Thanjavur was once the capital of the Chola dynasty and later of the Thanjavur Nayak and the Maratha rulers. The Cholas built most of the 93 odd temples here. Although they were great patrons of arts and lavished their wealth on building temples, they also encouraged the practice of donating part of one’s wealth to the temples for spiritual gain.

One of the greatest of the Chola emperors was Raja Raja (985 – 1014), who built the Brihadishwara Temple, Thanjavur’s main attraction. His son Rajendra I (1014 – 1044) fought the Arabs for control over the Indian Ocean trade routes.

Set on a fertile delta, agriculture is a major industry here.Thanjavur is also famous for its silk, carpets, jewellery and musical instruments. In 1995 Thanjavur hosted the World Tamil Congress. It became the centre of Tamil learning and culture. It became the original home of

the Dravidian art and architecture besides being the centre of Tamil classical dance which is now known as Bharathnatyam all over the world.Even today, the teachers of Bharatha Natyam hail from Thanajavur.Its further glory is the Carnatic music which is essence is nothing but classical Tamil music. The only remains of its glorious past are the beautiful temples that were built by the Cholas known for their amazing architectural wonder, and not less than 74 of them are around Thanjavur itself. The Pandyas, the Nayaks and the Marathas ruled the city after the later Cholas and finally the British made it a district.

Area	3,397 Sq.Kms
Population	22,05,375 [2001 Census]
Altitude	59 metres
Season	Throughout the year
Clothing	Tropical
Languages	Tamil, English & Marathi
STD Code	04362

Climate :Summer – Max:36.6º C, Min :32.5º C 

Winter : Max :23.5º C, Min :22.8º C

Rainfall : 111.37 cm average

The Brihadishwara Temple & Fort Also known as the ‘Big Temple’, Brihadishwara temple is one of the world Heritage Monuments. This temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is set in spacious grounds and has several pillared halls and shrines. The monolithic granite block on top of the tower weighing an astounding 82 tonnes and was lifted up and put in place in a manner similar to the way the Egyptians lifted blocks to build their pyramids. 

The gateway to the inner courtyard is guarded by one of the largest Nandi status, second only to the largest one at the Lepakshi temple in Andhra Pradesh. Created from a single piece of rock, it weight 25 tonnes! The temple is open every day from 6 AM to 1 PM and then again from 3 PM to 8 PM.

The southern side of the courtyard houses the Archaeological Museum. This has some interesting sculptures and photographs depicting how the temple appeared before restorations, as well as charts and maps detailing the history of the Chola Empire.

Air: The nearest airport is at Trichy, 58 kms away. The Indian Airlines and Air Lanka operate flights to Sri Lanka.Indian Airlines operates flights to Chennai and Madurai.
Rail: Thanjavur is directly connected by rail with Chennai, Nagore, Trichy and Madurai.It is about 350 kms on the meter gauge main line from Chennai.
Road: It is connected to all major cities with road. The local transport system runs buses to all places in and around Thanjavur.Frequent bus services are available to Chennai, Trichy, Madurai, Dindigul.

Most of Thanjavur’s hotels are concentrated in the area between the railway station and bus stands.

Hotel Parisutham,Hotel Sangam,Hotel Ganesh,Hotel Oriental Towers, Ideal Riverview Resort, Tamil Nadu Lodge,TTDC Hotel Tamil Nadu