Parvathamalai

பர்வதமலை:-
When I am searching in net for trekking I found this hills Parvathamalai it’s near to my native (Vellore) place, then we jumped in. Parvathamalai, a pilgrimage near Polur in Thiruvannamalai district mathimangalam of Tamilnadu was our destination (sengam road). Since it takes 4 to 5 hours to climb up, we left from vellore on sunday morning to reach mathimangalam by noon. at 11 in polur bus stop we are waiting for bus to go parvathamalai (need to go sangam bus and get down in thenmathimangalam)
If we are using thenmathimagalam way we can able to seen this temple its a first teample befor we are start our trip.

Veera achinaya temple in way of parathamalai

parathamalai having three type way to reach the temple one is normal road and steps the final one is climbing the rocks using iron pipe.

Now we started to walk, Parvathamalai is more of a pilgrimage than a trekking spot. We saw pilgrims of all age - from as young as 3-4 years to as old as 70-75 years - climbing up & down the hill en route our trek. There is a temple of Shiva at the top, which the hill is approximately 3500 ft above sea level & is in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu. There are two routes to reach the peak - one from village Thenmathimagalam which is lengthy but e asier and the other from Kadaladi village which is shorter but steep. We took the Thenmathimagalam climbing up & down.

Thenmathimagalam Local people are working to gatherer for electrical and water facility in Parvathamalai as of now there is no electric and water facility. So far we find only three shops even in that shop we not able to get good water.


From Thenmathimagalam we have seen three temple manchamatha and veera achinaya and aiyanar temple. Initially we start to walk in cement road and steps. After that we have to walk in rocks there’s no good path is available to go. Now we are crossing second level path still we need to cross one more path but its very difficulty to cross In top of the hills we saw fort pillar its build 3000 years ago but as of now we are not able to find any fort structure only few pillar and wall.
now we all most reached the temple but this is the final path and we are ready to go. we have started to walk at 12 o clock , its take more then 3 hours to reach the top of the hills.
Top view of Thenmathimagalam and our journey way.


The final part is the steep climb on rocks, which is not so difficult if you are there on a bright sunny day. But that will be challenging if you have to climb that stretch after Sun has gone done in the west, with a surprise drizzles making the rocks completely slippery.Finally we have reached at 4 o clock in top of the hill

Temples

Jalakandeswarar Temple:
VelloreJalakandeswarar Temple - Situated inside the Vellore Fort, this temple boasts of a majestic Gopuram (tower). Here Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of "Jalakandeswarar". The temple is located at sub-ground levels than the temple moat, hence the name Jalakandeswarar. The temple was in closed state for a very long period. The main Deity of the sanctum sanctorium was taken away to a distant location to save Him from being dishonoured by an appraisal. It was brought back to place in 1980 when there was a severe water scarcity. The then Collector was the key man in getting the deity back to location

Ratnagiri Temple:
Ratnagiri Murugan Temple is devoted to Lord Balamurugan and is located at Rathnagiri, Walaja Taluk about 10 km from Vellore. Balamurugan Adimaigal was the person responsible for developing this hilltop temple from the year 1968. Under his guidance, a well equipped hospital and a very good school was founded. All people belong to Kilminal were also responsible for the development of this temple complex.

Under the auspicious of Balamurugan Adimaigal, an emergency medical service unit is available near the Ratnagiri hospital on the Chennai - Bangalore highway. The temple is very well maintained and known for its popularity among CMC visitors and the general public of Tamil Nadu. A 4 hair-pin bend road leads to the temple. A small entry fees for vehicles is charged as the ghat road was recently laid. Another option would be to take nearly 150 odd steps to reach the temple.

Sripuram(Malaikodi):

SriLakshmi Temple in Sripuram, popularly known as Golden Temple is a newly built Spiritual Park / Temple in Thirumalaikodi, Vellore. The whole exterior of the temple is laid with gold sheets and plates. The construction of this temple is reported to have cost Rs.300 crores (Rs.3 billion). The temple is surrounded by a vast lush green landscaped area. The temple can only be accessed by going through a star shaped walkway.

Vallimalai:

Vallimalai temple dedicated to Lord Murugan, which is located on top of the hill which is a part of the Eastern Ghats, about 30 km from Vellore. The temple is known for its majestic views

Balamathi:
Balamathi, a serene and small beautiful village located on top of the hills of Eastern Ghats is a 30 minute drive from Vellore. It is famous for its Balamurugan Temple which is connected to the city by a well laid road with many hair pin bends. Balamathi enjoys pleasant breeze and a substantially low temperature which makes an ideal break away from city's naturally hot weather.