Kanchipuram District is a coastal district in the north-eastern part of
Tamil Nadu. It is surrounded by
Chennai,
Tiruvallur,
Thiruvannamalai,
Vellore and
Viluppuram districts, and the
Bay of Bengal. Kanchipuram (the district's headquarters) is situated on the banks of River Vegavati. The district covers an area of 7,857 sq km. Kanchipuram, known as City of Thousand Temples, is one of the ancient and most sacred pilgrim cities in India.
Kanchipuram, formerly known as Conjeevaram, was the capital of
Cholas and
Pallavas. It has a population of over 3 million. Kanchipuram District receives an annual rainfall of 1,213 mm. The temperature varies from 19o C to 36o C. Agriculture and weaving silk sarees are the main professions. It has around 200,000 hectare of agricultural lands and over 23,000 hectare of forest area. Rice, millets, pulses, sugarcane, gingelly, groundnut and cotton are the main crops. The Palar River is one of the main rivers in Kanchipuram District. Languages spoken are Tamil,
Telugu and English.
Kamakshi Amman Temple, Athi Sankara Mutt, Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Mamallapuram (Cave Temples), Vedanthangal Birds Sanctuary and
Covelong Beach are the major tourist attractions.
Brahmotsavam (January), Garudothsavam (April) and Car (rath) festival (May) are the main festivals.
Kanchipuram District is well connected with other parts of the country by road and rail. Chennai is the nearest airport, 75 km away from Kanchipuram.
