Tamil Nadu Road Trip
This was my first solo road trip for 9 days. I always wanted to drive down to the southern most point of NH44(North-South Corridor) which passes through Hyderabad and here came the day. This Tamil Nadu Road Trip covered around 20 temples across Tamil Nadu including 5 out of the 6 Murugan temples(Arupadai Veedu), 3 out of the 5 Panchabootha Lingas and one Jyothirlinga which is also part of Chardham. A UNESCO World Heritage site at Tanjavur..For my other road trips, please click here.
9 day Itinerary for Tamil Nadu:
Road Trip Day 1. Hyderabad to Krishnagiri
Day 2. Krishanagiri to Palani to Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple to Madurai
Day 3. Madurai Meenakshi Temple to Pazhamudircholai Murugan Temple to Kanyakumari
Day 4. Kanyakumari to Thiruchendur Murugan Temple to Rameswaram
Day 5. Rameshwaram temple to Dhanushkodi to Srirangam Jambukeshwarar Temple(Tiruvanaikovil)
Day 6. Srirangam Temple to Tanjavur to Swamimalai Murugan Temple to Dharasuram temple to Kumbakonam
Day 7. Kumbakonam to Chidambaram to Tiruvannamalai
Day 8. Tiruvannamalai Aruchaleswarar Temple to Arani to Vellore Golden Temple to Kanipakam to Kadapa
Day 9. Kadapa to Hyderabad
Day 1: Started the Road Trip from Hyderabad(Hi-tech City area) around 7 am in the morning. Had breakfast at Ekagraha Upahar near Shadnagar. Saw the KIA car manufacturing plant near Ananthapur on the way. Reached Lepakshi around 1.45 pm and had darshan at the temple. There was a huge Nandi statue near to the temple and had lunch at Haritha restaurant nearby. Drove 700 kms for the day and stayed at at Rajadurai residency Hotel in Krishnagiri in Tamilnadu. Had dinner in the restaurant of the hotel.
Day 2: Started from the hotel at 9.00 am after having breakfast and reached Palani Murugan Temple around 2pm. Thought of going up using the ropeway and stood in the queue but it was lunch time and stopped. So, came out of the queue and took the steps to reach the temple which was much faster. Had lunch on the way and reached Thiruparankundram Murugan temple near Madurai around 6.30 pm. Tried going to the Meenakshi temple but could not find the Car parking. So booked a room at Cosmopolitan hotel next to Madurai Railway station and had dinner in the restaurant of the same hotel. Drove 450 kms for the day.
Day 3: Started around 5.15 am from the hotel and reached Meenakshi temple around 5.30 am. Took around 2 hrs for the darshan and tour of the temple. From there went to Pazhamudircholai Murugan temple around 10.30 and started to Kanyakumari. Went to Tirunelvelli temple on the way but it was closed for lunch. Reached my destination Kanyakumari, the southern most point on NH44 around 4.30 pm. Took a room at Hotel Viswa Grand and went to the Sunset point by walk as it was close to the hotel. Had dinner at the restaurant of the hotel. Overall drive of 300 kms for the day.
Day 4: Started around 5.45 am from the hotel and reached Sunrise point by 6am. There was an elevated view point just next to the sea and near the at Kanyakumari temple. From there went to Vivekananda Rock which can be reached on a Ferry. There was a big queue for the ferry ticket from 7.45 am itself. Luckily stood in the Rs.200/- which is faster compared to the Rs.50/- ticket. But this is only for going and there is no preference while coming back from the rock. There was a memorial of Swami Vivekananda and a big statue. Saw Triveni Sangam and started to Thiruchendur Murugan temple. Reached around 2.45 pm and had darshan which took around 30 mins. From there started to Rameshwaram and reached around 8.30 pm. Checked into hotel room and spoke to a temple employee who would help with Darshan in the morning. Drove 300 kms for the day.
