Vaniyar dam - Salem

On a Sunday, I and my friend decided to spend some time together. We planned to go to Vaniyar dam, which is located in the foothills of Shevaroys. We started by bike after having the breakfast and took the Salem-Tirupattur road. We reached the dam after some inquiries with some local people for exact way.

Vaniyar dam

Other side of dam

Vaniyar dam with almost to its full storage level and Shevaroys as perfect backdrop is a great scenery. The climate was also pleasant at that time and we had a great time enjoying the scenery. We trekked in the Shevaroys for some distance and had a great view from there, nearby villagers were also trekking as it is a short cut to their home. 

About Vaniyar dam:

Vaniyar dam is located in Pappireddipatti taluk of Dharmapuri district. It is built across the Vaniyar river with storage depth of 65ft. The dam receives the water during the monsoon season and reaches the maximum level during Oct - Nov.  Nearly Ten thousand of acres of cultivation land is irrigated through the water supplied from canals. One can trek from there into Shevaroys forest to reach the Yercaud. 

Vaniyar dam

After taking some snaps and having good time we left and took the same route. In the middle, we stopped in a place called Manjavadi pass. It is a small pass in eastern ghats which stretches some two to three kilometers.  The road has two to three hair pin bends and more importantly the area is covered thick with bamboo trees. Forest department has a check post there and nearby a temple is there where nearby villagers worship. 

After slowing down there for a moment for some snaps, we reached the home.

Manjavadi pass

Nearby Manjavadi pass

How to reach Vaniyar dam:

From Salem, proceed to Ayodhyapattnam, take left in the Railway crossing, Which is the Tirupattur road. After around 30kms, diversion is there in left which will take you to Pappireddipatti. From there you can reach the dam easily. Total distance from Salem will be around 45kms. 

The best time to visit is between Oct to Jan as the dam will be upto its full level.

Sri Chakra Maha Meru Temple - Yercaud

Yercaud, the nearest hill station for me which is about 30kms only from my home. After celebrating the Diwali, the next day on Sunday our family started to Yercaud exactly during noon. Reached the Yercaud lake by 1 p.m. The climate was alternating, sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunshine and hot.

After enjoying the view of lake and spending sometime in the park, we had our lunch in the Waterfront restaurant, which is just opposite to the lake. Then we proceeded to the Nagalore to visit the Sri Chakra Maha Meru temple. I have been to Yercaud with my friends several times and visited most of the places, but this is my first visit to the less known temple.

We reached the temple in Nagalore by 3.30 p.m. People were waiting inside to have a darshan of main deity Lalitha Tripurasundari but sannadhi remain closed till 4 p.m. The first thing you will notice here is the atmosphere and the peace. It is an ideal place for doing meditation.

Some facts and beliefs about Sri Chakra Maha Meru

It is believed that the almighty wanted to create several forms of himself. Almighty created the female part called Devi, then Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, who protects the Universe and Shiva, the destroyer. It is believed that Devi is more powerful than Trinity and called Parashakthi.

Maha means 'Big' and Meru means 'Mountain'.

Lord Shiva created 64 Tantras to safeguard all the living beings in the Universe. Lord Shiva preached the 64 Tantras to the Devi, which is called as 'Sri Vidhya'.

Lord Shiva (Buddha in front)

The Sri Chakra is believed as Shiva-Shakthi. It Consists of series of Triangles around a small central circle called 'Bindu', which represents the Shiva-Sakthi in Union , rest represents the Cosmos.

The three dimensional pyramid on temple, when viewed from top will give the look and form of Sri Chakra. It is believed that worshiping the Devi with Sri Chakra is equal to worshiping the ultimate force. 

This is the World's biggest Sri Chakra Maha Meru temple.

Three Dimensional Pyramid
Photo Courtesy :Sri Chakra Maha Meru Temple, Yercaud

Note: More details is given in the temple. If found anything wrong in content, please correct me.

The temple is governed by a private body. The Temple is so serene because it is only couple of years old. Some people in temple told me that actor Rajnikanth is often visiting this temple whenever he finds time. I thought to myself that devotees will throng the temple soon.

