Melkote - Talakad - Shivanasamudra

Trip members: Karthik, Prem, Gopu and Sai Praveen
Trip date: 25 and 26 August 2017
Road Trip Plan : Chennai - Hosur - Mandya - Srirangapatna - Melkote - Talakad - Shivanasamudra - Hosur - Chennai

Day-1

We started by car around 06:45. The plan was to stay in Srirangapatna one night and cover Melkote - Talakad - Shivanasamudra. We stopped at Hotel Sakthi Ganapathi. This is near Kanchipuram junction road. They serve South India food - very simple and delicious Idli, dosas, pongal, vada, pooris. We had breakfast here around 8 AM. It took longer time than expected as it was drizzling and quite badly maintained roads in the junction of Sriperumpudur and also on NH around Kanchipuram.

The whole route - stretch of NH 48 from Ranipet to Hosur is so smooth and cruising is possible. We crossed Krishnagiri and stopped for a tea break. We crossed Hosur around 11:45 AM and got into Mysore road via NICE road. The stretch of Mysore road is curvy, yet good to drive. There would be quite a number of speed brakers as we go through many towns and villages. We stopped at Hotel Haripriya at Mandya for lunch. The lunch was for Rs.72/- quite simple and typical Karnatak lunch. The masala vadai was piping hot and yummy with lots of onions and garlic.

We had booked Hotel Mayura Riverview in Srirangapatna. We reached the hotel by 2:30 and checked in. Hotel Mayura Riverview is one of the best locations a resort can be in. Our rooms were hardly 20m from the rich and beautiful Cauvery river. The view from the room was very serene and scenic. Anyone travelling around Mysore - please do visit this place - overnight stay is excellent. Atleast drop by the restaurant for a tea and you will cherish to moments. They also have Theppam ride - Rs.100 per person for 10-15 minutes ride in Cauvery.

We started to Melkote by 15:30. Its 50 kms from Srirangapatna to Melkote. Melkote is a historical town hosting few temples on a small hill. It is also one of the famous film shooting spots. The road leading to this remote location is curvy single road and mostly good roads. There are quite a number of speed brakers without any signs or paints on it. Take care while driving. We reached around 16:30.

The most famous spot is Raya Gopura. This is on top of the hillock. The Raya Gopura has 4 artistic pillars. One has to climb few steps - around 40-50 and see this place. The place offers great views of the surrounding location. Famous films shot in this location are Padayappa, Linga, Guru and many more. We spent around 45 minutes here.

On the way from Raja Gopura to Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple, there is a twin Pushkarani - It is called Akka-Thangiyara kola - sisters. One has sweet water - edible and believed to be blessed while the other is quite slushy. The tanks have well laid beautiful steps - awesome place for photography.

We then visited Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple. The temple is dedicated to Cheluva-Narayana Swamy - Lord Vishnu. The temple has very artistic pillars. One pillar has all Gods inscribed on it, just behind the Garbhakriha and if performed pradakshinams, it is believed we go around the world. The other main sanctums are Goddess Nachiyar, Anjenaya and Ramanujar. We spent around 45 mins in the temple.

We reached back the resort by 7 PM and spent the evening by the banks of Cauvery. The dinner at KSTDC restaurant was good, nominal and tasty. We had our legs dipped in chill water on the banks of Cauvery before we retired for the day.

Day-2

As any trip, the day started around 6:30. After check-out, we were hungry and had breakfast at Hotel Ariyaas. The idlies, masala dosas, vada were good. The service was also quite good. This is just opposite to the road leading to KSTDC Mayura Riverview.

We set directions to Talakad. Talakad is a desert-like town on banks of Cauvery. A historic site, Talakad once had over 30 temples that today are buried in sand. Now it is a scenic and spiritual pilgrimage centre. Here the eastward flowing Cauvery river changes course and seems magnificently vast as here the sand on its banks spreads over a wide area. Talakad is known for five temples of the "Panchalinga Darshana".

The opportunity to visit all five Shiva temples in one auspicious day comes around once every twelve years. The five temples are thought to represent the five different faces or avatars of Lord Shiva. The temples are Sri Vaidyanatheshwara, Sri Maruleshwara, Sri Muduhuthore Mallikarjuneshwara, Sri Arakeshwara and Sri Pathaleshwara temples. The old city Talkad is completely buried beneath the hills of sand. More than thirty temples, it is stated, are beneath the sand, but the Kírti Narayana temlpe has been successfully excavated. The most imposing temple left uncovered by the sand is that of Vidyanatheshwara temple.

