Travel Notes .....: January 2014

Travel Postcards - Krishnagiri and Pondicherry

Beautiful views from KRP Dam, Krishnagiri and Beach Road in Pondicherry during sunset.

KRP Reservoir - KRP Dam

Beach Road - Pondicherry

KRP Dam at Krishnagiri [ Kelavarapalli Reservoir Project ]

After seeing Mettur dam was not expecting much of this place but was pleasantly surprised that we could walk on dam where we could view the reservoir on one side and the park on the other. The park seems modelled on Brindavan gardens although the water works are not many. There are many safe areas here that one can use to play in the water.

The park itself was a big one and a busy one since there were many families here. There is a child play area and some hawkers with basic food / items outside the park.

All in all - a nice place to go with family for a day's outing.

Tips : Do enjoy walking on the dam and checking out the views of the reservoir. I am not sure how long such a thing will last. At KRS dam this is no longer allowed.

Can eat in Saravana Bhavan which is close to Krishnagiri. We found the food good there and the service also was very nice.

Dam at KRP

View of the garden from the dam

Reservoir at KRP

KRP Dam

Good place to eat near Krishnagiri - it is on the highway before the turn to KRP

Pondicherry

Since we camped in Salem for the end of year holidays ( we planned so late that we were not able to get reservations anywhere else ) we would each day - identify one place to go and venture out.

We did Yercaud, Hogenakkal, Mettur dam and then we wondered what to do .. we still had 2 more days to go ! We did not want to go too far - so finally decided on Pondicherry which was about 3.5 hours from Salem.

So off we went. I must say the roads in Tamil Nadu seem better maintained than the roads in Maharashtra. Even the main golden quadrilateral in Maharashtra seems to be perpetually in a state of construction !! Here the roads - even small roads were in reasonably good shape. Was nice driving.

Matrimandir at Auroville :

The drive to Pondicherry was uneventful. We wanted to see the Matrimandir but found out we had to purchase the tickets a day or two in advance. One person said online but when we enquired at Auroville they said no online ticket exists ! Well .. confusing. Anyway we went to Auroville and saw Matrimandir from outside and enjoyed the walk. Browsed the boutiques and then later on went to beach road.

Beach Road :

There is no beach here mainly rocks on which one can sit and enjoy the spray from the high tide. The sea side promenade walk is a crowded place ( may be 'cos we went there during the weekend ) and there are plenty of hawkers who ply you for food / balloons / small toys / ice creams etc.

This area does not allow vehicles so you can walk down this road at a leisurely pace. There is a war memorial at one end and a Gandhi statue after a kilometer or so.

Tips :

Do ask how to get back to the highway rather than use google maps here. I think the google maps uses information mostly from bike riders and we found we were stuck in one place !!! Luckily one person helped us find a better way to the high way.