Entertainment in Trichy

This was the post that I wanted to create a long before. Tiruchirappalli, also called as Trichy is a district in the center of Tamil Nadu and also the former capital (in the name of Woraiyur) of the Chola kingdom. Trichy has a total area of 96.9 sq.km with a population of around 8 lakhs. Today I would like to share about some of the entertainment spots in trichy where you can spend your time leisurely with your family. I will list out one by one.

1. Malaikottai Uchi Pillaiyar Kovil

          Whenever someone thinks about Trichy, the image that immediately comes to their mind will be the Malaikottai, also called as Rockfort. Trichy derives its name Rockfort city from this temple. The exquisite view of the whole Trichy city that one can see while standing on top of the hillock near the Uchi Pillaiyar sanathi, makes one feel astonished and amazed. On one direction, one could the see the magnificent river Cauvery streaming across the city. Even though Cauvery doesn't run to its full capacity most of time, it offers a sumptuous view from the top of the Rockfort cliff. On the other direction, you can view the entire city of Trichy. You could hear a lot of noise from the city and you cannot distinguish between various noises. You will hear a sound that is mix of traffic noise, musical instruments', loud speaker, etc. Tourists from many countries throng into Rockfort temple around the year. People from all religions are allowed to go to the top of the cliff so that region doesn't act as a barrier for tourism.

Best time to visit: Evening around 6 o clock everyday.

View of the city from the top of the hillock

2. Chinnakadai street and Periya kadai Street (Small bazaar street and Big bazaar street)

          The road near the foothills of the Rockfort temple is called the Chinnakadai street. This street equals the Renganathan street of Chennai which is an ultimate shopping destination in Tamil Nadu. Whatever you want ranging from textiles, footwear, fashion accessories, furniture, household items, food, mobiles,etc, everything you can get here. There are many renowned shops as well as road side shops. Road side shops offer things at a low cost but you have to do some bargain. All the areas nearby Chinakadai street namely Singarathope, Main guard gate and West Bouleward road offer wide range of shopping outlets. If you come by car, you could park in Super Bazaar (nearby Chinakadai street) All the areas mentioned above are at a walk-able distance from the Super Bazaar. Famous textile shops like SARATHA'S (Chinakadai street), Thaila Silks (Periya kadai street), Ahmed Brothers (Singarathope) offer wide range of collection for both men and women. Consumer durables shops like Mangal & Mangal and Rathna Stores firm offer excellent varieties of household items. Except textiles, you could buy anything here. For jewelry, shops like Francis alukas, Jos Alukas, GRT Jewelers, Kongu thanga maligai, etc are availble. 

Best time to visit: Any time of the day (9 AM to 9 PM)

Chinakadai street flooded with people

3. Movies

          There many theatre complexes in Trichy where one can spend time watching latest Tamil, English and Hindi films with the late QUBE digital technology. One of the oldest theatre complexes in Trichy is Maris Theatre complex. But due to some problems, the theatre remained closed for several years before it was renovated. After the renovation, the theatre was opened with the latest sound technology called DOULBY ATMOS, Apart from this, there are many theatres that offer good sound quality and hygienic conditions like Rambha, oorvasi theatre, Sona Mina theatre, Cauvery theatre, Kalaiyarangam theatre (biggest in trichy), Vijay cinemas and Mega star cinemas. For the people who would like to watch the blockbuster old films in the big screen, there are several theatres like Ramakrishna, Gaity and Murgan theatre. The infrastructure in these theatres may not be good when compared to the theatres screening the latest films. 

Theatres and their addresses 

Theatre name	Address	Nearest bus stand
LA Cinemas	Maris theatre complex, Fort Station road	Chatiram bus stand
Ramba, oorvasi theatre	Anna Salai road	Chatiram bus stand
Kalaiyarangam	15 D, McDonalds Road, Cantonment	Central bus stand
Sona Mina theatre	8G, Williams Road, Cantonment	Central bus stand
Vijay Cinemas	No.9, Reynolds Road, Mangalam Tower, Cantonment	Central bus stand
Mega Star	Shop No. 150/74 D 1, Salai Rd	Chatiram bus stand

4. Butterfly Park

          This is the pet project of the current Chief minister of Tamil Nadu Ms. J.Jayalalithaa (Popularly known as Amma). The works for the park has began in the year of 2012 and now it is in the final stages of completion. The park is located in a serene location between the banks of river Cauvery and Kollidam at Srirangam. The park is excepted to be thrown open to the public by next month (October). The Butterfly Park will house around 39 local species of butterfly. The project also consists of a 'Nakshatra Vanam' or the collection of trees that corresponds to zodiac signs and stars in the Indian astrology. The area of around 25 hectares which was barren few years ago, has been landscaped into lush green environment to let the butterflies breed here. 

Butterfly park design

5. Mukkombu (Upper Anaicut)

          Mukkombu is a dam built across the river Cauvery at a distance of 18 km west of Trichy. This dam was built in the 19th century by Sir Arthur Cotton who drew  inspiration from the 2nd century Kallanai dam built by Karikaala Cholan. Beautiful picnic spot was created near the dam to facilitate tourism. There are lot of amusement in Mukkombu to be enjoyed with the family. But you should be careful while you take a dip . Plan a whole day at Mukkombu so that you have sufficient time to enjoy all the attractions at the park such as toy train, boating, merry go round,etc. When you plan a whole day at Mukkombu, make sure that you have packed your lunch from home or some other restaurants in the Trichy city because good quality food may not be available here. But there are some good snacks shops and juice shops. If you come to Trichy, don't forget to visit Mukkombu as it is one of the main tourist destination of the city. The park is opened from 10 AM to 5 PM. Nearest railway station is Perugamani. Trains are available from Tiruchirappalli Junction to Perugamani. 

Water gushing out of Mukkombu

6. Srirangam

         The reason for not mentioning Srirangam above all other places, is that, it may not be regarded as an entertainment spot but it is a nice tourist spot. Not all entertainment spots could be regarded as tourist spots and vice versa.  The majestic view of the Main Gopuram (monumental tower) of the Srirangam temple is mind blowing and leaves one spell bound. It is second tallest gopuram in Asia with a height of 243 feet. They used say in tamil "கோபுர தரிசனம் கோடி புண்ணியம்." which means that vision of the tower earns crores of virtuous deeds. Srirangam is one of the holiest places in the country and it is the first one of the 108 divya desams of Lord Perumal. The sleeping pose of Lord Ranganathan in this temple is just wonderful to see but you have to wait in a long queue before you could offer your darshan because the temple is crowded each and every day of the year.

View of the main gopuram of the temple

                  So then, I hope this article would have been of great help to all those who wanted to know about the entertainment places in the Rockfort city. There are even more entertainment places like Puliancholai, Kallanai, etc but they are located too far from the city. If there is any error in the data, kindly bring into my notice but commenting below. Thank you!