Salem is a city on the Thirumanimuthar river, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Salem is also known as the Mango city in Tamilnadu. Sankagiri Fort is a historical fort maintained by the Archaeological survey of India. It is located 22 km from the city of Erode and 38 km from Salem. Fort was built in the 15th Century by the Vijayanagar Empire. Another popular tourist destination is Yercaud hill station located near Salem. Yercaud Lake has a boathouse, and is surrounded by gardens and woods. On the lake’s eastern shore, Anna park has local plants and a Japanese garden with bonsai. To the southwest, Lady’s seat vantage point has a watchtower with a telescope. Killiyur waterfalls is located 3 km from the Yercaud sake and should be visited after the south west or north east monsoon. The surplus waterfrom Yercaud lake and the other reaches of the Shevaroys. The Pagoda point lies on the eastern side of the Yercaud hills and is also known as Pyramid point. Today there is a Rama temple which lies between this Pagoda. One can get a grand view of Attur and Ayothiapattinam from this picnic spot. It is 5 km from the town.
Salem is home to many mosques, temples, and churches. Kalangi Siddhar temple, 1008 Lingam temple, Kandhashramam, Udaiyapatti, Kottai Mariamman temple, Kalipatti Kandaswamy temple, Kumaragiri Murugan temple, Sathya Narayana sithar peedam, Utthama Chozhapuram Karapuranathar temple and Jama masjid are the famous religious pilgrimages.
The Mettur dam (also known as Stanley reservoir) is one of largest fishing reservoirs in south India. Its main source of water is the river Kaveri (Cauvery). Three minor tributaries are Palar, Chennar and Thoppar. A beautiful park opposite to dam was formed with lawns and fountains. This park attracts large number of tourists from nearby districts. The other attraction is the Muttal village which is situated about 15km away from Attur in the Attur-Mullaivadi road, the waterfalls situated in the spot called Aaniavari in the Forest area about 3 km away from the village. The Kurumbapatti zoological park is a mini zoo, situated in the foothills of the Shervaroyan Hills, 10 km from Salem. The zoo houses many species of wildlife, with monkeys as the major attraction, and is in the vicinity of reserve forest, permitting visitors the opportunity to also experience the flora and fauna.