[narayans80]

Originally Posted by ravib

Also, the roads in Ariyalur district are generally not good and very slow to drive

Haven't tried myself, but I did hear from a person based out of Trichy that the Ariyalur-Paluvur-Thanjavur widening was complete sometime late last year. The road was being worked upon since 2008 I think

[srvm]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Haven't tried myself, but I did hear from a person based out of Trichy that the Ariyalur-Paluvur-Thanjavur widening was complete sometime late last year. The road was being worked upon since 2008 I think

I did Bangalore-Salem-Attur-Thalaivasal-Perambalur bypass-Ariyalur bypass-Paluvur-Thiruvaiyaru in Sept-2017. The roads were super-smooth even back then.

Quoting my experience from that trip below:

Day-1 (Saturday) we started from C V Raman Nagar, Bangalore around 6.45am. Had our breakfast break at Hotel Adhith bhavan near Perandapalli. Crossed Salem by-pass by 11.15am. Took our lunch break at Ramas Cafe Veg around 12.30pm. First plan was to try taking a dip at Kaveri at Thiruvaiyaru. So, I took a right turn and exited NH79 at Thalaivasal. Thalaivasal to Veeraganur (SH701?) then joined SH157 continued southwards through Krishnapuram till Perambalur bypass. Took left turn here until I hit NH38 (Chennai-Trichy highway). Took a right turn again moving southwards, then took left turn into NH136 towards Ariyalur. Took Ariyalur bypass, then reached Thiruvaiyaru via Paluvur-Thirumanur. Distance of about 410 kms. All roads and bypasses were smooth and wide. Only the odd speed-hump or pothole. Excellent roads, on the whole. We reached Thiruvaiyaru around 3.30pm only to find that there is no water in river Kaveri (yet).

Complete details in this post (Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries)

[Thermodynamics]

Originally Posted by silvercloud

Folks,

I will be driving down from Bangalore to Thanjavur next week; google map is giving me 2 options as below

1. Bangalore --> Salem --> Attur --> Perambalur --> Ariyalur --> Thanjavur (410 Km)
2. Bangalore --> Salem --> Namakkal --> Musiri --> Trichy --> Thanjavur (410 KM)

Option 1 is being suggested due to shorter driving time; however I am worried about road conditions considering recent rains.

Can anyone please share their inputs on which route to take.

As many have mentioned, option 2 is what you need to take. I ply to Thanjavur almost every month and option 2 is the fastest.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by srvm

The roads were super-smooth even back then.

Thanks. Perambalur-Ariyalur-Paluvur-Thanjavur has been in tatters for a really long time. A year and half before you (summer of 2016), an acquiantance experimented for kicks and ranted

[BIL2_HGi10]

Dear Tribe,
I am planning to do a temple visit to Thanjavur with family on this coming weekend.
Looking out for the following suggestions:

1. Best route to reach Thanjavur from Electronic City, Bangalore.
2. Good options to eat enroute for Breakfast and Lunch.
3. Good Options to stay and eat in Thanjavur.
4. Best time to visit the Periya Kovil
5. Where to find the guide for taking us through the temple.

Eagerly awaiting to hear for the experts here.

Thanks and Best Regards

[ravib]

Originally Posted by BIL2_HGi10

Dear Tribe,
I am planning to do a temple visit to Thanjavur with family on this coming weekend.
Looking out for the following suggestions:

1. Best route to reach Thanjavur from Electronic City, Bangalore.
2. Good options to eat enroute for Breakfast and Lunch.
3. Good Options to stay and eat in Thanjavur.
4. Best time to visit the Periya Kovil
5. Where to find the guide for taking us through the temple.

Eagerly awaiting to hear for the experts here.

Thanks and Best Regards

1) Standard route - Hosur-Krishnagiri-Salem-Namakkal-Trichy-Tanjore.
2) Plenty. Saravana Bhavan in Krishnagiri in left side (after taking right towards salem), Sai Sangeet & A2B before Thoppur ghats, Rasipuram & Namakkal A2B and Sri Sangeetha in Trichy.
3) More than staying in Tanjore, i recommend you to stay in Trichy which has more options in various budgets. YOu can also cover few important temples in Trichy.
4) Definitely in the evening after 5 pm and during sunset. You can leave Trichy around 3.30 pm and can reach Tanjore temple in 1 to 1.5 hours, with a coffee break at A2B near Vallam sastra college.
5. There will be few standing outside. Once you enter temple, you can approach them or check with office. Car Parking is right opposite to the temple.

HTH
-Ravi

[BIL2_HGi10]

Originally Posted by ravib

1) Standard route - Hosur-Krishnagiri-Salem-Namakkal-Trichy-Tanjore.
2) Plenty. Saravana Bhavan in Krishnagiri in left side (after taking right towards salem), Sai Sangeet & A2B before Thoppur ghats, Rasipuram & Namakkal A2B and Sri Sangeetha in Trichy.
3) More than staying in Tanjore, i recommend you to stay in Trichy which has more options in various budgets. YOu can also cover few important temples in Trichy.
4) Definitely in the evening after 5 pm and during sunset. You can leave Trichy around 3.30 pm and can reach Tanjore temple in 1 to 1.5 hours, with a coffee break at A2B near Vallam sastra college.
5. There will be few standing outside. Once you enter temple, you can approach them or check with office. Car Parking is right opposite to the temple.

HTH
-Ravi

Thank you so much Ravi.

1. It is the same that is appearing on Google Maps. I will stick to it.

2. OK

3. Yes, that's a good idea. How is the Yatri Nivas in Srirangam? Google Reviews appear to be good.

4. Thank you

5. OK - I hope we get a Govt Registered Guide.

Thanks yet again!

