Nestled along the banks of the Vaigai River the ancient southern city of Madurai beckons visitors to imbibe of its cultural bewitchments, its spiced- up and scented neighbourhoods and markets – and surprisingly rich culinary heritage.

Unravel the mysteries and myths of this ancient city studded with little gems of historic significance and cultural richness. Drenched in the nuances of its deep antiquity and the all-pervasive scent of jasmine  is the beautiful Meenakshi Amman Temple with its bounty of grab-your-attention stories and local legend. Walk a small distance away to the lovely Mariamman Teppakulam temple. Its interesting to learn that jasmine (Madurai malliga) is so intrinsic to Madurai’s cultural roots it has even attained the GI tag and is a protected floral species. Remarkable for its fusion of Dravidian and Rajput architectural lines is the Thirumalai Nayakar Palace dating to the era of the illustrious Nayak rulers.

Madurai’s rich heritage of pottery making is showcased in the Ayyanar Temple where you will find the renowned colourful terracotta horses. Ayyanar is a brave, a warrior who rides horses, brandishes a trident and fights demons and protects the villagers. Most Tamil villages, you will learn, feature an Ayyanar shrine for this reason.

Madurai’s food ways are seriously important for the citizenry, which takes great pride in its authentic offerings, often sourced from recipes dating eons back. This is further unpinned by the fact that owners of eateries are totally hands-on when it comes to supervising what goes out of the kitchen to the tables. Yes, there’s a personal investment in every morsel that embellishes your thali, and that’s why Madurai raises the bar when it comes to food in so many ways. It might surprise you that it has a recorded history that spans two millennia. So the eat streets are as alluring as the scents that waft into the air from the kitchen churning out everything from soups to idlis, curry leaf omelets to liver fry and mutton curry to fragrant biryanis.

A trip down to the spice market is a trip down memory lane for when you’ve long gone home. How can you forget the sensory adventure of exploring mounds of organic turmeric, mundu chillies and natamali, cinnamon, cloves and star anise, cardamom big and small – which conspire to create the most bewitching dishes.