Puducherry & Tamil Nadu: Dravidian Temples

Route: Chennai airport (MAA) to Puducherry along the East Coast Road, about 150 km

Your driver meets you at Chennai airport and takes you south along the East Coast Road. The road runs close to the sea, past salt pans, fishing villages and the temple town of Mamallapuram. Traffic near Chennai can be slow, so the time depends on your arrival hour.

Puducherry was a French colony from 1674 until the French handed it over to India. The de facto transfer came in 1954, and the treaty followed in 1962. Palais de Mahe is a restored heritage hotel in the old quarter, with rooms built around courtyards.

If you arrive in time, take a short walk to the seafront promenade at sunset.

Experience of the Day

• Airport welcome

• East Coast Road drive

• Sunset on the promenade

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, with Franco-Tamil dishes.

Must-Try: Creole-style fish with coconut, a dish that mixes French and Tamil cooking.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the flight

• Short walk by the sea

Route: White Town – Tamil quarter – Sri Aurobindo Ashram area – Auroville – Puducherry, about 25 km

Start early with a guided walk through the White Town. The French laid it out on a grid, with a canal on one side that once divided it from the Tamil town. The old villas are painted in yellow and ochre, and the streets have names such as Rue Dumas and Rue Romain Rolland. Visit the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and the seafront.

Cross the old canal line into the Tamil quarter. The houses here have raised front verandas, and the lanes have shops and small shrines. Visit the Manakula Vinayagar temple, where a temple elephant gives blessings at the door. Compare the two halves of the town side by side. One was drawn on paper, and the other grew around its temples.

In the afternoon, drive about 10 km north to Auroville, an experimental township founded in 1968. Its centre is the Matrimandir, a golden sphere set in gardens. Visits to the inner chamber need a pass booked ahead, so your guide books for the viewing point at a minimum.

Note on Auroville: Matrimandir access is by pass and time slot, and it is closed on some days. The viewing point is open to all visitors with a pass. We book the pass before you arrive. Photography is limited.

Experience of the Day

• White Town walk

• Tamil quarter and Manakula Vinayagar temple

• Auroville and the Matrimandir viewing point

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a French bistro in White Town.

Must-Try: Fresh baguette, cheese and a local fish dish, or a Tamil thali in the old quarter.

Shopping

Hand-made paper, incense, candles and crafts from the Auroville workshops, and French bakery goods.

Activities to Do

• Optional cycle-rickshaw ride through the lanes

• Optional French cooking class (paid separately)

Route: Puducherry – Chidambaram – Gangaikonda Cholapuram – Thanjavur, about 200 km

Drive south to Chidambaram, about 65 km away. The Nataraja temple is the centre of the town, and it is where Shiva is worshipped as the cosmic dancer. The temple has four tall gateways, and the stone carvings on them show the poses of classical Tamil dance. Visit in the morning, before the temple closes for the midday break.

After lunch, drive to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, about 55 km away. King Rajendra I founded this capital around 1035 CE, after he marched to the Ganges and brought back its water. The great temple here is a quieter and finer cousin of the one at Thanjavur. Its tower is lower and its lines are softer.

Continue by road to Thanjavur, arriving in the evening. Svatma is a restored heritage house in the old town, a short walk from the Brihadisvara temple.

Note on temple hours: Many Tamil temples close from about 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm, and rules for entering the inner shrine can change. Your guide confirms the timing and the dress rules on the day. Shirts or covering for shoulders and knees are expected.

Experience of the Day

• Nataraja temple at Chidambaram

• Gangaikonda Cholapuram

• Evening arrival in Thanjavur

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a restaurant in Chidambaram or Kumbakonam.

Must-Try: Filter coffee from Kumbakonam, with a plate of idli and sambar.

Activities to Do

• Rest at the hotel

• Short walk in the old town if time allows

Route: Brihadisvara temple – Thanjavur Palace – Saraswathi Mahal Library – Darasuram – Thanjavur, about 90 km

Begin at the Brihadisvara temple, built around 1010 CE by Rajaraja I. The tower above the sanctum rises about 66 metres. The cap-stone at the top is cut from a single block, and tradition says it weighs about 80 tonnes. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 1987. Walk the courtyard, look at the giant Nandi bull and the carved panels, and see the Chola frescoes in the passage around the sanctum.

