Vellore
A fort city with a moat and a temple clad in gold
A Vellore tour pairs the 133-acre fort and its moat with the Jalakandeswarar Temple and the gold-clad Sripuram temple, plus Amirthi forest to the south.
Overview
Vellore is a fort city on the Palar river in Vellore district, northern Tamil Nadu, roughly 120 to 135 km west of Chennai. A Vellore tour suits readers of history, temple visitors and anyone breaking the road to Bengaluru or heading for the hill station at Yelagiri. December to February is the comfortable season, as April to June can bring highs near 39 C.
The fort is the reason most people stop. It covers 133 acres in the middle of the town, built of granite in the 16th century by Vijayanagara-era chieftains, and a wide moat rings its double walls. The Archaeological Survey of India protects it. Inside are the Jalakandeswarar Temple, a Shiva shrine dated to about 1550 and admired for carved pillars showing dragons, horses and yalis, along with St John's Church of 1846, an old mosque and a government museum. The district site lists five palace sections named after Hyder, Tippu, the Begum, Kandi and Badhusha. The fort also held Tipu Sultan's family after 1799 and a Sri Lankan king, and in July 1806 sepoys here staged the uprising now called the Vellore Mutiny.
The other landmark lies outside the town at Thirumalaikodi. The Sri Lakshmi Narayani Temple at Sripuram, built by the charitable trust Narayani Peedam, was consecrated on 24 August 2007. Its main tower and entrance hall are covered in gold foil laid on copper, about 1,500 kg by the state's figure, and a star-shaped path of more than 1.8 km winds through the 100-acre grounds. Visitors of all faiths are welcome. The temple is about 6 to 10 km from the city centre, so plan it as a separate half-day trip. Its website has the timings and visitor rules.
For a change of scene there is Amirthi Zoological Park, in forest some 25 km south of the city, with a small waterfall; the state portal calls October to March the best months for it. Vellore is also known for the Christian Medical College hospital, founded in 1900, and for its leather trade.
Known for
A 133-acre granite fort protected by the Archaeological Survey of India
Happening soon
Updated Oct 3, 2026Thulasi Kalyanam at Sripuram
festivalThe Golden Temple observes the ritual wedding of the sacred basil plant on its published calendar of festivals.
Quick facts
Tropical savanna climate with April to June the hottest months (up to about 39 C) and about 1,034 mm of rain a year, most of it from the south-west monsoon between June and September.
Chennai International Airport, about 132 km away and roughly 2 hours 40 minutes by road. A small airport at Abdullapuram, about 11 km from the centre, is also listed; check whether it has scheduled passenger flights.
Katpadi Junction (KPD), a main junction on the Chennai to Bengaluru line
National highways link Vellore with Chennai and Bengaluru, and Bengaluru is about 210 km away.
Do the fort and Jalakandeswarar Temple together, as the temple stands inside the fort grounds
Read the dress code and mobile rules on the Sripuram temple's own website before you go
Treat Sripuram as its own trip, since it is out at Thirumalaikodi and not within walking distance of the fort
Plan a trip to Vellore
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