Velankanni Sightseeing, Quick Facts, History, Packages, Tours & Excursions

Located along the coast of Bay of Bengal, around 14 km south of Nagapattinam and 350 km from Chennai, Velankanni is a major tourist destination and is also known as the 'Lourdes of the East' because like Lourdes in France, there is also a great influx of pilgrims here. In fact, it is because of the major faith factor, that the Pope declared Velankanni as a holy city. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists visit the church of Mother Mary and it is not restricted to followers of any one faith. The festival during August and September is very famous, drawing a very large crowd of devotees.