Sri Muduhuthore Mallikarjuneshwara is quite outside Talakad and we missed directions for it and so as unable to visit the temple.

The parking area is closer to Sri Vaidyanatheshwara temple. After visiting this temple, one needs to walk around for 2 other Linga temples - Sri Pathaleshwara and Sri Maruleshwara. We need to climb up paths in sand dunes - path is covered with shelters and walking on the sand would be difficult for elders and differently-abled. Other temples in this route are the stunning temple of Kirthi Narayana and Chowdeeswari amman temple.

Sri Vaidyanatheshwara temple is the largest of the four Linga temples we visited. The place is very serene and quite. We can see that the Nandhi is mounted on a height atop of a mandapa facing the gopuram of the temple. The temple has some good sculptures - prominently the stone rings hanging in one corner of the temple.

Enroute to climb the sand dunes to other temples, is located Veerabhadra Swamy temple. The temple is considered to be a locally significant.

Sri Pathaleshwara temple and Maruleshwara temple are excavated from sand dunes - they are around 25-30 feet deep in the sand dunes. It takes 10-12 minutes to reach this temple. From here, the Maruleshwara temple is around 400m on the sand dunes. The Maruleshwara temple hosts a smoking wood, upon which pilgrims pray and put a powder made out of 5 trees, sandal and sambrani.

Sri Pathaleshwara temple

On the way to Maruleshwara temple from Pathaleshwara temple, one can get down the sand dunes to visit Kirthinarayan temple or from the front side near the parking area. Kirthinarayan temple is fully excavated and restored by ASI. The artistic prakarams and pillars follow Hoysala architecture. Looks like the temple collapsed and has been restored by ASI.

The last in the route is Goddess Chowdeeswari Amman. The Goddess is well decorated and serene. The temple is located closer a Pushkarani, which is quite big and well maintained. However, all gates were closed.

We also visited Cauvery river point - a broad section of Cauvery river, where there is well organized parking slots (Rs.30/ parking fee), lots of small eateries. Lots of people take bat here and lot of small local boats - charging Rs.30 and Rs.50 per person for small and big trips.

We then started towards Shivanasamudra. On the way we located Arakeshwara temple. This temple is quite isolated from Talakad - The temple is quite small but serene and nice. We spent around 10 minutes as the priest performed Aarthi.

Onwards to Shivanasamudra, the route was very scenic and blissful. Curvy roads, bends, green on either side and hills all around, filled lakes, narrow bridges, Cauvery river criss-crossing here and there. We spotted a place with beautiful view where Shivanasamudra starts - it splits into 2 parts. An old bridge and multiple spots to enjoy grand views of Cauvery make the spot great for photography. We spent around 20 minutes here.

We then started towards Bharachukki view point. They collect Rs.20 as entrance and parking fee. The parking is well laid and has rest rooms built and small shops all around .However, beware of monkeys. The view point gives grand view the water falls. The water was quite enough to have a good pleasant view of the falls. We spent around 30 minutes here enjoying the view. As you move across the view point, you can get nice views.

We then went through the Dargah nearby entrance of Barachukki falls towards the hydroelectric powerplant. This place also offers nice views. One can see the bigger part of Bharachukki falls quite closeby from this location. Though fenced, do take care as the edges are very steep.

Back as per plan to visit Gaganachukki. we stopped to visit Madhya Ranga temple. Lord Ranganthar is the primary God here and we waited for 10 minutes to have dharshan as pooja was underway. We had an excellent dharshan in this ancient temple. The Lord is in reclining position. We also had Annadhana food at the temple - rice, sambhar, kesari and panchamirtham. It was 13:45 by the time we completed lunch.

We then stopped just behind the temple where river Cauvery was so vast looked like a sea. The spot was great for photographs and some were also taking bath. After spending 20-30 minutes here, we decided to drive back to Chennai.

We took the route of Kanakapura - NICE road, Hosur and to Chennai. We stopped by inbetween for sort breaks and for dinner near Vellore at Gayathri Aryaas. We reached back Chennai around 11 PM amidst rain in Chennai.

