About Chennai
Chennai (Tamil: சென்னை), formerly Madras (மெட்ராஸ் Meḍrās), is the largest coastal city in southern India and the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu. It is on the east coast of peninsular India. Though Chennai traces its history to Fort St George and the adjoining village of Madrasapattinam founded by the British East India Company in 1640, some residential districts of the city are older. With a metropolitan population of over 11 million (2025), Chennai is the fifth-largest city in India, and the second-largest in southern India after Bengaluru. Chennai is well-connected by road, rail and air and is a staging point for tours to the 7th century Pallava temple of Mamallapuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Hindu temples of Kanchipuram, Sriperumbudur and Tirupati, the bird sanctuary of Vedanthangal and the Pondicherry ashram. Chennai has an extremely hot and humid climate, especially in the month of May, and has heavy rains during monsoons (July to November). The worst of the heat can be avoided by visiting from November to February.
Climate
Monthly averages 2019-2023Best time to visit Jan–Mar