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Kanchi Puram Temple Tour
Four great temples of Kanchipuram : Ekambareswarar and Kailasanathar at dawn, Kamakshi and Varadaraja at dusk.
Rs6500/person onwards
Private car
8 Hours
4.9 Tripadvisor Rating
Responsible Tourism Award
Tourism Ministry Approved
TWO SHIVAS, A GODDESS AND A VISHNU
This is not a temple checklist. It is a day lived to the rhythm of Kanchipuram itself: out among the bells and camphor smoke at sunrise, home to rest through the fierce midday heat, and back as the oil lamps are lit, weaving through the lanes by auto rickshaw with a guide who reads every carving like a page of a book.
What is the Temples of Kanchipuram tour?
The Temples of Kanchipuram is a private guided tour by 5 Senses Tours, done by auto rickshaw in two sessions. From 7 AM you visit Ekambareswarar and the Pallava era Kailasanathar Temple; after a midday break at your hotel, you return at 4 PM for Kamakshi Amman and Varadaraja Perumal.
Key Facts
Morning part: | 7:00 AM to about 11:30 AM |
Evening part: | 4:00 PM to about 7:30 PM |
Start and end: | Your hotel in Kanchipuram, both sessions |
Transport: | Auto rickshaw, the way locals move through Kanchi’s lanes |
Temples: | Ekambareswarar, Kailasanathar, Kamakshi Amman, Varadaraja Perumal |
Group size: | Private |
Price: | From Rs 2500-5750 per person |
Dress code: | Shoulders and knees covered; shoes removed at every temple |
Guide language: | English or Tamil |
The City of a Thousand Temples
For more than a thousand years, Kanchipuram has been one of the great sacred cities of India. Hindu tradition counts it among the seven holy cities, the Saptapuri, that grant liberation. From the 4th to the 9th century it was the capital of the Pallava kings, whose architects carved and built the temples that would shape South Indian architecture for centuries.
The Cholas, and later the Vijayanagara emperors, kept building: towering gateways, halls of a hundred and a thousand pillars, shrines within shrines. The city became so holy to both Shaiva and Vaishnava devotees that it divided itself in two, Shiva Kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi, each with its own great temple.
In a single day you will see both halves of that story: Shiva as the element of earth beneath an ancient mango tree, the Pallavas’ masterpiece in sandstone, the goddess Kamakshi enthroned at the city’s heart, and Vishnu as the granter of boons on his sacred hill.
Your Day Among the Temples of Kanchipuram
Morning Session: Shiva at Dawn
7:00 AM: Pickup by Auto Rickshaw
Your guide arrives at your hotel in an auto rickshaw, the three wheeled taxi that hums through every lane of Kanchipuram. It is the way locals travel here, nimble enough for streets where a car cannot turn, and open to the smell of jasmine garlands and filter coffee as the town wakes up.
Ekambareswarar Temple, Kanchipuram and the Earth Element
Stop 1, Morning
Ekambareswarar is one of the five Pancha Bhuta Sthalas, the Shiva temples that Hindu tradition associates with the five elements, and it holds the element of earth. You will arrive early, while the temple is calm and the light is soft on a gateway tower that ranks among the tallest in South India.
Your guide will take you through the story of the sacred mango tree in the courtyard, the Shiva lingam that tradition says was shaped from sand by the goddess Parvati, and the layered history of Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara builders who each added to the complex. Footwear comes off at the entrance, and shoulders and knees should be covered.
Kailasanathar Temple, Kanchipuram and Pallava Sandstone Carving
Stop 2, Mid Morning
Kailasanathar is the oldest structural temple in Kanchipuram, built in the early eighth century by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, who is also known as Rajasimha. It is made of sandstone, set in a quiet walled courtyard, and surrounded by a ring of small shrines carved with Shiva in many forms.
Where Ekambareswarar is grand and busy, Kailasanathar is intimate and nearly silent. It is the place where Pallava stone carving can be seen at close range, and where you will have time to look slowly before the day turns to silk.
11:00 AM to 12:00 noon: Return to Your Hotel
Back to your hotel by auto rickshaw. Kanchipuram’s temples close their doors in the middle of the day, and the heat is at its fiercest. Rest, have lunch, and let the morning settle.
Evening Session: the Goddess and Vishnu at Dusk
4:00 PM: Pickup by Auto Rickshaw
As the heat softens, your guide collects you again. The streets are waking for the evening: flower sellers threading jasmine, families walking to the temples, the first lamps being lit.
Stop 3: Kamakshi Amman Temple, the Heart of Kanchi
4:15 PM to 5:30 PM · Kamakshi Amman Temple, central Kanchipuram
At the centre of the city sits its guardian goddess. Kamakshi, “she whose eyes are full of love”, is a form of Parvati, worshipped here seated in the lotus posture of meditation. Her temple is one of the great Shakti Peethas, the sacred seats of the Goddess across India, and tradition holds that the philosopher Adi Shankara consecrated the Sri Chakra that stands before her.