Tripmeter in 2 days - 1076 kms !

Pichavaram - Chidambaram - Poompuhar - Cuddalore - Places around

A quick 3 day plan for site seeing of offbeat places and temples.

Trip members: Karthik and family
Trip date: 13, 14 and 15 August 2017
Trip Plan : Chennai - Pichavaram - Bhuvanagiri - Chidambaram - Vaideeswaran Koil - Thirukadaiyur - Keelaperumpazham - Thiruvengadu - Poompuhar - Cuddalore - Panruti - Chennai

Day-1

Started from Chennai by 6 AM on 13th August and took the ECR route. The roads are just smooth and cruise mode ON. The start of the day was very gloomy and very hard rain started dumping with wind as we crossed Mahabalipuram. The entire stretch until Cuddalore was a huge pour down and driving though was difficult, was enjoyable on the ECR during heavy rains.

We stopped at Hotel Vasantha Bhavan just before Marakanam. The basic south India breakfast - Idlis, dosas, Pongal and vadai - were quite good. They served 4 varieties of chutneys and all were yummy. Amidst heavy rains, the hotel staff had arranged a person with umbrella to walk customers from parking area to restaurant - a good one. Overall, a nice stop for good food on the ECR in Marakanam.

We reached Pichavaram around 10:50 AM. There are TTDC operated boats - ticket counter - charging quite cheap when compared to other places. Pichavaram is around 210 kms from Chennai - takes around 5 hours. Pichavaram is around 9 kms from the ECR, a diversion 2-3 kms before reaching Chidambaram bypass on the ECR. The Pichavaram Mangrove Forest is the world's second largest mangrove forest. Boating is provided for TTDC and Forest department. We got the tickets in the TTDC counter - row boat for Rs.280+ for 4 members. The long weekend crowd was piling up and it looks like we @ 11 AM were pretty ahead of the crowd time.

We got our boat in 10-15 mins waiting time. We chose row boat as I had heard, they take us into very beautiful locations if we pay them more. Once we started the ride, the boat driver offered help to take us to beautiful locations - closed tunnels inside mangroves. We obliged for Rs.500 and the deal was made. He took us into some deep beautiful locations. The one hour drive was all the penny worth and we believe 2 hours or more could be monotonous and tiring. The early morning rains made the day gloomy and enjoyable. Summer is not a good time to visit this place.

There is enough parking space, small shops for some quick drinks, water and snacks. One needs to plan 2-3 hours for Picharavam. There is also a watch tower, Rs.10 per person to enjoy the view of Pichavaram. Overall, plan 2-3 hours for this place. Small snacks shops are available and no food options.

We reached Chidambaram by 1 PM and checked in to Hotel RK residency. We had pre-booked our rooms. They have lift option and got our rooms in second floor. The rooms were just ok - bed could have been cleaner. Towels and soap was provided only after asking. The bathrooms doors had no latches. Below average stay for the cost charged. This is 600m from the Chidambaram temple.

We had lunch on Hotel Krishna Vilas - there was no meals. They served mixed rice - puliyotharai, sambhar rice, veg pulav and curd rice. They also had hot bondas as sides. The food was ok and able to have comfortably than most of the places around.

After some rest, we started by 4 PM and visited Bhuvanagiri. Bhuvanagiri is the birth place of Lord Raghavendra Swamy. There is a brindavanam here and quite a small place. Bhuvanagiri is located around 9 kms from Chidambaram. Looks like it is also known for silk as there are lot of silk weavers and showrooms in this small town.

We then, went to Thillai Kaliamman temple. Since this was Aadi month, there was quite a huge crowd; normally, it would not be so crowded. This temple is located around 500m from the Chidambaram temple. The temple is open from 6.30 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

Around 6:30, we visited Thillai Natarajar Temple - the main Chidambaram temple. The main deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Lord Natarajar popularly known as Sabanayagar. This temple is one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalams - depicting Sky. This is also one of the 5 sabhas - Pon Ambalam (Golden roof). It was quite crowded as it was a long weekend. We met a Dheekshithar, known to us by a friend and he asked us to wait for some time. We had a good dharshan of Lord Natarajar on the Sabha and he also took us all around for the dharshan of other sanctums - Lord Govindaraja Perumal, Mahalakshmi, Mokuruni Vinayagar, Adhimoola Lingam, Sri Sivagamasundari and few more small sanctums.

