Backpacking to the Unexplored Tamilnadu

Tamilnadu, the east southern state of India. I was planning to visit south India for a very long time and Tamilnadu fulfilled my wish.

The best time in Tamilnadu is from October to February when the atmosphere is pleasant and the city is full of tourists, which is exactly why you shouldn’t visit Tamilnadu at that time.

Humans can ruin your trip, but in April when the heat is at its peak, you should visit Tamilnadu. Heat can filter tourists from the places you are going to visit and trust me, this feels awesome (no hard feelings against humans)

So I boarded my flight on 16th April to Chennai. On the flight, I met Mr Vishak Os, my first friend on this trip. He is from Chennai and works for an MNC company in Delhi.

I shared my itinerary with him and he advised me to make a few changes to it which I did. After all, who can advise you on exploring a city better than a local one? He asked me to add Chengalpattu, an abandoned village in Tamilnadu instead of roaming around in Chennai.

I landed in Chennai at 9:30, it was drizzling there. Chennai is the same as Delhi but with a different language. Same chaos, auto drivers running after you, hawkers on the roadside, etc.

I decided to cover Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh on the first day of my trip. So I boarded the metro from Airport to CMBT (Bus terminal) and boarded the first bus which was moving towards Tirupati. I reached Tirupati in 4hrs, where I met Hemanth, a tall dark south Indian wearing a green shirt and a white Dhoti who did a master's in public health from the Hyderabad University and now he is practising in a hospital and some other organization in Tirupati.

We reached the bus terminal and boarded Temple Sanstha Bus which charged us 60 INR each for that 40-minute long journey to Sri Venkateswara temple, TIRUMALA.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is known as the richest temple in the world.

So I reached back to Tirupati at 10:20 PM and found out that buses are not in operation from 10 pm to 5 am. I decided to stay at the bus stop for the whole night. And it was an experience to sleep at a bus stop, that we people from cities never encounter.

Pro tip:

1. Take the Chennai metro from the airport to travel around. It is well connected throughout the city.

2. Take a government bus from CMBT for Tirupati which runs every 20 minutes.

3. You should book darshan tickets and Prashad tickets in advance(Online)

4. Spend a night at the bus stop, at least once in a lifetime.

So I boarded the 1st bus from Tirupati to reach Chennai and then another to reach Chengalpattu and I was there at 11 am.

I reached CLTRI village, an abandoned village, because of leprosy patients. But when I entered the village all I saw is greenery, cleanness, and smiling people.

CLTRI is a hospital which is a specialized hospital for leprosy. I met Dr Sushrut Kaomoji, a dermatologist, and Mr Vishak (plane friend) connected me to Sushrut.

He arranged my accommodation there and I volunteered for leprosy people just for a day.

The village was amazing.

I spent my day at the scientist hostel and had dinner with the team of Doctors of CLTRI.

Protip :

1. Always try to ask for south Indian food instead of north Indian, they will love it.

2. Try to explore new undiscovered places(Chengalpattu) instead of the popular city(Chennai) only. Drop your phones or google references.

The next day I woke up in the scientist hostel, repacked my stuff and bid a warm adieu to patients & doctors, especially Dr Sushrut Kamoji.

I decided to go to Mahabalipuram this day, for that I boarded a shared auto and Mr Shyama, the auto driver, dropped me at Chengalpattu bus stop. From there I boarded 516 Cross to Mahabalipuram.

On that same bus, I met Mr Leo Krishnamurthy who was a History teacher in Chengalpattu senior secondary school. He guided me to “a must-visit” place in Mahabalipuram. Something that I was fortunate to encounter with the people I met on my way was, their selflessness to cooperate. Mr Leo being a kind fellow offered me the availability of a guide (his cousin precisely) and explained a lot of things while we travelled for 40 minutes on the bus. The gestures were kind.

I reached Mahabalipuram bus stop, the last stop of 516 Cross. From there I took the Beach road and reached Shore temple. This has a beautiful history, which is right next to the Indian ocean shore. (attach a link here which opens to the history of this place.)

After which I went to the beach next to it, followed by the lighthouse (a must-visit), panch Ratha and Krishna butterball.

From where I asked someone to drop me at the bus stop from where I boarded a bus to Puducherry.

On this bus, I met Neyaz, a 2nd year CA student who studies in Chennai and belongs to Chidambaram. He was going back to his home for a vacation after his exams.