After lunch, visit the Thanjavur Maratha Palace and its art gallery of Chola bronzes. The Saraswathi Mahal Library next door holds thousands of palm-leaf manuscripts. The Chola bronzes are cast by the lost-wax method, and families in the nearby village of Swamimalai still make them that way.

In the late afternoon, drive to Darasuram to see the Airavatesvara temple, built in the 12th century. It is smaller than the Brihadisvara, and its stone carving is among the finest of the Chola era. Each step and pillar is covered with small figures. The temple was added to the UNESCO listing in 2004. Return to Thanjavur for the evening.

Note on opening hours: The Brihadisvara temple is open for most of the day, and the palace museum and library close on some days. We confirm hours before you arrive.

Experience of the Day

• Brihadisvara temple

• Palace and Chola bronzes

• Darasuram's Airavatesvara temple

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, with Chola-era and Thanjavur dishes.

Must-Try: Thanjavur's Chettinad-style pepper chicken or a vegetable meal on a banana leaf.

Shopping

Thanjavur paintings with gold leaf, bronze figures and the local dolls with heads that nod.

Activities to Do

• Optional visit to a bronze workshop in Swamimalai

• Evening walk to see the temple lit up

Route: Thanjavur – Tiruchirappalli (Srirangam) – Madurai, about 200 km

Leave Thanjavur after breakfast and drive west to Srirangam, about 55 km away. The Ranganathaswamy temple stands on an island in the Kaveri. It is one of the largest working temple complexes in India, with seven walled enclosures and a gateway about 73 metres high. Visit in the morning, while the courtyards are still cool.

After lunch, continue south to Madurai, arriving in the late afternoon. The road crosses the dry plain. After the green delta of Thanjavur, the country turns brown and open.

In the evening, enter the Meenakshi Amman temple with your guide. The gateways here rise in stages and are covered with painted figures. The Nayak builders of the 16th and 17th centuries made the gateways, and the Cholas before them put their height in the sanctum tower. The towers rise from the gates, and the shrine sits low behind them.

Note on Meenakshi Temple: Cover shoulders and knees, and remove shoes. Bags, phones and cameras are not allowed inside, and lockers are available at the gates. The two inner shrines are limited to Hindus. The rest of the complex is open to all visitors.

Experience of the Day

• Srirangam's Ranganathaswamy temple

• Drive from the delta to the dry plain

• Meenakshi temple at dusk

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, in its garden.

Must-Try: Madurai-style kari dosa and idli with sambar.

Shopping

Flower garlands and brass lamps near the temple's east gate.

Activities to Do

• Evening visit to Meenakshi temple

• Optional palanquin ceremony at night

Route: Heritage Madurai – Meenakshi temple – Thirumalai Nayak Palace – old city – Heritage Madurai

The temple opens at 5 am, and the early hour is the quietest. Your guide takes you back for a second look at the Hall of Thousand Pillars and the Golden Lotus Tank. The hall has 985 pillars, built under the Nayak ruler Vishwanatha Nayak.

After breakfast, visit the Thirumalai Nayak Palace, completed around 1636. About a quarter of it survives, and the courtyard measures about 75 by 50 metres. Take a cycle-rickshaw ride through the old streets, past the flower and banana markets.

The afternoon is free. In the evening, return for the night ceremony, when metal footprints standing for Shiva are carried in a palanquin to the goddess Meenakshi's chamber at about 9 pm.

Experience of the Day

• Early temple visit

• Thirumalai Nayak Palace

• Cycle-rickshaw ride

• Night ceremony

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a local Madurai restaurant with banana-leaf meals.

Must-Try: Jigarthanda, Madurai's cold milk-and-almond-gum drink.

Shopping

Cotton saris and hand-woven sungudi fabric from the shops near the temple.

Activities to Do

• Garden walk at the hotel

• Optional day trip to Chettinad (quoted separately)

Route: Heritage Madurai to Madurai airport (IXM), about 15 km

Your driver takes you to Madurai airport. Flights from Madurai connect to Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad, and onward international flights leave from those cities. For an international flight the same day, allow a long connection, or add a night in Chennai or Bengaluru. We can also route the last day to Tiruchirappalli airport, about 140 km north, which has some direct international flights.

Experience of the Day

• Airport transfer

• Night in Chennai or Bengaluru on request