Taken From: http://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com/blogs/traveler/50-things-tamil-nadu-051402940.html

The Great Living Chola Temple at Thanjavur.

How many of us have a bucket list of places to go and things to do there but never get around to actually going there or doing them. Yahoo! India reader Thennarasu wrote to us with an invitation to his home state, Tamil Nadu, with this list of 50 things to do while you're there.

1. Eat a meal on a banana leaf — there's a belief that it might cure Parkinson 's disease

2. Visit the Great Living Chola Temples, the UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back to the 10th century

3. Go to Ooty on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway — it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a legacy of remarkable British engineering. RIDING THE NILGIRI MOUNTAIN RAILWAY

On a cold morning, a crowd of people rush to board the 662SR Mettupalayam-Udhagamandalam (Nilagiri) Passenger.

4. Get blessed by an elephant — how often can you get one?

5. Visit the Cholamandalam Artists' Village, the pride of modern Tamil Art

6. Take an auto ride in Chennai. Chennai auto-drivers even have their own websites. Plus, it is the luxury of the middle-class.

7. Taste idli and dosa and wonder how many types of chutneys exist in Tamil Nadu. We are really a bunch of choosy pickers when it comes to idli and dosa!

8. Watch a Rajanikanth film in a movie theatre, if possible on the first day to understand the definition of hero worship!

Jallikattu - the blood-sport of bull-taming.

9. Participate in Jallikattu -- bull taming -- in Madurai. Or, if you're chicken, just watch!

10. Find and listen to your favourite Ilayaraja or A R Rahman song — everybody's got to have one!

11. Men, sport a moustache. And women, plait your hair and decorate it with a garland of fragrant jasmine flowers!

12. Decorate the front of your house with kolam — a more decorative and artistic rendition of rangoli -- and hang bunches of harvested paddy outside your home for the birds to feed on. (We have our own homegrown Kolam Picassos, and the patterns they come out with are astonishing!)

13. Drink strong filter coffee In a Tamil-style cup and saucer known as davarah and tumbler.

The five rathas at Mahabalipuram.

14. Visit the shore temples of Mahabalipuram (another UNESCO World Heritage Site of the 7th century) and admire the art of sculpting in this little town.

15. Wander around to wonder at the Indo-Saracenic and Gothic style buildings of Chennai, some of which are over a hundred years old.

16. Visit Pondicherry to marvel at the French Architecture (and our own French Connection).

17. Beat the heat by eating all your summer fruit glazed with a layer of salt-and-chilli-powder mixture! Cucumber, unripe mango, gooseberry, guava and pineapple taste best like this. And drink tender coconut or buttermilk or sugarcane juice to quench your thirst. And if you like it aerated, there's Bovonto, our very own answer to Coca Cola!

18. Shop for beautiful silk sarees at Kancheepuram (the Chinese may have invented silk, but Tamils perfected it).

19. Celebrate Pongal by cooking sweet rice outdoors in clay pots or join the annual celebration of Elephant Pongal at Top Slip.

20. Buy Horlicks for someone sick.

21. Feed crows on special occasions.

22. Whistle for Chennai Super Kings at M A Chidambaram stadium!

23. Attend Thiruvaiyaru Music Festival

24. Visit Pichavaram, the world's second largest mangrove forests, for the Dawn Fest or Vidiyal Vizha

25. Sanctify your new dresses with turmeric

The imposing Matri Mandir at Auroville

26. Visit Auroville, the international commune near Pondicherry

27. Visit the Toda tribal village in the Nilgiris (also learn about the other tribes -- Badaga, Irula, Kota and Kurumba)

28. Go to Natyanjali Dance Festival celebrated at the 1,000-year-old Chidambaram temple near Cuddalore. The dance hall is adorned with pillars exhibiting the classic 108 poses of Lord Nataraja.

29. Go on a parisal (coracle) ride in Hogenakkal

30. Watch the magical kurinji flower bloom in Kodaikanal. It blooms every 12 years and the next bloom is in 2018.

31. Widen your understanding of Tamil culture and architecture at Dakshina Chitra, Muttukadu

32. Go to Sittanavasal in Pudukkottai district to see some of the oldest Jain paintings.

33. Visit the iconic Madurai Meenakshi temple.

34. Ride into the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve on an elephant.

35. Explore corals and other marine life in a glass-bottomed boat in the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.

36. Visit Karaikudi to experience the vibrant Chettinad culture, architecture and food.

37. Watch Theerthavari in Mahamaham Tank, Kumbakonam, held once in 12 years. A dip in the tank is believed to offer the combined benefits of a bath in all the sacred rivers. The next Mahamaham is in 2016.

Dindigul near Madurai has earned the name of Biryani City.

38. Taste some regional speciality dishes and snacks -- Dindigul biryani, Manaparai muruku, Thirunelveli halwa, Madurai jigar thanda and Kumbakonam coffee.

39. Visit the Birla Science Planetarium in Chennai.

A lake surrounded by tea gardens in Meghamalai.

40. Spot endangered wildlife in Meghamalai in Theni district. Meghamalai is also known for its spice tourism with a variety of plantations including tea, coffee, pepper, cardamom and cinnamon.

41. Throw rice on the bride and groom at a Tamil wedding. Rice signifies prosperity and fertility

42. Buy a pair of Kuthu Vilakku — brass lamps -- from Nachiyar Kovil in Kumbakonam. Every public event and home celebration begins only after these brass lamps are lit.