I listened to his love story and shared my travelling story. When I told him that am going to Puducherry, he advised me to go to Auroville instead of Puducherry which is just 30-40 km before Puducherry. He told me about a good beach to visit. I asked him if he would like to accompany to which he surprisingly agreed! we deboarded at Auroville. The beach he mentioned had no tourists and a few locals. It was literally a No human beach (hence a soft corner!). So we spent some time in Auroville and took a ride around on scooty (INR 300/Day) in Pondicherry for 3-4 hrs and from there we again boarded the bus for Chidambaram as it was on the way to the train I was supposed to board from Puducherry.

I reached Chidambaram and neyaz took his way to his home and I was all alone for one more time. I heard of this temple in Chidambaram named Natraja Temple which is dedicated to Shiva and is famous as it is known as the origin of Nritya(dance) especially Bharatanatyam. An interesting fact is this is situated on the magnetic line of the earth.

The vibes there were different, not to be explained in words. Rationally, it may be because of that magnetic line or just a state of mind. The architecture of that time was beyond what I or you would have ever seen in the whole of north India. This temple was never on my itinerary and I am thankful to Neyaz for suggesting it to me and witnessing the beauty there.

Note: Add this temple to your itinerary.

When I came out, the time was 10:30 and the streets were empty already, which I didn’t expect. My train was scheduled at 12:20 and I had no clue about the roads. With a 2% battery on my phone, I called Neyaz to guide me on how to reach the railway station from my current location. The gentleman said “Don’t worry am coming to pick you up”, this made me realize that humans are not that bad and south Indians do fall in this category for sure!

So my phone turned off and I was standing in front of the west gate of the temple. I gave an ultimatum to myself that if Neyaz doesn’t show up in 20min, I will move towards the station through the local’s help as I was supposed to reach the station. But Neyaz showed up just on time with his Platina bike and the first thing he asked was “ You had dinner? ”, he took me to the best restaurant in Chidambaram, the New Moorthy Cafe, we had the best aloo gobhi I ever had there and from there we went to the railway station.

Pro tip:

1. One ticket is enough to visit all the tourist places in Mahabalipuram. (INR 30)

2. Ask locals about places to visit instead of the internet.

The next day I woke up on the train which was running towards Rameshwaram, that train showed me some magnificent views. I was hearing that a lot of people were talking about Pamban bridge which is just before Rameshwaram station. The bridge came with a moment I have never been this in my entire life! “ oh my god”, “how I can be so lucky to see this”, “is this real”, “how something can look like this“ were a few statements that popped out of my mouth the moment I saw it. I just can’t explain what my eyes witnessed, although I clicked several photographs. The scintillating combination of colours soothed my mind, taking away all the fatigue of this trip! Heavens know what I felt. I have visited more than 16-17 states but trust me I never encountered anything like this. I can fly back to Tamilnadu, just to see this bridge.

The train stopped for 7 minutes there and so did my eyes asking my mind to stay here, to live here, to stop the rushing hours here and here only! I would tag this as the Second Best Gem of my trip!

After which I reached Rameshwaram and I decided to freshen up there only instead of booking a hotel. So I went to the AC waiting room where I met Ramnath, the room in charge who charged me 20INR for an hour. I got ready and reached the front of the west gate of the Ramanathaswamy Temple, I submitted my bag, shoes, and electronics to the cloakroom right in front of gate no.1. I entered the temple wearing only Dhoti, it’s a traditional dress code for a male there. In the temple, I saw almost everyone was drenched, and all of them were wearing a paper band on their wrists. I tried to find someone who can speak my language and I met Mr Anil and his son Lakshya from Chhattisgarh. They were here for the third time.

On asking them about what I was watching there, I got to know that there are 22 holy wells (२२ पवित्र कुंड) which are considered Pure, each dedicated to a God. For that, I would have to buy that band. Lakshya helped me in getting one and I joined them for “22 kund snanam” (22 baths)

All I can say for that snanam is that it is a must too. There are no words to express the inner peace I got when Pandits gave me 22 showers from 22 different wells at different spots in the temple. This was the best thing of this journey for me, the best gem. A completely different vibe that was beyond spirituality and everything. Go by yourself and take the २२ पवित्र कुंड स्नान.

After the temple, I came out and got ready for the roads again.

Dhanoshkodi was on my list from the very first day. So I boarded bus number “3” and reached Dhanoshkodi in 45 mins. The place from where Lord Ram started his journey to Lanka, the place from where you can see Sri Lanka’s light after 7:00 PM, the place where you encounter two seas (Bay of Bengal on the left and Indian ocean on right ). Where I met mount, a software engineer in Bangalore who was in Tamilnadu for some yoga event and Rameshwaram darshan.

