Pudukkottai

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Thirumayam Fort WUS04078, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India

Sitannavàsal 03, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India

Pudukottai palace, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India

Keela Raja Veethi East raja Street Pudukkottai, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, India

About Pudukkottai

Once the capital of the only princely state in the Tamil country to keep its own ruler until 1948, Pudukkottai is a quiet district town surrounded by an astonishing density of ancient monuments. Archaeologists have called the area a cradle of Tamil archaeology: Jain cave paintings, early Chola temples, rock-cut shrines and hill forts lie within an easy drive of the centre.

The Tondaiman dynasty ruled Pudukkottai from the late 17th century until the state joined the Indian Union on 3 April 1948, and their legacy shows in the planned streets, the palace that now houses government offices and the large Government Museum at Thirukokarnam. Earlier, the region was shaped by Mutharaiyar, Pallava, Pandya and Chola rulers, each leaving temples and inscriptions behind.

The town makes a calm base for day trips to Sittanavasal, Narthamalai, Kudumiyanmalai and Thirumayam, and to the Chettinad mansions further south. Tiruchirappalli and its airport are about 50 km to the north-west, and trains connect Pudukkottai with Chennai and Rameswaram.

Best seasonNovember to February, when the heat eases

Ideal stay2-3 days with a car for the surrounding monuments

ArrivingTiruchirappalli International Airport is about 45 km away; Pudukkottai station has express trains to Chennai and Rameswaram

10 Ways to Experience Pudukkottai

Museums 1

Government Museum, Pudukkottai

Counted as the second largest museum in Tamil Nadu, this museum at Thirukokarnam brings together sculptures and bronzes from the d...

Temples and Shrines 4

Thirukokarnam Rock-cut Temple

On the northern edge of town, the Gokarneswarar temple combines an early rock-cut cave shrine of Shiva with later structural halls...

Kudumiyanmalai Temple

The Sikhanathaswamy temple at Kudumiyanmalai sits at the foot of a granite hill and is famous for an ancient inscription on musica...

Avudaiyarkoil

The Athmanathaswamy temple at Avudaiyarkoil, south-east of Pudukkottai, is linked with the Tamil saint-poet Manikkavasagar and is...

Viralimalai Murugan Temple

A flight of steps climbs a rocky hill at Viralimalai to a temple of Lord Murugan, and the area is well known for the wild peacocks...

Landmarks 1

Pudukkottai Palace

The palace of the former rulers of Pudukkottai is a reminder that the town was the capital of a princely state until 1948. Today t...

History 4

Sittanavasal Cave

Cut into a 70-metre hill north-west of town, this Jain cave temple holds rare 7th-century paintings of a lotus pond with lilies, f...

Thirumayam Fort

Built in 1687 by Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi of Ramnad, this 40-acre fort on the Pudukkottai to Karaikudi road once had seven con...

Vijayalaya Choleeswaram

On a rocky hill at Narthamalai, between Pudukkottai and Tiruchirappalli, stands one of the earliest stone temples of the Chola per...

Moovar Koil, Kodumbalur

At Kodumbalur, west of Pudukkottai, a local chieftain built three shrines in the 10th century, of which two survive as the Moovar...

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