Tamil Nadu & Chennai - South India and Kerala - page 780

(closed to non-Hindus). This is the rock's biggest temple and prominently visible from be-
low and above. A gold-topped tower rises over its sanctum, which houses a 2m-high
Shiva lingam. Heading on up, you pass the 6th-century Pallava cave temple on the left -
it's often railed off but should you get inside, check out the famous Gangadhara panel on
the left, showing Shiva restraining the waters of the Ganges with a single strand of his
hair. From here it's just another 183 steps to the small Uchipillaiyar Temple at the summit,
dedicated to Ganesh. The view is wonderful, with eagles wheeling beneath and Trichy
sprawling all around.

HINDU TEMPLE

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple
MAP GOOGLE MAP
(camera/video ?50/100; 6am-9pm) All right temple-philes, here's the one you've been waiting
for: quite possibly the biggest temple in India - so large, it feels like a self-enclosed city.
It has 49 separate shrines, all dedicated to Vishnu, and reaching the inner sanctum from
the south, as most worshippers do, requires passing through seven gopurams . The first,
the Rajagopuram MAP GOOGLE MAP , was added to the 20 older ones in 1987, and is claimed
to be Asia's tallest temple tower at 73m high. You pass through streets with shops, res-
taurants and cars until you reach the temple proper at the fourth gopuram . Inside here is
the ticket desk for the nearby roof viewpoint (ticket ?10; 8am-6pm) , which gives a semi-panor-
amic view of the complex. Non-Hindus cannot pass the sixth gopuram so won't see the
innermost sanctum whose image shows Vishnu as Lord Ranganatha, lying on a five-
headed snake.
Turn right just before the fifth gopuram to the small but intriguing Art Museum MAP
GOOGLE MAP (admission ?5; 9am-1pm & 2-6pm) , with good bronzes, tusks of bygone temple
elephants, and a collection of superb 17th-century Nayak ivory figurines depicting gods,
demons, kings and queens (some of them erotically engaged) and even a portly Portugese
soldier. Continue round to the left past the museum to the Sesha Mandapa , a 16th-century
pillared hall with magnificent, large but detailed Vijayanagar carvings of rearing horses in
battle.
The temple's most important festival is the 21-day Vaikunta Ekadasi (Paradise Festival)
in December/January, when the celebrated Vaishnavaite text, Tiruvaimozhi, is recited be-
fore an image of Vishnu.
Bus 1 from or to the Central Bus Station or the Rock Fort stops right outside the Ra-
jagopuram.