March in Madurai is the transition month. Daytime 32-35C, nights 24-25C, humidity climbing to 65 percent, rainfall under 40mm. The heritage circuit compresses: Meenakshi temple at full hours but the four-mada-street walk works only 6-10am and 5-9pm — the granite floors of the outer prakaram hold heat through the afternoon. Thirumalai Nayak Palace runs full schedule (the sound-and-light 6:45pm English slot turns into the cool-hour photography slot). Gandhi Memorial Museum, Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakkulam tank (the 1645 floating-festival reservoir, fills only Apr-May with Vaigai water), and the Pudhu Mandapam pillared market hall (16th century, now a tailoring bazaar) all run normal hours. The Vaigai river — Madurai's seasonal lifeline — runs near-dry. Chithirai festival preparations begin in temple precincts the last week. Hotel rates ease 25 percent off February: heritage bracket ₹5-7k, mid-bracket ₹2,500-4k, homestays ₹1,200-2,000. The last clean-value window before the festival surge and the April heat dome converge. Murugan Idli queues at 7am are still 10-12 deep; Konar Kadai parotta-salna evening service builds 8-10pm.

Why March scores 8.0/10