In order to attain Moksha it is believed that the visit to Rameshwaram is mandatory. Rameshwaram is also popularly referred to as the 'Benaras of the south'. Rameshwaram is significant for the Hindus as a pilgrimage to Benaras is incomplete without a Pilgrimage to Rameshwaram. The presiding deity is the Linga Of Sri Ranganatha, which happens to be one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of India. Sri Lanka is at a distance of 24 kilometers from Rameshwaram. In fact the entire area of Rameshwaram is associated with various incidents from the Ramayana. Rameshwaram happens to one of the most visited pilgrim sites in India. According to the Hindu mythology i.e. the story of Ramayana Lord Rama performed thanksgiving rituals to Lord Rama after the battle at Sri Lanka and his triumph over the demon king Ravana. Owing to this Rameshwaram attracts Vaishnavites (worshippers of Lord Vishnu) and Saivites (worshippers of Lord Shiva) alike.

The hall of thousand pillars is a museum of icons, photographs and illustrations. Apart from being a very sacred spot for the Hindus, the Meenakshi temple is one of the country's most important tourist landmarks. According to the legend, Madurai is the actual site where the wedding between Shiva and his consort Meenakshi took place. The soaring and exquisitely carved gopurams or towers, seen over and over again as the Cosmic Personae, enclose this temple dedicated to the wife of Shiva. The south gateway contains the twin temples of Shiva and Meenakshi and is about nine storeys high (150 feet). The highly dense statuary of the south Indian temple is an evidence of how evolved Dravidian art was at that time. The gigantic temple complex, the colossal statues exploring the range of human emotions, everything here is a larger-than-life exposition of the splendor of Indian art.

The history of Tamil Nadu dates back to the time, the Dravidians had moved south, following the advent of Aryans in the north. Historically, South India consisted of four main Dravidian Kingdoms, the Pallavas, the Cholas, the Pandyas (who ruled over what is now Tamil Nadu) and the Chalukyas. The Muslim invasion of the South in the 14th century, caused a retaliatory reaction from the Hindus, who rallied to build a strong new kingdom, with its capital at Vijaynagar. On independence, the Madras province, as the south was known then, was divided on a linguistic basis into states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. A mutual exchange of certain areas between Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Malabar and Kasargod to Kerala; Shencotta and Kanyakumari from Kerala) was undertaken according to the State Reorganization Act, following which Madras adopted a new name, Tamil Nadu.