Tiruchirappalli (13/14 Jan 1997)

The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple complex at Srirangam (just north of Trichy) occupies 2½ sq Km and houses 21 gopurams including the one on the right, one of the largest in India which was completed after 15 years work in 1980.

		Most of the complex is considerably older, typically the 14th to 17th centuries AD.
		It is well presrved throughout with some excellent paintings, carvings, and shrines.

The temple is dedicated to Vishnu (the preserver) and is a place of pilgramage, learning and worship for the many Hindus who visit the site.

Towering over Tiruchirappalli itself is a great rock fort housing a shrine to Shiva. As you can see by the time we arrived the sun had gone down.

The following morning involved a short but pleasant 3 hour drive south west towards Madurai.

		As usual there are plenty of opportunities for stopping en-route. This delightful village was an excellent choice.
		The cow on the left is dressed up for Pongol, the harvest festival and 2 day holiday which started today.

Exploring the village was a whole lot of fun, one of the cleanest, prettiest and most relaxed places we encountered in the whole trip.

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North India & Nepal is the record of our overland journey from Dehli to Kathmandu during January 1998.

Exploring Vietnam is the record of a journey through Vietnam from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and beyond during March and April of 1999.

Copyright © Laurence Rogerson & Sue Powell 1997. South India Overland is designed and hosted by HubCom (UK).