Arunajadeswarar Temple, Thiruppanandal

The Navagraha temple associated with Sukra (Venus), located a few kilometres from Suryanar Kovil. Uniquely, Venus has no separate idol here; the presiding Shiva lingam Agneeswarar is worshipped as Sukra himself, and the temple is linked to the legend of sage Kalava and the god Agni. It is an essential stop on the Thanjavur Navagraha pilgrimage.

The Navagraha temple dedicated to Surya, the Sun God, unusual for having separate shrines for all nine planetary deities within one complex. Built during the Kulothunga Chola I period in the 11th-12th century, it is the principal Sun temple of the Kaveri delta Navagraha circuit. Pilgrims doing the nine-temple Navagraha tour typically centre their journey here.

The Mahalingeswarar (Mahalingaswamy) temple at Thiruvidaimarudur near Kumbakonam is a large and historically important Shiva temple, traditionally regarded as the central Madhyarjuna among the great Arjuna (Marudur) Shiva temples of the Cauvery delta. It carries extensive Chola-and-later architecture and hosts major festivals.

The second reason to stop here, and the one you can walk into. Thirubuvanam weaves silk sarees on pit looms set into the floors of sheds behind ordinary front doors, and the trade runs through one body — the Thirubuvanam Silk Handloom Weavers Co-operative, registered in 1955 and known as THICO — which also holds the Geographical Indication the cloth was granted in March 2019. Its counter is on Sannathi Street a couple of hundred metres east of the temple, which makes this one of the few crafts in Tamil Nadu you can buy from the society that owns its name, in the village the name refers to. What to look at before you buy: the korvai join, where a pallu of a different colour is interlocked thread by thread with the body rather than stitched on.

The last of the great Chola temples, raised by Kulothunga Chola III around 1176 CE to mark a northern campaign. Its vimana stands taller than its own gateway tower — the Chola signature shared with Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram, though unlike those three it carries no UNESCO listing. It is the only temple in the country with a shrine to Sarabha, the winged lion-man form Shiva is said to have taken to calm Narasimha, and the name means "the Lord who stilled the trembling".

The Naganathaswamy Shiva temple at Thirunageswaram near Kumbakonam is one of the nine Navagraha (planet) temples of the Cauvery delta and is dedicated to Rahu. It is especially known for the Rahu abhishekam, during which the milk poured over the deity is seen by devotees to take on a bluish tinge before running clear.

The Oppiliappan (Uppiliappan) Perumal temple at Thirunageswaram near Kumbakonam is one of the 108 Divya Desams, dedicated to Vishnu with his consort Bhumi Devi. By tradition it is the one Divya Desam where the offering (prasadam) is prepared entirely without salt, giving the deity the name Oppiliappan (uppu-illa, without salt), and the site is linked in lore to the sage Markandeya.

The Chakrapani Temple in Kumbakonam is a Vishnu temple on the bank of the Cauvery, where Vishnu is worshipped as Chakrapani, the Sudarshana or discus form. By legend the discus emerged from the river and, having humbled Surya the sun god, gave Vishnu the name Chakrapani; the present temple is generally dated to the Nayaka period.

The Nageswaraswamy Temple in Kumbakonam is one of the earliest Chola temples, dedicated to Shiva worshipped as Nagaraja, the serpent king. Founded in the 9th century, it is celebrated for its refined early Chola sculpture and for an astronomical design in which sunlight reaches the sanctum during the Tamil month of Chithirai.

The Shiva temple beside the battlefield of about 879 CE, where the Chola victory over the Pandyas began the dynasty's return. Aditya Chola I is said to have rebuilt the brick shrine standing here in granite in memory of that day. Shiva is worshipped as Sakshinathar, the witness, from the tradition that he appeared to give evidence for a Chettiar woman; the temple is the forty-sixth of the Tevaram-sung Shiva shrines on the north bank of the Kaveri, and is held by the Madurai Adheenam.

One of the largest Vishnu temples in the Cauvery delta and a Divya Desam, its towering gopuram dominates central Kumbakonam; the sanctum is shaped like a temple chariot drawn by horses and elephants.

A vast sacred temple tank of about 20 acres, ringed by 16 ornate mandapams and small shrines. Once every twelve years the Mahamaham festival draws millions of pilgrims who bathe here, believing the nine holy rivers of India converge in its waters. It is one of the most important mass-bathing pilgrimage sites in South India.