scenic views of the lake & greenery around. I readily agreed. Continue reading

Venkatarangan posing in front of a farm on the sides of the Karimangalam to Pochampalli Road near Pachiganapalli (பசிகனபள்ளி)
Hotel Lakshmi Prakash, Salem
I am in Salem this week, and a friend recommended I visit the famous vegetarian restaurant, the Hotel Lakshmi Prakash (லக்ஷ்மி பிரகாஷ், சேலம்) in Brindavan Rd, Fairlands, Salem. Today we went to the hotel for dinner, which is in the busy market area of Salem for dinner and it was buzzing with customers, so we got a parcel and left to avoid the crowd. Continue reading
Highway Veg Restaurants from Chennai to Salem
Looking nearby Haritam, we found two newer restaurants, 99 Km Coffee Magic and Hotel Aaryas (while coming from Chennai both are before Haritam).
After our breakfast we reached Gingee Fort, where we spent a few hours, then to continue our journey to Salem, we joined the GST road near Ulundurpet. For lunch, we went to Café Udupi Ruchi, Ulundurpet. Continue reading
Tasty South Indian food I had near Tiruchengode area
When you are travelling, you get the tastiest food in unexpected places. Today we experienced that at two places on our travel to Salem (Tamil Nadu) and the surrounding region: Breakfast in Tiruchengode town, Tamil Nadu and Fresh Parotta for Lunch. Continue reading
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