How To Reach Chidambaram

The temple town of Chidambaram is located in Cuddalore district in the east central part of Tamil Nadu. It’s a small town a little away from the Bay of Bengal, tucked away in between the significant touristy towns of Sirkazhi, Neyveli and Cuddalore. Chidambaram sits on the banks of River Kollidam that bifurcates from the Kaveri River and flows eastwards towards the Bay of Bengal. Chidambaram lies between Cuddalore and Sirkazhi on the east coast road that runs all the way from Chennai to Kanyakumari. The historic temples of Chidambaram make the town one of the most oft visited tourist towns of Tamil Nadu.

The easiest way to reach Chidambaram would be by train.

The nearest is the Puducherry airport that has flights to Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The next closest airport is the Tiruchirapalli International Airport that has flights to Chennai, Bengaluru and Kochi and international flights to Singapore, Dubai, Colombo, Kuala Lampur and Sharjah. Puducherry is about 63 km and Tiruchirapalli is about 170 km away from Chidambaram.

If you opt to take a flight to either of these cities, you have the options of booking a cab from the airport to Chidambaram. Otherwise there are state buses and trains that can also be used to reach the temple town. There are frequent bus services from Tiruchirapalli to Chidambaram.

Chidambaram has several trains lugging in from most of the major cities of the country. There are daily and weekly trains from Chennai, Madurai, Rameshwaram, Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Bhubaneswar, Vizag and Mumbai. The town bus stand is about 2 km from the railway station. You can hire an auto rickshaw or cab from near the railway station to reach your destination.

There are buses aplenty to Chidambaram from most of the neighbouring towns and cities. There are state run and private buses in various modes of comfort including regular to AC seater and sleeper buses from Chennai, Madurai, Bengaluru, Nagarkoil, Velankanni, Cuddalore, Tiruchirapalli, Mumbai, Hyderabad et al. Auto rickshaws are available on hire near the bus stand. You could also drive to Chidambaram from places like Chennai, Puducherry, and Tiruchirapalli.

There are local buses for getting around town, as well as auto rickshaws that can be hailed from an auto rickshaw stand round any street corner or an empty one passing by. There are taxis and mobile app cabs if you would like to travel in comfort. Travelling within the town should not pose a problem, since there are sufficient ways of transport within.