Author Archives: ranmenon

Karaikudi has been all about Chettinad food and palatial houses. Our stay was at Visalam, which has been built in Art Deco style and was a gift from a father to his daughter on the occasion of her marriage. Most houses in the Chettinad are two storey structures with a central court which is skyContinue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Karaikudi”

The tall and magnificent gopuram of the Brihadeesvara temple dominates the skyline and is visible well before we near the temple complex. Our visit to Tanjore was a drive through on our way from Kumbakonam to Trichy and we had planned a halt only to visit the temple complex.  Brihadeesvara temple, called the ‘Big Temple’,Continue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Thanjavur”

Pondicherry had been on our bucket list for a long time. We spent two days walking through the the White Town and spending over half a day visiting Auroville. It’s better to walk around White Town as parking is a pain and it feels like all the two wheelers in India holed up in Pondicherry.Continue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Pondicherry, Tranquebar, Chidambaram”

After spending a few days in Bangalore and Chennai with relatives and friends, we shifted base to Mahabalipuram. The rain that has been following us on parts of our journey decided to play spoilsport and prevent us from taking pictures of the Shore temples at sunrise and sunset. The sun scorched during the day, though.Continue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Mahabalipuram”

Lepakshi is a small town in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh and is just a couple of hours away from Bengaluru. Located at the edge of Lepakshi, as you enter the town is a statue of a large Nandi bull. It is said to be the largest single stone Nandi and is carved outContinue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Lepakshi”

Belum caves was a detour. On our way from Gandikota to Anantapur,  we decided to check out Belum caves.  The caves were discovered in 1884 and subsequently, various German teams studied the interior of the caves. The caves are underground and the access is a small set of steps into a pit like area which alsoContinue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Belum Caves”

Along the Penna river in Andhra Pradesh, lies hidden, not only a gorge , but an ancient fortress, a temple complex and a mosque.  All this, in a place called Gandikota. It takes time and effort to reach Gandikota. The roads are good but the journey from anywhere seems long. We drove in from HospetContinue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Gandikota”

We carried the rain with us to Bijapur. It was dull and overcast and we had much rain when we went out to see the monuments. Bijapur is a walled city and parts of the wall were evident as we drove around. There are monuments scattered all over the city and some of them outsideContinue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Bijapur”

Naldurg fort is visible from the highway between Solapur and Hyderabad. It was not on our route map, but we decided to go anyway. About an hour from Solapur and after a small detour, the parking lot and entry way to the fort lies along side a beautiful fort wall with bastions and ramparts intactContinue reading “The Peninsula Tour Part 2 – Naldurg Fort”

After a lot of planning, we restart our Peninsula tour. The route is a bit different from the previously planned one. The tour will start from Mumbai and make its way through Bijapur, Gandikota, Lepakshi, Bengaluru, Chennai and then down the East coast to Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Kollam, Idukki, Allapuzha, Kochi, Kozhikode before it winds throughContinue reading “The Peninsula Tour – Part 2”