One would need 2-3 hour to see all sanctums in this temple and go around. It is normal that the dances of Bharathanatyams happen here on daily basis and it is matter of pride to dance in this temple. The temple is also know for Chidambara Ragasiyam - There is small entrance near Lord Sabanayaka in the Chit Saba towards the right side of the Lord.  The screen is removed momentarily for few seconds and an arati is offered.  There hangs a golden Vilwa garland and no idols. Worshipping this is termed as an important aspect in the religion.

We then had dinner at a restaurant outside the temple - they serve idlis, dosas and pongal made of millets. The food was prepared fresh and served. It was very good quality - the chutneys and sambhar were very good. We went around 9 PM and all special millet dishes were over by then. The cost was also quite low compared to the quality.

Day-2

Started the day by 6:30. The plan for to complete 4 temples around Sirkazhi and then Poompuhar. We first visited Vaitheeswaran Koil. Vaitheeswaran Koil is 27 kms from Chidambaram - takes around 45 minutes. We reached the temple by 07:15. Shiva is worshipped as Vaitheeswaran - the "God of healing". The temple is one of the nine temples of Navagraha (nine planets) and is associated with the planet Mars (Angaraka). The Goddess is Thaiyalnayaki. The other presiding dieties are Muthukumara Swamy, Nataraja, Somaskanda, Angaraka and few more. There is a practice of jamming solid jaggery, salt and pepper in a pot outside Goddess Thaiyalnayaki to get out of all the diseases. It takes around 30 minutes for one to visit this temple, if no crowd.

We had breakfast in a restaurant nearby - Hotel Sree Vaitheeswara. They had idlis, vada, Dosai and pongal. All food were ok - service could have been better as they were lazy to serve the sides again and again. Cost is obviously cheap as per the location.

Second temple in the visit was Thirukadaiyur. Thirukadaiyur is around 25 kms from Vaitheeswaran temple. The presiding deities are Amritaghateswarar and Abhirami. This temple is known for rescuing Markandeya and also performing 60th marriage - Sashti Aptha Poorthi for elders. This temple is very old, dated back by centuries.

Third temple for the day was Kezhaperumpallam - this is Kethu Sthalam - one of the Navagraha temples. Naganatha Swamy is the main deity. The temple is 4 kms from Poompuhar. The temple is open from 6.00 a.m. to 12.30 a.m. and from 3.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. The temple is quite small and takes around 5-10 minutes to complete the visit of the sanctums.

Next, we visited Thiruvengadu - 8 kms from Kezhaperumpallam. This temple is called Swetharanyeswarar Temple. The temple is home for one of the Navagrahas - Mercury - Budhan. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva in the form of Swetharanyeswarar and the goddess is Brahma Vidyaambal. Other shrines within the temple are - Aghoramurthy, Durga, Kaliamman and few more.

We visited Poompuhar. Poompuhar has relation with ancient Cholas; Poompuhar being used as a main harbour. River Cauvery also meets Bay of Bengal in this location. The Poompuhar is very popular through the tamil epic - Silapathigaram. The town has put arches in the name of Karikaal Chozhan, Kannagi, Kovalan, Madhavi and Ilangovadigal (author of Silapathikaram).

The town does not have great tourist attractions apart from a not so maintained temple - Palavanaeswar temple, Palavanaeswaram excavation site, Cauvery merging point and the beach. Palavanaeswar temple is very old not so maintained well. It is just opposite to the Palavanaeswaram excavation site. Palavanaeswar temple hosts a big linga and was very pleasant to visit. This is the birth place of saint Pattinathar.

Palavanaeswaram excavation site - just a board helps us identify the spot and the gates were closed. We did not enter inside or neither anyone around to help us for more information.

Poompuhar beach has the Silapathikaram Art gallery and the main beach. There is a ruined road - 100m before the Silapathigaram Art gallery. This leads to the Poompuhar light house, other half of  Poompuhar beach, Sri Rathnapurneswari temple - also called Cauvery amman temple and the confluence point of River Cauvery in to Bay of  Bengal.

Poompuhar light house is open from 3 PM to 5 PM only. We went by noon and it was closed. The light house would guarantee you a great view. So, please plan accordingly.

