Thirumayam Fort – Pudukkottai

Thirumayam Fort, located at a distance of 18 kilometres from Pudukkottai is a place of immense historical importance. The Fort comes under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Facts about Thirumayam Fort

• The Thirumayam Fort is said to have been built in 1687 AD by the Raja of Ramnad, Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi.
• It was later on handed over to his brother in law, Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman.
• The Fort was constructed in a ring shape with seven concentric walls surrounded by a broad moat. The Fort, however, has only four walls surviving now.
• The Fort currently stands on a 40-acre wide fortress, the original structure being two times larger that what it is today.
• The Fort has been renovated to a great extent in the year 2012, it being one of the prominent tourist attractions of Pudukkottai District.
• The fort has three entrances from the north, south and east directions.
• The top of the rock has a bastion with a cannon of British origin
• There are three rock-cut temples on the other side of the rock, two of them dedicated to Lord Shiva and the third one dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
• A Durbar Hall with carved inscriptions and a pillared corridor, shrines dedicated to guardian deities Lord Hanuman, Ganapathi, Karuppar and Goddess Sakthi (towards the southern side), a natural pond (to the northwest side) and a tank (to the southeast) forms a part of the structure.
• Lord Shiva is worshipped in the temple in the form of Bhairava.

Fort timings

The Fort is open to the public from 6:00 AM to 12 NOON in the morning and from 4:00 AM to 6:00 PM in the evening.

How to reach Thirumayam Fort

Thirumayam Fort is located in Thirumayam on the Pudukkottai-Karaikudi Highway in Pudukkottai District. Pudukkottai town is well connected by road to major cities in Tamil Nadu. The nearest railway station is at Pudukottai (19 kilometres away). The nearest airport is at Tiruchirapalli (around 67 kilometres away).