Lonely Planet - EARTH

Kumbakonam is a small town with bustling activities and many temples situated in and around it. This town is situated near the cauvery river that runs through tanjore. The best part of this town are the temples built by the chola kings.

Transport ::

Kumbakonam has bus and trains available to madurai,trichy,coimbatore and chennai. Buses are available to chidambaram and pondicherry also. For people who are trying to reach this place from chennai, rockfort express and cholan express are available.

Touring spots ::

Kumbakonam is also a temple town in Tamilnadu. There are over dozens of temples that represent the chola architecture. Most of the temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.

1) Sarangapani Temple is the largest Vishnu temple in kumbakonam. This temple  has a shrine built in the form of a chariot. It was built by the cholas in the 12th century.

2) Kumbeshwara Temple is dedicated to lord Shiva and has a tall gopuram with 9 storeys. It is the largest Shiva temple. The lingam in this temple was said to be made by Lord Shiva himself.

3) Nageshwara Temple was built in the 12th century by the chola kings. This temple is dedicated to lord Shiva who is in the form of nagaraja in this place.Here too, the main shrine is in the form of a chariot.

4) Mahamaham Tank :: This huge tank is located at about half kilometer from the nageshwara temple. This place very sacred and every 12 years a grand festival is celebrated as there is a belief that at this time, the sacred water of ganga flows into this tank.