SouthTemple trip - only Tamil Nadu

aragorn

Hi Guys, me and my family are planning to travel in mid Oct on a pilgrimage tour to all the major Tamil Nadu temples. I have planned the schedule as follows:

Days 1 & 2 Chennai
Day 3 Tirutanni, Vellore , Kanchipuram
Day 4 Tiruvannamalai, Tirucovallur
Day 5 Travel to Rameshwaram
Day 6 Rameshwaram, depart to Tiruchendur
Day 7 Tiruchendur, depart to Kanyakumari
Day 8 Kanyakumari, depart by train to Trichy
Day 9 Trichy
Day 10 Kumbakonam
Day 11 Kumbakonam, Tanjore if time permits
Day 12 Madurai and surrounding temples
Day 13 Palani
Day 14 Coimbatore
Day 15 Return to Mumbai

I needed your help wrt good hotels to stay in Trichy, Madurai especially, Kumbakonam, Palani and Coimbatore. Since I am travelling with my family...a decent place would be a big help. Except for Kumbakonam will be staying at other places for a night.

Eastern Mind

What is your price idea? I went in April and stayed in 2 and 3 star, and could recommend a couple of those.

ribhu95

Aragorn,

U r travelling from kanyakumari to kumbakonam and then going back to madurai.......check out the maps and train routes....

madurai is between kanyakumari / trichy...so before you hit trichy, finish madurai.

tiruvannamalai - hotel ramakrishna...thirukoilur may not have many / any hotels....

n kumar

Hi,
Their are some flaws in you plan and let me correct it with bold letters
Days 1 & 2 Chennai
Day 3 Tirutanni, Vellore , Kanchipuram
You cannot cover all these places in one day chennai-tirutani-kanchi-vellore.Distance between chennai-tirutani-90 kms, tirutani-kanchi-45 kms and kanchi-vellore(golden temple)85 kms. You will be covering around 220 kms and you will be visiting atleast 5 tmeples in all these places, is it possible ?
Array bai you have to re work you whole plan, ?
Day 4 Tiruvannamalai, Tirucovallur
you have to come back towards vellore to reach tirukovallur.
Day 5 Travel to Rameshwaram
Day 6 Rameshwaram, depart to Tiruchendur
Day 7 Tiruchendur, depart to Kanyakumari
Day 8 Kanyakumari, depart by train to Trichy
Day 9 Trichy
Day 10 Kumbakonam
Day 11 Kumbakonam, Tanjore if time permits
Day 12 Madurai and surrounding temples
Day 13 Palani
Day 14 Coimbatore
Day 15 Return to Mumbai
Let me know how do you plan to visit these places either by cab or bus and i will post my eteranary.

dineshpkm

Your itinery should be like

Chennai-Tirutani-Kanchi-Vellore-Tiruvannamalai-Thirukoilur-Kumbakonam-Tanjore-trichy-Rameswaram-Tiruchendur-Kanyakumari-Madurai-Palani-Coimbatore

bsprasad

Day 4 Tiruvannamalai, Tirucovallur
you have to come back towards vellore to reach tirukovallur.

Not Necessary that one has to come to Vellore and go to Tirukovillur

Tirukovillur is just 30 kms from Villupuram and there is a direct access road from Tirukovilur to Tiruvannamalai which is just 60 Kms. All one need to do is take the road to villupuram from Tiruvannamalai.

I dont know if google map is roughed up and some one else is.... Anyone who has traveled in this route will know that there is a direct access route from tiruvannamalai to tirukovilur.

The funniest thing is this: From Vellore, there is only one way to Thirukovillur and that's via Thiruvannamalai....

aragorn

Thank you very much for all your replies.

I'm sorry that I didn't specify my mode of travel which seemed to create some confusion. I am travelling with my aged father, wife and my small kid and hence decided to travel to Rameshwaram from Chennai by train as it would be less strenous.

Please find the revised details as I needed to make a few corrections:

Days 1 & 2 Chennai - I wouldn't be travelling much
in Chennai as it is more social visits to
relatives. Won't visit too many temples
here.
Day 3 Tirutanni, Vellore , Kanchipuram - Will
use a Taxi...heeding to what n kumar has
stated about the distances to be covered
I may drop Vellore from the
schedule...this all depends time
permitting...or me Vetri vel Murugan's and
Paramacharyar's cities take preference.

