[ravib]

Originally Posted by manjubp

Ravib/Ampere,

Planning to take my Mother (73+ yrs, with below average physical fitness) for TN Temple trip starting from BLR, covering Srirangam, Trichy, Tanjore, kumbakonam and Chidambaram over 4-5days. There are so many beautiful temples around this circuit, I am unable to decide what to cover and what not to cover.

Need your suggestion on what are the temples to be covered. Thanks in advance,

Since you mentioned you are traveling with a senior citizen and below average on physical fitness, i really don't want to recommend a lot that will be taxing, so just keep one or two temple per slot. As ampere mentioned, the options are infinite. Out of 4 to 5 days, one day is gone just for traveling up & down travel from Bangalore and also the other times for local travel within the region. Given the rainy and winter season, its not going to be easy for elderly.

So i strongly suggest you keep it light because these temples are really really big/vast.

Day-1 Morning: Travel from Bangalore to Trichy - checkin to hotel - take rest. Evening, visit SriRangam and Thiruvanaikoil. Halt and Rest overnight.
Day-2 Morning : Trichy to Tanjore big temple. Then drive to Kumbakonam checkin and rest post lunch. Evening, visit Sarangapani temple and Kumbeshwarar temple. If still energy left and weather permits, visit Darasuram Airawateswarar temple. Night halt and rest.
Day-3 Morning : Visit Oppiliappan temple and Raghusthalam, if possible ayyavadi. Evening, visit Nachiar Koil temple and Thirucherai. Night halt in KMU.
Day-4: Return to Bangalore

Don't recommend you to go further down towards east to Vaitheeswaran Koil temple and Chidambaram. If you really really think her health permits and can stretch after 3 days of travel, then Day-4, travel from KMU to Vaitheeswaran Koil in the morning and then drive to Chidambaram for Lunch, check-in to hotel, rest. Evening visit Chidambaram Natarajar temple and Night Halt. Day-5 drive back to Bangalore.


-Ravi

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by ravib

So i strongly suggest you keep it light because these temples are really really big/vast.

Day-1 Morning: Travel from Bangalore to Trichy - checkin to hotel - take rest. Evening, visit SriRangam and Thiruvanaikoil. Halt and Rest overnight.
Day-2 Morning : Trichy to Tanjore big temple. Then drive to Kumbakonam checkin and rest post lunch. Evening, visit Sarangapani temple and Kumbeshwarar temple. If still energy left and weather permits, visit Darasuram Airawateswarar temple. Night halt and rest.
Day-3 Morning : Visit Oppiliappan temple and Raghusthalam, if possible ayyavadi. Evening, visit Nachiar Koil temple and Thirucherai. Night halt in KMU.
Day-4: Return to Bangalore

-Ravi

Thanks Ravi, appreciate the details shared and the suggestion. I would go by your suggestions. Considering rains and depression in Bay of Bengal, we pushed out our trip by few weeks.

[NPV]

Knowledgeable Team Bhpians please help with planning temple visits for a friend:
Their main intent is to visit the Sikkal Singaravelan Murugan temple at Sikkal, near Nagapattinam. Prefer to do the majority of the travel from and to Bangalore by train and then then locally for the temple visits by car - maybe keep Kumbakonam as base ?

I was also looking at suggesting to them the option of extending the trip by 2 days and visiting the Navagraha temples and maybe others in that belt ?

Would appreciate if you'll could share a plan for this circuit.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by NPV

Knowledgeable Team Bhpians please help with planning temple visits for a friend:
Their main intent is to visit the Sikkal Singaravelan Murugan temple at Sikkal, near Nagapattinam. Prefer to do the majority of the travel from and to Bangalore by train and then then locally for the temple visits by car - maybe keep Kumbakonam as base ?

I was also looking at suggesting to them the option of extending the trip by 2 days and visiting the Navagraha temples and maybe others in that belt ?

Would appreciate if you'll could share a plan for this circuit.

This is a very good informative post with details about all temples:
http://traveltwosome.com/navagraha-temples-tour-guide/

The map - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/iipcache/167168.jpg

My suggestion would be finish Sikkal the first day evening. Start the next day morning to Thirunallar and do the circuit in reverse(Thirunallaru->Keezhaperumpallam->Thiruvengadu->Vaitheeswarankovil->Kanjanoor->Suriyanarkovil->Thirunageswaram) and take a halt in Kumbakonam. Next day morning do Thingalur and Thittai and return back.

There is a debate between which is the Guru temple - Alangudi or Thittai. As per my understanding and research, Alangudi is for Dakshinamurthy who is a form of Lord Shiva and Thittai is for Guru the planet. So technically, Thittai is the place for Navagraha worship.

Thittai - https://goo.gl/maps/EG3GUp335XKrVm62Ahttps://goo.gl/maps/EG3GUp335XKrVm62A

[ampere]

Originally Posted by luvurride

My suggestion would be finish Sikkal the first day evening. Start the next day morning to Thirunallar and do the circuit in reverse(Thirunallaru->Keezhaperumpallam->Thiruvengadu->Vaitheeswarankovil->Kanjanoor->Suriyanarkovil->Thirunageswaram) and take a halt in Kumbakonam. Next day morning do Thingalur and Thittai and return back.

I agree with this approach.
Thirunallaru->Keezhaperumpallam->Thiruvengadu->Vaitheeswarankovil (before lunch and come back to hotel in KMU)


Start again in evening and complete the rest.
>Kanjanoor->Suriyanarkovil->Thirunageswaram + Visit Upilliappan also as its close to Thirunageshwaram


And the next day visit Guru and Chandran.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by ampere

I agree with this approach.
Thirunallaru->Keezhaperumpallam->Thiruvengadu->Vaitheeswarankovil (before lunch and come back to hotel in KMU)
.

