The Great Living Chola Temples: three towers, three kings

In the Kaveri delta of Tamil Nadu stand three temples that UNESCO treats as one World Heritage Site: the Great Living Chola Temples. The word living matters, because these are working places of worship, not ruins.

The oldest is the Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, dedicated to Shiva and built by Rajaraja I between 1003 and 1010 CE. It is about 340 km southwest of Chennai. Its tower, or vimana, is 63.4 metres high, and a single granite block weighing around 80 tonnes sits at the top. It is an Archaeological Survey of India-protected monument. Beneath later paintings on the sanctum walls are Chola frescoes, discovered in 1931 and restored in the 2000s; one source says about 112 square metres had been uncovered by 2010 from a total area of about 670. The temple's great Nandi bull faces the entrance hall, and sources disagree on its dimensions.

The second, Brihadisvara at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, was completed in 1035 CE by Rajendra Chola I as part of his new capital. It lies about 70 km northeast of Thanjavur. The third, the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram near Kumbakonam, was completed in the twelfth century, with sources giving about 1150 to 1166 CE, and lies about 40 km northeast of Thanjavur. The first temple was inscribed by UNESCO in 1987 (one source gives 1986), and the other two were added in 2004.

A sensible trail is Thanjavur on the first day, with the temple at dawn or in late afternoon; Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Darasuram on the second, based in Kumbakonam; and the craft town of Swamimalai, nearby, for the bronze casters whose lineage goes back to Chola sculptors. Their story is in this issue's People pages.

How to go well: remove shoes and dress modestly at the temples, ask before photographing inside sanctums, and hire a local guide who can read the inscriptions. Check opening hours, which we could not confirm from the sources we read.