Photo collected from Internet 

After an eyeful of darshan and archanai, we left the temple and took some snaps outside the sannadhi (Please note that camera and cell phone is prohibited in sannadhi). After finishing the temple visit we opted for view points. We had a great view from Gents, Ladies and children' seat. The rain lashed heavily and sudden drop in temperature is felt and climate changed drastically. Everywhere fog and mist so we decided to get down from hills as quick as possible because soon it will turn dark and driving a car will be tough one.

Sri Chakra Maha Meru

Temple Timings:

Temple is open for darshan from 6 a.m to 1 p.m. After that reopens at 4 p.m  and stay open till 7 p.m

How to Reach:

Temple is located at Nagalore, which is exactly at 7 kms from Yercaud lake. After reaching Yercaud lake from Salem, take left in roundtana, Which will take you to the famous Shevaroyan temple road. After some two or three kms, a diversion at right is there which will lead to the Shevaroyan temple, but go straight to reach Nagalore. Lot of buses from Yercaud are running to Nagalore. The road is good but bit narrow and you can enjoy some great view of Valleys while driving.

Anaimaduvu Reservoir - Belur, Salem

Anaimaduvu Reservoir or Puzhuthikuttai dam is constructed across Upper Vellar river(also known as Anaimaduvu river). It is located in Foothill of Upper Kalrayan in Vazhapadi taluk of Salem district.

Anaimaduvu Reservoir

The length of the earthen dam is 670m and the maximum height of the dam is 27.94m. It irrigates more than 2000 hectares of cultivation land in villages around Vazhapadi and Ayodhyapattanam.

Entrance

The surrounding Kalryan hills and betel nut trees provides a great visual treat to eyes. If you are visiting the Belur shiva temple, then don't miss this spot. It is just five kms away from the shiva temple. It is surely a nice getaway from the city congestion and pollution on a weekend. The best time to visit is between November and January as the reservoir would be almost full and climate will also be pleasant.

Thanthondreeswarar Temple - Belur, Salem

Sri Thanthondreeswarar temple is located in the Belur near Vazhapadi of Salem district. The main deity here is Lord Thanthondreeswarar(Lord Shiva). The temple was built during 12th century by the Cholas.

Lord Shiva in the temple here is Suyambu Lingam (Lingam originated itself from earth). The temple's speciality is the main deity and mother are together in the temple. There is a horse vahan sculpture in the temple made of a single stone.

Rajagopuram(97 ft tall)

Thanthondreeswarar

Darshan Timings : 6 a.m to 12 p.m and 4 p.m to 9 p.m

How to reach from Salem:

Proceed to Ayodhyapattanam, take left and proceed in state highway-18, within a km a diversion to the Belur road is there at right which will take you to the Temple. This road is good and traffic less than NH-68.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - Near Mysore

Ranganathittu bird sanctuary is located in Mandya district, the largest bird sanctuary in Karnataka. It has spread over about 40 acres and has number of islets on the banks of river Cauvery.

The sanctuary has variety of bird like Egret, Heron, Painted stork, Pelicans, Indian shag, Stork billed Kingfisher, Sandpiper and lots more. More than 30 species of birds has been found in the sanctuary. The sanctuary attracts large number of migratory birds every year and the experts believe that they come as far as from Siberia, Australia and even North america.

It is a popular nesting site for the birds. Staring from June, lot of birds will build nest here and during the winter season thousands of birds will flock the sanctuary. Apart from the birds, the main attraction in the bird sanctuary is 'Crocodiles'. Mugger crocodiles are there in large numbers in the river as the abundant food is available for crocs in the form of fish. The Crocs will also lay eggs alongside with birds in the islets. This protects the birds eggs from other reptiles and mammals as the crocs will stand guard to protect it's eggs.

There are few mammals in the sanctuary like Fruit bats, Bonnet Macaques, Palm Civets, Mongoose and Otters.

