Visit to Pondicherry and Auroville

Pondicherry (Puducherry)

When my wife and I thought of organizing a family get together trip to Pondicherry, wasn’t sure how pleasant it would be, but at the end, turned out to be a memorable one. The plan was to organize a one day trip to Pondicherry which includes visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville and Mudaliarkuppam.

Family @ Auroville

On Sep 18, 2010, we hired an 8 seater cab and set out early morning around 7 A.M from Chennai. We decided to drive through East Coast Road, (commonly called ECR) a scenic highway. Pondicherry is about 160 KM and normal journey would take about three hours. We stopped for our breakfast at Motel Mamalla on the ECR near Mahabalipuram (60 KM from Chennai). I would recommend this place for anyone who loves authentic South Indian breakfast.

Ready to go in high-speed aqua scooter

Our first official stop was at Mudaliarkuppam (35 KM from Mahabalipuram). This place has a beautiful backwater area - a 4 km stretch, where Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) has its boat bay. They offer row boats, pedal boats, kayak and motor boats for rent. We hired the eight seater motor boat for our backwater ride. The rides took us to through the canal to a white sandy Island where we could see both sea shore and the backwater. It is an ideal place for hangouts and for outdoor games.  Once back at boat bay, my son wants to try the recently launched water sport bike. TTDC charges 460 rupees (little pricey in my opinion) for 5 minutes ride, but it was unforgettable experience for him.

Our next stop, 60 KM drive from Mudaliarkuppam, was at Auroville, a universal township near Pondicherry.  Founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo) and designed by architect Roger Anger. It is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, politics, religion and nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.

At Auroville's Visitors' Centre we obtained our free passes to Matrimandir Viewing Point and watched a short introductory video about Auroville (http://www.auroville.org/). The Visitors Centre also has a small exhibit about Auroville and a number of stores that sell craft, handmade items like 100% natural soaps, perfumes, candles, books, clothes etc. It also has an excellent vegetarian restaurant.

Auroville Charter

A shaded footpath, about 1km long, leads us from the Visitors' Centre to the Viewing Point. An electric shuttle service is also available for those who may find it difficult to walk.  The walk to the Matrimandir is worth as it took us to through nice shady trees to the awesome architectural structure.  I am told, inside the Matrimandir a spiraling ramp leads upwards to an air-conditioned chamber of polished white marble.  At its centre, a 70 cm crystal ball glow with a single ray of sunlight that is directed on it from the top of structure. A perfect ambience to find one's consciousness; Matrimandir is a must see place for anyone who plans to visit Auroville.

Auroville Charter: Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole ...

Auroville

Auroville Visitor Centre



Sri Aurobindo Ashram



6 KM drive from Auroville took us to our final destination Pondicherry; former French colony with a remarkable degree of French influence to this date.  The best way to move around in Pondicherry is by walk or by bicycle. You can even hire geared motorbike or no geared scooters.  There are quite a few motorcycle rent shop and the most of hotels also facilitate motorbike rent arrangements. All that is required is some form of identification document and advance for collateral. We decided to walk around Pondicherry after our lunch at Hotel Surguru (http://www.hotelsurguru.com/).  A good value for money hotel, which features an impressive selection of multi-cuisine fare.  Our trip came to fine conclusion after our visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram, (http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/) Manakula Vinayagar Temple and the beach. At 10:30 P.M, we were all back in Chennai with lot of memorable moments which we would cherish forever.

Matrimandir @ Auroville

Manakula Vinayagar Temple

Hotel Surguru near Aurobindo Ashram

If you prefer to stay in a place which closely resembles gracious old Tamil home(one with thinnai, open to sky mutram and oonjal) than in a boutique hotel, check out the Maison Perumal at No. 44 (old No 58) Perumal Koil Street, Puducherry. www.cghearth.com/maison_perumal . Cost around Rupees 6500 per night.

Yelagiri, Tamil Nadu

As a group of 8, we decided to spend a weekend (14th & 15th of June, 2008) in Yelagiri. Since most of the members were alien to trekking, it was decided to grab this opportunity and go for a mini trek during our visit. We make up a short schedule and followed it for most part.

From left: Bose, Arun, Murugan, Chitanya, Subru, Kadir, Hari

Yelagiri schedule
June 14th of 2008	Start from Chennai (6:30 A.M)
	Breakfast in a Vegetarian Restaurant – Vellore, which is on the way to Yelagiri (8:30 A.M)
	Visit to Jalagamparai Waterfalls (11.30 A.M to 12:30 P.M.)
	Lunch at Yelagiri (1:30 P.M)
	Punganoor Artificial Lake-cum-Park ( 3 :00 P.M to 5:00 P.M) Boating & Park visit
	Play Time ( 6:00 P.M to 7.00 P.M) Cricket
	Dinner (8:30 P.M)
June 15th of 2008	Breakfast provided at Cottage (7.00 A.M)
	Trekking (8 A.M to 12.00 Noon)
	Lunch in a hotel at Ambur, which specializes for Biryani and which is on the way to Chennai (1.30 P.M)
	Back to Chennai (7:00 P.M)

Place where we stayed : Hotel 'O' Nila

Yelagiri is about 250 km from Chennai. We travelled in 2 cars (thanks to Mr.Hariharan V.G and Mr. Murugan Poornachandran) and reached Jalagamparai Waterfalls as planned. The drive from Chennai through Poonamalee High Road followed by Bangalore highway in the early morning hours was a pleasant one. The last leg of the drive which leads to Jalagamparai waterfall deserves special mention as it takes you through small villages, dirt roads and corn fields, which compensated our disappointments (not a drop of water in the waterfall).

