Tourism in Perambalur district offers a great opportunity to venture into the past history of the place by visiting the Ranjankudi Fort and the famous Sathanur Fossil Tree at Sathanur. There are also several temples in this district which are of great importance. A large number of pilgrims visit the temples in the district of Perambalur throughout the year. Some of the well-known temples in this district include the Siruvachur Mathura Kaliaman Temple, the Chettikulam Thandayuthapani Swami Temple, etc.
The Ranjankudi Fort is situated about seventeen kilometers to the north of Perambalur. It was erected by Jaginthar under the Nawab of Carnatic in the 17th century AD. The Fort was the scene of battle of Valikondah between Mohamed Ali and the British on one side and the French and Chanda Sahib on the other side in A.D. 1751. Presently the fort is under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India.
The temples in this district also attract pilgrims as well as general tourists in large numbers. The ancient Arulmigu Ekambareswarar and Thandayudhapani Swamy Temples situated in Chettikulam village are among the reputed temples in this district. These temples were constructed by King Kulasekara Pandiyan some eight hundred years ago. The Thai Poosam festival and the Panguni Uthiram festivals are celebrated in a grand manner in this district. Another popular shrine in this district is the Mathura Kali Amman at Siruvachur. The main deity of this temple is called Sri. Madura Kali Amman who is one of the forms of Goddess Kali.
Apart from the fort and the temples in the Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu state, there is another major tourist interest called the Sathanur Fossil Tree at Sathanur. Geological study shows that more than one hundred and twenty million years ago the sea had transgressed as far as eight to ten kilometres to the west of Sathanur. During this period which is geologically called the cretaceous, the sea possessed a variety of marine animals like those found today. These animals, after death, sank to the bottom and were buried by sands and clays brought down by the rivers. Along with them some of the trees which flourished on the seacoast or near shore were also buried after being carried by the flooded streams and were petrified in course of time. The large trunk of a petrified tree, which can be seen here, lies within the Trichinopoly group of rocks of about 100,000,000 years ago. This tree shows the presence of conifers or the non-flowering plants which dominated the land vegetation before the advent of the flowering plants of the present of day or angiosperms.
The petrified tree trunk found in Sathanur measures more than eighteen meters in length. Similar fossil trees a few meters in length are found along the stream sections near Anaipadi, Varagur, Saradamangalam and Alundalipur. This Fossil Tree is a prominent tourist site of the district of Perambalur.
