Pichavaram the second largest Mangrove forest in the world, near the temple town of
Chidambaram, is one of the unique Eco-tourism spots in South India. The backwaters,
inter connected by the Vellar and Coleroon river systems, offer abundant scope for water
sports, rowing, Kayak and canoeing. The Pichavaram forest not only offers waterscape and
back water cruises, but combines another very rare occurrence - the mangrove forest
trees permanently rooted in a few feet of water. The Pichavaram mangroves are considered
among the healthiest mangrove occurrence in the world. Pichavaram consists of a number
of islands interspersing a vast expanse of water covered with green trees. The area is
about 2800 acres and is separated from the sea by a sand bar which is a patch of
extraordinary loveliness. The Pichavaram mangrove biotope, with its peculiar topography
and environmental condition, supports the existence of many rare varieties of
economically important shell and finfishes. The Pichavaram mangroves attract an
appreciable bird population of residents, local migrants and true migrants.
At the mangroves, so far, 177 species of birds belonging to 15 orders and 41 families
have been recorded. The season for birds is from September to April every year. Peak
population of birds could be seen from November to January. This is due to high
productive nature (in terms of prey organisms) of the ecosystem and coincidence of the
time of arrival of true migrants from foreign countries and local migrants from their
breeding grounds across India. The availability of different habitat types such as
channels, creeks, gullies, mud flats and sand flats and adjacent sea shore offers ideal
habitat for difference species of birds. In the above background, the Tamil Nadu Tourism
Development Corporation and the District Administration of Cuddalore District have
proposed to conduct an Eco Tourism festival namely " DAWN FEST " (Vidiyal Vizha) at
Pichavaram…
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| Suggested Itinerary |
| Day-1
Chennai – Pondicherry (160 Km) – Chidambaram (80 Km) |
| After breakfast, drive to Pondicherry. Pondicherry has a special ambience, not felt
anywhere else in India. It is a blend of spiritual aura, French colonial heritage, Tamil
culture and the cosmopolitan flair of many nationalities in a small but varied town.
Visit Aurovile, the city of dawn was designed by the French architect Roger Arger and
was started as an experimental commune where people of all nationalities irrespective of
caste, creed or religion would live together in harmony. People from different countries
live in the settlements of Auroville. It is advisable to hire bicycles to look around as
the village is too large to wander through on foot. Surrounded by lakes and gardens, the
sphere shaped Matri Information Centre at Promesse the first stop is Here, a 25 hectare
farm and orchard where organic agriculture has been practised successfully. The produce
is used in the kitchens of Auroville as well as the Ashram in Pondicherry. |
| Post lunch
Drive to Chidambaram |
| On arrival at Chidambaram, check into the hotel. If time permits, visit the famous
Natrajar temple at Chidambaram. Overnight at Chidambaram |
| Day-2
Pondicherry – Pichavaram Mangrove Forest (20 Km) - Chennai |
| After early breakfast, drive to Pichavaram Mangrove Forest and enjoy the boat ride
wandering through the mangroves. Drive to Chennai and en route, have lunch at
Pondicherry. Evening return to Chennai. Tour ends. |
(The Package cost depends on the Group Size / Type of vehicle / Other Connected Services)
