Prince Charming holds court / fort......
A thickly wooded rocky outcrop forms the backdrop with lush tropical vegetation and gurgling brooks. A vast fort with sacred pools at the foothills. Would a Prince Charming - an Azhagar - wish for a better address ? Azhagarkoyil or Tirumaaliruncholai has everything going for it. Enchanting setting, wonderful architecture , great artistic flourishes .....and now, its a certified no plastic-bag zone too ! Even in summer, it is breezy here , thanks to the hill, whose summit is 1409ft high. Azhagarmalai has a very ancient history and the temple is considered The Oldest Vishnu shrine in Tamil Nadu.( 3 to 4 BCE) It has been a place of worship since pre-sangam times , when Mayon was the native Guardian Spirit - he was later assimilated into the idea of Vishnu. Seyyon , who later became Murugan /Subramanya , also had an abode in these hills named Pazhamudirsolai. Archeologists have found Jain and Buddhist vestiges in the hills...