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The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the
"Great Living Chola Temples", with the other two being the
Brihadeeswarar Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple.
The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in
the 16th century. The vimanam (temple tower) is 100 ft (30 m) high and
is the tallest in the world. The Kumbam (the apex or the bulbous
structure on the top) weighs around 80 tons.
There is a
big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock measuring
about 16 ft (4.9 m) long and 13 ft (4.0 m) high at the entrance. The
entire temple structure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of
which are about 60 km to the west of temple. The temple is one of the
most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu.
The temple
complex sits on the banks of a river that was channeled to make a moat
around the complex's outer walls, the walls being built like a fortress.
The complex is made up of many structures that are aligned axially. The
complex can be entered either on one axis through a five-story Gopuram
or with a second access directly to the huge main quadrangle through a
smaller free-standing Gopuram.
The massive size of the main Vimanam (Shikhara) is ca. 60.96 meters
high, with 16 elaborately articulated stories, and dominates the main
quadrangle. Pilaster, piers (a raised structure), and attached columns
are placed rhythmically covering every surface of the Vimanam. The
Gopuram of the main entrance is 30 m high, smaller than the Vimanam. It
is unusual in the dravidian architecture where the Gopurams are
generally the main towers and taller than the Vimanam.
Getting There
There are several state and
private buses that ply daily to Thanjavur from Mannargudi, Pattukkottai, Kumbakonam,
Pondicherry, Thiruvarur, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchy.
The journey from Bangalore and Chennai takes about 9 hours and there are
over-night buses.
Thanjavur is also reachable by
train from other Indian cities. 'Thanjavur Junction' is the station to
alight. There are daily trains from / to Chennai, Bangalore and other major
cities.
Nearest airport is
Tiruchirappalli International Airport
(or Trichy International Airport), located 52 km away from Thanjavur. There
are direct flights from Chennai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, amongst others.
A taxi desk is in the airport lobby. Taxi are available in the airport from Tiruchirapalli to Thanjavur.
Auto rickshaws and tourist cabs
are the best choice in case you want to tour the temples around Thanjavur.
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