There are so many good reviews on my home town, Chennai. So I came up with this idea to list down 10 getaways from Chennai instead of writing only about the city of Chennai.
- Pichavaram
Pichavaram is a beautiful mangrove forest in backwaters, located 230 kms south of Chennai. You will have to take the modern and scenic East Coast road from Chennai. The road up to Chidambaram is very good. A small winding (and bad) road with paddy fields on both sides will take you to Pichavaram from Chidambaram.
The depth of backwaters is only about 2 to 3 feet. The entire place is full of trees which grow 10 feet or more in height from this water. You could take a boat ride into the forests.
Once you enter into the backwaters, you will NOT know what time of the day it is, as it is so dark inside some of the areas. Boatmen are friendly and they tell you about the place as they slowly row the boat in the waters. The entire boat ride took us about 3 hours. You could choose the amount of time you want to spend in the waters.
The infrastructure is not developed at all to welcome tourists. There is a small boat house run by TTDC (Tamilnadu tourism). You could rent boats at very cheap rates (about 30 Rs per hour for a 5 seater boat).
A better idea would be to stay at the temple town Chidambaram or Pondicherry (~ 80 kms). I would recommend Hotel Sharadaram in Chidambaram.
- Vedanthangal bird sanctuary
It is located 80 kms and an easy 90 minute drive away from Chennai. We will have to take a diversion (15 kms), 10 kms past Chengelpet on the Trichy highway.
The prime season for bird sighting is from December thru March. The best time is early morning (which may not be a good option) or before sunset (4 to 6 pm). It is a fantastic and rewarding experience to spend an evening, among thousands of birds and a variety of bird calls. Snake bird, heron, cormorant, ducks, cranes and storks are a few varieties sighted here regularly.
We have visited this historic bird sanctuary (existing for hundreds of years) six times during the past four years. We have been disappointed only once when we could not see any birds as the lake was dry due to drought. Every other time, we have been having very satisfying sightings. But each trip has also been unique in its variety, density and age / size of birds.
Wild life guest house located close by is the only accommodation available (booking to be made in Chennai).
- Hogenakkal water falls
This popular picnic spot is located 100 kms from Bangalore and 330 kms from Chennai.The Kaveri river gushes down from the hills on the way to the Mettur dam and creates not one but a series of scenic water falls that are simply beautiful and breathtaking to view. When at its best (after the monsoon), these falls coming down for around 200 ft each create a big mist of water droplets and smoke. They recreate a Niagara in India.
Again, not developed to handle decent number of tourists, this place is full of unorganized vendors and masseurs. There is no decent accommodation available locally. The best option is to stay in the nearby town, Dharmapuri.
Please do not go here during public holidays and peak summer as you may be swarmed by people. It would be better (and recommended) to have a local contact to guide you around without any hassles.
It is a very good experience to move around on the coracle (saucer shaped boat made from Bamboo) to view different places at which water came down.
- Horseley Hills
This is one of the undiscovered secrets around Chennai. This remote hill station is located in Andhra Pradesh near the town of Madanapalle. It is located around 270 kms from Chennai and can be reached thru Chitoor, Palamaner and Madanapalle. It can also be accessed from Bangalore (<250 kms)
The drive is a real cruise and you will reach the destination in less than 6 hours. The climb up hill is short and sweet. We had been there in sep 2002 and the climate was very good. Only one good hotel accommodation is available – Punnami resort run by AP tourism. Rooms cost around 500 Rs per night and are really worth the price.
This place is just for relaxation and has no regular tourist spots to write about. The only spots that are worth mention are a small zoo for kids, a deer park on the way up and a view point behind the hotel. There is nothing to disturband though TV is there is the resort, no cable is available fortunately. Hiking, trekking and walking can be experienced in abundance and the food served at the hotel is simple and tasty (would be spicy).
- Yelagiri
This small hill town (or village) is less than250 kms from Chennai and is easily accessible by a good road. May not be a good idea to travel in summer. There are two good reviews already on MS on this place.
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/56333.html by sug_proj
and
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/51221.html by venkat_rs
- Yercaud
This hill station is popular for its salubrious climate right around the year, is located 330 kms from Chennai. It can be accessed thru a comfortable drive, in 7 hours.
Suggest reading my review on this place for details
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/60479-1.html
- Pondicherry
The French capital of India with a big amount of French influence till date is a popular getaway. If not for anything, at least for the scenic drive using ECR, this place is a must see. Please read the following very good reviews on Pondicherry for additional information
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/58253-1.html by friendz_forever and another good review by Indian1969
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/55773-1.html
- Mahabalipuram
The erstwhile capital of the famous Pallava Kingdom, this rocky town was rediscovered around 100 years back. It is located 40 kms from Chennai on the most happening East coast Road. It still continues to be a very good one day picnic spot from Chennai. It is likely to be crowded during weekends.
Profbbmohantyhas written a detailed review on this place.
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/20475-1.html
- Kanchipuram
The capital of silk sarees and the Kanchi Mutt, this temple town is located around 70 kms from Chennai. It is a good option to mix pilgrimage and history (along with shopping ?). Suggest reading the very good review of Shivashankar_a on this place
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/35485.html
- Tirupathi
Chennai is the closest city (130 kms) to this pilgrim center of Lord Balaji. This place has more to offer than Balaji darshan only for a person looking for pilgrimage and tourism. The sound and light show at Chandragiri fort and the zoological park at the foothills of the Tirumala are two good options.
For more info, please read detailed review on Tirupathi by Anildutt
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/64402-1.html
You can also read my review on Tirupati
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/65412-1.html
Hope this will helpful for folks who want to go around Chennai.
