[prabhuferrari]

Originally Posted by girishglg

We are planning a 3 day trip covering most of these places in the coming long weekend.



Day 1 - Bangalore - Trichy (Ranganathaswamy) - Tanjore(Brihadeeswara) - Trichy(halt)

Day 2 - Trichy - Kumbakonam temples (halt)

Day 3 - Kumbakonam - Nerur - Bangalore



1. Please suggest if this plan is feasible in terms of the time available and the best routing

2. What are the stay options available in these places mentioned (for 10 adults)

Any reason you want to come back to trichy at end of day 1? You can stay in Tanjore itself. Will save lots of time next day. Check Hotel Annamalai in Tanjore. Or Parisutham.

Also Kumbakonam temples is too broad a description. Have you decided what all temples ? Depending on that you can stay in Tanjore itself for day two as well.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

Any reason you want to come back to trichy at end of day 1? You can stay in Tanjore itself. Will save lots of time next day. Check Hotel Annamalai in Tanjore. Or Parisutham.

Also Kumbakonam temples is too broad a description. Have you decided what all temples ? Depending on that you can stay in Tanjore itself for day two as well.

+1
I don't see any reason to return to Trichy on Day-1 because your next destination is Kumbakonam and temples.

I strongly suggest you to make a wish list of temples you plan to see. There are hundreds of temples around Kumbakonam.

Also, in your return journey unless you have any specific reason to goto Nerur near Karur which is in opposite direction, you can take standard Kumbakonam-Jayankondam-Vridhachalam-Attur-Salem-Bangalore route.

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by girishglg

We are planning a 3 day trip covering most of these places in the coming long weekend.
1. Please suggest if this plan is feasible in terms of the time available and the best routing
2. What are the stay options available in these places mentioned (for 10 adults)

Is it the first time you are heading out there? Because as others mentioned you have an infinity set of temples to cover which you cannot. You have to list it out and plan by time depending on temple timings.

Again dont come back to Trichy. Stay in Tanjore.

Trichy : Srirangam, Rock Fort, Thiruvanai Kovil
Tanjore : Brahadeesshwar temple
Kumbakonam: Ha! I cannot list. The space is to few !

Jokes apart depending on days you have to chose. What I can suggest:

Kumbeshwar, Sarangapani, Thirunageshwaram, Upiliappan, Swamimalai etc. (Not to mention others in the Navagraha circuit apart from Thirunageshwaram)

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by ampere

Again dont come back to Trichy. Stay in Tanjore.

Thanks Ampere, we took the cue. So we did make this circuit with our two EcoSports albeit with some re-routing on the go.

Total Kms logged - 1240

Day 1 - Bangalore - Karur - Nerur -
Sadasiva Brahmendra Adishtanam (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadasiva_Brahmendra)
A beautiful tranquil location in the midst of paddy fields near cauvery.
Had lunch nearby at an ancestral home converted by an NRI doctor into a trust running a guest house with stay options. Contact the temple for information.

Nerur - Tanjavur -
Visited the Big Temple - Brihadeeshwara

Tanjavur - Kumbakonam -
Overnight stay at - Sri Sankara Residency-
A really neat and comfortable stay option especially for groups (http://www.sankararesidency.com/)

Day 2 - Kumbakonam Navagraha temples circuit-
Covered all the temples except for Sun, Moon, Sukra
Overnight stay at the same place

Day 3 - Kumbakonam - Thiruvaiyaru - Blr
Covered moon temple and Saint Tyagaraja Adistanam (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiruvaiyaru)
A beautiful place in the banks of river Cauvery

We returned late evening on day 3 after a dinner stop at Hosur. Overall a great trip with families to some of the most popular and remote places in the same run.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by girishglg

We returned late evening on day 3 after a dinner stop at Hosur. Overall a great trip with families to some of the most popular and remote places in the same run.

Nice! Nerur seems to be worth a visit.

See we all told you, Trichy/Kumbhakonam is an infinite temple belt. There still lies a big list to cover!

Surprised you could not cover Suryanaar and Kanjanur on that day. By the time you finish Alangudi, Thirunallar, Keezhaperumpallam, Thiruvengadu and Vaitheshwaran Kovil it would be late noon/evening. Then by evening you can finish Suryanaar/Kanjanur and Thirunageshwarm (Upilliappan also if you want as its close to Rahu sthalam). Then when you head back you can do Thingaloor (Moon) on the way.

But then of course it depends on the amount of time you spend at each of these temples. There is always a next time to drive!

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

See we all told you, Trichy/Kumbhakonam is an infinite temple belt. There still lies a big list to cover!

Here is the proof

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...2700000002&z=5

Just zoom in to get astonished. Mostly in Tamil Nadu and particularly in Kumbakonam and Tanjore/Trichy districts.

-Ravi

[EVICE]

Hi
We are planning a long delayed trip to Trichy Srirangam Tanjavur belt from Bangalore.

