Trichy temples help district emerges as top tourist destination in TN
Pilgrimage tourism remains the primary driver behind the achievement, Trichy district has recorded the highest tourist footfalls in Tamil Nadu, attracting 1.65 crore visitors — 1.62 crore domestic tourists and 2.2 lakh foreign tourists — between Jan and May this year. Pilgrimage tourism remains the primary driver behind the achievement, according to the tourism department, even as major temples continue to face infrastructure and accessibility challenges.The iconic Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, Rockfort Ucchi Pillaiyar temple, and Samayapuram Mariamman temple were the biggest crowd-pullers, with around 1.1 crore tourists visiting at least one of the temples during the period, nearly 10 lakh more than the corresponding period last year.The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department manages the Srirangam and Samayapuram temples, while the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) oversees the Rockfort temple.“The pilgrimage tourism has contributed significantly to the tourist footfalls in the district. The trend shows that Trichy is likely to finish at the top this year too,” tourism officer S M Sribalamurugan said. The district is projected to cross 3.5 crore visitors by the end of this year, potentially retaining the top spot in the state for another year.However, infrastructure gaps at these temples remain a concern. “Sanitation and tourist accommodation need improvement at Srirangam and Samayapuram temples, while accessibility issues such as lift and vehicle parking facilities remain problems at Rockfort,” V B Jaganath, a member of Trichy Intra-City Development Endeavours (TIDES), said. He also called for better queue management systems for devotees at all temples.While Srirangam and Rockfort benefit from their key locations in the city, Samayapuram, situated on the outskirts, struggles with poor connectivity.“The Samayapuram temple needs a subway or skywalk across the highway for devotees. The ramp accessibility for the temple also needs an upgrade. Lighting, information boards, floor mats and drinking water facilities should also be improved,” N Saravanan, social activist, said. He also suggested promoting lesser-known temples such as Thiruvellarai and Perumalmalai to further boost religious and overall tourism in the district.Jaganath said, “An increase in the number of flights from major cities to Trichy can contribute to the overall increase in tourism.”The tourism department is working in coordination with the forest department to promote hill destinations such as Pachamalai and Puliyancholai and the water resources department (WRD) to promote Mukkombu.The district rural development agency (DRDA) is planning an adventure sports zone in the Pachamalai hills. TTDC and DRDA are jointly upgrading facilities at the Puliyancholai waterfalls in the Kolli hills, which will include a children’s park, a new toilet complex, and better road access. The WRD is developing a theme park near the Mukkombu barrage on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Officials said the completion of these projects will further strengthen tourism in the region in the coming years.
