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Situated near Pollachi at a distance of around 90 km, the
Annamalai Wildlife Sanctuary forms an interesting excursion
from Coimbatore. The sanctuary, situated at an altitude
of 1,400 metres in the Western Ghats, is home to different
kind of animals and birds like elephant, gaur, tiger, panther,
sloth bear, deer, wild bear, wild dog, porcupine, flying
squirrel, jackal, pangolin, civet cat and birds like rocket-tailed
drongo, re-whiskered bulbul, black-headed oriole, tree pie,
spotted dove, and green pigeon. The Amaravathy reservoir
in the Annamalai has a large number of crocodiles. Annamalai
also has many places of scenic beauty such as Karainshola,
Anaikunthi shola, grass hills, waterfalls, dams and reservoirs.
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Called as Tiruveni of South India, the Sangameshwarar temple
at Bhavani is situated at the confluence of the rivers Bhavani
and Cauvery. The temple is an important pilgrim centre and
has Lord Sangameshwarer with His consort Vedanayaki as its
presiding deity. Legend has it that during the East India
Company regime, William Garrow, the then Collector of Coimbatore
and Salem districts, who had his headquarters at Bhavani,
used to worship Goddess Vedanayaki. One night he had a dream
in which the Goddess directed him to vacate his bungalow
immediately. The moment he moved out, the entire bungalow
collapsed. In reverence of this miracle, he presented an
ivory cradle to the temple. The cradle is still present
in the temple with his signature.
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