Is June end a right time for this circuit?
Need your suggestions on places to visit , good food & accommodation options and recent route updates and mainly sequence to save time and energy. A first for us in this circuit, requesting inputs.

Thursday Early morning start - Sunday early morning departure back to Blr(we should have 2.5 days)

Looking forward for a relaxed trip with enjoyable drives , covering key temples , don’t want to pack in a whole lot of temples since elderly parents travelling with us.

Any good suggestions on Nature spots along the route is also welcome.

Many thanks

[ampere]

Originally Posted by EVICE

Hi
We are planning a long delayed trip to Trichy Srirangam Tanjavur belt from Bangalore.

Is June end a right time for this circuit?
Need your suggestions on places to visit , good food & accommodation options and recent route updates and mainly sequence to save time and energy. A first for us in this circuit, requesting inputs.

June should be a decent time. My suggestion keep Trichy as base.

Thr : Morning : Before lunch you can do : Samayapuram
Thr Evening: Rockfort

Friday morning: Tanjore Bradishwara Temple and if you want you can one of the Navagrahas and Thingaloor. Else come back.
Friday Evening Sri Rangam

Sat rmorning: Thiruvanaikaval
Sat evening : Free. You can do Thirupattur. (Brahma Temple)

Sunday morning : return.

In case you need a more packed schedule: One full day you can do Tanjore and some temples in Kumbakonam and come back. Keep Srirangam/Thiruvanaikaval for Sat.

Places to stay: Grand Gardenia, SRM, Marriot

[ravib]

Originally Posted by EVICE

Hi
We are planning a long delayed trip to Trichy Srirangam Tanjavur belt from Bangalore.

Is June end a right time for this circuit?
Need your suggestions on places to visit , good food & accommodation options and recent route updates and mainly sequence to save time and energy. A first for us in this circuit, requesting inputs.

Thursday Early morning start - Sunday early morning departure back to Blr(we should have 2.5 days)

Looking forward for a relaxed trip with enjoyable drives , covering key temples , don’t want to pack in a whole lot of temples since elderly parents travelling with us.

Any good suggestions on Nature spots along the route is also welcome.

Many thanks

Since you want relaxed trip and not a packed schedule, here is my suggestion. Tried to keep at max 2 temple in morning or evening. Also covered natur spots like Kallanai and Vaduvoor Bird sanctuary.

Thursday
1) Leave Bangalore in the morning, and finish breakfast either before Krishnagiri or in Thoppur sai sangeeth, depending on the time you leave bangalore. If interested, on the way stop over at Namakkal Hanuman temple and the ASI maintained Narasimha temple, which is 5 mts walk. Reach Trichy by afternoon and take rest post lunch. Suggest to stay in Melachintamani / Chatram bus stand, so that you get hotels in various budget and food is easily available.
2) Evening around 4 pm , goto SriRangam because crowd will be relatively less than weekends. Take Rs. 100 ticket to save time. And then if energy permits visit Thiruvanaikoil.
Rest for the day.

Friday
1) Drive to Tanjore Brahadeeswara temple in the morning to see amazing architectural marvel and if interested, as ampere suggested you can also see Thingaloor (Moon temple). Take Kallanai route fom Trichy, so that you can stop and see the amazing Kallanai Dam (Grand Anaicut) constructed by Karikala Chola 1000 years ago. Trichy to Tanjore via Kallanai is 2L road but scenic, but beware of sand lorry trucks.
2) Once reached Brahadeeswara temple, finish darshan and lunch.
3) Post lunch, drive from Tanjore towards Mannargudi via Vaduvoor. Stop over at Vaduvoor Ramar temple which as beautiful Ramar vigraha and adjacent Bird sanctuary and then goto Mannargudi Rajagolapaswamy (Krishna) temple.
4) Return back to Trichy via Tanjore using 4L road.


Saturday
1) Morning you can visit Samayapuram and if interested, drive further down to Tirupattur Brahma temple. Return to Trichy by lunch.
2) in evening climb Rockfort after 6 pm. You can do some nice shopping in that area.


Sunday
1) Drive back to Bangalore. If interested, on the way, you can visit Uthamar koil which is on the way and and also Thiruvellarai Perumal temple.
2) Reach Bangalore by afternoon.

Bangalore-Trichy-Bangalore - both ways you take Bangalore-Namakkal-Thuraiyur road-Kannanur-Pagalavadi-Manachanallur bypass-No. 1 Toll gate- Trichy. Look up to Bangalore-Trichy thread for more details.

For food, Shree Sangeethas having many branches in Trichy serves excellent veg food.

I suggest you skip Kumbakonam and surrounding temples as it needs a separate plan and dedicated days.

Have good darshan.

-Ravi

[nssrini]

Originally Posted by EVICE

Is June end a right time for this circuit?

Just back from Trichy and this year though, it is unusually hot for June. It's like a Furnace, with heat belting down as early as 8am. Night times are marginally better. Hopefully it should improve by end June.

