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Tag: Chennai

8 Fabulous Places to Visit near Chennai
There is ever so often that you crave a quick weekend getaway. For a little breather between work and the drudgery of daily life and you do not have the time to plan an elaborate holiday. On those days, long Weekends are like answered prayers. And, just for times like that, here is a list of 8 places to visit near Chennai that are only a few hours away from the city but are as good a tourist destination as any in the country.

1. Mahabalipuram / Mamallapuram

Distance from Chennai | 57 Kilometres
Best Time to Visit | Monsoon & Winter. October – April.

Renowned for its ancient monuments dating back to the Pallavas of the seventh and the eighth centuries, Mahabalipuram is home to numerous Hindu temples sculpted as monolithic chariots, cave sanctuaries and rock reliefs even. Together they form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most famous of which are the five Rathas dedicated to the five Pandavas of Mahabharata and the elephantine open air rock relief which is The Descent of the Ganges – also known as Arjuna’s Penance.

Today this ancient seaside town is also buzzing with surfers that are thronging here in their quest for big waves making this the number one place to visit near Chennai.

READ : 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2017

Getting There | Mahabalipuram is only an hour and half away from Chennai by road. One can also take the train or bus to get here.

2. Pondicherry

Distance from Chennai | 156 Kilometres
Best Time to Visit | Winter. December – April.

Go further down the East Coast Road from Mahabalipuram and you reach Auroville – Pondicherry, which is also next on our list of popular tourist places to visit near Chennai.

They say if you can’t afford a ticket to Europe, travel to Pondicherry instead. Stroll through the white part of town where cafes cool and inviting are at every turn. Or wander through the streets on the Tamil side to absorb the distinctive Franco-Tamil culture of the place.

Pay a visit to Auroville to experience life at this utopian community, meditate in the Matrimandir and shop for eco friendly products. Take a short drive to Arikamedu, an ancient Roman archaeological site or to the Fossil Forest in Tiruvakkarai. Or simply sit on the edge of the rocky beach and let a sense of tranquillity wash over you.

Getting There | The best way to get to Pondicherry from Chennai is by the East Coast Road. There are also trains and buses that connect both cities.

Where to Stay in Pondicherry | Hotel Review: Maison Perumal

Read Stories from Pondicherry
Streets of Pondicherry – Part I: Art
Streets of Pondicherry – Part II: Architecture

3. Tharangambadi ( Tranquebar )

Distance from Chennai | 270 Kilometres
Best Time to Visit | Winter. December – April.

Tharangambadi, ‘the place of the singing waves’, was the first Danish trading post in India and in a Danish twist to its original name, it came to be called Tranquebar. Just like Pondicherry, here too, you will find an eclectic mix of two cultures coming together. Of a former Danish colony and a fishing village of rural Tamil Nadu. Besides the lyrical singing waves and the swaying palms of the southern coast line, there are also the Dansborg Fort and the New Jerusalem Church to explore.

Getting There | The best way to get to Tharangambadi from Chennai is by road. The drive takes over six and a half hours, so one can also take a bus to get to Tharangambadi from Chennai.

4. Trichy

Distance from Chennai | 330 Kilometres
Best Time to Visit | All year round.

The stunning gopurams of Srirangam Temple

One of the oldest inhabited cities of Tamil Nadu and my personal favourite on this list of places to visit near Chennai, Trichy is home to temples both unique and popular. From the more famous Ranganatha Swamy Temple of Srirangam to the little known Rockfort Temple.

Second in size only to the Angkor Wat, Srirangam occupies an entire islet in Trichy and is the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world
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The Rockfort Temple is a series of cave temples inside an ancient rock that dates back to over a billion years ago. The Jambukeshwara Temple is yet another one of interest in Trichy for all architecture lovers. Also here is the ancient Kallanai Dam, more commonly known as the Grand Anaicut which is a picturesque digression from all the temples.

One can also extend the trip by driving to Thanjavur or Kumbakonam, both towns boast of ancient temples of stunning architecture.

