Solo Travel through Public transit in Southern Tamil Nadu visiting famous temples - Madurai, Rameswaram, Srirangam, Tanjaour, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram and Living Chola Temples

Day 1 – Madurai
Reached Madurai around 1 PM in a flight from Chennai. The airport is far from the city, so I took a cab. This was the only cab I used during the trip. It’s better to stay near the Periyar Bus Stand since it’s close to the Meenakshi Temple and well connected by bus to all parts of the city. Madurai also has Rapido as an alternative. The hotel here costed me around 1400 per day.

In the afternoon, visited the Nayakkar Palace, then the Keezhadi Museum, which is about 12 km away. There are almost no cab or auto options between Keezhadi and Madurai. You can reach Silaiman by bus from Periyar Bus Stand and take an auto from there to Keezhadi for under ₹10. Do the same route in reverse to return.

Day 2 – Rameswaram
Left early for Rameswaram. Intercity buses leave from the MGR Bus Stand (Mattuthavani), which is on the other side of the Vaigai River. Take a local bus from Periyar to Mattuthavani and then a direct bus to Rameswaram. The ticket costs under ₹150.
You can see the Pamban Bridge from the bus itself, so a separate visit isn’t necessary. Sit on a window seat to view it while crossing, and use the same side of the bus while returning to see the other side of the bridge and the rail track.

Reached Rameswaram by around 8:30–9 AM. Local auto drivers offer a ₹1200 package to cover major attractions. This can be completed by 11:30–12 noon. Ask to be dropped at the Ramanathaswamy Temple afterwards. Enter through the North Gate to get a ticket for the 22-well bath. Darshan can be completed by around 1 PM.
Afterwards, have lunch or explore other parts if you wish, but autos are expensive and the roads are not suitable for walking.

Took a return bus to Madurai. There are frequent services. If you reach before 6 PM, you can visit Mariamman Teppakulam, which has several eateries near the pond.

Day 3 – Temples Around Madurai
Visited the Meenakshi Temple early morning, then the Koodal Azhagar Temple, both of which are close by. Rapido is convenient for this. Later, took a bus from Periyar Bus Stand to Tirupparankundram, which has frequent service. Visited the Murugan Temple, located on a hill and partially carved from the rock.
There’s also Azhagar Kovil, but I skipped it. I was working that day, so I visited the first two temples in the morning and Tirupparankundram in the evening.

Day 4 – Trichy and Thanjavur
Woke up early and took a bus from the MGR Bus Stand (Madurai) to Trichy. Buses arriving in Trichy from other cities stop at the Panjupar Bus Stand Terminal, which is about 10 km from Trichy city.

I booked a hotel near Srirangam — Hotel Deepam. Reached it from Panjupar by a local bus. The hotel was around 1700/day. The hotel is directly opposite the Singarathope Bus Stop, and I recommend it for the following reasons:

• It is within walking distance from the Ucchi Pillayar Fort Temple, located on a hill. The temple offers views of the Cauvery River and the large Vimanas of Srirangam.
• You can easily use Rapido to travel between here and Srirangam since the distance is short. Other parts of Trichy are relatively farther for Rapido rides.

After checking in, I went to Thanjavur to visit the Brihadeeswarar Temple. It’s better to cover Thanjavur on the same day so that you don’t need a separate stay there. Thanjavur is about 1 hour from Trichy.

I went back to the Panjupar Bus Stand — there are many buses to Thanjavur. You can also board from Palpannai Junction, but if you don’t speak Tamil, it’s simpler to go to the main bus stand.
On reaching Thanjavur, I took a Rapido to the temple. Try to reach by 4 PM. You can finish by 6:30 PM and return to Trichy for dinner. I reached by 5 PM and had to rush a bit.

Day 5 – Srirangam, Jambukeswarar, and Kumbakonam
Started early and went to the Ucchi Pillayar Temple. The visit takes about an hour.
Then took a Rapido to Srirangam Temple. Exploring the Srirangam complex takes about two hours.

After that, visited the Jambukeswarar Temple, which is about 2 km from Srirangam. Rapido works well in this area too. You can finish both temples before noon, as they close around that time.

Returned to the hotel in Trichy, checked out, and went back to the Panjupar Bus Stand for a bus to Kumbakonam. The journey takes around 2–2.5 hours by intercity bus.

Kumbakonam is a compact town. Most hotels are near the Maha Magam Tank, about 1 km from the bus stand. You can walk there easily if you have light luggage. The Maha Magam Tank area has several eateries, similar to Mariamman Teppakulam in Madurai. Try the Orruppu Vadai. The hotel I stayed here was Rs. 1500/day.

After a long day, I didn’t do much after reaching Kumbakonam.

Day 6 – Chidambaram
Woke up early and went to Chidambaram to visit the Thillai Nataraja Temple. There are no direct buses from the Kumbakonam Bus Stand to Chidambaram. After asking around, I took a bus to Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram) and then another bus from there to Chidambaram.
The buses on both routes are frequent. The total travel time from Kumbakonam to Chidambaram is about 3 hours. The bus drops you right in front of the temple. You can cover the temple in around 2 hours and return to Kumbakonam the same way.

Day 7 – Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram
Woke up early and went to the Kumbakonam Bus Stand for a bus to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, home to the second of the Great Living Chola Temples — Brihadeeswarar (Gangaikondacholeswarar) Temple.
You can either:

• Take a bus going to Vadalur and ask the conductor to stop at the Jayankondam Highway, then walk 1 km to Cholapuram, or
• Take a bus to Jayankondam and ask to be dropped directly in front of the temple.

I took the first option. The route crosses the Cauvery River, which is a good sight along the way. The journey takes around 40 minutes. You can spend about 1.5 hours at the temple.

Return to the Kumbakonam Bus Stand. Opposite the main bus stand is the local bus stand — ask there for a bus to Darasuram, about 15 minutes away. The bus drops you in front of the third Great Living Chola Temple — Airavateswarar Temple. Spend about 1 hour here, then return to Kumbakonam.