Devakottai, 18 km south of Karaikudi, has some of the finest Chettinad mansions in the region and is less visited than Karaikudi itself. The streets here have a slightly more intact feel — whole blocks of shuttered mansions alongside a few that are clearly still lived in, with women in silk saris visible through the iron gates. The Devakottai Palace, now a government building, gives some sense of the civic ambitions of the Chettiar community at its height.
The town is compact enough to explore on foot from the bus stand. Local auto-rickshaw drivers can show you the most notable houses.