Coimbatore Tourism Places

Dating back to Sangam age, Coimbatore was the capital region of Kongu Nadu, until it was brought under the control of Chola dynasties around the 2nd Century. Since the region is located close to the Western Ghats and at the foot of Nilgiris, the population here were tribals. Among them, the dominant community is ‘Kovan’ people and so, the earlier inscriptions mention the area as “Kovanputhur”. It is believed that the present name was formed from this way. The medieval period of this region was occupied by Cheras and Pandyas. Temples were built at this time and later, by the 15th century, the region was conquered by the Vijayanagar Empire. During this time, there were a large group of migratory people from Telugu and Kannada speaking regions occupying this place. Nayaks of Madurai introduced the Palayakars system, thus dividing the Kongu area into 24 Palayams. In the 18th century, the region came under the kingdom of Mysore, controlled by Hyder Ali and later by his son Tipu Sultan. After defeating Tipu Sultan, the British East India Company annexed Coimbatore to the Madras Presidency in 1799.

Coimbatore was the area of operations of one veteran politician Dheeran Chinnamalai. Industrialisation of the region began in 1888 and continued towards the 20th century. The city experienced a growth in the textile industry in the 1920s and 1930s in a way to satisfy the needs of the people in the West. Post independence, Coimbatore has seen rapid growth due to industrialisation thanks to its early foundations. Geographically, the district is surrounded by mountains on the west, with reserve forests and the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve on the northern side. A western pass, popularly referred as the Palghat Gap, divides the district from Kerala. Because of its close proximity to the Western Ghats, the district is rich in fauna and it is one of the coolest areas in Tamil Nadu though the landscape is flat. Currently, it is a major centre for textiles, information technology, education, healthcare and manufacturing sector, in the state of Tamil Nadu.