Getting There | There are regular flights from Chennai to Trichy everyday. By road the drive to Trichy takes around six hours. There are also connecting trains between the two cities.

Read Stories from Trichy
From a billion years ago.

5. Thanjavur

Distance from Chennai | 320 Kilometres
Best Time to Visit | Dry, cool months. January – March.

Airavateeswara Temple in Darasuram, one of the three great living chola temples in Thanjavur

In and around Thanjavur are ‘The Great Living Chola Temples’, three grand temple complexes dating back to the 11^th and 12^th centuries. These UNESCO classified world heritage sites make Thanjavur one of the best destinations in the country for architecture & history enthusiasts.

But this historical town earns its position on this list of places to visit near Chennai not just for this but also because it is the go-to shopping destination for art lovers and connoisseurs. It is from Thanjavur that the strikingly beautiful gold laid Tanjore Paintings come from.

The Thanjavur Maratha Palace along with its museum dedicated to the Chola heritage of the region is another tourist attraction here that is worth a visit.

Getting There | Nearest Airport is Trichy. One would have to fly to Trichy and drive down to Thanjavur, which takes about one and a half hours. But, there are frequent trains and buses from Chennai to Thanjavur.

Read Stories from Thanjavur
Hello, Kumbakonam Filter Kaapi.
Great Living Chola Temples : Vol I
Great Living Chola Temples : Vol II

6. Madurai

Distance from Chennai | 460 Kilometres
Best Time to Visit | All year round.

Madurai is Tamil Nadu’s pride and the illustrious Meenakshi Amman temple here is truly a marvel. One cannot help but lose oneself in the labyrinth of courtyards in this sprawling temple complex of immense proportions.

Its fourteen Dravidian style gopurams etched in beautiful detail and intense colour dominate the city’s skyline. So striking is this temple that it has even inspired full blown life size movie sets in the South.

Getting There | Madurai is connected to Chennai via regular flights, trains and buses. By road, it is an eight hour journey from Chennai to Madurai.

7. Kodaikanal

Distance from Chennai | 525 Kilometres
Best Time to Visit | Summer. March – June.

Driving through the western ghats to get to Kodaikanal – this beautiful hill station that often serves as a less crowded alternative to the more famous Ooty – is in itself a pleasurable experience. It sure is the ideal destination for a leisurely holiday, for here you can spend your days amongst the mist rolled hills indulging in home made chocolates and boating in the Kodai Lake.

Getting There | One can get to Kodaikanal from either Coimbatore or Madurai. The drive to Kodaikanal takes anywhere between three to four hours from either of the airports. There are direct trains and buses too that ply regularly between Chennai and Kodaikanal.

8. Rameshwaram

Distance from Chennai | 540 Kilometres
Best Time to Visit | All year round.

One of the major Hindu pilgrimage sites in the country, Rameswaram is where Rama worshipped Shiva or Eswara as he is also known, giving this unique holy city its name.

It is also believed that it was from here, in Rameshwaram, that Rama built the bridge to Lanka to bring back Sita after defeating Ravana.
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But it is the Ramanathaswamy Temple here that brings the most travellers to this Ramayana site. This temple of the many sculpted corridors is a shining example of beautiful Indian architecture. The outer corridor alone has over a thousand carved pillars that taper off into what looks like an exquisitely painted tunnel.

Add to it the beauty of Pamban Island itself, the island on which this temple town is located and Rameshwaram becomes the one destination on the list of places to visit near Chennai that just cannot be missed!

Getting There | Nearest Airport is Madurai and the drive from Madurai to Rameshwaram takes around three and a half hours. By train or bus, it is an overnight journey.
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December 5, 2018
Cafe Review: Artika Cafe Gallery, Pondicherry

A hidden courtyard, swirling bougainvilleas dancing down in the breeze to carpet the floor, walls and doors adorned with graffiti that ranges from cute to edgy; the Artika Cafe Gallery in White Town, Pondicherry truly is a hidden gem.

