Places to Visit in Gunaseelam

A Vishnu temple on the banks of the Kaveri about 20 km from Trichy, considered an Abhimana Sthalam and often called a southern counterpart of Tirupati. It is renowned for a traditional 48-day cure ritual for mentally ill devotees, who stay within the temple premises. In 1996 the temple established a Tamil Nadu government-licensed mental health rehabilitation centre, the first of its kind in the state.

A Paadal Petra Sthalam Shiva temple about 20 km north of Trichy, praised by the Saivite trio Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar. It is unusual for having a dedicated shrine to Yama, the god of death, in a cave-like chamber said to be built by the Pallava king Mahendravarman. Devotees perform Ayush Homa here to overcome the fear of death, and the temple carries inscriptions of Rajaraja I and Rajendra Chola I.

A 108 Divya Desam dedicated to Vishnu as Pundarikakshan with his consort Pankajavalli, believed to be older than Srirangam. Set on a white rock, it includes two Pallava- and Chola-era rock-cut cave temples, one from Nandivarman II's reign and another from Rajaraja I's. The temple has an ancient stepped tank and inscriptions spanning the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara and Nayak periods.

The tomb complex of the 11th-century Sufi saint Sultan Syed Shah Mutaharuddin, known as Nathar Vali, and one of the most important Muslim pilgrimage sites in Tamil Nadu. Built over his grave during the Chola period, it later gained a prominent 70-foot dome added by the 18th-century ruler Chanda Sahib. Its annual Urs festival during Ramzan draws large crowds of pilgrims from many communities.

Two days at the geographic heart of Tamil Nadu — the Rockfort rising over the old city, then the vast Srirangam temple island and its water-element neighbour at Thiruvanaikaval.

One of the 108 Divya Desams, glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Thirumangai Alvar. It is the only temple where the Trimurti - Brahma, Vishnu (worshipped here as Purushothama Perumal) and Shiva - are enshrined together with their consorts in six separate shrines. Built in Dravidian style, it once formed a four-Divya-Desam circuit with Uraiyur, Srirangam and Thiruvellarai.

A Paadal Petra Sthalam Shiva temple built on a rocky hillock beside the Uyyakondan channel of the Kaveri, revered in the 7th-century Tevaram hymns. Shiva is worshipped here as Uyyakondan (Ujjivanathar) with his consort Anjanakshi. The four-acre temple has concentric granite walls and inscriptions recording a crown gifted by the Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi.