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If you have enjoyed the serenity of Pondicherry and/or the spiritual bliss at Chidambaram, Pichavaram is a must-visit place. Located just a two-hour road trip from Pondicherry, Pichavaram is a beautiful place that offers a mesmerizing experience of lush green mangrove forest. It is the world’s second-largest mangrove forest after the Sundarbans in West Bengal. These mangroves are home to many creatures, including crabs, needle-fishes, and birds like herons and kingfishers to name a few.
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About Pichavaram
Pichavaram mangrove spans over 1478 hectares. It is located between two prominent estuaries, the Vellar estuary in the north and the Coleroon estuary in the south of Cuddalore district. The Vellar-Coleroon estuarine complex forms the Killai backwater and Pichavaram mangroves. It consists of several islands interspersing a vast expanse of water covered with mangroves. The area is separated from the sea by a sand bar making it an enclosed area. This place is listed as an international bird and biodiversity area for its rich variety of flora and fauna.
Landscape view of the Pichavaram Mangroves captured during a row boat ride
How to reach
Pichavaram is located 60 km from Pondicherry. So, if you are coming from Pondicherry via public transport, you must go to the Chidambaram bus stand first and then catch an auto or cab. From Chidambaram, you can catch an auto or rent a cab based on your budget as the place is only 15 km away. There is a good parking facility close to the beach. We traveled from Chidambaram to Pichavaram by car in October. The road journey to reach was lonely yet picturesque.
Fishermen
Some fishermen were repairing their fishing nets while some were removing the small fish stuck in their nets. As we meandered around the narrow road, we saw a couple of boats toppled over and men painting them with bright colors. Few roadside vendors were selling seafood as well. The weather was pleasant, and we visited the place at 10 am. The forest is open to the public from 9 am to 4 pm daily. The extensive parking easily accommodates 50+ cars at a time. There was an “I love Pichavaram” board where tourists were clicking pictures.
Do read: Girivalam – Tiruvannamalai Arunachaleshwar Parikrama
Boating at Pichavaram
The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation and the Forest Department are in charge of this place. There is a ticket counter to choose your boat ride. The boat ride rates depend on the choice of boat, number of people, duration, and distance of the ride. You need to visit the place to collect the tickets, no online option is available. The boat ride options available are between motorboats and rowing boats to enter the mangroves from the beach. Though motorboat rides offer to explore the entire area of mangrove forests, rowboats are a much better option as they go into deeper sections of the forest.
Additionally, row boats do not produce any noise and are cheaper compared to motorboats.
We were provided with safety gear to wear for each member before onboarding the boat.
We were a family of four – my husband, me, and two kids – on a row boat. The rower of our boat was a kind and well-informed gentleman who explained the importance and significance of Pichavaram in his native language (Tamil). The rowers here are local people, so they are more comfortable in Tamil than in English or Hindi.
Row Boat Experience
Since we were on a row boat, we were able to experience the silence of the forest. The melodious chirping of the birds. The rower offered to take us deeper into the forest for a fee of Rs 500 and it was completely worth it. I would recommend going with the offer. As we got to meander around the deep sections of the forest, we saw more local birds and their nests on the mangroves. The flowers on the mangroves scented the air with a tantalizing smell as the sun was soaring in the sky. I would highly recommend wearing caps as heat can get to you even in the early morning.
Experience the Pichavaram Mangroves
Sea Life
It was simply beautiful to see tiny crabs pop out of the wet sand and jump into the sea. Multiple needlefish were glimmering in the sunlight as they moved from one section to the other section of the mangroves. We can see the trees come to life as the pores on the trees appear and disappear with the waves. If you are in the region when the tides are low, you can see the roots stick out like popsicles from the sand. We could see the length of the breathing roots increasing as the tide was changing. Plenty of turtles’ nests were found on the banks of the tiny islands but we could not see any turtles when we passed by them.
We were fortunate to see a common kingfisher and a white-throated kingfisher bird. But could not capture any picture of them because my excited seven-year-old making noise.
Harvesting
Even though the region is a protected area, local people are allowed to harvest the fruits of the mangrove trees as it is part of their local cuisine. As we spoke the native language, the rower was excited to show the kids how they lay the fishing nets to catch the crabs and other crustaceans. He showed how the bait was inserted in small metal baskets and dropped into the sea with only plastic balls floating on the surface. These floating balls covered a large area of the region as large nets were used for fishing.
During off-tourism season, the rowers would go for fishing. But since tourism here is picking up, most fishermen are taking the jobs of rowers. The rower explained that the mangroves were part of research to maintain the ecological balance of the forest region. So we are not supposed to pluck any flowers or leaves of the trees. As you explore deeper into the mangroves, it feels surreal like a movie setting. But the whole exploration is truly meditative as we see the intertwined roots of the mangroves. It was a scenic ride into the lush forest, large canopies, and water animals. It was a lot of fun for the kids as well as us.
The best part of the trip is the deep forest ride. It’s worth it. But more can be done by the government to encourage tourism here by improving the facilities around the area. It was difficult to get drinking water bottles at the destination. That is one of the basic necessities for any tourist place.
Collage of the scenes at the mangroves
Suggestions
- Go early to avoid queues, especially during the holiday season
- Irrespective of the time of the day you reach the venue, always have caps and sunglasses as the heat can get to you
- Carry light snacks and water with you as the stores there are not operational all the time
- You can try local seafood dishes. But I am not sure about the hygiene of the place
This is a guest post with both images and text by Lakshmi J – Data scientist, Carnatic music hobbyist, and a mom.
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