BHPian Vijesh L recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Sacred Journey to the Heart of the Chola KingdomA few months back, my wife, mom and mom-in-law asked me to plan for a trip to the Chola Kingdom. So I had decided to plan for a trip around December. In November, dates were decided, a rough itinerary was done, and rooms were booked. This is a very different journey for an Atheist like me.Day 1 – Trichy and TanjoreWe started from Coimbatore around 4.30 AM. Filled fuel at Shell, bought some snacks and Red Bull for the journey as I am the only driver for the entire trip. We reached Trichy around 8.30 AM, had breakfast at Shri Sangeethas. Breakfast was very good. After Breakfast, we proceeded to Jambukeshwarar Temple. Visited the temple and proceeded to Srirangam. We had to wait 30 mins in the special ticket line to just see the Idol for less than few seconds. This is one of the reasons why I try to avoid popular temples, as we don’t get enough time to appreciate the workmanship and engineering techniques of our ancestors. We went to the viewpoint where all 21 towers are visible. It was almost 2 PM when we came out of the temple. Fuel stop at Shell, Avinashi Road Somewhere near Karur, the highest mileage of the trip. After having lunch again at Shri Sangeethas, we proceeded towards Tanjavur. Reached the Big Temple at 4 PM. After offering our prayers and looking around at the temple, we bought a few souvenirs from there and started towards Kumbakonam for our stay. We reached Hotel Kingsbury Inn around 7.30 PM. The rooms were excellent. Ordered coffee in the room and went out for dinner at ARK Hotels near Sarangapani Temple. Day 2 – Kumbakonam and Gangai Konda Cholapuram: Got ready by 7 AM and went to Adi Kumbareshwarar temple. After Darshan, he went to a Ram temple and then visited Sarangapani Temple. All three temples were beautiful works of Architecture. Went back to the ARK hotel for breakfast, but the breakfast was average. We went back to the hotel, refreshed and checked out of the hotel room. We proceeded towards Gangai Konda Cholapuram and reached around 11.30 AM. Not as crowded as Big Temple, but no less in beauty compared to Big Temple. This is a must-visit temple. The cool breeze and neatly maintained lawn made us stay there until 1 PM. We started our return journey via Attur, Salem, and Coimbatore route. Reached home around 8 PM after a leisurely drive. Adi Kumbareshwar Temple Gangai Konda Cholapuram Trip Stats Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
