Situated on the banks of river Kaveri, Tiruchirappalli, the fourth largest city in the state was a citadel of the Early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas. But the Pallavas never really managed to retain control of this strategic city and lost it to the Pandyas several times. This tug of war finally ended when  the  Cholas  reasserted  themselves  in  the  10th  century. Trichy  continued to be in their possession until the decline of the empire after which it became a Vijayanagara stronghold.

When this empire collapsed in 1565, Trichy came to be occupied in turn by the Nayaks of Madurai, the Marathas, the Nawabs of Carnatic, the  French and   finally the  British. But  it was  under  the Nayaks of Madurai that Trichy flourished and prospered in its own right and grew to be the city that it is today. Trichy flourished and prospered in its own ,built around the Rock Fort. Apart from the fort there are several  churches,  colleges  and  missions  dating back to the  1760s. With its  excellent infrastructural facilities Trichy will serve as a good base to see central Tamilnadu.

Tiruchchirāppalli, also Tiruchirapalli, city, southern India, in Tamil Nādu State, capital of Tiruchchirāppalli District, on the Kāveri (Cauvery) River. It is a road and rail center in an area where cotton, grain, tobacco, and rice are grown and that has mica, gypsum, and limestone deposits. Large railway plants and locomotive works are found in the southeastern section of Golden Rock, an industrial suburb of Tiruchchirappalli. Other industries include cotton-textile milling, tanning, and the manufacture of cement, filigree work, and tobacco products. Located here are the Seshasayee Institute of Technology (1952) and several colleges affiliated with the Bharathidasan University. In the northern section is Rock Fort, the city's most famous landmark. This monument contains excavated 7th-century Pallava cave temples, a ruined 17th-century fort, and a Vinayaka temple. Capital of Tamil kingdoms from the 10th to the 17th century, the area was the site of several Anglo-French battles in the 18th century and was ceded to the British in 1801. The former name was Trichinopoly, sometimes shortened to Trichy. Population (1991) 387,223