Stop 4: Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Vishnu on the Sacred Hill
5:45 PM to 7:00 PM · Varadaraja Perumal Temple
Cross the city to Vishnu Kanchi and the vast temple of Varadaraja, Vishnu as “the king who grants boons”. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams, the holiest Vishnu shrines, and the Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagara dynasties each added to its walls, towers and halls.
Its hundred pillared hall is a gallery in stone: warriors on horseback, dancers, deities, and stone chains said to be carved from single blocks of granite. Climb the steps of the hill shrine to find the famous golden and silver lizards on the ceiling, which pilgrims touch in the belief that it frees them from misfortune.
Private Tour
This day belongs to you or your group alone. The itinerary can be shaped around temples of your interest.
Guided Tour
Your English speaking cultural evangelist explains the temples as living places of worship.
Inclusions
✅ Hotel pickup and drop in an auto rickshaw (tuk tuk) ✅ English-speaking cultural guide ✅ All taxes
Does Kanchipuram tour sound compelling?
What Makes This Kanchipuram Temple Tour Different
- The right hours. Temples are closed between 12-4. This tour takes you when rituals are under way and the temples are most alive.
- The auto rickshaw. You move through Kanchipuram quickly, as its people do, close to the street life between the temples.
- The midday rest. Two shorter sessions instead of one exhausting day, so you see four temples without temple fatigue or the worst of the heat.
- A guide who makes stone speak. Myths, dynasties and architecture woven into one story, so each temple builds on the last.
🏆 Outlook Responsible Tourism Award
🏛️ Ministry of Tourism Recognised
⭐ Ranked #1 on Tripadvisor
🤝 IATO Member
Your Guide for the Day
Every Temples of Kanchipuram tour is led by a 5 Senses guide trained in the history, mythology and architecture of Kanchipuram’s temples. They explain rituals as they unfold, translate between you and the priests where welcome, and guide you through temple etiquette so you always feel at ease. They pace each session to your curiosity.
What to Wear and Know
- Cover shoulders and knees. Loose cotton trousers, long skirts or a sarong work well; no shorts or sleeveless tops.
- Shoes are left outside every temple. Wear sandals that slip off easily, and bring socks if hot stone bothers you.
- Photography is not allowed inside sanctums; your guide will tell you where it is welcome.
- Non Hindus may not enter some innermost sanctums. Everything else is open to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
The four most celebrated are Ekambareswarar, Kailasanathar, Kamakshi Amman and Varadaraja Perumal, and this tour visits all four. Together they span Shiva, the Goddess and Vishnu, and more than a thousand years of Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara architecture.
Kanchipuram’s major temples close in the middle of the day, typically from around 12:30 PM to 4 PM. Visiting in the morning and evening means the temples are open, rituals are under way, and you avoid the hottest hours.
Most major temples open early in the morning, close around midday and reopen from about 4 PM into the evening. Exact hours vary by temple and on festival days, and we time every stop around them.
Yes, all four temples welcome visitors of every faith, but non Hindus may not enter some innermost sanctums, including at Kamakshi Amman. You can explore the courtyards, halls and corridors freely, and your guide explains what lies within.
Auto rickshaws are how people get around Kanchipuram. They slip through lanes too narrow for cars, park right at temple gates, and put you in the life of the town. A private car can be arranged if you prefer.
Kailasanathar was built around 700 CE by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, also called Rajasimha. It is one of the oldest surviving monuments in Kanchipuram and is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Ekambareswarar is where Shiva is worshipped as the element of earth, one of the five Pancha Bhoota Sthalams. Its southern tower rises about 58 metres, and its sacred mango tree is believed by devotees to be 3,500 years old.
Athi Varadar is an ancient fig wood image of Vishnu kept beneath the waters of the temple tank. It is raised for public worship only once every 40 years; the last time was in 2019 and the next is due in 2059.
Wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees, such as loose trousers or along skirt, and sandals you can slip off. Shoes are removed before entering every temple.
Photography is not allowed inside the sanctums. It is generally welcome in courtyards and halls, and your guide will tell you where at each temple.
Kanchipuram is about 75 km from Chennai, roughly 2 hours by road. This tour is designed for guests staying in Kanchipuram, since it starts at 7 AM and runs in two sessions. We can arrange your transfer and hotel.
Five Senses Tours- Chennai
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Tripadvisor Reviews
Pricing Chart
Trip Itinerary
Visit 4 remarkable Temples built by Pallavas in the Kanchipuram tour
7:00 AM - Hotel pick up
Ekambareswar Temple
Kailasanathar Temple
1130AM- Hotel Drop
4PM- Hotel Pick Up
Kamatchi Amman Temple
Varadaraja Perumal Temple
7 PM - Hotel Drop
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