On our way south to the city of Madurai we stopped briefly at Thanjavur to visit its great temple. The Brihadishwara temple dedicated to Siva was built by King Rajaraja Chola and completed in 1010. This 1004 year old temple is the crowning glory of Chola temple architecture with its 66m (216 ft) high temple tower, the 25 ton statue of Nandi (the sacred bull) at the entrance, carved out of a single rock and the massive 4m high Siva Lingam in the sanctum sanctorum. The temple is set in spacious, well-maintained grounds and surrounded by towering walls adorned with 250 Siva Lingams. The 80 tonne monolithic dome that sits atop the 13-storey tower was pushed or dragged up there by building a 2km dirt ramp.
What a special place to be!
After visiting Thanjavur, we headed to Madurai and checked in at the Heritage Hotel, a beautiful property that features open-air bathrooms and private plunge pools in each room. After settling in, we meet in the dining hall and shared an evening meal together.
