Thanjavur

Thanjavur (Tanjore), in the Cauvery delta of Tamil Nadu at the geographical heart of the Tamil country, is the cultural capital of the Tamil world and the artistic peak of the Chola dynasty's extraordinary 10th-13th century civilisation.

• The Brihadeswara Temple (Peruvudaiyar Kovil, built 1003-1010 CE by Rajaraja Chola I) is the city's — and quite possibly South India's — greatest single architectural achievement: a 216-foot vimana tower of 13 diminishing tiers topped by a single 80-tonne octagonal capstone raised over 1,000 years ago, according to tradition, using a long inclined earth ramp.
• The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as part of the Great Living Chola Temples since 1987) and remains in active daily worship.
• The inner sanctum contains a 4-metre Nandi bull carved from a single granite block; the outer corridor walls preserve the largest surviving collection of Chola-period fresco painting in India (covering roughly 670 sq m, rediscovered under layers of later whitewash in 1931); and the inscriptions on the corridor walls — hundreds of lines in Tamil — document the entire administrative structure, music roster, and donation records of Rajaraja Chola's court in extraordinary detail.
• The adjacent Thanjavur Royal Palace (17th century Maratha period) houses the Saraswati Mahal Library — one of Asia's oldest libraries (founded in the 16th century), containing over 49,000 rare palm-leaf and paper manuscripts in Tamil, Sanskrit, Marathi, and Telugu, including astonishing illustrated medical, astronomical, and arts manuscripts.
• The Thanjavur Art Gallery within the palace complex displays Chola-period bronze statues, among the finest religious metal sculptures in the world.
• For vegetarian travellers, Thanjavur is a strong destination: the Tamil Brahmin tradition (Thanjavur sambar — thicker, more tamarind-forward, cooked with pearl onions; seeraga samba rice — a short-grain aromatic variety grown in the Cauvery delta; puja prasad sweets; kozhukattai rice dumplings in jaggery syrup) and the famous Thanjavur banana (nendran plantain, used for chips, stem curry, and flower salad) are the essential regional tastes. November-February is ideal.