Trip members: Karthik and family
Trip date: 30 Dec 2016 - One day trip!
Trip Plan : Chennai - Sadras Fort - Chunnambar Boat House - Paradise Beach - Pondicherry - Chennai
Another quick trip - one day trip.
Sadras Dutch fort is in Kalpakkam - around 60 kms from Tambaram and 16 kms from Mahabalipuram. The ruined fort is under ASI currently. The Sadras fort was used as granary by Dutch for commercial purposes. The place is clean however, it is almost maintained not so well with so many bushes and shrubs all around unlike other ASI maintained monuments. The fort also has a cemetery with many graves in it.
Overall, a place to stop-by for a quick visit on the way to Pondicherry or when you are visiting Mahabalipuram.
We then next stopped by the humongous lake - Odiyur lake. The fine breeze and some water birds almost makes it a picnic spot; but no proper sighting place developed around it. The lake almost looks like a sea and because of the breeze, we can see some small waves all around! The place would be great visual treat during sunset!
We reached Auroville around noon and spent around 1 hour on a crowded day. One needs to walk around 1 km to reach the Mantri Mandir from parking area. There are vehicles used for transporting elder people as well. On the return, almost all opt for the transportation because of the hot weather. The entrance and transport are all free of cost. Drinking water and toilet are put up in several places for visitors convenience,
We had excellent lunch at Hotel Surguru. The lunch was unlimited and served well. We reached the Chunnambar boat house by 2:30 PM. There was a huge beeline for the tickets and we managed to get the tickets in 20-25 minutes. There are 2 trips offered - Rs.200 per person for 2-way including beach trip - they would drop you at Paradise beach and pick in 2 hours; the other is for Rs.150 - a non-stop drip around the Paradise beach. The Rs.200 trip was only available and that was what we planned for as well.
The beeline continued for boarding the boats as well. We waited in the lines for around 1 hour and reached the Paradise beach around 4:30 PM. Paradise beach is a secluded white sand beach - one side with backwaters, where we navigate through the boats and the other with serene beach, The place is so beautiful and a perfect timekiller. There are couple of restaurants on the beach but looks not so appealing. It is advised to carry water and snacks when you go. There are toilets put up on the Island. We spent time until 5:15 PM. The crowd and queues are quite well organised on the island and taken care.
Around 6:30 PM we reached the Promenade beach to see the new year preparations and enjoy the evening breeze. The lighthouse, Promenade hotel and Gandhi statue were all had a colourful appearance and of course filled with people ! Dinner at Hotel Surguru and back to the nest!
A good and happy day to complete the year and welcoming 2017!
Trip date: 30 Dec 2016 - One day trip!
Trip Plan : Chennai - Sadras Fort - Chunnambar Boat House - Paradise Beach - Pondicherry - Chennai
Another quick trip - one day trip.
Sadras Dutch fort is in Kalpakkam - around 60 kms from Tambaram and 16 kms from Mahabalipuram. The ruined fort is under ASI currently. The Sadras fort was used as granary by Dutch for commercial purposes. The place is clean however, it is almost maintained not so well with so many bushes and shrubs all around unlike other ASI maintained monuments. The fort also has a cemetery with many graves in it.
Overall, a place to stop-by for a quick visit on the way to Pondicherry or when you are visiting Mahabalipuram.
We then next stopped by the humongous lake - Odiyur lake. The fine breeze and some water birds almost makes it a picnic spot; but no proper sighting place developed around it. The lake almost looks like a sea and because of the breeze, we can see some small waves all around! The place would be great visual treat during sunset!
We reached Auroville around noon and spent around 1 hour on a crowded day. One needs to walk around 1 km to reach the Mantri Mandir from parking area. There are vehicles used for transporting elder people as well. On the return, almost all opt for the transportation because of the hot weather. The entrance and transport are all free of cost. Drinking water and toilet are put up in several places for visitors convenience,
We had excellent lunch at Hotel Surguru. The lunch was unlimited and served well. We reached the Chunnambar boat house by 2:30 PM. There was a huge beeline for the tickets and we managed to get the tickets in 20-25 minutes. There are 2 trips offered - Rs.200 per person for 2-way including beach trip - they would drop you at Paradise beach and pick in 2 hours; the other is for Rs.150 - a non-stop drip around the Paradise beach. The Rs.200 trip was only available and that was what we planned for as well.
The beeline continued for boarding the boats as well. We waited in the lines for around 1 hour and reached the Paradise beach around 4:30 PM. Paradise beach is a secluded white sand beach - one side with backwaters, where we navigate through the boats and the other with serene beach, The place is so beautiful and a perfect timekiller. There are couple of restaurants on the beach but looks not so appealing. It is advised to carry water and snacks when you go. There are toilets put up on the Island. We spent time until 5:15 PM. The crowd and queues are quite well organised on the island and taken care.
Around 6:30 PM we reached the Promenade beach to see the new year preparations and enjoy the evening breeze. The lighthouse, Promenade hotel and Gandhi statue were all had a colourful appearance and of course filled with people ! Dinner at Hotel Surguru and back to the nest!
A good and happy day to complete the year and welcoming 2017!
Pondicherry is a wonderful place to visit at weekend with family. Loved reading this blog. Its an awesome post which helps people who are planning for their trip to these places. Planning for your trip then book your bus tickets in Vaigai Travels.
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