Tiruchirappalli Metro Area

Tiruchirappalli, situated on the banks of the river Cauvery is the fourth largest city in Tamil Nadu. It was a citadel of the early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas. Trichy is a fine blend of tradition and modernity built around the Rock Fort. Apart from the Fort, there are several Churches, Colleges and Missions dating back to the 1760s. The town and its fort, now in Trichy were built by the Nayaks of Madurai. This city has given great Tamil scholars whose contributions to the Tamil literature have been very significant.

The most famous land mark of this bustling town is the Rockfort Temple, a spectacular monument perched on a massive rocky out crop which rises abruptly from the plain to tower over the old city. It was one of the main centers around which the wars of the Carnatic were fought in the 18th century during the British-French struggle for supremacy in India. The city is a thriving commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is famous for artificial diamonds, cigars, handloom cloth, glass bangles and wooden and clay toys.

When the capital of the Nayak was shifted from Madurai to Tiruchirappalli, Chokkanatha Nayak built the infrastructures to house the administration. The Audience hall built by him as a miniature of Thirumalai Nayak Mahal of Madurai, is now maintained by the Government Museum Tiruchirappalli. The Museum is rich in stone sculptures representing the periods of Pallava and Chola, and the religions of Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism.