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VELLORE                                         General Information of Vellore 

Vellore,  145 km  from Chennai, is a  semi rural  bazaar town. For tourists, it is noteworthy only for the Vijayanagar  fort  and its temple, which are in an excellent state of preservation and worth visiting. The famous rivers Palar and  Ponnar flows throug this City. The town  has a  modern  church  built  in  an  old  British  cemetery, which contains the tomb of a captain who died  in 1799  during  the glorious campaign  which  ended  in the defeat of Tipu Sultan. Here,too,is a a memorial to the victims of the little known 'Vellore Mutiny' of 1806. The mutiny  was  instigated  by the second son of  Tipu Sultan,  who was incarcerated in the fort at the time, and  was put down by a task force sent from Arcot.

Vellore is now best known for its hospital, one of the best in the country. The people who come here from all over India for for medical  care give this humble town a cosmopolitan feel.

Places of Interest..  

Vellore Fort

The Vellore Fort is perhaps the most beautiful specimen of military architecture in South India and it is still in a good state of preservation. Sinna Bomma Reddi a vessel chieftain under the Vijayanagar king, Sada Sriranga Maharaja, built this historical fort in the 16th century. It was the scene of many historic sieges and battles.

To the right of the fort, there are 3 churches, cemetery of dead British Soldiers in Sepoy Mutiny and a museum containing sculptures and hero stones dating back to the Pallava and Chola times.

Jalakanteshwara Temple

Jalakanteshwara temple is situated within the Vellore fort. It has some beautiful sculptures on the ceiling and some richly, carved pillars and monoliths. The carving of roofs and pillars are wonderful examples of Vijayanagar type of sculptural architecture. The Gopuram of the temple, which is 30 m high and seven storied is superb.

Government Museum

Situated adjacent to the main bus stand in the Lakshmanaswamy Town hall, the Government Museum is a multi purpose museum maintained by the Department of Museums of Tamil Nadu Government. It treasures ancient and present day articles relating to Anthropology, Art and Archaeology, Botany, Geology, Numismatics, Pre-history, Zoology, etc.

Muthu Mandapam (Pearl Palace)

Muthu Mandapam is a memorial built around the tombstone of Vikramraja Singh, the last candy Tamil ruler. Situated on the bed of Palar River, it is just one km north of Vellore town at a walking distance.

C.M.C. Hospital

If Vellore attracts a floating population of 5000 every day, it is because of the world famous Christian Missionary Medical College and Hospital founded in the early part of the century by a dedicated American Medical Missionary, Dr. Ida Scudder. The one room clinic founded in 1890 has grown in size and stature treating thousands of both inpatients and out patients in all branches of medicine and surgery. Besides a world famous Cancer ward and Neurological ward, it has a Mental Hospital and a College of Nursing.