Upcoming Travel: Great Living Chola Temples
Tonight, I am headed towards the Great Living Chola Temples, one of India’s more famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Great Living Chola Temples are located in and around the town of Thanjavur (Tanjore) in Tamil Nadu. The idea is to spend a near full two days exploring these temples and also may be soak in the scenes by the banks of the river Cauvery.
These Great Living Chola Temples were built by kings of the Chola empire, which stretched over all of South India and the neighbouring islands. The site includes three great 11th and 12th century temples: the Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Gangaikonda Cholisvaram Temple and the Airavateswara Temple at Darasuram. These Great Chola Temples of Southern India are an exceptional testimony to the development of the architecture and ideology of the Chola Empire and the Tamil Nadu civilization in Southern India. They represent an outstanding creative achievement in the architectural conception of the pure form of the Dravida type of temple (characterized by a pyramid tower).
Giving me company on this trip are 3 more friends from office. We are leaving tonight in a Toyota Innova Car, staying at Hotel Gnanam in the heart of Thanjavur, exploring the 3 temples as much as possible and then returning to Bangalore by Sunday night making it a fully packed weekend trip. The last time I was at Thanjavur, I was a kid. I am so looking forward to this trip and promise hordes of photographs and loads of experience once I am back.
