Help With Itinerary Tamil Nadu Kerala

kennyboy

Hi, I'm retired and my wife and I plan to do a leisurely tour of Tamil Nadu and Kerala for three and a half months at the end of Nov. We fly first to Chennai to go to a festival in Tiruvannamalai on 27th 28th Nov. We want to see temples the odd festival (religious, music or dance)and chill now and again at hill stations. Not too sure which direction to head from Tiruvannamalai.....we thought maybe Podicherry, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Madurai, Sivakashi...back to Madurai then fly to Trivandrum then make our way up the coast to Kochi then inland to Munnar, Thrissur, Ooty then work our way north to Kasargod ending eventually in Mangalore to fly back to Mumbai.....Is this in any way practical or is it absurdly ambitious.We plan to travel train or good coach or maybe hire car and driver for periods if it's not too expensive. Any advice would be welcome......Thanks Ken


Mod Note:
A duplicate post to this one has been deleted. Please only post your message once as it is confusing. Thanks very much.

bsprasad

Hi Kenny,

Welcome to India.

Will workout a detailed plan and come back to you shortly.

Regards

B.S.Prasd

kennyboy

Hi BSPrasad....been away for a week only just seen your message.....look forward to hearing your ideas

bsprasad

Mumbai
Chennai
Tiruvannamalai
Pondicherry
Kumbakonam
Thanjavur
Tiruchirappalli
Pudukkottai
Madurai
Sivakasi...
Back to Madurai
Trivandrum
Kochi
Munnar
Thrissur
Ooty
Kasargod
Mangalore
Mumbai

Mentioend above is your rough sketch of the plan I guess. Well, Three and half months will be more than enough for your leisure plan.

Lets discuss your plan in detail...

Please note that the following plan is designed assuming that you and your wife will cherish, age old temples, monastries and its heritage. If my assumption is wrong, then the whole plan can be redone.

Part 1

Chennai - Thiruvannamalai (180 Kms)
Hiring a Cab is the best Option
Enroute you can see Maduranthakam Temple (Eri Kaatha Ramar) 30 Minutes
Melmaruvathur Temple - 1-2 hours depending on the crowd
Senji Fort - Atleast 4-5 hours
Reach Tiruvannamalai and stay
Day 2 Visit Tiruvannamalai Temple
Visit Ashrams (Ramana Maharishi, Yogi Ram suratkumar also known as Visiri Saamiyar)

Options: You can stay back in Chennai for some time

Day 1: Visit all the temples and historical places.
Day 2: You can take a day trip to Mahabalipuram
Day 3: Visit Tirumala Tirupathi temple (You Can either hire a cab or you can go through TTDC (Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation) or ITDC (India Tourism development Corporation)
Day 4: Leave to Thiruvannamalai

Part 2

Thiruvannamalai to Pondicherry (Route will be via Tindivanam, Killiyanoor) 96 Kms (Cab or a Bus will be the option)
Enroute you can see Panchavadi Temple
Reach Pondicherry and stay
Visit Mother's Ashram and Manakulla Vinayagar temple
Visit Beach and relax

Part 3

Drive towards Cuddalore (Cab or Bus will be the option)
Cuddalore to Chidambaram
Night Stay in Chidambaram
Visit the world's famous Natarajar Temple in Chidambaram.

Part 4

Drive towards Seerkazhi
Visit Seerkazhi Temple
Travel towards Thirukadaiyur
Enroute to Thirukadaiyur you can see Keezhperumpallam and Thiruvengadu (Both fall under the famous 9 navagraha temples)Reach Thirukkadaiyur
Stay in Thirukkadaiyur

Part 5

Visit Thirukadaiyur temple (A very famous temple where couples make special pooja when they celebrate their 25th and 50th wedding Anniversary) For rest of the history about the temple, please see the paintings where it is explained in English and tamil clearly
Travel to Trancabore also known as Tarangambadi
See the old Danish settlements
Sight seeing in Trancabore beach
Stay in Trancabore

Part 6

Travel to Karaikkal
Travel for 5 kms further to reach Thirunallaru (Temple of Saturn god)
Travel to Kumbakonam via peralam
Stay in Kumbakonam

Part 7

Visit the following temples in Kumbakonam (Temples in Kumbakonam are all very huge and you require atleast 2-3 hours if you take it slow and nice)

Adhi Kumbeswara Swami Temple
Nageswaraswami Temple
Someswarar Temple
Kasi Viswanathar Temple
Bana Pureeswara Temple
Sarangapani Temple
Chakrapani Temple
Ramaswamy Temple

All this temples are inside kumbakonam town itself. You should take a minimum of 1.5 to 2 days to visit all the temples. Temples are all pretty old and huge too.

Famous Temples near kumbakonam

Dharasuram - 4 kms from Kumbakonam on Tanjavur road
Kapisthalam - Near Swamimalai on Kumbakonam Thiruvayyaru road
Patteeswaram - 10kms from Kumbakonam on the road to Tanjavur via melattur
Swamimalai - 8kms from Kumbakonam on Thiruvayyaru road
Thiruvidai Marudhoor - 6 kms from Kumbakonam on the kumbakonam - mayiladuthrurai road
Uppiliappan Koil - 10kms from Kumbakonam - Karaikkal road

You require atleast 4 days in Kumbakonam to enjoy all the temples.

I will take you through the rest of the plan shortly....Meanwhile, do let me know if you are ok with this plan or you want it to be relooked upon....

Regards

B.S.Prasad

kennyboy

Looking great so far ....thankyou so much for taking the time...Ken

kennyboy

One other addition I thought maybe would be Mysore before Kasargod and Mangalore if time allowed

kennyboy

Hi...we're off on the 26th ....loved the info you've written so far.....look forward to any more you have time for ....thank you....Ken