Day 4 Tiruvannamalai, Tirukovallur - Will use a
taxi again...depending on the time spent
at Tiruvannamalai can postpone trip to
Tirukovallur to next day morn as train to
Rameshwaram is the one which leaves in the
evening at around 7.00 - 7.30.

BTW I am using Chennai as base for the first 4 days as lugging the luggage everywhere will be a pain.

Day 5 Travel to Rameshwaram - Train

Day 6 Rameshwaram

Day 7 Rameshwaram / depart to Tiruchendur - Bus
/Taxi whichever is convenient. Suggestions welcome.


Day 8 Tiruchendur/depart to Kanyakumari - I believe the distance both these cities is les than 100 kms , will probably travel by bus which I feel should vbe available in plenty. Suggestions are always welcome.


Day 9 Kanyakumari, depart by train to Trichy - Train - Train leaves by 5:30 p.m. and will reach Trichy by midnight.
I agree with all your advice that I should complete Madurai before I reach Trichy / should have included Trichy earlier in my schedule and then moved south to Rameshwaram. I wanted to keep the bus travel to the minimum considering my father's mobility. Also I have chosen Trichy first as I can visit Tanjore and Kumbakonam easily without too much travel strain. I have kept Madurai last because
I will catch my flight to Mumbai from Coimbatore and my plan is to travel from Madurai-Palani- Coimbatore.

Day 10 Trichy

Day 11 Kumbakonam - Will travel by bus/ any mode of transport as suggested by you guys

Day 12 Kumbakonam, Tanjore if time permits - Again since I plan to see the Navagraha temples in 2 days...going to Tanjore is time - bound. Might travel by evening to Madurai

Day 13 Madurai and surrounding temples - Rickshaw/any other mode suggested by your goodselves.

Day 14 Palani - Bus. Will travel by bus to Coimbatore in the evening.

Day 15 Return to Mumbai

Thank you again for all your advice as I it will help me for the better.

aragorn

Thank you very much for all your replies.

I'm sorry that I didn't specify my mode of travel which seemed to create some confusion. I am travelling with my aged father, wife and my small kid and hence decided to travel to Rameshwaram from Chennai by train as it would be less strenous. Please find the revised details:

Days 1 & 2 Chennai - I wouldn't be travelling much
in Chennai as it is more social visits to
relatives. Won't visit too many temples
here.
Day 3 Tirutanni, Vellore , Kanchipuram - Will
use a Taxi...heeding to what n kumar has
stated about the distances to be covered
I may drop Vellore from the
schedule...this all depends time
permitting...or me Vetri vel Murugan's and
Paramacharyar's cities take preference.

Day 4 Tiruvannamalai, Tirukovallur - Will use a
taxi again...depending on the time spent
at Tiruvannamalai can postpone trip to
Tirukovallur to next day morn as train to
Rameshwaram is the one which leaves in the
evening at around 7.00 - 7.30.

BTW I am using Chennai as base for the first 4 days as lugging the luggage everywhere will be a pain.

Day 5 Travel to Rameshwaram - Train

Day 6 Rameshwaram

Day 7 Rameshwaram / depart to Tiruchendur - Bus
/Taxi whichever is convenient.

Tiruchendur, depart to Kanyakumari
Day 8 Kanyakumari, depart by train to Trichy
Day 9 Trichy
Day 10 Kumbakonam
Day 11 Kumbakonam, Tanjore if time permits
Day 12 Madurai and surrounding temples
Day 13 Palani
Day 14 Coimbatore
Day 15 Return to Mumbai

bsprasad

Dear Aragon,

Your Travel plan looks as good as it is. Little bit of Modification is required here and there.

Vellore Golden temple is a must see for all. Dont you ever miss it for anything.

It takes hardly 20-30 minutes to finish your dharshan in Tiruthani. Start little early so that you can reach vellore on time. There is a special way for elders in Golden temple, where they can proceed near the main deity and wait for others to join. You have to mention at the second gate where they will allow elders and people who cant walk for long through a special way. They can go inside and wait for you to reach.

