After many years, I am finally returning to writing on this blog.

It is not that I stopped travelling during this time. In fact, I travelled quite a bit. The only difference was that I never found the time to sit down and write about those journeys. Now I plan to revisit many of my earlier trips and document them here. Some of these posts may feel more like travel memoirs than conventional travel guides.

After recently moving to Hyderabad, this trip turned out to be one of our first journeys outside Telangana. Interestingly, unlike my earlier trips that involved extensive planning, this one was planned only about two weeks in advance.

My wife had long wished to visit the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, and I decided to add a few nearby destinations to create a short 2–3 day temple itinerary. In this post, I will mainly focus on the itinerary of the trip. I will be writing separate posts detailing each place we visited.

How to Reach Srirangam

Srirangam can be reached conveniently by road, rail, or air.

The nearest city is Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), which has a well-connected railway station and international airport.

Our initial plan was to fly directly from Hyderabad to Trichy and return the same way. However, the available flight was only in the evening and was relatively expensive. Moreover, it didn’t really save us much time.

So we decided on a slightly different route.

We travelled from Hyderabad to Bengaluru by bus, and from there boarded the Vande Bharat Express to Trichy.

The journey turned out to be comfortable and quite enjoyable.

Day 1 – Hyderabad to Trichy via Bengaluru

Our journey began with a KSRTC Airavat bus from Hyderabad at around 8:00 PM.

We reached Bengaluru early the next morning, where we rested for a few hours at my brother’s place before heading to the railway station.

In the afternoon, we boarded the Vande Bharat Express from Bengaluru at 1:30 PM. The train ride was smooth and pleasant, and we reached Tiruchirappalli Railway Station around 7:30 PM.

We had booked a hotel extremely close to the Srirangam Temple. In fact, the hotel is located inside the temple complex itself, barely 60 meters from the temple entrance. I will be sharing more details about this unique accommodation in a separate post.

Since the entire day had been spent travelling, we decided to rest early and prepare for the next day’s temple visit.

Day 2 – Srirangam and Jambukeswarar Temple

We had booked tickets for the Viswaroopam Sevai, an early morning ritual at the Srirangam Temple.

The ceremony begins around 6:00 AM, so we joined the queue by 5:15 AM.

During this ritual, the deity is ceremonially awakened in a traditional manner involving a cow, horse, and elephant. Watching this ritual unfold in the quiet hours of the morning is a beautiful and unique experience.

Our darshan was completed by around 7:00 AM.

After the darshan, we spent some time exploring the temple complex.

The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam is believed to be the largest functioning Hindu temple complex in the world. It is also the foremost among the 108 Divya Desams, making it one of the most important pilgrimage sites for followers of Sri Vaishnavism.

The temple complex itself is vast, with multiple shrines, mandapams, and corridors to explore.

By 8:30 AM, we stepped out of the temple premises, feeling quite hungry after the early morning start.

We had breakfast at Sri Madapalli Restaurant, which turned out to be an excellent choice. We liked the food so much that we returned there again later for lunch.

Visit to Jambukeswarar Temple

Our next destination was the Jambukeswarar Temple, located about 2 kilometres from Srirangam.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the Pancha Bhoota temples, representing the Water element (Jala Lingam).

However, when we arrived, the temple was temporarily closed due to the Panguni Brahmotsavam festival, and it was scheduled to reopen only at 4:30 PM.

During the festival, the deity is taken out in a chariot procession around the temple streets.

Since the afternoon heat was quite intense, we returned to our hotel, had lunch, and took some rest.

Later in the evening, after having coffee once again at Sri Madapalli, we started for the temple around 5:00 PM.

The temple complex is large and serene. We completed our darshan by around 6:30 PM and returned to our hotel to rest for the night.

Day 3 – Thanjavur and Kumbakonam

On the third day, we planned to visit Thanjavur and Kumbakonam, both of which are famous for their historic temples.

I had arranged a cab in advance for the day.

We checked out of the hotel and started our journey at 6:30 AM.

Brihadeeswara Temple – Thanjavur

Thanjavur is located about one hour from Srirangam, and we reached the Brihadeeswara Temple around 7:30 AM.

This magnificent Chola-era Shiva temple is one of the most remarkable architectural achievements in India.

The temple houses a massive Shiva Lingam and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Great Living Chola Temples.

Walking through the temple complex and witnessing its scale and architectural precision was truly mesmerizing.

After spending some time exploring the temple, we had breakfast at Sri Ariya Bhavan, located nearby.

Sarangapani Temple – Kumbakonam

From Thanjavur, we continued towards Kumbakonam, which is about an hour’s drive away.

Here we visited the Sri Sarangapani Temple, another important Vishnu temple and one of the 108 Divya Desams.

To our surprise, the darshan here was extremely quick — it took us only about 15 minutes, as there was almost no crowd.

Perhaps this temple doesn’t receive the same level of attention as some of the more famous pilgrimage centres.

Airavateswara Temple – Darasuram

On the way back, we also visited the Airavateswara Temple in Darasuram.

This temple is another jewel of Chola architecture and is also part of the Great Living Chola Temples UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The intricate carvings and sculptures on the temple walls are truly remarkable.

Return to Trichy

Before heading to the airport, we returned to Thanjavur and visited the Maratha Palace and Museum.

We also spent some time shopping and bought the famous Tanjore dolls, a traditional handicraft from the region.

By evening, we reached Trichy Airport around 7:00 PM. Our flight back to Hyderabad was scheduled for 9:55 PM, marking the end of a short but memorable journey.

Final Thoughts

This was a relaxed temple trip rather than a tightly packed itinerary.

Sometimes, travelling at a slower pace allows you to appreciate the places you visit much more deeply.

In the upcoming posts, I will share more detailed experiences about:

• Visiting the Srirangam Temple
• Visiting Jambukeswarar Temple
• Staying inside the temple complex
• Exploring the Brihadeeswara Temple
• Other temples around Kumbakonam

Trip Summary

Route: Hyderabad → Bengaluru → Trichy → Thanjavur → Kumbakonam → Trichy → Hyderabad
Duration: 3 Days
Key Temples Visited:

• Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple – Srirangam
• Jambukeswarar Temple – Srirangam (Thiruvanaikaval)
• Brihadeeswara Temple – Thanjavur
• Sarangapani Temple – Kumbakonam
• Airavateswara Temple – Darasuram (near Kumbakonam)