I roamed around in Dhanushkodi with him.

How can anyone see two different oceans at the very same time, how beautiful this view can be. Near to that, there is Dhanushkodi village which got trashed in the 1964 tsunami and was never rebuilt.

That abandoned village is another beauty to see in Tamilnadu.

I came back to Rameshwar in the evening had dinner, visited the temple for one more time and then booked a room for an overnight stay.

Pro tip:

1. Keep dhoti/sari with you, as modern dresses are not allowed in the temple.

2. Buy tickets from the counter next to the west gate. 25₹ each.

3. There is a bus stop near the temple from where you can board a bus to Dhanushkodi every 20 min.

4. It’s not easy to get a room for a single traveller in Rameshwaram, keep the adhaar card with you.

I woke up at 4 in the morning because I got to know you should do Samundra snanam (Sea bath) in the morning in Rameshwaram. So I went to take that bath and went to the temple for one more time to experience the serenity of baths, it seemed much better this time.

When there were almost no pilgrims and corridors were empty just for me. Outstanding.!!

After that, I ran to the railway station and bought a rail ticket for Madurai. I boarded the train at 5 in the morning and I again encountered the Second Best Gem Pamban Bridge. For one more time, it took all my words and the early morning view took me to the heavens. My heart even now flies and sings in excitement to even think of it!

I reached Madurai at 8:20, again I went to the AC waiting room and freshened up there.

After that, I went to the Meenakshi temple, the most famous temple of Lordess Parvati. I stored my stuff in the cloakroom and wore dhoti for one more time. In the Minakshi temple, most of the workers were female.

When I entered this one, I felt Tamilnadu amazed me for one more time. Big corridors, Mishtan, people and everything else was just amazing.

After that, I visited Thirumalai Nayak Mahal palace and boarded the train for Kodaikanal and stayed there in green paradise until midnight and boarded the train for Chengalpattu.

I reached Chengalpattu in the morning and switched trains for the Kanchipuram district from there. Kanchipuram is a place which is famous for its marvellous sarees. I actually visited a famous saree store AS Babu Shah. Celebrities buy Kanchipuram sarees from here only, again a must-visit.

After that, I reached Chennai in the evening, I was supposed to be here on the very first day. I reached Chennai, Chennai is a city where you see greenery, beaches and people wearing yellow Dhoni t-shirts.

I booked my room next to Chinnaswamy stadium and it was during IPL, hence more Dhoni.

I visited Marina beach at the night and came to my room to take a rest.

The next morning I roamed around the city and explored places like Broken bridge, Elliott beach, San Thom Cathedral Basilica, Burma Bazaar, etc.

It was all good and I enjoyed this Chennai too.

My flight was at 7 in the evening and I landed in Delhi at 10:05.

5 minutes after getting off the flight, I started missing Tamilnadu.

I was thinking about a trip to South India but I never thought that it could be this amazing. Beyond every limit. The spirituality of this place has made a beautiful mark on my mind.

In this trip

I visited 3 states

Made 14 new friends, and a few of them altered my itinerary and I loved it.

Clicked 1200 photographs with my 3 cameras.

And reached home with a plethora of good memories.

Tamilnadu can take you to the different axis of life. And you will love it the moment you land there.Tamilnadu, the east southern state of India. I was planning to visit south India for a very long time and Tamilnadu fulfilled my wish.

The best time in Tamilnadu is from October to February when the atmosphere is pleasant and the city is full of tourists, which is exactly why you shouldn’t visit Tamilnadu at that time.

Humans can ruin your trip, but in April when the heat is at its peak, you should visit Tamilnadu. Heat can filter tourists from the places you are going to visit and trust me, this feels awesome (no hard feelings against humans)

So I boarded my flight on 16th April to Chennai. On the flight, I met Mr Vishak Os, my first friend on this trip. He is from Chennai and works for an MNC company in Delhi.

I shared my itinerary with him and he advised me to make a few changes in it which I did. After all, who can advise you on exploring a city better than a local? He asked me to add Chengalpattu, an abandoned village in Tamilnadu instead of roaming around in Chennai.

I landed in Chennai at 9:30, it was drizzling there. Chennai is the same as Delhi but with different language. Same chaos, auto drivers running after you, hawkers on the roadside, etc.

I decided to cover Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh on the first day of my trip. So I boarded the metro from Airport to CMBT(Bus terminal) and from there boarded the first bus which was moving towards Tirupati.

We reached bus terminal and boarded Temple Sanstha Bus which charged us the 60 INR each for that 40-minute long journey to Sri Venkateswara temple, TIRUMALA.