Sequestered away behind a row of ordinary looking shops, this quiet and low key cafe is more of a local favourite than a tourist hotspot and probably the best French Cafe in Pondicherry. A couple of locals that we had met on our last trip to Pondicherry recommended Artika to us, after hearing of our experiences with the more popular “tourist favourites”. But as it is with cafes in Pondicherry (they are very particular about their timings and don’t usually stay open late or long!), I didn’t get a chance to go to Artika then. So, here I am now.

Artika Cafe Gallery, White Town, Pondicherry.

Ambience | Design + Crowd

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Courtyard Cafes have my heart anyway. But this one is a winner because it is artsy without trying too hard. Plus I really liked the abandoned and overrun kind of entrance into the cafe. Like you have stumbled upon something, though beautiful, is easy to miss.

I also loved the feel of the place. Relaxed. The crowd that it draws, seek it, for that too. It surely helps that Artika Cafe Gallery is more an offbeat favourite rather than a mainstream one!

Food

???

They have limited menus on certain days. On the day we were there they were out of both pesto and fries! So, I had croissants and cold coffee. But from whatever little we tried, the food was freshly made and tasted good. So, all in all the decent coffee and buttery croissants – though nothing exceptional – were good enough for me to want to go back.

Service | People + Hospitality

???

Not overtly friendly or over the top warm but welcoming enough for you to make yourself comfortable here at the cafe and even stay awhile. Ideal for those days when you just want to sit down, take it easy, maybe catch up with old friends.

Value for Money | Price + Experience

???

Mid Range cafe, you can get a main dish for less than Rs.300/-. So if it is just coffee and nibbles for two, except it to be around Rs.500/-. Definitely worth the experience.

Explorers Guide

Artika Cafe Gallery

1, La Bourdonnais Street
White Town, Puducherry

Timings: 8:30 AM – 6:30 PM, Closed on Wednesdays.

Getting There: Just three lanes away from the promenade into the heart of White Town, it is easily accessible from the beach.

June 10, 2018
Streets of Pondicherry – Part II: Architecture

They say if you can’t afford a ticket to Europe, travel to Pondicherry instead.

Stroll through the white part of town and be transported in time and place to a laid back French town. Or just wander the streets to absorb the distinctive Franco-Tamil culture of the place.

This small seaside town has a lot to offer for those who are looking for a leisurely laid-back holiday.

There is always coffee and croissants to intersperse your endless explorations with. For, Puducherry is blessed with both – cafes & heritage – in abundance!

Once an important port of call and a very prominent fortified town, as it changed hands, it was razed to ground and its ramparts flattened to what are today the tree lined boulevards of Pondicherry.

Laid out in a grid, the town is divided into the French and Tamil quarters by a storm water canal.

Both these quarters are so distinctive that you can tell which part of town you are in just from colour and style of the houses that go from classical European architecture to vernacular Tamil in a step.

As a lingering shadow of its European past follows you along its every street or rue as it known here, the historical richness of this town comes to life. In its art & architecture.

So what could possibly be a better way to discover this quaint little town than via Heritage Walks and Cycle Tours!

My first day in Pondicherry, I walked 9.6 kilometres to be exact. Discovering urban street art and restored heritage bungalows.

Besides, in this town of neat little blocks, self reliance comes easy to a girl, who just wants to explore, camera in hand.

I have been to Pondicherry thrice. & my longing for it only gets the stronger. :)

PS: INTACH or The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage has been working with the Government of Pondicherry and its public to conserve and restore the unprotected architectural heritage and townscape of Pondicherry. Almost all of the heritage buildings you see today have been brought back to life by them. Even the rocks to tame the sea on the famous promenade were by them.

They conduct heritage walks in the white town every morning and evening. Ending on the promenade, this hour long walk is a perfect way to to get to the beach just in time for dusk.

Read First: Streets of Pondicherry – Part I: Art

July 12, 2017
Pondicherry, Racist much?

Pondicherry has South India’s most distinctive sub culture. They say if you can’t afford a ticket to Europe, travel to Pondicherry instead. Stroll through the white part of town and be transported in time and place to a laid back French town where cafes cool and inviting are at every turn.