If you don't want to go all the way to Kumbakonam and drive back to Suriyanar Kovil and Kanjanoor, then post darshan at Vaitheeswaran Kovil, take a relaxed lunch stop at Hotel Sadhabishekam or Hotel Akshardham and spend some time, take a siesta at the car (they have nice shaded area) and then proceed to Kanjanoor by 3:30. Finish all the temples for the day and retire at Kumbakonam.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by luvurride

If you don't want to go all the way to Kumbakonam and drive back to Suriyanar Kovil and Kanjanoor, then post darshan at Vaitheeswaran Kovil, take a relaxed lunch stop at Hotel Sadhabishekam or Hotel Akshardham and spend some time, take a siesta at the car (they have nice shaded area) and then proceed to Kanjanoor by 3:30. Finish all the temples for the day and retire at Kumbakonam.

This is possible. But given they would have arrived a couple of days and checked in to a hotel in KMU, I was suggesting they go back to KMU.

I actually did the same few years back. Returned back to hotel in KMU, had lunch took a nap and drove to rest in the evening.
If not then what you mention is perfect.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by ampere

This is possible. But given they would have arrived a couple of days and checked in to a hotel in KMU, I was suggesting they go back to KMU.

I actually did the same few years back. Returned back to hotel in KMU, had lunch took a nap and drove to rest in the evening.
If not then what you mention is perfect.

Ok, but my suggestion was to drive to Sikkal directly, finish the temple visit and stay at Nagapattinam. They could even push to Thirunallaru or Karaikkal and stay there. This would reduce back and forth driving to KMU. And give a head start to the temple circuit the next day morning.

All these are assuming that they would like to keep this trip strictly for temples and quicker at that.

If it was for me, I would go with what you said - choose the base at KMU - most likely Mantra Koodam and also extend a couple of days there at leisure!

[jkrishnakj]

I need to visit Thirukadaiyoor tomorrow. What’s the best route please? Do I need to be touching Trichy/Tanjore/Kumbakonam or are there better alternate routes? I’m ok if it’s slightly longer but prefer better surfaces. I plan to depart at 5 am tomorrow.

Also, any good lunch places, vegetarian? Preference is the typical ‘meals’.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

I need to visit Thirukadaiyoor tomorrow. What’s the best route please? Do I need to be touching Trichy/Tanjore/Kumbakonam or are there better alternate routes? I’m ok if it’s slightly longer but prefer better surfaces. I plan to depart at 5 am tomorrow.

Also, any good lunch places, vegetarian? Preference is the typical ‘meals’.

The standard route is Salem->Attur->Virudhachalam->Chidambaram->Sirkazhi->Thirukkadaiyur.

The roads are good till Virudhachalam. Not sure beyond that. Taking Trichy/Tanjore will be colossal waste of time as beyond Tanjore, your speed gets to an average of 30-40km/hr.

For lunch, I think you can push to Virudhachalam. This seems to be good, although I haven't personally tried though.
https://goo.gl/maps/aoZTemJAE78gzH48A

[ampere]

Originally Posted by luvurride

For lunch, I think you can push to Virudhachalam. This seems to be good, although I haven't personally tried though.
https://goo.gl/maps/aoZTemJAE78gzH48A

With a breakfast break at Salem and start at 4AM from Bangalore, one can easily make to Vridhachalam by 11. That means, one push further to Chidambaram for a late lunch.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by ampere

With a breakfast break at Salem and start at 4AM from Bangalore, one can easily make to Vridhachalam by 11. That means, one push further to Chidambaram for a late lunch.

Are the roads good beyond Virudhachalam? I haven't travelled recently.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by luvurride

Are the roads good beyond Virudhachalam? I haven't travelled recently.

Virudachalam-Bhuvanagiri SH is undivided two-lane road but is one of the best SHs in the state. Bhuvanagiri-Chidamabaram is a short sprint with okay quality road. Chidambaram bypass is currently a mess due to 4-laning of Pondy-Nagapattinam highway.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Virudachalam-Bhuvanagiri SH is undivided two-lane road but is one of the best SHs in the state. Bhuvanagiri-Chidamabaram is a short sprint with okay quality road. Chidambaram bypass is currently a mess due to 4-laning of Pondy-Nagapattinam highway.

Thanks! How is the 4-laning of over all ECR coming along? I heard Mahabs-Pondicherry is starting now? What is the over plan to complete Chennai-Kanyakumari? Not sure if it's covered in one full plan.

[jkrishnakj]

Thanks much Ampere, luvuride, yieldway17

I had such a lovely drive in exactly the route you recommended. Left home at 5 pm and was at Thirukadaiyur by 12.15 pm, with one breakfast halt at SaiSangeeth, Thoppur.

The Virudhachalam-Bhuvanagiri roads were indeed one of the best 2 lane undivided roads that I’ve driven in a long time.

The rains started after Salem and it hasn’t relented yet and it’s quite hellish now, at the coast.

The 4 laning deviations and sections of diversions post Bhuvanagiri are quite bad, I could see a lot of sedans struggling. But for me, in a 450 km drive, 5-7 km of bad stretches on and off were negligible.

I’ll return to Bangalore tomorrow and I see the forecast for even heavier rains. It’s going to be fun. Fingers crossed.