In case you have loved the serenity of Pondicherry and/or the non secular bliss at Chidambaram, Pichavaram is a must-visit place. Positioned only a two-hour highway journey from Pondicherry, Pichavaram is an exquisite place that provides a mesmerizing expertise of lush inexperienced mangrove forest. It’s the world’s second-largest mangrove forest after the Sundarbans in West Bengal. These mangroves are house to many creatures, together with crabs, needle-fishes, and birds like herons and kingfishers to call just a few.
About Pichavaram
Pichavaram mangrove spans over 1478 hectares. It’s positioned between two distinguished estuaries, the Vellar estuary within the north and the Coleroon estuary within the south of Cuddalore district. The Vellar-Coleroon estuarine advanced varieties the Killai backwater and Pichavaram mangroves. It consists of a number of islands interspersing an unlimited expanse of water lined with mangroves. The world is separated from the ocean by a sand bar making it an enclosed space. This place is listed as a global chook and biodiversity space for its wealthy number of wildlife.
Tips on how to attain
Pichavaram is positioned 60 km from Pondicherry. So, if you’re coming from Pondicherry by way of public transport, you should go to the Chidambaram bus stand first after which catch an auto or cab. From Chidambaram, you possibly can catch an auto or lease a cab primarily based in your price range because the place is just 15 km away. There’s a good parking facility near the seashore. We traveled from Chidambaram to Pichavaram by automobile in October. The highway journey to succeed in was lonely but picturesque.
Fishermen
Some fishermen have been repairing their fishing nets whereas some have been eradicating the small fish caught of their nets. As we meandered across the slim highway, we noticed a few boats toppled over and males portray them with brilliant colours. Few roadside distributors have been promoting seafood as properly. The climate was nice, and we visited the place at 10 am. The forest is open to the general public from 9 am to 4 pm day by day. The intensive parking simply accommodates 50+ vehicles at a time. There was an “I really like Pichavaram” board the place vacationers have been clicking photos.
Do learn: Girivalam – Tiruvannamalai Arunachaleshwar Parikrama
Boating at Pichavaram
The Tamil Nadu Tourism Growth Company and the Forest Division are in command of this place. There’s a ticket counter to decide on your boat experience. The boat experience charges rely upon the selection of boat, variety of folks, length, and distance of the experience. It’s good to go to the place to gather the tickets, no on-line choice is offered. The boat experience choices out there are between motorboats and rowing boats to enter the mangroves from the seashore. Although motorboat rides supply to discover your complete space of mangrove forests, rowboats are a a lot better choice as they go into deeper sections of the forest.
Moreover, row boats don’t produce any noise and are cheaper in comparison with motorboats.
We have been supplied with security gear to put on for every member earlier than onboarding the boat.
We have been a household of 4 – my husband, me, and two children – on a row boat. The rower of our boat was a sort and well-informed gentleman who defined the significance and significance of Pichavaram in his native language (Tamil). The rowers listed below are native folks, so they’re extra comfy in Tamil than in English or Hindi.
Row Boat Expertise
Since we have been on a row boat, we have been capable of expertise the silence of the forest. The melodious chirping of the birds. The rower provided to take us deeper into the forest for a payment of Rs 500 and it was fully price it. I’d advocate going with the supply. As we acquired to meander across the deep sections of the forest, we noticed extra native birds and their nests on the mangroves. The flowers on the mangroves scented the air with a tantalizing scent because the solar was hovering within the sky. I’d extremely advocate carrying caps as warmth can get to you even within the early morning.
Sea Life
It was merely stunning to see tiny crabs come out of the moist sand and leap into the ocean. A number of needlefish have been glimmering within the daylight as they moved from one part to the opposite part of the mangroves. We are able to see the bushes come to life because the pores on the bushes seem and disappear with the waves. In case you are within the area when the tides are low, you possibly can see the roots stick out like popsicles from the sand. We might see the size of the respiratory roots rising because the tide was altering. Loads of turtles’ nests have been discovered on the banks of the tiny islands however we couldn’t see any turtles after we handed by them.
We have been lucky to see a typical kingfisher and a white-throated kingfisher chook. However couldn’t seize any image of them as a result of my excited seven-year-old making noise.
Harvesting
Regardless that the area is a protected space, native individuals are allowed to reap the fruits of the mangrove bushes as it’s a part of their native delicacies. As we spoke the native language, the rower was excited to point out the children how they lay the fishing nets to catch the crabs and different crustaceans. He confirmed how the bait was inserted in small steel baskets and dropped into the ocean with solely plastic balls floating on the floor. These floating balls lined a big space of the area as massive nets have been used for fishing.
Throughout off-tourism season, the rowers would go for fishing. However since tourism right here is choosing up, most fishermen are taking the roles of rowers. The rower defined that the mangroves have been a part of analysis to take care of the ecological stability of the forest area. So we’re not purported to pluck any flowers or leaves of the bushes. As you discover deeper into the mangroves, it feels surreal like a film setting. However the entire exploration is really meditative as we see the intertwined roots of the mangroves. It was a scenic experience into the luxurious forest, massive canopies, and water animals. It was a variety of enjoyable for the children in addition to us.
One of the best a part of the journey is the deep forest experience. It’s price it. However extra might be executed by the federal government to encourage tourism right here by enhancing the amenities across the space. It was troublesome to get ingesting water bottles on the vacation spot. That is without doubt one of the primary requirements for any vacationer place.
Strategies
- Go early to keep away from queues, particularly throughout the vacation season
- No matter the time of the day you attain the venue, at all times have caps and sun shades as the warmth can get to you
- Carry gentle snacks and water with you because the shops there should not operational on a regular basis
- You’ll be able to attempt native seafood dishes. However I’m not certain concerning the hygiene of the place
It is a visitor submit with each pictures and textual content by Lakshmi J – Information scientist, Carnatic music hobbyist, and a mother.
