THANJAVUR-The place that known by Brahadeeswara Temple

Main entrance of Brahadeeswara Temple

Thanjavur is well-known throughout the world for being the home of the Brahadeeswara temple. Thanjavur rose to glory during the later Chola period between the 9th and 14th centuries A.D. It also flourished later during the rule of the Nayaks and Mahrattas. At present Thanjavur is one of the district headquarters of Tamilnadu State in India. (The name of the district is also known as Thanjavur). It has been the treasure house of art for centuries. It is called the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu.

Front view of Brahadeeswara Temple

Attractions:

Brahadeeswara temple , the magnificent palace, Rajah Serfoji's Saraswathi Mahal Library, Art Gallery and also for its exquisite handicrafts like the Art Plate, pithwork, bronze icons, Thanjavur paintings and the classical South Indian musical instruments. Brahadeeswara Temple is one of the largest and architecturally important temples in India. The Great king, Raja Raja Chola constructed this temple nearly 1000 years back.  This is one of the World Heritage sites of UNESCO.

How to reach:

Thanjavur can be reached easily by road, rail and air. Tamil Nadu state government runs frequent public buses from nearby Trichy, Chennai, Kumbakonam, Pudukkottai, Pattukkottai, Tirunelveli, Karur, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore,Erode and many other cities in the states. From the state capital Chennai, a National Highway (NH 45-A) linking Chennai with Chidambaram, Mayavaram, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur,Thiruvarur and Nagappatinam provides convenient access to tourists who come to visit Thanjavur and the adjoining towns. There are also several buses operated by private bus operators.

Architectural perfection 

Rail services are run by Indian Railways from many cities across India including Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Erode, Tirunelveli, Madurai and Nagore. The train station is Thanjavur Junction.

Tiruchirapalli Airport is the nearest airport, located 65 km away.

 

A view from back of the Temple

Accomadation:

Hotels are more or less cheap in Thanjavur. Suitable rooms in reasonable rate are available near railway station. Hotel ‘Tamilnadu’ is one of them, which run by Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation. Address of this hotel: Gandhi Road, Near railway station, Thanjavur-613001. Ph: 91-76995832.

ASIA’S Largest Tulip garden opens

Asia’s largest tulip garden on the banks of beautiful DAL Lake in Srinagar, KASHMIR (India) opened yesterday, 5th April 2014 for tourists. According to an official of the Floriculture department “The weather this year delayed the booming of the tulips and delayed its opening”. The garden on the foot hills of Zabarwan spread over 15 hectares has a total of 1.5 million tulips in 120 varieties.

For more information about Tulip visit: www.smallhomegardens.com. and for easy travel to Kashmir, paradise on earth see my previous post “KASHMIR-The Paradise on Earth"

PUDUCHERRY -An erstwhile French colony

Pondicherry is a little town, located on southern coast of India. It was a French colony till 1954. The French relations, colonial lay out of the town, the heritage buildings, the spiritual scene, long beaches, back water, a choice of restaurants serving a mélange of cuisines attracts domestic and foreign travelers to here. For detailed map : http://tourism.pondicherry.gov.in/images/maps/pdy1.jpg

 Best time to visit: October to February

Main attractions:

·         Beaches – Promenade, Paradise, Serenity and Auroville beach. The 1.5 km long Promenade running along the beach is the pride of Puducherry.

·        Sri Aurobindo Ashram: This is one of the most well known ashrams in India, with devotees from India and abroad flocking to it for spiritual salvation.

·        Auroville :Idea behind this is to build a city where people of goodwill can live together in peace and harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities.

·        Temples, churches and mosques: The Church of sacred Heart of Jesus built by French missionaries in the 1700s in a contrasting Neo-Gothic manner, with towers flanking a central gable and stained glass windows on the side.

·        Heritage buildings and Monuments.

·        Museums: Puducherry Museum, Ananda Ranga Pillai Museum, Bharathi Museum, Bharathi Dasan Museum, Children’s museum and Jawahar toy Museum.

·        Back water , Lake and Gardens

·         Arikamedu :Arikamedu, the ancient Roman trade centre is 4 Kms south of Puducherry on the right bank of Ariyankuppam river.  

