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Tiruchirappalli, also called Trichy, is a historic city in the heart of Tamil Nadu, India, on the Kaveri River, famous for the Rockfort temples on their 83-metre rock, for Srirangam's Ranganathaswamy Temple, the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world, and for the Jambukeswarar water temple. It lies 322 km south of Chennai.
Its history begins with the early Cholas, whose capital Uraiyur is now part of the city, and runs through the Pallavas, Pandyas, Vijayanagara rulers and the Madurai Nayaks, who rebuilt the Rockfort temple. In the 18th century the city was fought over in the Carnatic Wars between the British and French East India companies.
West of the centre the Kaveri splits around the island of Srirangam at Mukkombu, and downstream stands the Kallanai dam, built by the Chola king Karikala around 150 CE. Pilgrims also head to the Samayapuram Mariamman, Erumbeeswarar and Vayalur temples nearby.
The Rockfort in Trichy, locally called Malaikottai, is a fort and temple complex on an 83-metre rock beside the Kaveri River and the city's most famous landmark. Its oldest part is a Pallava cave temple, and it played a key part in the 18th-century Carnatic Wars between Britain and France.
The Ucchi Pillayar Temple is a 7th-century temple to Ganesha at the very top of the Rockfort in Trichy, reached by steep steps cut into the rock. Legend says Ganesha fled here from Vibhishana after leaving the Ranganatha idol at Srirangam, and the summit looks out over Srirangam and the Kaveri.
The Thayumanaswamy Temple is a Shiva temple inside the Rockfort complex in Trichy, praised in the 7th-century Tevaram hymns. Its name means the god who became a mother, from the legend that Shiva came as a mother to help a devotee give birth, and its Chittirai festival lasts fifteen days.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Trichy is a Gothic-style church built from 1895 to 1903 in the grounds of St. Joseph's College with local materials and craftsmen. A statue of St. John de Britto stands on the middle of its spire, and its feast on 11 February is the year's biggest.
Srirangam Ranganathaswamy Temple in Trichy is dedicated to Vishnu as Ranganatha and is the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world, foremost of the 108 Divya Desams. Its 73-metre outer gateway tower was completed in 1987, and its 21-day Margazhi festival draws a million visitors.
The Jambukeswarar Temple at Thiruvanaikaval in Trichy is one of the five great Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu that stand for the elements, representing water. An underground stream runs through its sanctum, where Shiva is worshipped as Jambukeswarar beside his consort Akilandeswari.
Samayapuram Mariamman Temple near Trichy is a goddess shrine whose main idol is made of sand and clay with medicinal herbs rather than stone. Its present form dates from the early 18th century, it draws crowds on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and it is among the richest temples in Tamil Nadu.
The Erumbeeswarar Temple at Thiruverumbur near Trichy is a Shiva temple on top of an 18-metre hill, one of a series built by the Chola king Aditya Chola. Legend says Shiva became an ant hill here so that ants could worship him, and at every full moon pilgrims walk barefoot around the hill.
Kallanai Dam, the Grand Anicut, is a stone dam across the Kaveri about 15 km from Trichy, built by the Chola king Karikala around 150 CE. It is the oldest water regulator in India still in use and the fourth oldest in the world, and it was remodelled by British engineers in the 19th century.
Mukkombu, the Upper Anicut, is a 685-metre dam on the Kaveri about 18 km west of Trichy, built from 1836 to 1838 by the British engineer Sir Arthur Cotton where the Kollidam River branches off. A popular picnic spot, it has a well-kept park set among acres of green fields.
The Vayalur Murugan Temple at Kumaravayalur near Trichy is a 9th-century Chola temple, about 1,200 years old, best known for its shrine to Murugan behind the Shiva sanctum. Green fields surround it near the Uyyakondan river, and the poet-saint Arunagirinathar sang its praises.
Uraiyur, now a busy neighbourhood of Trichy, was the capital of the early Chola kings, including Karikala, more than 2,000 years ago. Named in Tamil Sangam literature as the Chola royal seat, it was a walled city on the south bank of the Kaveri and the birthplace of the Jain scholar Samantabhadra.
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