page_title: Tourism in Tamil Nadu
section_title: Palani
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in Tamil Nadu / Religious sites of Tamil Nadu / Temples, Mosques and Churches / Palani
caption_attribution_description: English: Palani Hill on top of which lies the Palani Murugan Temple.
context_page_description: Tamil Nadu is a state in the south-eastern part of the Indian Peninsula. Tamil Nadu is previously a part of the United Madras Province, which was later partitioned based on languages. Tamil Nadu has more than 4,000 years of continuous cultural history. Tamil Nadu has some of the most remarkable temple architecture in the country, and a living tradition of music, dance, folk arts and fine arts. Tamil Nadu is well renowned for its temple towns and heritage sites, hill stations, waterfalls, national parks, local cuisine and the natural environment and wildlife. The state has the largest tourism industry in India with an annual growth rate of 16%. In 2015, the number of domestic arrivals was at 333.5 million making the state the most popular tourist destination in the country, and foreign arrivals numbered 4.68 million, the highest in the country, making it the most popular state for tourism in the country.
context_section_description: The largest pilgrimage center in Tamil Nadu and the second largest in South India after Tirupati, Palani is the most famous of the Six Abodes of Murugan (Arupadai Veedu Temple Tour). During the Thai Poosam festival, the temple attracts over 7 million devotees, many of whom do a lot of penances and acts such as shaving their heads, walking barefoot all the way from their homes etc. to show their devotion. A cable-car service ferries devotees to the top of the hill. Palani is also a base for hikes in the surrounding hills. A railway station links the town to Coimbatore and Madurai.
caption: The Murugan Temple situated at the top of the Palani hills one of the Six holy abodes
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