During the rule of the British this town was called Trichnopoly. Today it is Tiruchirappalli and is also called Tiruchirappalli for short. This city is situated on the banks of the Kaveri river. Tiruchirappalli is the fourth largest city in the state and it was a citadel of the early Chola rulers which later fell to the Pallavas kings. The Pallavas never really managed to retain control of this strategic city and lost it to the Pandyas several times. The struggle for power between the Pallavas and Pandyas continued till 10th century as the Cholas asserted and assumed rule for a long time. Tiruchirappalli is 325 km from Chennai.



When this empire collapsed around 1565, Tiruchirappalli came to be under the rule of different rulers. They were the Nayaks of Madurai, the Marathas, the Nawabs of Carnatic, the French and finally the British. But it was under the Nayaks of Madurai that this town prospered in its own right and grew to become the city that it is today. The city is a fine blend of the traditional and the modern and the town developed was built around the Rock Fort. Apart from the fort there are several churches, colleges and missions dating back to the 1760s. This town is also called the Rome of the East because every Christian denomination has some kind of an establishment in this city. With excellent infrastructural facilities Tiruchirappalli is a good base to see east and central Tamil Nadu.


Rock Fort : Tiruchi's most famed landmark is an 83m high rock which is the only out crop in the otherwise flat land of the City. The most amazing fact about the rock is that it is one of the oldest inthe world - approximately 3,800 million years, which makes it as old as the rocks of green land and older than the Himalayas. The sheen aboutness of its rise in an attention grabber in itself, of which very little remains, but the temple at the summit of 344 steps news out of rock leading to the top where there are inscription dating back to the 3rd century B.C. Hardly anything remains of the remnants but the main gaurd date is still infact the fort played an important part during the carnatic laws and according to an inscription, mainly contributed to lay the foundations of the British empire in India. Atop the rock is the Uchipillaiyar koil, a temple dedicated to Lord Vingayaka from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchi. At light of stops lead to the Mathrubutheswarar of Thaymanaswami temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva where the lingam is a projection of the rock itself. Below the Siva temple there are two pallava cave temples that have beautiful sculptures of the 6th and centuries. At the foot of the Rock fort is a tank and a Pavilion which are used during the float festival of the temples. Near the tank are the home where Robest clive lived when he was in Tiruchy and an 18th Century Christ Church built by Revernd schwartz of Denmark. The home is now past of Thiruchy's famous St.Joseph's College.