Thanjavur is well placed for excursions through the Chola heartland. Kumbakonam is 38 km northeast and has some of the most remarkable temple tanks and Shiva shrines in the delta. Srirangam, the great Vaishnavite complex on the Cauvery river island near Trichy, is about 55 km west.
Further afield, Gangaikondacholapuram — 70 km north — holds the second great Chola temple, built by Rajendra Chola I in the 11th century to celebrate his conquests to the Ganges. It receives far fewer visitors than the Brihadisvara and is worth the journey.
