Thanjavur
Introduction
Thanjavur, also called Thanjai and once known as Tanjore, sits in the Kaveri Delta of Tamil Nadu and serves as the headquarters of its district. It is a major centre of southern Indian religion, art and architecture, and most of the Great Living Chola Temples, which hold UNESCO World Heritage status, stand in and around the city. The foremost of these, the Rajarajesvaram or Brihadisvara Temple, built by the Chola emperor Rajaraja I, rises in the centre of the city and holds one of India's largest bull statues, carved from a single granite rock. The city is also the home of Tanjore painting, a style unique to the region, and its position in the delta has made it an important agricultural centre known as the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu.
Thanjavur first rose to prominence as the capital of the Chola empire, and after the Cholas fell it passed through the hands of the Mutharaiyar dynasty, the Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Madurai Nayaks, the Thanjavur Nayaks, the Thanjavur Marathas and the British before becoming part of independent India in 1947. Roadways are the main way to get around and to reach the city, which also has rail connectivity; the nearest airport is Tiruchirapalli International Airport and the nearest seaport is Karaikal.
Before you go
Thanjavur, pronounced tuhny-JAH-voor, was the ancient capital of the Chola Empire and later of the Marathas and Nayaks, and it reached its height of glory under the Cholas between the 10th and 14th centuries as a great centre of learning and culture. The city's defining landmark is the Brihadisvara Temple, also known as the Big Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I and now a world heritage site. Bear in mind that the capital was later moved to nearby Gangaikonda Cholapuram under Rajendra Chola I, so the region holds more than one historic site of Chola importance. Before you go, know that Thanjavur is considered the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, and many linguists regard it as the cultural capital, with the local dialect held to be the purest form of Tamil. The town itself is diverse, with a heterogeneous mix of populations of all religions, and the presence of numerous engineering colleges nearby has increased its student population. The city is also famous for fine paintings done with studded gems and gold leaf. Like any other city in Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur is polluted, and dumping and burning of garbage is very common, so carry precautions.Getting there
Thanjavur has no airport of its own; the nearest is Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ), roughly 57 km away by road, with direct flights from Chennai. Most travellers arrive instead by train at Thanjavur Junction, which sits closer to the Old Bus Stand than the New Bus Stand. Daily services connect the city with Chennai, Bengaluru, Mysore, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Thrissur, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Erode, Salem, Tirupur, Tirunelveli and Rameswaram, while weekly trains run to Tiruchendur, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Jabalpur, Vijayawada and Vizianagaram. Check timings and book on the IRCTC website.
State and private buses also ply daily from Mannargudi, Pattukkottai, Kumbakonam, Pondicherry, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli. Journeys from Bengaluru and Chennai take around nine hours, and overnight buses are available. Some services, including those from Madurai and Tiruchirappalli, arrive at the New Bus Stand about 4 km from the centre; from there, take a town bus, commonly brown, into the centre and ask for the Old Bus Stand.
Getting around
Within the city, town buses are the cheapest way to move around, with fares staying very low; they run frequently between the Old and New Bus Stands and out to surrounding towns and villages such as Vallam, Budalur, Pillaiyarpatti and Kuruvadipatti. Buses get crowded at peak hours with office workers and college students, so plan around those times if you can. A useful landmark to know is Cholan Silai, the stop marked by the statue of Rajaraja Chola I.
- Auto-rickshaw: Widely available, but there are no meters. Agree on the fare with the driver before you get in, and expect to pay more if you don't speak Tamil or don't bargain.
- Cycle rickshaw: Uncommon among locals but often hired by foreign travellers for getting around town; ask your hotel's service desk for help arranging one.
- Tourist cab: The best choice if you want to tour the temples around Thanjavur. Drivers don't follow a fixed method for charging, so negotiate before departing.
- Share auto: Runs along the Thanjavur–Trichy national highway, a budget option for reaching nearby towns.
If you're arriving by bus, note that services from Madurai or Tiruchirappalli usually pull into the New Bus Stand, about 4 km from the city centre, while the Old Bus Stand sits in the heart of the city near the Anna Statue. A town bus, typically painted brown, connects the two. Thanjavur Junction railway station is closer to the Old Bus Stand than the New Bus Stand, which is handy if you're continuing onward by bus.
Where to stay
Hotels in Thanjavur are generally not that expensive, but how you book matters. Rather than reserving through online websites, which may show increased demand and charge you extra, it is best to call the hotel directly and book by phone. For a more adventurous traveller, turning up at the hotel, haggling and then booking a room is another option. Rooms in the centre of town tend to cost more because of the easy access they give you to the tourist spots. If you would rather avoid the crowds, look at hotels near the New Bus Stand, which make it easier to travel on to other cities.
