Amazing temple, small but perfectly formed. Of the three Living Chola temples this was my favourite. Incredible sculptures everywhere. It is highly recommended to have a guide who will be able to provide more details about the temple and show you specific sculptures and the stories behind them. We spent a brilliant hour with K Saravanan (9865307339) who was enthusiastic, entertaining and gave us a brilliant tour of the temple (in English).

The Airavateshwar Temple this is truly a gem and for World Heritage site. the carvings on the temple are an amazing piece what can be seen. The temple is like a chariot being pulled by elephants and horses. Every minute details like the jewelries of the elephant and the horses have been carved with utmost care and perfection. The pillars of the temple have beautiful carvings and each pillow is worth spending some time with. the temple is not lit by electric light and hence the natural light inside the temple appears to be very beautiful. all sides of the temple wall and the surroundings have carvings on it and a person interested in watching this can easily spend two to three hours watching each and every idol. If you're single you can just sit in one corner of the temple plug in your earphones and listen to some classical music, the feeling will be nothing lesser than a heaven. The total time spent year could be approximately one hour. The premises is not having toilets Drinking water needs to be carried on your own. No Cloak Room. In case you found my review helpful, kindly click on the helpful button and follow me for more reviews of attractions all over India

Airatheeshwara temple, built by Raja Raja chola II, a UNESCO World Heritage site, part of the 3 great Chola temples, is an amazing architectural marvel. Similar to the other two Chola temples, this one has a uniqueness and mesmerizing structure. It is stated that the temple was built during a time when Chola empire was faced with Cauvery water crisis . This temple is built like a temple kund/pond. There are steps leading down to the temple structure, suggesting that the temple was probably built to store water in its own premises other than the surrounding water structure. This temple still faces water logging. It probably needs to be maintained with its original usage kept in mind. My theory on the sapta-swaram steps is that, they might have something to do with producing music when the rain water fell on them. The musical steps don't look large enough to have people walk on them and then they lead nowhere. Just my thoughts. I was amazed by the sculptures adorning the walls of the temple, there is an estimate that suggests , there are more than 40000 sculptures on the temple walls. Sadly many many stone sculpture seem to be missing, with empty chambers and empty slots on the walls. Having a guide will definitely make a good difference. The godess deity is in another temple just outside the main temple, equally filled with carvings and beautiful , petite like the deity herself. The temple is a peaceful and serene reminder of an era gone by and leaving us feeling the pain and effort that must have gone into this marvelous mega structure. I was looking forward to this visit and the Airateshwara temple left me in awe.

I am working as Sheristadar, Principal District Court, Palakkad, Kerala. I have visited Kumbhakonam, Thanjavur in last week for 4 days. We got a good local guide Mr. Muthukumar who made our tour a memorable one. He took us to around 40 temples in Kumbhakonam, Thanjavur, Chidambaram, Thirunellar etc. He has deep knowldge of the temples and narrated about even minute details of the temples we visited. He is polite, friendly and he knows several languages also. He also introduced the best restaurants in the area. I would strongly recommend him as a guide for tours in Kumbhakonam, Thanjavur and surrounding areas. His mobile number is 9786802830.