St Thomas, it`s believed, was the first Christian to set foot on Indian shores. One of the Christ`s Apostles [the famous Doubting Thomas], he arrived in India within a couple of decades of the crucifixion. Having landed on the Kerala coast, St. Thomas moved to what is now Chennai and is believed to have lived in a tiny cave atop this hill. Today asimple church built by the Portuguese in the 16th century forms the entranceto the cave which houses a large image of St. Thomas.

It is said that he used to live in a cave on a hill. He spent the last years of his life at a small hill that is known as the Little Mount area of today.He escaped from his cave to take shelter on a nearby hill, but here he was shot by an arrow and died. Since then the Hill where he had died has become St. Thomas Mount.