In the forest’s dark, discover the amazing Pichavaram mangrove forest

Chennai: You can be forgiven if you didn’t know about Pichavaram mangrove forest despite it being the world’s second largest mangrove jungle (the Sundarbans National Park in West Bengal is the largest). After all, it’s not on the tourist trail. However, this remarkable and fascinating place is definitely worth visiting. On hearing about this, I was delighted and made up my mind to spend a weekend in Chidambaram by road.

The mangrove forest at Pichavaram is spread over nearly 3,000 acres and joins the Bay of Bengal, where it’s separated by a lengthy sand bank. Apparently, the forest has 4,400 big and small canals. The small canals are sun-flecked tunnels of roots and branches, some hanging so low that there’s hardly any room to pass through. Except for the swish of paddles, the sound of birds and the roar of the sea in the distance, all is silent and still.

The road

Pichavaram is around 230 km from Chennai, via Tindivanam and Pondicherry. I took the East Coast Road, leaving Chennai at 5 am, the music of Ilaiyaraja pouring into my ears and a cool breeze in my face. En route, there were a number of restaurants offering hearty breakfasts. One stop suffices to fuel oneself for the journey till Pondy, which I reached by 8 am. I took a break of 15 minutes there and headed for Pichavaram, a distance of about 75 km. To arrive at Pichavaram, which is close to Chidambaram, you need to take a left turn 15 km before the temple town. This is a crowded junction and there is also a signboard which one usually cannot miss, but it’s better to be driving slowly so that you don’t miss the turn.

The view

The road takes you past paddy fields, villages with colourfully painted houses, traditional-style huts with thatched roofs and women selling fish by the roadside. This is an absolute feast for a city-dweller’s eyes.

Pichavaram has facilities for boating. Paddle boats and motor boats, operated by the Tamil Nadu tourism department, take passengers through the mangrove forest daily from 9 am tol 6 pm. I took a paddle boat at 10 am and paid the fisherman an extra '200 over the fare to have him take us the dense part of the forest through narrow canals. Motor boats can’t go inside these canals, so make sure you take a paddle boat if you’re interested in seeing them. The boatman will also tell you stories of fascinating boat chases and ‘cinema scenes’ that have been shot along the waterways — the place shot to fame with MGR’s Idayakanni. Since then, Sharath Kumar has shot there for Sooryan, and Kamal Haasan’s Dasaavathaaram too was shot here.

The trip into the jungle will take at least two hours. A four-hour trip in a paddle boat ('1,000) or a two- hour trip in a motor boat ('2,200) can have you see both mangroves and beach.