Poompuhar Beach

The modern coastal settlement associated with ancient Kaveripoompattinam. Archaeological, museum and shoreline stops are dispersed.

A Chola-period Shiva temple in the coastal village of Tiruchaikadu (Sayavanam) near Kaveripoompattinam. It is the 63rd Devaram Paadal Petra Sthalam and the 9th on the north bank of the Cauvery, glorified in the Thevaram hymns. It belongs to the group of shrines near the Cauvery mouth that includes Thalachangadu, Pallavaneswaram at Poompuhar and Thiruvenkadu.

Shiva temple near Poompuhar that is the Ketu shrine of the nine Navagraha temples, drawing pilgrims performing Ketu-dosha remedies.

Ancient Shiva temple at Poompuhar associated with the historic Chola port and Sangam-era Kaveripoompattinam; the wider site has also yielded Buddhist vihara remains.

Ancient Shiva temple that is the Budhan (Mercury) shrine of the nine Navagraha temples, a major stop on the Navagraha pilgrimage circuit.

An archaeological site where in early 2006 a polished Neolithic stone celt engraved with four signs resembling the Indus script was discovered by a local schoolteacher. Epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan saw it as strong evidence that Neolithic Tamil Nadu and the Indus Valley people may have shared a Dravidian language. Later ASI excavations yielded Megalithic/Iron Age pottery, urns and bowls dated between roughly 300 BCE and 100 CE.

A Hanuman temple about 5 km from Thirukkadaiyur noted for an unusual idol of Anjaneya depicted with three eyes and ten arms, a rare iconographic form. It draws devotees particularly for special Saturday worship. Its distinctive murti sets it apart among the many Chola-delta shrines and it is listed among the district's places of interest.

A cluster of eleven Vishnu temples around Thirunangur village that together form part of the 108 Divya Desams glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. All eleven were sanctified by Tirumangai Alvar, and the oldest date to the reign of the Chola king Parantaka I. Each has a distinct presiding deity, from Gopalakrishnan at Thirukkavalampadi to Vaikuntanathan at Thiruvaikunda Vinnagaram. Every year in the Tamil month of Thai the processional deities of all eleven gather here for the spectacular Garuda Sevai festival.

A pair of Vishnu temples about 10 km from Sirkazhi counted together as the 37th of the 108 Divya Desams, with mangalasasanam by Tirumangai Alvar in 41 pasurams. The presiding deity of Thiruvali is Lakshmi Narasimha (Azhagiyasingar) with his consort Amirthagatavalli. Thirunagari is revered as the birthplace of Tirumangai Alvar himself, and the area forms a Pancha Narasimha Kshetram of five Narasimha shrines.

A group of restored 18th-century Danish colonial mansions lining King Street inside the walled town of Tranquebar, including Rehling's House and the seafront Bungalow on the Beach, which originally served as the Danish-era courthouse and collector's residence. They showcase a fusion of European and Tamil coastal architecture and are the best-preserved civic remnants of Denmark's Indian outpost. Several are now conserved as heritage hotels, anchoring Tranquebar's rare surviving Danish colonial townscape.

A maritime museum housed in the Van Theylingen House, an 18th-century bungalow that was once the residence of the Danish commander of Tranquebar. Its collection displays remains of an old ship along with boats, models and other maritime artifacts recalling the town's era as a Danish trading colony. It sits within Tranquebar's compact heritage quarter alongside Fort Dansborg, the town gate and the colonial mansions of King Street.

Consecrated in 1718 by pioneering Danish missionary Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, one of India's oldest Protestant churches, with Ziegenbalg's grave on site.