Poompuhar beach is quite clean and white sand beach. One can spend lot of time here if you have. There are rock piers laid to prevent erosion in the delta region and this provides a great platform to enjoy the sea and click memorable photos.

Sri Rathnapurneswari temple - also called Cauvery amman temple (locally) is a small temple worshipped by locals. This is present at the exact point where Cauvery exits land and merges with Bay of Bengal.

Silapathigaram Art gallery - entrance fee is Rs.5 per adult and Rs.2 per child. The gallery is closed for lunch from 1 PM to 2 PM. We were on time to visit the gallery before the lunch time closure. The gallery hosts the sequence of events in Silapathigaram and how the story of Kannagi-Kovalan-Madhavi happened. One needs to have knowledge about Silapathigaram to understand the art gallery; else, it would be difficult to follow.

We then started back from Poompuhar. We had some bajjis and sodas near the beach.

We stopped for lunch around 2 PM at a hotel on the highway towards Chidambaram - Cuddalore. Hotel Yathraas. They serve meals like home made - rice, sambhar, rasam, kulambu, curd, poriyal, kootu and appalam for Rs.80. The food was good and nice in the location.

We reached Cuddalore by 4 PM and checked in at Hotel Suriyapriya. We had pre-booked rooms at Hotel Suriyapriya. The rooms were clean, spacious and comfortable. There is no lift in this hotel and I guess no restaurants as well. The service was also good in this hotel. This is located in a prominent junction in Cuddalore. We had dinner at a restaurant opposite to the hotel - Hotel Ananda Bhavan. Dinner options were good and so was the food. We had chilli parotta, dosas, set dosa. All were yummy and good with lots of sides - varieties of chutneys and podi.

We visited the Silver beach around 6 PM. The  approach roads and parking facilities are excellent to the beaches. As any beach, quite a number of eateries are available in the beach. The beach is maintained very clean. The coastline is absolutely fantastic to spend an evening. The weather was excellent to spend in the beach. Silver beach is definitely good to visit for anyone going to Cuddalore.

Day-3

Started the day at 6:30 and the plan was to visit 2 temples in Cuddalore and then one at Panruti. Then, drive back to Chennai through Tindivanam by noon - the idea was not to get caught in the traffic of 4 days long weekend.

Padaleeswarar Temple - A must visit in Cuddalore! It is 3 kms from Cuddalore, The temple is very old. The temple is known for its well designed pillars. The place is called Thirupadiripuliyur - known as Padaliputhiram of South India. A single prayer here is equal to 16 prayers at Kasi ,8 prayers at Arunachalam & 3 prayers at Tillai Nataraja temple. The temple timings are 6 AM to 11.30 AM and 17:30 to 20:30 PM. The temple has parking area around the streets of the temple.

Devanathaswamy Temple is at Thiruvanthipuram. This tempel is located in Cuddalore, the Devanatha Swamy temple is about 7-8 kms away. Temple timings are 6 am to 11 am in the morning. The dieties are Perumal, Hyagrivar and Mahalakshmi. This is one of the 108 Vaishnava temples. The Hyagrivar sanctum is on top of a small hill just opposite to the main temple. One needs to climb around 100 steps for this sanctum.

We searched for a hotel for breakfast but no proper restaurant to have food. We had some puliyothare and thattai from the temple. Panruti is 23 kms from this temple. We reached Panruti to have breakfast by 8:45. We had breakfast at hotel Devamirtham - the poori, idlies and dosas along with sambhar and chutneys were excellent. Though the crowd was not there and only one person serving, it took little extra time but the food was worth it - quite homely.

We visited the Veerattaneswarar Temple, Thiruvadhigai, Panruti - It is believed that praying at this temple cures stomach related pains and ulcers, freedom from enemies, child boon and any curse from Generations to Generations.  This is the temple where the Saiva Poet Thirugnanasambandar was glorified with the cosmic dance of Lord Siva. Old Jain temple was demolished by Mahendra Verma Pallavan and a Hindu Temple was built here. The temple hosts specialty of each star and the temples, trees and fruits associated to it. The temple is well maintained.

We then set our direction to home and in 2 hours back home! The road connecting Panruti and Vikravaandi was very average. Mind it when you plan.