[CArspeed]

Originally Posted by BIL2_HGi10

Dear Tribe,
I am planning to do a temple visit to Thanjavur with family on this coming weekend.
Looking out for the following suggestions:

3. Good Options to stay and eat in Thanjavur.
4. Best time to visit the Periya Kovil

GRT Greattrails Riverview resort although an old property is unique and is located in the outskirts of Thanjavur Thiruvaiyaru route. Grand Ashok is also good which is again in outskirts of Thanjavur on the way to Trichy
Hotel Sangam is also good and is in the heart of Thanjavur near Periyakovil.
I have stayed in these properties many a times.
Good time to visit periya kovil is in the evening sunset time where you can enjoy the breeze and it is a treat to sit and watch the well lit gopuram in the night from the lawns inside the temple. Don’t forget to shop from the locals within the temple premises just besides the rajagopuram.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by BIL2_HGi10

3. Yes, that's a good idea. How is the Yatri Nivas in Srirangam? Google Reviews appear to be good.


5. OK - I hope we get a Govt Registered Guide.

Thanks yet again!

For the budget, Yatri Nivas is good, but don't expect high standards.
There are other guides available too who are more knoweledgable. So don't go with Govt. registered guide.

-Ravi

[luvurride]

Hi everyone, how is the Namakkal-Trichy route through Musiri? Any update on road conditions will be helpful please.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by luvurride

Hi everyone, how is the Namakkal-Trichy route through Musiri? Any update on road conditions will be helpful please.

Lot of updates on BLR-Trichy thread on this section. You may want to check there.

[Acelerar]

Hi All,

Planning a Bangalore - Rameshwaram - Thanjavur-Bangalore road trip during September last week.

On the way back from Rameshwaram, I plan to go via Thanjavur and stay overnight in Grand Ashok Hotel. I plan to cover Brihadeeswara temple and also Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple. Would 2 night stay be enough for this? I was also thinking of covering Kumbakonam but would it be too much to cover in 2 nights? For this itinerary, would staying in Thanjavur at Grand Ashoka the best option?

Thanks!

[ravib]

Originally Posted by Acelerar

Hi All,

Planning a Bangalore - Rameshwaram - Thanjavur-Bangalore road trip during September last week.

On the way back from Rameshwaram, I plan to go via Thanjavur and stay overnight in Grand Ashok Hotel. I plan to cover Brihadeeswara temple and also Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple. Would 2 night stay be enough for this? I was also thinking of covering Kumbakonam but would it be too much to cover in 2 nights? For this itinerary, would staying in Thanjavur at Grand Ashoka the best option?

Thanks!

Not sure how many days you have in hand, because its not clear you mentioned 2 night stay only for Tanjore or for entire trip.

If it is 2 nights, then already this is a very hectic trip. In Rameshwaram itself, you can spend good amount of time for temple and Dhanushkodi and few other temples on the way.

I would recommend you keep Kumbakonam and Gangai Konda Cholapuram (GKC) as a separate trip as they are close by. No point in going to GKC from Tanjore in same trip, as it may look alike and may be you will not appreciate the differences

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Acelerar

I plan to cover Brihadeeswara temple and also Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple. Would 2 night stay be enough for this? I was also thinking of covering Kumbakonam but would it be too much to cover in 2 nights? For this itinerary, would staying in Thanjavur at Grand Ashoka the best option?

If the plan is to only cover Brihadeeshwara temple and GKC in Tanjore then one night is enough. Reach Tanjore by noon. Visit the big temple in the evening; stay over night and then visit GKC on the way back home to BLR the next morning.

Temples in Kumbakonam and 2 nights? I think any number of nights is not enough to cover this region!

[VikramCS]

Dear All,

I'm planning my first visit to these unbelievable master-pieces in first week of October. I usually go with a theme for most of the trips - in this one, it's mostly TEMPLES. Also, I believe in leisure + sight-seeing, so, I try not to cram too much into the schedule.

I have 4 days starting Thursday, and have drafted a tentative plan.

Day 1: BLR - Srirangam (planned start time 06:30AM-ish):
Reach Srirangam by Noon, check-into hotel (To be decided)
Post lunch, cover Srirangam temple
Evening cover Jamukeshwara temple
Retire for the day

Day 2: Post break-fast, drive to Thanjavur, reach Brihadeeshwara temple b y10AM
Spend about 2 hours, complete lunch, proceed to Kumbhakonam
Cover following temples:
1. Airavateshwara temple
2. Adi Kumbeshwara temple
3. Sarangapani temple (if time permits)

Note: I understand there are thousands of beautiful temples, however, it's not possible to cover all in one trip. So, i'm trying to prioritize - so, any suggestions are most welcome.

Stay at Kumbhakonam

Day 3: Post break-fast, proceed to Chidambaram - Nataraja temple, plan to reach by 10AM
Post lunch, drive to Arunachaleshwara Temple, Thiruvannamalai

I thought after covering Thiruvannamali temple, i could reach Bangalore the same night, however, i don't prefer to drive at night, hence, planning to stay overnight here

Day 4: Cover Sathanur Dam and Crocodile park and drive back to Bangalore.

1. Hope this is a feasible plan - please let me know what you think. {i'll travel with wifey and 5-year old daughter }

2. Any inputs on route options/things to specifically keep in mind. I'll also search for specific route threads and pose questions if any.

3. Family oriented places of stay (any recommendations welcome).

4. If there are better temple alternatives (i'm sure there may be plenty), please suggest.

P.S: Dear ampere, ravib - I have seen multiple posts from you on the famous temple routes of TN, and would be very happy to receive your response. Thank you.

Thanks all, Regards.