subject: Chennai To Kumbakonam A Trip From The Capital City To The Temple Town [print this page] Placed in the eastern coast off the Bay of Bengal is the capital city of Tamil Nadu state Chennai. It is the fourth populous metropolitan city in India. Chennai homes many commercial, cultural, economic and educational organisations and institutions. Chennai can truly be a tourists delight with many traditional places like temples and monuments in addition to modern attractions like amusement parks and shopping malls.
Kumbakonam, a holy city and the headquarters of Thanjavur district lies in the state of Tamilnadu. It is ideally located between 2 prominent rivers of South India namely Kaveri and Arasalar. Kumbakonam is defined by hundreds of big and small temples found in every nook and corner of the town. The place is visited by thousands of devotees during the festival of Mahamaham held once in 12 years.
Kumbakonam does not have an airport. Trichy airport is the nearest at a distance of 88 kilometres. There are many flights from Chennai to Trichy. One can get to Trichy by airways and then reach Kumbakonam by car or bus. Air travel from Chennai to Kumbakonam is not at all advisable considering the expenditure and time taken for the journey. Travelling by train or bus from Chennai to Kumbakonam will be a better option.
The distance from Chennai to Kumbakonam town is approximately 275 kilometres by road which could be ideally covered in four to five hours. But this greatly depends on the type of vehicle, stopovers in between and the traffic and road conditions. There are regular government and private bus services from Chennai to Kumbakonam and the frequency is pretty good. Kumbakonam bus stand is located in the city centre itself. Hiring a cab or driving is another option which ensures a more comfortable and hassle free journey. There are many routes from Chennai that lead to Kumbakonam. The ideal route for driving along will be to follow NH45 till Ulundurpet (bypass) and then take the SH69 to Virudachalam. From there go on to the SH141/140 via Andimadam to Jayankonam, turn left and then move along the NH45C to reach Kumbakonam. One can stop for snacks or lunch in Chennai either at Ganesh Bhavan at Acharapakkam or Vasantha Bhavan which is a couple of kilometres after Acharapakkam or at Archana near Neyveli. These restaurants are clean and offer good south Indian food.
There are regular express trains and passenger trains that connect Kumbakonam with major cities in the state like Chennai and others. The direct trains from Chennai to Kumbakonam are Trichy Express (16853), Mannai Express (16179), Tiruchendur Express (16735), Varanasi Rameshwaram Express (14260), Boatmail Express (16701) and many more. The duration of train journey on an average would be 6 hours.
