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Tharangambadi (Tranquebar) – A Historical Beach Town In Tamil Nadu

Tharangambadi, which is now called as Tranquebar is a small town in Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu. The name Tharangambadi is known as “Land of singing waves”.

From 10th century to 13th century, the town was ruled by Chola Dynasty. Then it was captured by Pandiyas in 14th century. In 15th century the thanjavur king, Raghunatha Nayak was the ruler. During these periods, the town was an active international trading port and the main trading hub for Arab and Portuguese traders. It was also most popular among Moravian entrepreneurs, German theologists and Muslim traders.

But from 1620 to 1845, Tharangambadi was a small Danish Colony in India. When the Danish Fort construction began by the Danish Captain, Ove Gjedde after signing of a treaty, the Danish East India Company marked its establishment. After all, the treaty was all about the export of pepper from India. Then eventually company took over the town by the year 1777 and then by British in 1801.

Best Time to Visit Tharangambadi

The best time to visit Tharangambadi is during the months of November to march. The temperature will be ranging from 24°C to 36 °C, making it as the best season to visit Tharangambadi

Places to Visit in Tharangambadi (Tranquebar)

Danish Fort

Danish Fort - Tharangambadi
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The Fort Dansborg is established after the signing of the treaty between Danish East Indian Company and the former ruler of Thanjavur, Nayak Raghunatha. It was built after 1620 and used for storage and residential purpose till 17th century. There is also a museum inside it displaying the Danish settlement artefacts.

  • Entry: Free

Danish museum

Danish museum - Tharangambadi
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The museum is inside the Danish Fort resembling the Danish settlement. There are many Danish artefacts inside the museum. There are also many Glass objects, porcelain ware, steatite lamps, decorated terracotta objects, Danish manuscripts, Chinese tea jars, lamps and much more. The collections of the museum are wide and expensive with stones, figurines, sculptures, swords, dagger, spears, sudai, wooden objects and a part of a whale skeleton.

  • Entry: Rs 5 entry fee and Rs 30 camera fee
  • Opening Hours: Till 6 PM

Town Gate

Town Gate - Tharangambadi
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The town Gate is one of the famous monuments, which is in King’s Street, is also well known for the Danish name Landporten. It is the main entrance of the Tharangambadi, where the road leads you to the Tranquebar beach. The gate is constructed as a part of building the defensive wall during the 1660s. The present gate is the new one; the old original gate was destroyed in the year 1791.

  • Entry: Free

Bungalow on the Beach

Bungalow on the Beach - Tharangambadi
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The Bungalow is just located nearer to the beach. It is the only option for tourists, who love to eat both Continental and Indian cuisines. From this Bungalow, the beach view, sunrise and sunset are amazing. The bungalow is located very close to the Fort and gives you a lovely insight on the Danish culture. It also portrays the entire history of Danish settlement. There is also a small Danish built Post office and an Old Danish Cemetery around the corner of the bungalow. You can also stay in this bungalow with prior booking.

Masilamani Temple

Masilamani Temple - Tharangambadi
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The temple was built in 1306 by the Pandya King Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan and dedicated to Lord Shiva. This 700 years old temple attracts lots of pilgrims with its unique architecture, which is a combination of Chinese and Tamil Architecture. This is one of the oldest monuments, which survived the massive natural disaster, Tsunami in 2004. You can see the old inscription on the temple, which proves the temple dates back to 14th century.

Zion church

Zion church - Tharangambadi
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Zion Church is one of the oldest churches in Tharangambadi, built by Rev. Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg in the year 1701. He is the first Protestant missionary and the church is the first Protestant church in India. The first five Indian protestant converts of the Danish mission were named inside the church. The church is still working and has daily prayers and services. The building lies inside the beautiful compound with greenery and it is well maintained by the servicemen.

New Jerusalem Church

New Jerusalem Church - Tharangambadi
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The church is built in the year 1718 by the Royal Danish missionary Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg in the Danish architecture style. It is located in the Kings Street and is still working. The church services will be conducted every Sunday. Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg is well known for not only spreading the Christianity, but also for his good achievements in just 13 years. Some of them were First School and Orphanage for children, women empowerment and tailoring school, Tamil dictionary printing, First ever printing press to India and much more.

Ziegenbalg Museum Complex

Ziegenbalg Museum Complex - Tharangambadi
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This complex has the First ever printing press in India. The first book published in this press is the Bible in Tamil. It also houses a prayer hall.

Activities & Things to do in Tharangambadi

Get the blessings

There is Sri Angalamman Temple and Masilamaniswarar Temple near the beach. These are the 10 centuries old famous temples in Tharangambadi. The believers can reach to these temples and get the blessings of the beloved Gods. In these temples, you will experience the serenity and divinity of the god very well.

Take a walk along the seashore

Taking a walk along the seashore makes you forget all your past stress and lets you relax. You can see many local people come here just for walk and relaxing in the beach.

The beach gives you an amazing view, when the rocky shore welcomes the vibrant waves. Although there are no entertainment activities or water sports in this beach, you can enjoy by watching the sceneries. The beach offers the mesmerizing view of the sunset and sunrise.

Enjoy the culinary delicacies

You can see lots of food stalls selling local sea foods in the beach during the evening. There will also be food shops which sells other snacks items. Children will love to eat snacks in the evening; hence you can buy them near the seashore itself.

Visit the artefacts

The natural beauty is a real paradise to the tourists. Apart from the natural beauty, the beach has many artefacts and even it is one of the main tourist attractions in Tharangambadi beach. Danish Fort and the Danish Museum are some of the capable artefacts that attract every tourist.

How to reach Tharangambadi

By Air
The nearest airport is Tiruchirappalli International Airport, which is located at a distance of 147 kms from Tharangambadi Beach. There are many flights for Trichi from all major cities of India from. From the airport, you can hire a taxi to reach the beach directly.

By Rail
There is no railway station in Tharangambadi. The nearest railway station to Tharangambadi is Mayiladuthurai(29.2 Km), Chidambaram(51.4 Km) and Nagapattinam(33.8 Km). From all of these stations, there will be plenty of buses plying at regular intervals. Reaching here by train is the economic way.

By Road
The best and frequent way of getting to Tharangambadi is by bus. There are several buses operating from major cities of Tamil Nadu to Tharangambadi like Thanjavur (97.6 Km), Bangalore (449 Km), Thiruvarur (54 Km), Chennai (271 Km), and Karaikal, Pondicherry (13.4 Km). You can get regular buses from all over the major cities.

Hospitals in Tharangambadi

Tharangampadi GH
Category: General
Address: Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu 609313, India
Opening Hours: 24 hours
Phone: +91 4364 289 273

Tharangambadi STD Code: 04365
Tharangambadi Pin Code: 609313