Day 5: Woke up at 3.45 am and went to the Rameswaram temple by 4.30 am as suggested by the temple employee to have darshan of the Spatika Lingam which is only possible in the morning hours. After that, went for the 22 kund bath and from there to Special darshan of the actual Jyothirlingam. This is also one of the Chardham temples. Completed my second temple after Dwaraka. After that had breakfast at a restaurant near the temple and went to Dhanushkodi which is the nearest place to Srilanka and can see RamSethu which is believed to be built by Rama and his Vanarsena to go to Srilanka. The road is very beautiful with sea on either side for around 5-6 kms. There is a memorial at the end of it and then need to come back. Got some shells from the beach for my younger son. From there went to APJ Abdul Kalam house and his memorial which was built recently. Mobiles are not allowed inside the memorial and there are no locker facilities available near the temple. There is one private one opposite the building on the other side of the road. This had a history of Dr.Kalam and some of his belongings. Well maintained. From there, started towards Jambukeswar temple(also called Tiruvanaikovil) which has one of the Panchabootha lingas(water) in Srirangam near Trichy.On the way, saw the famous Pamban bridge which has a Railway track and opens up when the ships need to go from under it. Drove around 100 kms for the day.
Day 6: Went to Srirangam temple by walk early by 6 am and it took around 2 hrs for Darshan. The main deity of Vishnu is in sleeping position. The temple complex is huge and is considered to be the biggest active temple complex in the world. This temple also has the body of Sri Ramanujacharya which is preserved with chemicals and balms. There is a view point on the first floor for which they charge Rs.50/- and went there. Got a very good view of all the Gopurams and also got to meet a local guide there. He suggested a few temples to visit. From there, reached Tanjavur and had lunch at a restaurant near the Brahadeeswar temple which is also known as the Big Temple. As the name suggests, the temple is huge with a huge Siva Lingam and the Gopuram is also very big with a round stone on top on it. It is an engineering marvel and need to appreciate the Chola kings for building it. From there, reached Swamimalai Murugan temple(my last out of the six abodes of Lord Murugan) around 5.45 pm and from there started to Kumbakonam. One the way, visited the Dharasuram temple. Got the car wash done at Kumbakonam and checked in to Hotel Le Garden for Night stay. Had dinner at a restaurant near by the hotel. Drove around 100kms.
Day 7: Started early morning around 6.30 and visited a few temples like Ramasamy koil, Nageswaran koil, Chakrapani koil, Kumbeswarar koil by walk in Kumbakonam. Heard that there are 100s of temples in and around Kumbakonam. Bought some brass items as I heard that it is famous for brass. From there went to Chidambaram temple which is one more of the Panchabootha lingas(sky). It was closed for darshan when I reached there around 4.15 pm and made a tour of the huge temple complex while waiting for the temple to open. The main deity is Nataraja swamy in standing position and a bit different from the other Siva temples. There is also a deity of Vishu in sleeping position. From there, started to Tiruvannamalai which is also called Arunachalam and checked in to Krishna Lodge which was close to the temple. Drove 250 kms.
Day 8: Started around 6.15 am and went to the main temple which is one of the Panchabootha lingas(Fire) and my last of the 5 to cover. Had darshan in around 30 mins and went around the temple complex which is also huge. This is surrounded by hills and after the main temple darshan went for Giri Valapathai(pradakshina around the hill) by auto which covers the 6 lingas around the hill and took around 1.5 hrs for 14 kms. There is also Ramana Maharshi ashram on the way. Had breakfast at a hotel near the temple and started my journey back home. One the way went to Arani which is famous for silk sarees and bought 4 sarees. From there, tried to visit the Golden temple but it was very crowded. So, skipped it and had lunch at Vellore. Reached Kanipakam around 4.30 pm and had darshan using the Athi Seegra darshan ticket. Reached Kadapa for night stay at Hotel Ziara.
Day 9: Started back home at 8.30 am and reached home around 5pm.
You can get the information on the temples of Tamil Nadu here.
Very satisfying trip and covered around 3250 kms. This Tamil Nadu road trip covered 5 out of the 6 Murugan temples(Arupadai Veedu), 3 out of the 5 Panchabootha Lingas and one Jyothirlinga which is also part of Chardham. A UNESCO site at Tanjavur.