GANDHI STATUE ON BEACH ROAD

How to reach:

By Air: The nearest airport is CHENNAI, which is about 135 Kms away from Puducherry. Trichi (220Kms), Bangalore (320Kms) and Madurai are other nearest airports. Chennai and Bangalore airports are well connected with domestic airports in India and these have connections to Europe, USA, Middle East and South East Asia. 

By Rail: Though there is railway connection to Puducherry, direct trains are few. Travellors can get down at Villupuram, which is about 30 kms away from Puducherry located on main line from Chennai to Kanyakumari.

By Road: Puducherry is conveniently accessible by road, either by bus or taxi. Almost all towns in south India are well connected to this place.  There are frequent express buses in every 15 minutes from Chennai.( Koyembedu bus stand) reaching Puducherry within 3 hrs.

PARK MONUMENT(Aayi Mandapam)

Accomadation:

Hotels are comparatively cheap in Puducherry. Comfortable rooms in reasonable rate are available in hotels near bus stand itself. ADITYA is one among them. In Kamaraj Salai (about 2Kms from bus stand) Hotel JAYARAM is an ideal hotel. A very good vegetarian restaurant is attached with this hotel. For more reliable information visit: http://tourism.pondicherry.gov.in/hotels.html:

PUDUCHERRY MUSEUM

Travel Tips :

§  Puducherry is humid in weather. It is best to avoid thick dresses. During winter take sweaters and jackets.

§  Taxi and Auto drivers would cheat you unless you set the charge before travelling.

§  Don’t miss walk on beach road and a hot coffee from LE CAFE in evening. It is very interesting.

§  Puducherry Tourism Development Corporation conducts sightseeing trips, week end tours and seasonal tours. For information contact: Tourist Information Bureau, Beach Road, Puducherry. Ph:0413-2339497, 2226744 

HAMPI-A destroyed capital city

Ruins of structures

Hampi is a ruined  city of ancient India, situated on the banks of Thungabhadra River in Karnataka State.It was capital city of VIJAYANAGARA empire existed during 1336 to 1565. The ruin of the city was during invasion of the empire by Deccan Sultanates. Ruins of architectural structures and temples beautifully constructed in hard rock spread in about 26 sq Kms are the main attractions of Hampi.The architecture of the ruins makes one wonder at the amazing skill of the artisans!  Now it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Virupaksha Temple

Best time to visit: October to February

Kings Balance

Attractions in specific:

·         Virupaksha Temple

·         Idol of Narasimha in Lakshmi Narasimha Temple

·         Vittala Temple

·         The Kings Balance

Chariot at Vitthala Temple

·         Lotus Mahal

·         Elephant Stables

·         Mahanavami Dibba

·         Watch House

·         Tungabhadra River

Partially ruined idol of Narasimha

Attractions around Hampi:

·         Tungabhadra Dam: The Thunga bhadra Dam is construced across the Thungabhadra river , a tributary of Krihna River.The Dam is very near to Hospet.

Tungabhadra Dam at sunset

How to reach:

By Road and Rail:  There are a number of options to reach Hampi. Your gateway town to Hampi is Hospet , bustling town located very close to the Hampi ruins(12 Kms). This is the major travel hub from where you can get the travel connections. There are good road and rail connections to Hospet from a number of major towns and cities.
By Air: Travel by air is not advisable. Bellary (60Kms) and Hubli (170Kms) are the nearest domestic air ports. These airports are connected by domestic flights from Bangalore, Mumbai and other cities in south India. Bangalore is the international airport near to Hampi.

A view of  of Virupaksha temple from upper hill.

Accomadation: There are only a few of hotels at Hampi. More hotels are in Hospet,

Mahanavami Dibba

Elephant Stables

Things to remember: ·         To make visiting Hampi more interesting, acquire some knowledge about the history of Vijayanagara Empire before your visit. ·         Hotels in Hampi are more expensive than that of Hospet. Hospet is only 12 Kms from Hampi. ·         All kinds of transportation are available from Hospet. KSTDC (Karnataka State Tourism Devt. Corporation) also conducts sightseeing trips to Hampi and Tungabhdra Dam from Hospet. The booking office of KSTDC is at KRK lodge, Near Priyadharsini Hotel, Station Road, Hospet. ·         Tungabhdra Dam is very near to Hospet. The garden attached to the dam is very beautiful. So don’t miss it.( The dam site is also included in Hampi trip of KSTDC)