Chettinad Travel Guide: Mansions, Temples and Food Around Karaikudi

UNESCO's tentative-list description spreads Chettinad's villages over about 1,550 square kilometres, so plan by cluster: Kanadukathan and Karaikudi first, then Athangudi and the temple villages, with Thirumayam and Vettangudi as half-day outings. India placed "Chettinad, Village Clusters of the Tamil Merchants" on its tentative list for World Heritage status in 2014.

Kanadukathan and the Chettinad Palace

Kanadukathan, a small town close to Karaikudi, is lined with large Chettinad houses whose carved entrances, the Sivaganga district administration notes, resemble temple gateways; even its streets have openings covered with wire mesh to collect rainwater. Tamil Nadu Tourism describes mansion interiors with furniture of Sri Lankan cedar and tabletops of Italian marble, and suggests exploring the lanes by bicycle. The Chettinad Palace here, about 10 km from Karaikudi and built in 1912 by Annamalai Chettiar, is, in Tamil Nadu Tourism's words, a striking example of the power and influence these families enjoyed.

Karaikudi

Karaikudi, a municipality in Sivaganga district served by Karaikudi Junction station, is where Chettinad cooking has its roots, according to both the municipality and Tamil Nadu Tourism. The Karaikudi tourist places the municipality lists include Aayiram Jannal Veedu, the "house of a thousand windows", built in 1941 with 25 rooms, which the district administration describes as in poor repair but still grand; the Kamban Manimandapam; and the Kaviarasu Kannadasan Manimandapam, a memorial to the Tamil poet Kannadasan, who was born nearby at Sirukoodalpatti. Tamil Nadu Tourism adds that the town is famous for its Kandangi sarees.

Athangudi

Athangudi is a village of Chettiar mansions, which the district administration ranks with those of Karaikudi, Pallathur and Kothamangalam among the most lavish, and the home of Athangudi tiles. Tamil Nadu Tourism describes these handmade tiles as made without electricity and prepared on glass plates for a smooth, glossy finish, in geometric and floral patterns of mostly green, blue, red and grey; the Karaikudi municipality notes that they were used to build the town's palatial houses. Watching the tile-makers at work, which Tamil Nadu Tourism recommends, shows how the floors of the mansions were made.

Pillayarpatti Karpaga Vinayagar Temple

About 10 to 12 km from Karaikudi (the municipality and the district give slightly different figures), Pillayarpatti's Karpaga Vinayagar Temple is one of the oldest rock-cut cave temples in Tamil Nadu, according to the Sivaganga district administration. Its six-foot image of Vinayaka (Ganesha) is shown with two hands rather than the usual four, and more than 15 inscriptions help to date the temple. The main festival is Vinayagar Chathurthi, held over ten days in August or September, and Sankata Hara Chathurthi is observed every month.

Kundrakudi Shanmuganathar Temple

Kundrakudi's Shanmuganathar Temple, 8 to 10 km from Karaikudi by the municipality's and the district's counts, is dedicated to Murugan as Shanmuga, with six faces and twelve hands. The district administration notes that the saint-poet Arunagirinathar praised it in his Tirupugazh hymns, and that its festivals include Thai Poosam (January to February), Panguni Uthiram (March to April) and Skandha Sashti in the Tamil month of Karthigai (October to November). Pair it with Pillayarpatti in a single morning.

Thirumayam Fort

About 22 km from Karaikudi on the Pudukkottai side, Thirumayam Fort was built in 1687 by Sethupathi Vijaya Ragunatha Thevar of Ramanathapuram and is now protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The Pudukkottai district administration says the original fort was twice the size of what survives, with its main entrance about a kilometre from the present walls. At the foot of the hillock are a rock-cut Shiva temple, a Vishnu temple, a darbar hall, a pillared corridor and inscriptions. Thirumayam railway station is 2 km away.

Vettangudi Bird Sanctuary

Declared in 1977, the Vettangudi sanctuary in Sivaganga district protects village tanks where egrets, storks, herons and ibises breed, according to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. The district administration recommends November to February, when the weather is pleasant and thousands of migratory birds are present, and places the sanctuary 51 km from Madurai on the road through Melur to Tiruppathur. An early start suits birdwatching, and the visit fits well before a day among the mansions.

Most of what Chettinad offers is best done slowly, on foot and at the table:

• Cycle round Kanadukathan: Tamil Nadu Tourism recommends an unhurried afternoon on a bicycle among the mansions.
• Eat the local food: look for nattukozhi kozhambu (country chicken), aatukari kozhambu (lamb) and Karaikudi eral (prawn) masala, and, for vegetarians, paniyaram, kozhukkattai, urulai roast, vendakkai mandi, seedai and athirasam, all dishes Tamil Nadu Tourism names.
• Join our food trail: the Chettinad food trail runs for a few hours from a meeting point usually around Karaikudi, confirmed when you book, with tastings of Chettinad chicken, pepper-forward dishes and vegetarian sides such as ven pongal, and a look at the courtyards and pillared halls of a restored merchant mansion. The spice can be toned down on request, and the trail can be run fully vegetarian.
• Watch tile-making at Athangudi, and shop for Kandangi sarees and Chettinad Kottan palm-leaf baskets, both registered Geographical Indications.
• Time a temple festival: Vinayagar Chathurthi at Pillayarpatti (August to September) or Thai Poosam at Kundrakudi (January to February).
• Watch birds at Vettangudi between November and February.

India Meteorological Department normals for Sivaganga district give about 424 mm of the year's 874 mm of rain between October and December, almost half, so November here is wet rather than dry; the south-west monsoon adds about 302 mm from June to September. January and February are the driest stretch, with about 27 mm between them, and they come before the hot season: Tamil Nadu Tourism puts summer in the state from March to May, with temperatures of up to 40°C. That makes January and February the most comfortable months for walking the mansion streets. Our food trail's own page calls November to February the most comfortable months for a walking and tasting trail, though it runs all year. For the wider state, see our Tamil Nadu travel guide.

• By train: Karaikudi Junction is the town's main railhead, and the Pallavan Superfast Express runs between Karaikudi and Chennai Egmore, according to Southern Railway.
• By air: the nearest airports are Tiruchirappalli International, about 95 km away, and Madurai International, about 97 to 100 km away, by the Karaikudi municipality's figures; Madurai has direct flights to Colombo, Dubai and Singapore, says the Airports Authority of India.
• By road: Karaikudi lies on the highway from Tiruchirappalli to Rameswaram, and National Highway 36 links Villupuram, Thanjavur and Pudukkottai with Sivaganga district. State Transport Corporation buses use Karaikudi's new bus stand.
• On a Tamil Nadu trip: Chettinad fits between Thanjavur and Madurai or Rameswaram, and our Chettinad tours and experiences page lists what we run here.