Budget choices include Hotel Karthik, an older property whose cleanliness is middling but which sits only a short walk from Bridhadeeswara Temple and the palace, and has a ground-floor restaurant serving good south Indian vegetarian food. In the mid-range, Hotel Ramnath on South Rampart near the old bus stand is clean and modern with a good price-quality ratio, offering A/C and non-A/C rooms with TV and hot water. Hotel ASK Residency, near the New Bus Stand, has modest rates, clean rooms, towels and soaps, with air conditioning costing extra. For a splurge, Hotel Gnaman on Anna Salai in the centre of town offers only A/C rooms, while Ideal River View Resort sits a little out of town but is well kept and quiet. Oriental Towers, south of Thanjavur Junction, Parisutham, with a nice pool area and good food, and Temple Tower near Membalam round out the higher end.
Food & drink
Thanjavur's eating is built around traditional South Indian vegetarian cooking, and the old bus stand area is where you'll find much of it. Sree Aariya Bhavan serves dosas and idly in the morning and a thali on a banana leaf at lunch, while Venkata Lodge is known for pongal, adai and aviyal. On West Main Street, Hotel Coffee Palace fills up in the mornings for breakfast. For something richer, Sathars on Gandhiji Road specialises in Mughal dishes with very rich gravies, and Thevars is known for its biryani. Dheen Garden is the place to go for grilled and tandoori chicken, and Raja's Curry on Court Road covers vegetarian, non-vegetarian and halal Indian and Chinese food. If you want Chinese, Rice Bowl and Hotel Sangamam are both options, with Sangamam the cheaper of the two. For sweets and snacks, Bombay Sweets has branches including the old bus stand, new bus stand and Medical College, and is good for sweets and spicy savouries. Sri Krishna Sweets, at the old and new bus stands, is known for ghee murukku and Indian-style cakes, while Sri Divya Sweets at the old bus stand does excellent vada and bhajjis. At the smarter end, the hotels on Srinivasam Pillai Road offer vegetarian South Indian cooking and multicuisine menus that include continental dishes. For a drink, Banam Bub on Srinivasam Pillai Road is open from late morning until night.When to go
Thanjavur has a pleasant cool season from November to February, when warm days give way to cool nights. This is the most comfortable stretch of the year, but the North-East monsoon is still running through January, so expect rain, especially early in the period.
- Pleasant season (November to February): Warm days and cool nights; the most comfortable time to visit, though the North-East monsoon still brings rain through January.
- Summer (March to June): Heat builds from March and peaks by the end of May and June. Rain is sparse in these months, though the South-West monsoon arrives in June.
- South-West monsoon (June to September): Brings much less rain than the North-East monsoon, and overlaps the tail of the summer heat at the start.
- North-East monsoon (October to January): The wetter monsoon, contributing most of the district's rainfall. The heavy rain feeds the Cauvery and benefits the surrounding farmland.
Three days in Thanjavur
Day one: Start in Thanjavur, the city also known as Tanjore, in the Kaveri Delta of Tamil Nadu. Begin at the Brihadisvara Temple, also called Rajarajesvaram or the Big Temple, the centrepiece of the Great Living Chola Temples recognised as UNESCO World Heritage. Built under Rajaraja Chola, it anchors the Chola legacy you will trace over the next three days. Spend the rest of the day in the surrounding streets, getting your bearings in a city shaped in turn by the Cholas, Mutharaiyar, Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks, Thanjavur Marathas and the British.
Day two: Travel out to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, the temple city of Rajendra Chola, to see how the Chola Empire extended its architectural reach beyond Thanjavur. Back in the city, look at the layers left by the Marathas and Nayaks in the older quarters, and take your meals as Tamil food is served locally. If you are arriving or leaving by air, Tiruchirappalli International Airport, also written Tiruchirapalli International Airport or TRZ, is the nearest gateway; Roadways services and routes via Karaikal connect the delta.
Day three: Return to the Big Temple at a quieter hour, then use the remaining time to fill the gaps in the Chola story you have followed from Rajaraja to Rajendra. Keep the day unhurried: the heat in this part of Tamil Nadu is best met with a slow morning and a late afternoon, and the sites reward time rather than rushing. Before you leave, make sure you have seen the Brihadisvara Temple properly, since it is the reason most travellers come to Thanjavur at all.