Thanjavur

Overview

Thanjavur (Tanjore) was the Chola capital, and its centrepiece — the Brihadeeswarar Temple, built by Raja Raja Chola I around 1010 CE — is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the few Chola-era structures still functioning as a living temple rather than a monument-only ruin. Its 66m granite vimana (tower) is one of the tallest of its era anywhere in the world, capped by a single carved granite block estimated at roughly 80 tonnes, still debated among historians as to how it was raised. The temple is also the reference point for the wider Great Living Chola Temples UNESCO listing, which includes sites at Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram nearby. Thanjavur is equally known outside its temple for Tanjore painting, a gold-leaf classical art style, and for the Saraswathi Mahal Library, one of Asia's oldest surviving manuscript libraries.

Best time to visit

November through February is the most comfortable stretch — the Kaveri delta's summer heat and humidity build sharply from March. The Natyanjali Festival, a classical dance festival held over Maha Shivaratri (February/March) with performances staged in the temple's own courtyard, is worth planning a trip around if you're interested in Bharatanatyam and other classical forms performed in their original temple setting rather than a modern auditorium.

Things to do

• Walk the Brihadeeswarar Temple complex at a slow pace — the base friezes and the Nandi bull statue (carved from a single block) are as much the draw as the tower itself.
• Visit the Thanjavur Maratha Palace and Saraswathi Mahal Library for the region's post-Chola Maratha-era history.
• See a Tanjore painting workshop in the old town — several family-run studios still teach and sell the traditional gold-foil technique.
• Day-trip to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, roughly an hour away, the other major Chola-era temple in the UNESCO listing and far less crowded than Thanjavur itself.

Sample itinerary

Weekend (2 Days)

1. Day 1 — Brihadeeswarar Temple in the morning before the heat builds, Thanjavur Palace and Saraswathi Mahal Library in the afternoon.
2. Day 2 — Tanjore painting workshop visit, old-town market, departure.

Chola Heritage Circuit (3 Days)

1. Day 1 — Arrive Thanjavur, Brihadeeswarar Temple.
2. Day 2 — Day trip to Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram's Airavatesvara Temple, both part of the same UNESCO listing.
3. Day 3 — Thanjavur Palace, Tanjore painting studio, departure.