43. Witness the making of bronze statues using the traditional Lost-Wax process at Swamimalai near Kumbakonam.

44. Join the Students' Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN) volunteers on a night walk along the beaches of Chennai to conserve and create awareness about the endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtle.

45. Enjoy the panoramic view of Tiruchi and Srirangam from Tiruchi Malai Kotai Rock Fort.

46. Get your picture on a street poster or a billboard for some reason (marriage, birthday, welcoming a political leader, coming-of-age ritual, ear-piercing ritual, or just to wish your favourite actor or sports star!).

Flamingos at Pulicat Lake.

47. Go birdwatching in any of the birding hotspots -- Vedanthangal , Pulicat Lake, Kunthakulam or Point Calimere.

48. Taste the Mukkani -- three supreme and heavenly fruits -- mango, jackfruit and banana.

49. Try to know your future from Nadi Jothidam - these are palm manuscript horoscopes written hundreds of years ago for every individual on earth. Or try parrot astrology or palmistry.

50. Walk amidst lush green paddy fields.

WRITTEN BY:Thennarasu is a BPO employee who works in Chennai. Originally from Kumbakonam, his interests include travel, photography, meeting new people, bird-watching and cooking.

Excellent Compilation! Every Indian should read, see and enjoy them.======================================================

Tamil nadu government symbol gopuram: Andal temple of Srivilliputtur. (Must see Place).

The Last Living Classical Civilization - Enchanting TamilNadu!!

THE FOLLOWING WAS LISTED ON THE BASIS OF VIEWER’S PREFERENCE: (YAHOO USERS)(Kotti Kitakkuthu Ooralavu..., athil vetti eduthathu oralavu....)

Maarkali December concerts Kutralam and kanyakumari - Don't miss in the Peak Season. Velankanni Church Rameshwaram bridge Thiruvalluvar statue and Vivekanada statue at Kanyakumari "Chidambaram Coverings" made by copper. Rock Fort in Tiruchirapalli Yercaud Shevoroy Hills Near Salem. Doddabeta - 8,640 feet from MSL. It is a tremendous place of nature. Kanya Kumari - See the Sunrise and Sunset at the same point in two directions. The Hanging bridge of Mattur Thottipalam - Same Temp during Summer and winter. Grand Anikut, "Kallanai” - One of the oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the

world. Kolli Hills in Namakkal district which has Agaya Gangai a 300 feet waterfall. Kancheepuram not only famous for sarees, it is the temple city of THAMIZH NADU. Queen

Elizebeth visited "EKAAMBARANATHAR TEMPLE" Lignite city(Neyveli) a well planned and nice greenery, also giving lights to many states. Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal in Madurai Boys hangover destination ...Pondicherry :-) Kattabomman kottai. Birth place of Kamaraj

Kalakiteenga ponga!!!

Sillarai /Silly / Mokkai Specials:

Temples built for actresses. (Okandu Yosipaangalo!!) Madurai Kotthu Porata!! Tuticorin Makroon sweet Vellore makkan peda Tasting Vadai after pressing it in a news paper and drinking coffee along with it. Eat outs like Thalapakatti biriyani @ velacherry, Murugan idli kadai, Nalla's appa kadai, arusuvai

arasu, Anjappar, chettinad restaurants..... You get high quality food at cheaper price than any metros in india.

Well mannered dress of ladies. Davani potta ponnuga, devadas(smart) pasanga....

Hotel Saravana Bhavan where you get delicious meals and if you are quite lucky, you will get a seat as it is always crowded.

Chatting and reading papers in local tea shops. Idhayam Nalanayil Kulithaal Eat thirunelveli halwa...(drool), lie down on the floor and watch Tamil serials on SUNTV every

night.!! Chicken 65 Famous lungis of the world. Sitting in front of the house thinnai in the month of margazhi night and ask Mamoo oru beedi kodu (Vennai!!!) Rounding in town buses with less tariff. Kaiendhi Bhavan hotels in Tamil Nadu - Famous to have breakfast over there. Tamilnadu politicians. Konittinga Ponga!!!!!!!!! Games of Tamil Nadu: Pambaram, Kathadi and making of Manja, Goli Valaka Bajji :-) Eat a set of Oil Parottas with Chalna ( plain chikken curry) and have a Masala Soda at Ganesar Mark

in Virudhunagar town.

Namma Chennai Specials:

Biggest Bus terminus of Asia at Koyambedu. Shopping in T.Nagar..............! E.g. Saravana stores. A visit to TN can never be complete without a

stroll in T. Nagar....Usman Rd, Pondy Bazar, Ranganathan St :-) Famous Ratna cafe Idli sambhar Guindy forest (Crocodile & Snake park) Vandalor zoo Marina Beach (Eat sundal/milagu vadai/onion bajji) Kuthattam -.Special dance when some1s dead. Dont miss !! Chennai kuthu dance:):) Anna nagar Karthick Tiffen Center Koovam: - Plz close your nose tightly before entering into the Chennai.

Boss...Last but not the least the Biggest Asset of TamilNadu..... TASMAC (We have wineshops everywhere. Just for fun I added this too…) Someone has written this golden information: “pls include the no of wine shops in TN around 6666”======================================================