Pulicat Lake - @AP - near Chennai

I'M from chennai need bus route to pulicat lake. Thank?Route From To558B Moolakadai - Pazhaverkadu(pulicat)595 Tollgate(tondiyarpet) -- Pazhaverkadu…595A Thiruvetriyur B.S -- Pazhaverkadu(pulicat)

Pulicat Lake (Pazhaverkaadu) is near the Andhra Pradesh / Tamil Nadu border.Route Number 595A Thiruvotriyur to Pazhaverkadu via Andarkuppam, Napalayam, Minjur, Pulikulam, Ponneri and Thirupalaivanam.

To reach the place by EMU train from Central Station is more convenient. Take any train on the Gudur / Nellore line, stopping at Sulurpet Station. Pulicat lake is just 5 - 6 km from Sulurpet

Looks like there is no direct MTC services from Chennai CMBT/Parrysthere are buses from Moolakadai, Tolgate & Thiruvettiyur. thiruvettuyur connected to all places in Chennai (metrocommute gives the detail list of services)

Its about 80 km from Chennai just inside AP border. Route to take is Chennai - NH5 (Kolkatta highway) - Gummidipoondi - Tada - Sulurpet - Pulicat lake.

Chennai to Tada is about 65 km. Sulurpet is about 10 km from there and then you see a circle for Sriharikota. All of this is in NH5 and the road conditions are good. Pulicat is about 5 km from there. Decent roads.

How to reach Pulicat You have to drive on NH5; it is a straight road to Tada which is approximately 60-65 kilometers away from the city. Then you need to drive on to Sulurpet and on to Pulicat. It is altogether a distance of approximately 85-90 kilometers from Chennai and it is better to start early.

You have to travel by National High way NH 5 from Chennai to Surlurpetta and the road is ver good, upto this point. You have to travel another 5 kms only from Sulurpetta and that road is also good (though not a Highway) for motoring. Yest you can easily go by car from Chennai.

yes. the national Highway 5 is part of the golden quadrilateral and it is completed. so there wont be any problem for driving.once u get down from the NH u will be taking a route to SHAR which is very good.

The lake is huge - about 500 acres. Is a good season to visit now with lot of migratory birds. Best time to see - before 9 AM or after 3 PM.. You can kill the in between time by boating.

Also there is a 10 km muddy road to Vepamedu village (island).. I drove about 2 km and returned - as we wanted to take boat ride.

Necessary accessories:1. Good Binocular - I Had 8x one. Sufficient at prime times. However during the barren times when the birds move deeper into the lake - its not sufficient.

2. Breakfast/ Lunch/ Snacks - nothing looked worthwhile for eating at Sulurpet. Pulicat doesnt have any eatery.

Tips:0. Best period to visit - December to March. I think peak would be Jan/ Feb.

1. Boat ride - official boat riding is near Tada.. However not worth it. (Atleast it doesnt take anywhere close to birds)2. On our way from Sulurpet to Pulicat there were some fisherman hauing boats. We took a trip on that - you talk to them nicely.. They take you near to island mounds where there are thousands of birdsCost: 100- 150 rs (he just asked whatever i can.. seemed to be happy)

Restrooms are also scarce and so while sailing down the lake canal you will find a children’s ground and some pretty good restrooms in a village. So be ready for them too.

Try visiting this place in the winter (December to March) as that’s the period when migratory birds come over in hordes.

3. AP tourism office and Environmental education offices are there. However they spoke only Telegu. You can get tips about where to go for bird watching.

4. Pulicat - SHAR road also has lot of birds. (Didnt explore this fully)

Now that I have been here, if there is a rocket launch @ SHAR - I am definitely going to drive there and watch from Pulicat. Anyone done that?

cool.. thanks for the direction. the better place in pullicat to go is to the north shore. thats about 100 + kms on the GQ and then beyond SHAR as well.

thanks for the dircetions also.

Do not forget to try floating on the lagoon. It is an amazing experience. Bird watching is perfect at early morning or by dusk. Try being there before 8 AM and watch some birds and then spend the whole day and get back to bird watching by 4 PM when the sun readies to set. You will be rewarded awesomely.

There are many spots in the lake to visit and the most popular one is through the Pulicat (Phazaverkadu) town on the TN side. This gives access to the small strip of land between the sea and the lake. However we decided to visit the AP side and

chance to drive through the lovely NH5 was also a reason.

We left in 3 cars by noon and took the NH5. The plan was to go through Tada and visit the bird sanctuary located near by. But as we drove along, stopped at Arambakkam, a small town on the TN/AP border ,to enquire about the route. The locals informed us of boating facilities available near by and a person offered to take us along. The plan was to go to the tip of peninsular land mass which juts out of the northern end of the lake and come back.

After a bit of negotiation agreed for Rs.1000 for approx 3 hrs. We took a small but well maintained road of about 2 kms to reach the shore. Finished the packed lunch in the shore and got on to the boat.

Well it was a fishing boat with no proper seats no life boats. We were a bit worried since we were 8 adults and 6 children. The boat was long and narrow and boat man explained that these boats due thier shape never capsize. We had sit along the length of the boat in the center facing the sides.

Our Ride12:20 hrs (year 2000)

After a 50 min ride we reached the southern tip land mass in the middle of the lake

Our destination

It was a calm isolated part with the village called Kuppam a little farther to the north We spent some time exploring the place and I was surprised to see cultivation in the midst of the salt water around.

Soon the sun started setting and cast a golden hue over the lake. It was serene and sight to watch as the lake showed various colurs from bright blue, to murky green to golden yellow.

We started our ride back and as luck would have it , our boat's engine failed with 25% of the distance to go. The boat men (two nice youngsters), were hesitant to put the sails on, since the boat may rock with the sails and deiced to use the oar. Luckily we saw another boat coming our way and we were quickly towed to the shore.The boat men were extremely nice and courteous and didn't allow us to tip the other boat which towed us, saying that it was their duty to see us on the shore safely.

We left by 6 pm and reached home by 8.30 pm

Trip stats:

Distance traveled from Nanganallur in Chennai city. I am in Medavakkam near by Nanganallur. - 160 kms to & fro.

If you are interested in visiting a calm and unexplored part of the lake, this is the place.

PS: Pulicat is not a tourist spot, it is not ready for tourists to show you places around!

PS2: You have to explore the place if you are interested, there is no boating facility that can take you on a tour! APTDC is no where near Arambakkam, but there is a forest department boating jetty in the Tada Wharf, no one can predict when they will be available!

Hi, If you are paranoid about long drives without seeing human movement, if you are not local friendly, if you are not wanting to interact with people, if you are expecting a ticketed boating/tourist spot, I suggest you better keep away from the Palaverkadu(south tip of Pulicat in TN side).

Because the place is certainly a fishing hamlet, just Chennai's royapuram area etc., People are mostly fishermen, friendly with the Ocean not so with people who want to evade them. So better stay away from places like that and not complain.

If you are with some local friends, who can handle them, be friendly with them, you can enjoy the place, it's much trouble free when girls are not around! you certainly leave an eyebrow raised when women dress up well cultured and are in their turf for not so understood reasons!