Arcot
India · Asia
About Arcot
Arcot and Ranipet are two towns on opposite sides of the Palar River, in Northern Tamil Nadu.
Arcot or Arkadu is the former capital of the pre-colonial Carnatic Sultanate.
Ranipet or Ranipettai is mainly known for its industrial development, in particular leather. It's on the northern bank of the river Palar, opposite Arcot. Ranipet means "place of the queen". The town was founded in 1771 by Sadut-illa-khan and named in honour of the young widow of Desigh Raja of Gingee. She followed her husband to death by committing the ancient (and now banned) Indian tradition of "sati", suicide by setting herself on fire.
Arcot travel guide
Getting there
By train The nearest railway station is Katpadi Junction SR in Vellore.
1 Walajah road junction. (updated Jan 2025)
By bus 2 Arcot Bus Stand. Arcot is 70 mi (110 km) south of Chennai and is on the national highway that connects Chennai and Bangalore. Hence it is well connected by buses to both cities. In addition, many buses ply to or from Arcot to cities like Kanchipuram, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Chidambaram, Thanjavur etc. Interstate buses to Chittoor, Tirupati, Mysore and Pondicherry also run from Arcot. (updated Apr 2023)
Getting around
Bus is the primary public transit option locally here. You can also hire local taxis and autorickshaws.
Deena Call Taxi, No 21/28,Bazzar Street,Ranipet-632401(Landmark -Rajeshwari Opposite), ☏ +914172 - 2764974172. (updated Nov 2025)
Buy
Arcot is famous for its unique sweet called Makkan Peda.
1 Tamilnadu Textiles. (updated Apr 2023) 1 Arcot Chairman Sweet. It's the most famous for its Makkan Peda, a sweet unique to Arcot. (updated Nov 2025)
Go next
Walajapet Vellore Kanchipuram Chennai Ambur
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.