After our lunch, we checked ourselves in the cottage, we have booked at Hotel 'O' Nila (http://www.onilayelagiri.com/), a decent place but the food and service was just OK. Not good but not bad either. The place also has a swimming pool, playground for adults to play cricket/badminton and separate play area for children.

Trek Trail

The scenic trek along a muddy path on the second day to Swamy malai was really shot but filled with fun. With few breaks, we reached the top of the hill after an hour. There is a small temple, which the locals visit during special occasions and some few rocks to sit and relax. (Remember to bring your own water bottles and don’t expect any other facilities) After spending few hours enjoying the breeze and the view of Yelagi hills, we headed back to cottage. Drove to Ambur (about 40 K.M away from Yelagiri which is famous for Biryani) for lunch before heading back to Chennai.

Few points to consider if you have plans to visit Yelagiri

If you are planning to drive to Yelagiri in your own car/bike, make sure to fill your tank at the foot of the hill itself. There is no gas station uphill.

The water at the Jalagamparai falls depends largely on Yelagiri’s rainfall. So enquire first before heading off for the waterfalls For lovers of jackfruit, this area has plenty of it especially in the summer months, and the fruit here is considered very good.

In front of Jalagamparai waterfall ??

Kiliyur Falls – Yercaud, Tamil Nadu

Veiw of Yercaud Hill

If you plan to spend vacation in a peaceful and a quite environment, yet in a well known tourist hill station, Yercaud in Shevaroy Hills, Tamil Nadu (on the Eastern Ghats) is a place to consider.

Trek Team (from top left) Jagan, Kadir, Ram and Baskar,
(in the front) Chitanya and Subru

Yercaud is just 33 Km from Salem and takes only 30 to 40 minutes of drive. Salem to Yercaud is well serviced by regular state run buses, private buses and taxis; It is an ideal and less expensive place to spend a weekend away from the busy life.

On 25th July 2008, I along with my trekking group, traveled from Chennai to Salem by Yercaud Express train. Since we have booked our accommodation at Hotel Tamil Nadu, near Lake Yercaud, we took the state run bus to Yercaud as soon as we arrived in Salem and was able to check in to the hotel well before 7 A.M on 26th.

Kiliyur sign board

The first activity of the day was to trek to Kiliyur Falls. We were pleasantly surprised to know from the locals that the narrow road which will lead to the Kiliyur Fall is only a few meters away from the Lake Yercaud. With the sign board confirming that it is only 3 Kilometers, we filled our backpacks with fruits and snacks and set out for a trilling short trek.

Some time you need to crawl too...

After one and half hour, we reached the Kiliyur waterfall, a fabulous place to feel part of the nature. The surplus water from the Yercaud Lake and other points of the Shevaroy Hills fall deep into the Kiliyur Valley, creating a 300 feet waterfall - a real feast for us. The view of the fall is breathtaking. The trek to the bottom of the falls is only for hardcore trekkers as it takes quite an effort and lot of stamina to reach the destination.

As the source of water fall is the surplus water from the nearby lake and not natural spring, we decided against taking bath in the fall, instead we spend the time on chatting, photography and munching snacks – thanks to the locals who informed about the lack of facilities/shops near the fall.

Kiliyur Falls

After spending nearly 2 hours in the fall, it was time to climb up. It hardly took 45 minutes to get back, but I can assure you that it was a tiring trek to undertake. I would strongly advise against the idea of taking kids or elderly for the Kiliyur trek and also against trekking during rainy season as there are few places where, only the roots of trees/plants are the savior from sliding in to the deep valley.

Rest during trek
 Hari VG - organizer (seen second from left)

Park visit on the second day. Group leader -
Hari Kadi (seen on the far right)

To sum up it is a beautiful place, not to be missed during your visit to Yercaud.

With a casual evening walk around the Lake Yercaud and nice dinner at Hotel Tamil Nadu, I can’t think of a better day in life. If you are one of those people who enjoys site seeing than trekking Yercaud offers options like Lady's Seat - panoramic view point, Bear's Cave, Pagoda Point, Servarayan Temple and Anna Park to satisfy your dreams. There are plenty of vans and cars, which one can hire to go around the places (hardly takes 4 hours) in Yercaud.

With a much lighter schedule on the second day, we were back to Chennai on 28th July 2008 by Yercaud Express.  Special thanks to Hariharan VG, the enthusiastic trek organizer and Hariharan Kadi Rangaraj our group leader.

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