Layout of the Sanctuary

We visited the zoo after 5 in the evening. As it was almost closing time, we urged our self to take the boat ride. But officials has closed the boat ride, but one boatman offered a boat ride for Rs.200. I was thrilled and was in fear at the same time to take the boat ride as we saw the crocs in the river. Visitors are returning from the ride in a large boat, but the boat offered to us was a small rowing type boat. That hyped my heart beat a little bit more. The boatman understood our situation and convinced that the boat was too large for a mugger croc. Still with some fear and life jacket on, the ride started.

A small croc on the rock

It was a very small ride lasted around 20 mins but it is really enjoyable. He took us near to two islets and we saw number of birds and most importantly he took us near to a rock where a mugger croc was taking rest after a big meal i suppose. When we are nearing the rock, a very peculiar breathing sound of croc increased (Maybe it's a warning made by the croc) and in the blink of eye it jumped into the river.

For those keen on the type of vegetation, Ranganathittu is covered with broad-leaf forests comprising of Terminalia Arjun, Bamboo, and Pandanus trees. Eucalyptus and Acacia trees have also been planted here.

The officials have placed lot of sign boards and information about the varieties of birds and mammals which visits the sanctuary. The best time to visit the sanctuary is between May to September but make sure that at the time of visit no water has been released from KRS dam. Because due to flooding, the officials will cancel the boat ride and you have to watch from the bank of river only.

Islet

Fruit bats

Common boat ride

Pelican

Spoon bill

Croc resting

River tern

Park timings : 9 a.m to 6 p.m

PARK FEES:

	Indian	Foreigners
Entry Fees	50.00	200.00
Parking	30.00	30.00
Boating (per person)	50.00	50.00

Religious trip to Thirunallar from Salem

I and my family started the religious trip to Thirunallar on a Friday morning by 6.30 am from Salem in a car. Our plan is two day trip covering most of the temples and religious places on the way.

Our plan of travel is Chidambaram --> Pichavaram --> Sirkazhi --> Thirukadaiyur --> Tranquebar on day1.
On day 2, Thirunallar --> Thiruvarur --> Alangudi --> Thanjavur and finally Salem.

Thillai Nataraja temple - Chidambaram

Our first destination is to Chidambaram, around 200kms from Salem. Before that we had our breakfast in Virudhachalam. We reached the Thillai Nataraja (The Lord of dance) temple by 11, the sun was scorching from sky as i walked into the temple with bare foot. Then our driver told me that Chidambaram is one of the five Pancha Bootha Sthalams (Element: SKY).

The chief deity here is Lord Shiva depicted as the Lord of the dance (Bharatanatyam) named Thillai Natarajar. It is one of the few temples where Lord Shiva is depicted in other form than ‘Lingam’. The temple has seen several renovations in its history, particularly during the days of Pallava/Chola emperors in ancient and pre-medieval periods.

As the darshan timings were from 6.am to 12 noon and after that in evening 5 p.m to 10 p.m, we were hurried to have our darshan quickly.

Chidambaram is located at a distance of 220 km from Chennai, 335 km from Madurai. Pondicherry Airport(PNY) is a nearest airport located around 66 kilometer away from Chidambaram. The airports at Tiruchirapalli (165 km) and Chennai (215 km) are the nearest airports from Chidambaram.

Pitchavaram Forest

After having the darshan at Chidambaram, we proceeded to the Pitchavaram. It is about 12kms from Chidambaram. Pitchavaram has a well developed Mangrove forest, which is the second largest Mangrove forest in India next only to the Sunderbans.

Pitchavaram

The forest area is about 2800 acres formed by series of islets and backwater. The Mangrove forest attracts lot of bird species like Egret, Heron, Pelicans, Spoonbills, Storks, Kingfisher, Waterfowls etc.  It is home to more than 100 species of birds in the seasonal times. Apart from these it is home to foxes, Water dogs, Snakes, Turtles etc.

We reached the Pitchavaram by 1.30 p.m. The Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) has a hotel there and we had our lunch in that hotel. The price is on the higher side because you won’t find any hotels nearby it. The TTDC has a boat house which offers row and motor boats for visitors to enjoy the scenery. We took the row boat for two hours and started our joy ride with life jacket. 

