Rameswaram did not want me, so I left sooner than expected. All the hotels were arch-armored impossible to find a room in the city. The 3 / 4 of the hotels do not allow non-Hindus, and that's hardly the other receptionists condescended to look at me when I asked a room.
I arrived without knowing the eve of a religious festival, the guest house was booked to capacity for four days to come. Some people had even set up encampments on sidewalks and in lobbies of hotels. After two hours of fruitless search, I decided to go my way and go directly to Trichy, my next destination. 7 hours later the bus, so I landed in Trichy, Tiruchirappali for friends. This is an important city of Tamil Nadu, with its fort perched on a rock and a huge Hindu temple, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. At the risk of further abuse to a user of superlatives, this temple is supposed to be the largest in India. It covers 60 hectares, has 21 Gopurams (these towers with floors decorated) and 7 concentric walls. Dedicated to Vishnu, it was started in the 10th century. Throughout the years, many dynasties have been involved, and the last and biggest Gopuram (73 meters) was completed very recently, in 1987. I have walked for an hour or two, but unfortunately the hearts of temples is reserved for Hindus. I had to settle for field already very impressive, even if the items are worked less and less decorated than the temple of Madurai. Part of the complex is part of the city, there are shops and houses built against the walls.
Earlier in the day, I visited the Temple Jambukeshwara. This one is dedicated to Shiva and his consort Parvati, he has 2 or 3 and a central temple Gopurams partly submerged, also prohibits non-Hindu ... Much smaller than the other temple,
is both quieter and less crowded. The last major attraction in Trichy is the Rock Fort. Originally a temple carved into the rock in the 7th or 8th century, it was fortified and enlarged by the Nayak dynasty. It is located on top of a rock 83 meters coming out of nowhere, the surrounding landscape is absolutely flat. 
Two temples are housed, one reaches the highest by a staircase of 450 steps. People are massed at the top to observe Trichy, its river Cauvery River and the towers of the temples we saw in the distance, beyond the River. It's a nice city, despite the difficulty here also to find a home. Tamil Nadu, with all its temples, was a region of very important pilgrimage for Hindus, I guess that's why the tourist accommodation is undersized. The era of Rajasthan where the touts harass you for you to go to their hotel seems very far away ... My next step, Thanjavur, is at a ridiculous hour and a half bus. I will need a day or two to visit (a temple and a fort), before heading to Pondicherry, the Upstate.
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