Again it takes probably 2 hours for you to see all the major temples in Kanchipuram

Kamakshi amman Temple
Egaambareswarar temple
Varadharaja Swamy Temple
Kailasanathar Temple (This is under Archeological Survey of India) Very Historical Temple. Dont miss it.

Tiruvannamalai is exactly 180Kms from Chennai (Via Tindivanam and Senji). You can skip Thirukovilur as you may need to spend more time in Annamalayaar Temple and in Ashrams like Maharishi Ramana Ashramam,Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ashram (Also known as Visiri Saamiyar)

Day 11 Kumbakonam,
Visit the following temples

Saarangapani Temple
Aadhi Kumbeswarar Temple
Nageswarar Temple
Someswarar Temple
Kasi Viswanathar Temple
Bana Pureeswarar Temple
Chakrapani Temple
Ramaswamy Temple
Darasuram - 4 Kms from Kumbakonam
Swamimali - 8 Kms from Kumbakonam (One of Lord Murugan's Arupadai Veedu) You will have 64 steps from the foot hills)

Day 12 Madurai and surrounding temples

You have Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple which should take a solid 5-6 hours if you take it nice and slow or 3-4 hours if you make it a little fast.

Thiruparankundram temple (One of Lord Murugan's Arupadai Veedu) is nearby Madurai. You can try visiting it.

Day 13 Palani

Take the cable car to the top and dont miss the view while traveling. Try and see if you can see a Abishekam which is really worth it.

Day 14 Coimbatore

The route from Palani to Coimbatore is via pollachi. That's one of the best scenic routes you will see.

If you have time in Coimbatore, Try seeing Perur temple and also visiting Esha's yoga mayyam (Best place to medidate) Also try and visit Vellingiri temple which is situated in the foot hills of Vellingiri. (just 1 Km from Esha's yoga mayyam)

Day 15 Return to Mumbai

n kumar

Hi aragon or prasad,
I am very sorry about tirukovallur confussion, prasad is clear on this and i will post my opinion on the eteranary later.

tvhareesh

Hi Aragon,

IMP: Please note that almost all temples here close at 1200 Hrs - 1230 Hrs and re open at 1600 Hrs - 1700 Hrs, so please plan on that basis where you are visiting more temples in a single day.

bonded

Also see the Marudhumalai Murugan temple in Coimbatore.

fsg

So many temples so little time!!!!!!

However TN is the temple state.

I love all the temples in the Kumbakonam area, so if you stay near the bus stand there you can get a car, driver will know opening times.

There is only one Golden Temple in India and it aint in Vellore.

Tricoilur temple should be on your route from TV Malai, as I presume you will pick up the train at Villipuram

Ramakrisna hotel in TVMalai is way far from the temple

http://www.hotelarunachala.com/home.html,

is a stones throw from Periyar Gopuram, perhaps its not the smartest in town, but for convenience, for smart hotels you have to go west of Raman ashram.

Town alternative is Trishul hotel, see web

I hope your Dad does no tire on the trip.

__________________
The British gave India bureaucracy..... India perfected it [Lord Desai]

bonded

The temple in Vellore is the Sripuram temple. It is called the Golden Temple because it is coated with gold both inside and outside.

sdsudarsan

Hi aragorn,

i see your choice of temples to be more by populist and tourist numbers. I'll rather recommend your thinking back and reflect with your parents on your beliefs and philosophy, and then choose the places within limited time.

For example, while you go to Vellore, I don't see Cholingar (if you prefer Vishnu or Valli Malai if you prefer Karthikeya). At Madurai, the most important place, in addition to Meenakshi temple is Alagar Koil... which covers, Thirumaliruncholai (one in 108 Divya Desams), Pazhamudhir Cholai (one in Aarupadai for Karthikeya) and Nupura Gangai Theertham.

Do discuss with your parents and choose the right places. I'll even advice visiting limited places in more relaxed manner and get the vibrations than just cover everything, and end up not even remembering the name of the places. :-)