Kumbakonam works extremely well as a base for the Chola heartland. The three "Great Living Chola Temples" are all within easy reach: the Airavatesvara Temple is on the western edge of town at Darasuram, the Brihadisvara Temple of Thanjavur is 40 km south, and the third — at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, the eleventh-century Chola capital — is 35 km north along a quiet road through paddy fields.
A reasonable day trip combines Gangaikonda Cholapuram with the bronze-casting village of Swamimalai just outside Kumbakonam, where artisans still produce traditional Chola-style sculptures using the lost-wax method.