But, just how racist are you Puducheri?

Does the storm water canal that separates the French and Tamil quarters into neat little grids of White Town and Black Town also exist in your mind?

This is Cafè des Arts. It is the most popular Cafe in Pondicherry. Rated #1 on Trip Advisor with a Certificate of Excellence to boot.

Here, Indians are not welcome.

& this is what transpired in the cafe and on Trip Advisor.

“so when we ask you to wait, we are trying to please your comfort”

Completely missed the point did they? Or do the tone, the numbers and the smattering of French point to something now not just obvious but also reiterated and reinforced??

Forget about being “asked to wait”, if only we were even acknowledged.

*Sigh*

We are the same people, the very same Indians who wait endlessly in queues outside the Kamats and Rajdhanis of the world for one simple meal.

Cafè des Arts

10, Suffren Street
White Town, Puducherry

+91 9994481914

Open: 8:30 am – 7 pm, all days except Tuesdays

We were refused a table at Villa Shanti too. It is the next ‘Most Popular Cafe in Pondicherry’. We were told they did not have a table, while we all stood in the foyer, right there in an empty cafe. On our second visit there, as we pushed past the half closed door, we were ushered in with a grimace from the very same head waiter. Well, every other cafe in Pondicherry was closed because of the Jalli Kattu protests going on that day. Though we definitely felt unwelcome and awkward, the food was good and the experience “okay”.

This is the same Pondicherry where Indian citizens were once offered a choice of French Citizenship as an era came to an end. It is the same Pondicherry where old war veterans, till today, turn up on the streets in the full glory of their erstwhile military uniform on Bastille Day every year.

It is also the same Pondicherry that I so love, for in its neat little blocks, self reliance comes easy to a girl who just wants to explore, camera in hand.

February 23, 2017
Into The Jungle: Tada Falls

Ubbalamadugu in Andhra Pradesh is a popular trekking and road trip destination from Chennai. Located in Tada, deep in the jungle of Satyavedu just north of the Sri City SEZ, these waterfalls are more commonly known as Tada Falls.

A short walk through the trail gets you to the Jungle Pools and this is a lush green shady oasis where the water from the falls travels downhill to form clear cool pools. Which also gives this place its name, derived from the the telugu words Ubbari Madugu meaning spring pool. A further trek of 10 kms through the hilly terrain brings you to the actual waterfalls. But this is where you should stop, for though the trek is quite scenic it isn’t really a great trek for girls and a definite no-no if you are not with a group.

In fact, halfway along the trail, once we a caught a glimpse of the distant falls, we turned back because of that unmistakable feeling of unease to go ahead, heightened only by the isolated feel of the place and the groups of youngsters looking to break free! Even the monkeys don’t venture too far out here and like to stick around in the spots where they are sure to find leftover chips and coke.

It is nevertheless a beautiful place, so depending on the size of the group you are travelling with and the time of the day, you could pace your exploration.

April 30, 2016
Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Karipakam

South Indian Silk Sarees have always been known for their elegance. Be it from Telangana, Andhra, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, every saree is unique in its design and technique to the region. & these sarees are usually eponymous of the region they come from.

One such are the Patur Sarees, which are quite in fashion today. Cotton, Silk and Zari (gold thread) threads are hand-woven together to craft these beautiful cotton silk sarees from the Village of Patur in Nellore District and the adjoining Village of Karipakam in Chittoor District.

There were around 150 weavers in Karipakam once. Today there are only 50, the lack of patronage pushing them to find work in nearby factories. Even the working conditions are not much to speak of. Though the dying of threads and getting them ready is more of an outdoor activity, the actual weaving is done in a pit loom.

What little work now comes into the village comes from the head weaver, who gets designs from speciality retail stores like Nalli Silks and distributes it amongst the weavers.

Since, the mainstay of the village is this craft, all the villagers/weavers get together every morning to dye silk and cotton threads sourced from different places. It is a sight to see. So, if you wish to see the weavers at work, do visit the village on a sunny morning. Sunny mornings, for even the weather needs to be conducive. Too much moisture in the air dampens the thread which makes it difficult for the colour to stick.

