A pristine landmark, maze of canals, gorgeous backwater & beaches Pichavaram is a barely disturbed mangrove forest located near Chidambaram in Tamil nadu.
I had only heard the name of this place before but never knew what it was nor was it on my travel bucket list.
My sister called one day and said "it's a long weekend and I've heard of this place Pichavaram which is a hardly explored mangrove, why don't we drive down it's just about an hours drive from Pondicherry. So early on friday morning my sister, her friend, our cousin & I packed our overnight bags, jumped into the car and drove away.
After doing some research on Google we decided it makes more sense to visit Pichavaram in the morning, so we drove directly down to Chidambaram, checked-in at this hotel called Vandayar. A decently maintained place, was clean enough. After a relaxing siesta we walked to the Thillai Nataraja temple , looked around a bit and called it a day.
We reached Pichavaram at 8.15 am, and decided to take the 4 hours forest & beach rowboat package. Our research on the net told us we better opt for row boat and tip the row man to take us into the mangrove and we were glad we did so. Going in between the dense man made cave like channels of the grove was the most beautiful part of the ride.So I insist you take a rowboat, else you will end up missing the most stunning spot in this place. As the water is only 3-4 feet deep motor boats cannot take you through this.
This place is a confluence of water & greenery. You will find the local tribes walking on the floor bed catching shrimps by hand. You can also spot different types of red crabs and clams - loads & loads of them. If you visit between october & January you are sure to see the migratory birds too.
After about 2 hours ride, we were dropped off near the beach where we spent an hour & headed back. Since the water is shallow the boat guy lets you row if you ask. He was very helpful & patiently answered all our questions. There is also a 'watch tower' with a view of the entire expanse of the mangrove.
Our ride got over at 12.30 pm, lucky for us the weather was cloudy, in spite of it this place is quite humid. Make sure to carry water & a hat.
I had only heard the name of this place before but never knew what it was nor was it on my travel bucket list.
My sister called one day and said "it's a long weekend and I've heard of this place Pichavaram which is a hardly explored mangrove, why don't we drive down it's just about an hours drive from Pondicherry. So early on friday morning my sister, her friend, our cousin & I packed our overnight bags, jumped into the car and drove away.
After doing some research on Google we decided it makes more sense to visit Pichavaram in the morning, so we drove directly down to Chidambaram, checked-in at this hotel called Vandayar. A decently maintained place, was clean enough. After a relaxing siesta we walked to the Thillai Nataraja temple , looked around a bit and called it a day.
We reached Pichavaram at 8.15 am, and decided to take the 4 hours forest & beach rowboat package. Our research on the net told us we better opt for row boat and tip the row man to take us into the mangrove and we were glad we did so. Going in between the dense man made cave like channels of the grove was the most beautiful part of the ride.So I insist you take a rowboat, else you will end up missing the most stunning spot in this place. As the water is only 3-4 feet deep motor boats cannot take you through this.
This place is a confluence of water & greenery. You will find the local tribes walking on the floor bed catching shrimps by hand. You can also spot different types of red crabs and clams - loads & loads of them. If you visit between october & January you are sure to see the migratory birds too.
After about 2 hours ride, we were dropped off near the beach where we spent an hour & headed back. Since the water is shallow the boat guy lets you row if you ask. He was very helpful & patiently answered all our questions. There is also a 'watch tower' with a view of the entire expanse of the mangrove.
Our ride got over at 12.30 pm, lucky for us the weather was cloudy, in spite of it this place is quite humid. Make sure to carry water & a hat.
