Student Projects/Namakkal

Namakkal
Namakkal is a district located in Tamil Nadu surrounded by Erode, Salem, Karur, Trichy. The name Namakkal derives from the mountain name 'Namagiri' which is about 65 mtrs high. The district is comparatively newly formed which separated from Salem distruct. It started to function independently from 01-01-1997.

Namkkal  consists of 8 Taluks namely Namakkal, Rasipuram, Tiruchengode, Paramathi-Velur, KolliHills, Sendamangalam , Kumarapalayam and Mohanur. It is also divided into 3 Revenue Divisions and 30 Revenue Firkas, 5 Municipalities, 15 Panchayats unions.

Namakkal fort
The Namkkal Fort situated on thr top of Namgiri, was built by Thiru Ramachandra Naicker during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak of Madurai in thr 17thC. It is said that an underground tunnel exists which connects the temple inside the rock fort to Trichy Rock fort,Tiruchengode fort and Sangagiri fort.

At the foot of the hill,  there are two lakes one small and big. Water draining from the fort during the rainy season accumulates here. It is now developed and cleaned for tourist attractions with boating and garden.

Garden and Temple
Children’s park is built in Poonga Salai or Bodhupatti road. It entertains variety of rides from Colombus to Train rides. On the opposite road is the Ulavar sandhai or Farmers market where farmers gather to sell their products in the morning hours daily. They also sell other organic and healthy products. In the evenings there would be traditional food stalls varying from Vazhapu vadai(Plantain flower Vada), Kelvaragu dosai( Ragi dosai), kambu dosai(pearl millet dosai), Arugampul soup (Scutch grass soup), etc.

Narasimhaswamy Temple
The Narasimhaswamy Temple located in western side of the hill is dedicated to Lord Narasimha an avatar of Lord Vishnu. It is a rock cut architecture with Dravidian style built in 8thC by thr Pandya Kings. The sanctum also houses Godess Lakshmi. The statue of Narasimhar is in Yogasana image as he has Shiva and Brahma in either his sides instead of his consorts.

Anjaneyar Temple
Opposite the temple is Anjaneyar Temple which is a monolith rock structure which is about 18ft tall. The statue is in standing position with folded hands in prayer form with saligrama beads in the hand and sword in his waist. It is facing the Narasimhaswamy Temple axially which is about 130 mtr far. The legend has it that the hanuman statue and the rock in which Lakshmi meditated competed in who would grow the tallest. From being a small statue, the statue began growing and each time its head reached the roof of the sanctum people would reconstruct it higher. At a point where they were unable to reconstruct further,  the people prayed to Lord Hanuman to stop his growth and grace them. Therefore the lord answers them. That they should hammer a nail in the middle of its forehead to stop his growth. Thereby the people were able to stop his growth and roof is left open till date. There are various legends linking the two temples.

Kolli Hills
One of the main tourist attractions is the Kolli hills or Kolli Malai a part of Eastern Ghat. The name is taken from Ettukai Amman temple an avatar of Kali. The name Kolli malai means "Mountain of Death". It is popular within motorcyclists fir its high altitude 70 hairpin bends. There are many view points. The climate is suitable for pepper and coffee growth along with other vegetables and fruits. Terrace farming is followed here.

It is also a popular with pilgrimages for its temples. The Arpaleeswar Temple is the abode of Lord Shiva. It is believed that there is a secret tunnel from the temple to Shiva Temple in Rasipuram. Down the temple is the famous waterfall 'Aagaya Gangai'. Climbing down about 1300 steps is the waterfall of 300 ft.