[EVICE]

Originally Posted by ravib

Since you want relaxed trip and not a packed schedule, here is my suggestion. Tried to keep at max 2 temple in morning or evening. Also covered natur spots like Kallanai and Vaduvoor Bird sanctuary.

[

-Ravi

Thanks a lot Ravi and Ampere. Wonderful suggestions. Drew a rough plan, need your help to fine tune and plan better. section highlighted in yellow is where i need more guidance.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by EVICE

Thanks a lot Ravi and Ampere. Wonderful suggestions. Drew a rough plan, need your help to fine tune and plan better. section highlighted in yellow is where i need more guidance.

No, it doesn't make sense to do mix & match. They are in completely different directions. Given heavy winding roads and too many villages in Delta districts you can't do good speeds in driving.
Even for that matter, Moon Temple is near to Thiruvaiyaru enroute Kumbakonam. So i would say keep that itself as optional.

In option-2, Darasuram is as good as you being in Kumbakonam and as i mentioned, it needs a separate plan and days to cover Kumbakonam and surrounding temples. Also, after you seeing Tanjor Brihadeeswara temple, you will feel GangaiKonda cholapuram is a smaller version of it, (which is really true), but doing it back to back on same day won't make sense and you won't appreciate it. So park GangaiKondacholapuram visit along with Kumbakonam trip for future.

SriRangam, Thiruvanaikoil, Tanjore Brihadeswara temple and Mannargudi Rajagopalaswamy temples are big and takes good amount of time (~ 2 hours per temple) to see them completely, excluding the crowd/queue.
At Tanjore Brihadeswara temple, suggest you engage a guide who can explain the architectural marvel.

In your option-1, you missed the Bird sanctuary in Vaduvur. Its just few yards from Ramar temple.

Just in case if you are not aware, do remember that many temples close by 12 pm/12:30 pm till 4.30 pm (except SriRangam where timings are very different).
It is going to be super hot and not easy to cover all places or walk in bare foot even at 10 am in temples.
Drink as much liquids as possible and keep yourself hydrated.
Be mindful while crossing villages and also speed breakers before & after each village.
I believe Tanjore to Mannargudi road expansion works are still WIP, but not sure about latest. It may be completed, but you can provide an update once you are back.

-Ravi

[EVICE]

Originally Posted by ravib

No, it doesn't make sense to do mix & match. They are in completely different directions. Given heavy winding roads and too many villages in Delta districts you can't do good speeds in driving.
Even for that matter, Moon Temple is near to Thiruvaiyaru enroute Kumbakonam. So i would say keep that itself as optional.


-Ravi

Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs Ravi, definitely keeping Kumbakonam for another trip in the future and sticking to Trichy- Tanjore and the places suggested for this trip including the Vadavur birds sanctuary. I will update the thread here on Tanjore to Mannargudi road conditions. Excited about the trip

[EVICE]

Originally Posted by EVICE

Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs Ravi, definitely keeping Kumbakonam for another trip in the future and sticking to Trichy- Tanjore and the places suggested for this trip including the Vadavur birds sanctuary. I will update the thread here on Tanjore to Mannargudi road conditions. Excited about the trip

Thanks a lot Ravi and Ampere for the inputs. we were back to Blr yesterday after the trip. The Tanjai to Mannargudi stretch is largely complete, only few small patches and shoulder work on some stretches is work in progress.

We had a great start with visits to Namakkal Hanuman and Narasimha swamy temples, Namakkal-Thuraiyur road-Kannanur-Pagalavadi-Manachanallur road to Srirangam was scenic and enjoyable (We did a big mistake of not taking this route back to Bangalore as suggested by Ravi, the Musiri route shown by Gmaps is good only for some stretch where there river runs in parallel, then on road construction and lorry traffic considerably slow you down, please avoid taking this route)

Visited Thiruvanaikoil on Thursday evening.
Friday was set aside for Tanjore leg of Brihadeshwara temple , Vadavur and Mannargudi. Unfortunately the Vaduvur Ramar temple did not open for any seva due to a death in the immediate temple neighbourhood. Visited the Vadavur Sanctuary as well.

Climate was unusally hot :( even June end and took a toll on us all through the day time.

Saturday was set aside for Srirangam temple, Samayapuram , Kallanai dam visit. Both the temples were very crowded.

Got back to Bangalore by 5pm with an 9:30 AM start from Srirangam.
Our place of stay was Indian Residency homestay at Melur salai , Srirangam - wonderful experience away from touristy and crowded places.

We will go back for another trip to cover Kumbakonam Thanks

[Rakeshmbalaji]

Dear team members, any suggestions for a decent stay option at Thanjavur for two days? We are a family of 5 with two kids aged 2&5, planning to travel by this month end. Looking for something good around 5-8K per night. Saw few options in websites but not sure if the pictures are genuine and if there are decent parking options.

Also Google maps shows Salem - Attur- Vaxhappadi - Thanjavur. Is this the correct route? Please suggest.

Thank you,
Balaji