Once, the patterns and the spindles of thread are ready, they are loaded onto the loom and the weaving begins. Keeping with the trend and also the rules set by the buying companies, a design is not usually repeated.

Zari motifs are hand-woven into the saree, which takes 2-3 days to finish depending on the number of colours in the pattern. If the same saree were to be made on a power loom, these would have to be sewn on to the saree separately.

and, this is what sets these gorgeous lightweight sarees apart.

Starting at Rs.2,500/-, the sarees can be bought directly from the weavers houses.

Explorers Guide

Getting There
By Road – The most convenient way to get there is to drive down from Tirupati. This takes a little over an hour.
By Air – Nearest airports are Tirupati and Chennai.
By Rail – Nearest railway station is at Sullurpet.

Stay
Big Stay serviced apartments at Tada. With over 200 rooms, Indian, Oriental & Continental cuisines catering to people of all nationalities visiting/working at the Sri City SEZ and a travel desk that arranges your airport drop and pick up, they ensure a comfortable stay.

Things To Do
Trekking at Naagala Hills.
Kayaking at the creek in Sri City.

Nearby Places of Interest
Pulicat Lake – India’s second largest salt-water lagoon, it is the winter home to numerous migratory birds from Central Asia, of which Flamingos and Pelicans number the most. The state tourism department hosts a Flamingo Festival here in January every year.
Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary – Also known as Pelican Paradise, it is counted amongst the popular bird sanctuaries of India.
Ubbalamadugu – Jungle Pools and waterfall.

Read More on Artisan Villages of India:

Artisan Villages of Telangana: Nirmal
Artisan Villages of Telangana: Cheriyal
Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Sri Kalahasti
Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Uppada

March 12, 2016
Go Flamingo, Go!

The Flamingo Festival in Andhra Pradesh is an annual affair by the State Government to increase awareness about the conservation of Flamingos, which make the Pulicat Lake their winter home. As far as I know, this 3 day festival has been happening since 2012, in January every year at the Pulicat & Nelapattu Bird Sanctuaries of Andhra Pradesh.

Only this year, there was not a Flamingo in sight.

The Pulicat Lake, which is the second largest salt-water lagoon in India, is the winter home to numerous Birds from Central Asia (of which Flamingos and Pelicans number the most). These birds come from as far as Siberia to as near as Ladakh, to mate and nest. Looking to escape the chill, they fly across continents, traversing thousands of miles of ocean.

Read: The Flamingo Story

and, what do they find when they finally reach here, their winter home?

Desolation.

Pulicat Lake, January 2015.

To get here you take the road to Sri Hari Kota, an Island off the coast of Bay of Bengal that houses the Satellite Launching Station of ISRO. This is a stretch of around 15km of road with the Pulicat Lake on either side, for as far as you can see.

When I had gone here last year, I had never seen anything like it before. The horizon was pink with flamingos and this ‘Road Through The Lake’ was like no other.

Sorry, no clear shots of the flamingos. :( This was all that I could get on my phone camera.

Pulicat Lake, NOW. January 2016.

Today the Pulicat Lake is totally choked up with sand, thanks to the roads being laid across it cutting off its water inflow from the ocean and making it unsustainable for marine life. 30,000 fishermen once depended on this lake for their livelihood.

Words fail me, as I try to describe the deliberate devastation brought to this place.

The experience of driving on that road-through the lake-to the Island, went from one end of the spectrum to the other, just like that!

No water, no marine life, no flamingos. NADA.

I have been writing this post in my head for 15 days now, but every time I add a photo or a word to the actual draft I can only feel that I am not able to do justice to the situation with my words or photographs. So here is a 15sec video from last year, which I hope paints a more accurate picture of the now no longer existent tranquil life of the Birds of Pulicat Lake.

One can only hope that measures are taken to reverse the damage and the Flamingos come back some day!

Read Next: Into The Jungle

January 27, 2016