Places To Visit

Navagraha Temples

Nine Grahas Temples (Navagraham temples) in Tamil Nadu is a set of nine Hindu temples, each dedicated to one of the nine planetary deities, the Navagraham in various places around the South Indian town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, India. The presiding deity in most of the temples is Shiva, with a shrine dedicated to the planetary deity. Leaving Tirunallar Saniswaran Temple which is located in Karaikkal, all the other temples are located in Tamil Nadu.

Adi Kumbeswarar Temple

At a distance of 2.5 km from Kumbakonam Railway Station, Adi Kumbeswarar Temple is a famous Hindu temple located in the center of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. This temple is considered to be the 26th Paadal Petra Sthalam in the Chola kingdom that spread south of the River Cauvery.

Adi Kumbeswarar Temple, also known as Thirukudamooku, is dedicated to the Lord Shiva, and was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while the temple was renovated by Govinda Dikshitar, the Chieftain of Achutha Nayakar of Thanjavur in the 16th century AD. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Timings: 6 AM – 12.30 PM and 4 PM – 9.30 PM

Darasuram Airavatheswar Temple

At a distance of 34 Kms from Thanjavur & 284 Kms from Chennai, Darasuram, a small town 8 Kms away from Kumbakonam is known for the Airavathesvara Temple built by Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE. This temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Great Living Chola Temples’.

This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture. The vimana is 85 feet high. The front mandapam itself is in the form of a huge chariot drawn by horses. The temple has some exquisite stone carvings. The main deity’s consort Periya Nayaki Amman temple is situated adjacent to Airavateshwarar temple.

Timings: 6 AM to 7 PM

Sarangapani Temple

At a distance of 2 km from Kumbakonam Railway Station and 500 m from Adi Kumbeswarar Temple, Sarangapani Temple is a Hindu temple situated in Kumbakonam.

The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Sarangam means bow and pani means hand. The deity is having a bow in the hand. Also known as Tiru Kudanthai is the third of the 108 Divya Desams. The Sarangapani Temple is also one of the Pancha Ranga Khestras with the other four being Srirangapatnam, Srirangam, Appalarangam, Parimala Ranganatha Perumal Temple at Mayiladuthurai and Vatarangam at Sirkazhi.

Timings: 6 AM – 12 PM and 5 PM – 9 PM

Uppiliappan Temple / Oppilliappan Temple

At a distance of 5 km from Kumbakonam Railway Station, Uppiliappan Temple also known as Thiruvinnagar is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu situated near Thirunageswaram, a village in the outskirts of the Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. It is counted as the 60th among the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

The temple is believed to be constructed by the Medieval Cholas of the late 8th century AD, while later contributions made by Thanjavur Nayaks. The temple has two inscriptions dating from the Chola period.

Timings: 6 AM – 1 PM and 4 PM – 9 PM

Mahalingaswamy Temple – Thiruvidaimaruthur

At a distance of 400 m from Thiruvidaimaruthur Bus Stop and 9 km from Kumbakonam Railway Station, Mahalingaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple located in Thiruvidaimaruthur in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu.

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the temple complex is one of the largest temple complexes in Tamil Nadu. The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Thanjavur Nayaks during the 16th century. There are 149 inscriptions associated with the temple indicating contributions from Pandyas, Cholas, Thanjavur Nayaks and Thanjavur Maratha kingdom.

Timings: 6 AM – 12 PM and 4 PM – 9 PM

Ramaswamy Temple

At a distance of 2 km from Kumbakonam Railway Station, Ramaswamy Temple is an ancient Hindu temple located on the southeastern portion of the Porthamarai Kulam in Kumbakonam.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Achutha Nayaka of Thanjavur constructed the temple during the 16th century CE. The temple was built in Dravidian architectural style. This temple consists of one Gopuram, one Maha Mandapam and Sanctum Sanctorum. The columns of Maha Mandapam are enriched with some of the famous stone carvings of Vamana Avatharam, Meenakshi Kalyanam and Sugreeva Pattabishekam. The outer Prakaram consists of 219 wall paintings, which explains the series of incidents from the great Epic Ramayana.

Timings: 6 AM – 12 PM and 5 PM – 8.30 PM

Velankanni

Velankanni , is a Special Grade Panchayat Town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, 350 km south of Chennai (Madras), 12 km south of Nagapattinam, and 33 km southeast of Thiruvarur.

Once a port that traded with Rome and Greece,the tiny commercial center gradually lost its importance to the larger city of Nagapattinam. The canal built to link this town with Vedaranyam still lies to the west. The Vellayar, a minor branch of the Cauvery River, runs south of the town and discharges into the sea. The town was among the worst hit by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Poompuhar

Poompuhar Beach is a natural and ancient beach located in Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, India, along the Bay of Bengal. The beach starts from the Kaveri river and extends around 3 km north side towards Neithavasal. The sand of this beach spreads out around 3 kilometers. Recently granite stone has been placed on the shore to stop erosion. This beach and Poompuhar city plays an important role in South Indian history. Chitra Pournami is an important festival for this beach which happens during the full moon in Tamil, month chittrai. There also occurs a Holy dip in the mouth of Kaveri river is celebrated during new moon in the Tamil month of Thai and Adi. Mayiladuthurai is the nearest town which is located on the bank of Kaveri around 24 km away from this beach.

Tharangambadi

Tharangambadi, formerly Tranquebar (Danish: Trankebar, pronounced), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kaveri River. Tranquebar was established on 19 November 1620 as the first Danish trading post in India. King Christian IV had sent his envoy Ove Gjedde who established contact with Raghunatha Nayak of Tanjore. An annual tribute was paid by the Danes to the Rajah of Tanjore until the colony of Tranquebar was sold to the British East India Company in 1845