Tanjore (or Thanjavur, which I prefer to call it as it sounds more poetic), has always been a fascinating place to me ever since I got connected to Tamil Nadu and Tamil people. And have been always looking for a reason to travel down. Though I have traveled to this place couple of times before, those were just short visits to attend marriages and could not, or was not really bothered to look anything beyond attending them and returning back.
And now being an avid traveler and bit more mature enough to appreciate history and art
![Smile](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.png)
, a road trip to any such places excites me. There comes an invitation from a colleague for his wedding in Thanjavur. I didn’t have a second thought, (
except convincing my wife that I am going without her ![Big Grin](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.png)
) in getting myself prepared to take a glimpse of the marvels.
Reading and understanding more about the Big temple in Thanjavur walked me through the glorious past of the Chola Kingdom, which also made me realize that history subjects that we studied in school was all about the series of Kings who ruled Delhi and the North, the Mughals. Cholas ruled not just South India and Ceylon. They had almost the whole of SE Asia under their control. I am not getting into details of that, as such information is abundant on the internet and can be easily readable. Let me only try to connect through these places with this travelogue. Inspired from a fellow BHPian's travelogue on Chasing the Hoysala architecture, it was easy for me to find a title for this T'logue.
Preparation: Car- Suzuki Baleno VXI
Having clocked 1.2Lakhs Kms on the ODO, it was time for a much needed shock absorber replacement for my Baleno. Got them procured and replaced a week ahead of the trip and checked all the vitals of the car to make myself confident that it will transport us without any hiccups.
Planning the places of interest and route:
Though the marriage function is at Thanjavur, we planned to take a detour to the neighboring places of interest. Finally it was decided we are primarily going to visit three temples which are regarded as the
Great Living Chola Temples. By doing some research and discussion with a friend, finalized on the route after several route revisions that went up to Rev5.0. And it happened to be exactly the same route that we traveled finally.
Start: 04:00 AM (Bangalore)
Picked up my co-travelers (3 of them) and headed towards Hosur road to hit the highway as early as possible to beat the weekend traffic, and we did.
Quick stop to stretch the legs and re-charge before setting off the journey. A little ahead of Krishnagiri
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Reached Salem at 08:00 AM and had breakfast at Hotel Anandas, situated in the bypass road, but on the opposite side. Since my friend was familiar with the place, it was easy to navigate through.
Our first visit is planned to Gangai Konda Cholapuram, and hence had to take a detour from Salem towards Vridhachalam instead of heading straight to Thanjavur via Namakkal.
The road was in perfect driving condition with 4 lanes and intermittent switching to 2 lanes up to Vridhachalam. Further, it is a 2 lane single carriageway up to Gangai Konda Cholapuram.
Reached Gangai Konda Cholapuram at about 11:45 PM in search of all the glory of the Cholas. We could see the Gopuram emerge on the right side from far away as we approached the temple.
As we enter into the serene premises, there stands the marvelous monument. Like father, Like son - King Rajendra Chola made no compromise to match this to the temple built by his father Raja Raja Chola at Thanjavur.
There is no fees for cameras, no strict checking, no policing, no restrictions. You are all by yourself and can click as many pictures you want and roam around. That made it a pleasant and peaceful experience.
Spent time in the temple for a good 2 hours. The temple sanctum was about to be closed at 12:30pm, but we were early enough to get a good Darshan.
After clicking those photographs and walking around the monument, it was time to head to the next destination.
![Chasing the Chola Architecture...-dsc_0437.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1606750d1689700157t-chasing-chola-architecture-dsc_0437.jpg)
A new refreshment to me - Panneer Soda. First time tasting it.
![Chasing the Chola Architecture...-dsc_0443jpg.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1606751d1689700157t-chasing-chola-architecture-dsc_0443jpg.jpg)
A tea which we missed.
![Chasing the Chola Architecture...-dsc_0446jpg.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1606752d1689700157t-chasing-chola-architecture-dsc_0446jpg.jpg)
Is this for all the riots around Kaveri about?
![Chasing the Chola Architecture...-dsc_0451jpg.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1606754d1689700157t-chasing-chola-architecture-dsc_0451jpg.jpg)
Revving up
After a quick lunch at a hotel on the way to Darasuram, we reached the next place in the list- Airavateswara temple.
![Chasing the Chola Architecture...-dsc_0452jpg.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1606755d1689700157t-chasing-chola-architecture-dsc_0452jpg.jpg)
It was about 2:30pm and the temple was closed, but not the entrance. Though you cannot see the deity as it is closed, you are free to get inside the premises and do circumambulation. Unlike the previous temple, this is not as big but the intricate carvings and beautiful sculptures are beyond measure.