Boat ride

The boatman told stories about the cinema shootings that have been shot around the waterways. From MGR’s Idayakani to recently Kamal Hasaan’s Dasavatharam, number of movies can be listed which has been shot around here. As the time passed, he took us into the shallow (just one or two feet depth) and narrow canals that run through the forest. It was covered with thick Mangrove trees of rare species Avicennia and Rhizophara, as the sun rays were finding it difficult to get through it. The boatman and god only will know the route from there to boat house, because there are hundreds of islets (nearly 1500 islets) are there. So once you lost, you will be lost there forever. While returning back to the dredged canal, saw fishermen were catching the crustaceans and fish and a family in motor boat travelling to the adjacent village.

Through Channels

Islets

The best time to visit is between November to January. During other seasons you won’t find more species of birds. The TTDC is offering two types of boat, Motor boat and row boat. I will recommend you the row boat because the motor boat finds it difficult to go in the shallow and narrow channels, so you can miss the closest view of that forest.

The boat hire charges are Rs. 400 for four persons for duration of two hours in row boat and in motor boat for 8 persons, they are charging Rs.1300 and duration is One hour. Charges are extra for the beach visit. Take plenty of drinking water with you while going for the boat ride. The boat house working hours are from 8 am to 5.30 pm.

It is my kind advice to have the boat ride in the morning, otherwise be ready to brave the scorching sun.

Fishermen with net

Mangrove forest

Thirukadaiyur

After the Pitchavaram boat ride, we started off to Thirukadaiyur.  As we started of late from Salem, we were forced to drop the visit to famous Sirkazhi Sattainathar temple and Thalachangadu Sanganaeswer temple. I think it will take a day to visit the historic temples around these areas.

Sri Amirtha Kadeswarar temple

From Pitchavaram, it took nearly an hour for us to reach Thirukadaiyur.  It houses the famous, thousand years old Amirtha Kadeswarar temple.  The temple was constructed during Chola period in an area of 11 acres. The main deity here is Lord Shiva, a suyambulingam. Lord Shiva, here, is called as ‘Kala-Samhara’ (Destroyer of time) as he protected the devotee ‘Markandeya’ from Yama’s noose by making Yama inactive. Later he released Yama from his foot as requested by goddess ‘Bhuma devi’ but gave a warning to Yama by raising his forefinger. From this epic story, there is a belief that one can save himself from Yama’s noose by worshiping Lord Shiva.

We saw lot of people performing rituals of Shastiapthapoorthi and Sadabishegam, which were very famous here. 

Thirukadaiyur temple

The temple will be open from 6am to 1pm and later reopens in the evening by 4pm and will remain open till 6pm.

Then the next visit as per our plan is Tharangambadi. It is a coastal town in Nagapattinam district, more importantly it is a Danish colony from 1620 to 1845. The Danish have built the Fort Dansborg here in the 17th century. It was an important strategic position according to the Danish military have concerned. We neared the Tharangambadi as the sun began to set, i was very eager to visit but soon highly disappointed when we came to know that the fort visit will close by 5pm itself.

No other go, i insisted driver to steer the car to Karaikal beach. On reaching Karaikal, driver suggested me a hotel in Thirunallar to book the room which is just opposite to the temple. But my idea of halt for the day is in Karaikal, but he explained that it will be easy to have darshan in early morning if you are nearby, otherwise people will throng the temple soon as tomorrow is going to be Saturday. So as per his advice, we proceeded to Thirunallar, cancelling the beach plan. We reached hotel Moon Park which is just opposite to the temple main road. The hotel is of 'OK' type and luckily we got two rooms which were the last available for the day. Had our dinner there and fell into a sound sleep by 9pm itself.

Thirunallar

On Saturday morning by 5.30 am, we were ready and standing in the special darshan queue. Both the General darshan and special darshan queues were jam packed with devotees. It took more than an hour for us to have the darshan of Lord Saneeshwara(Saturn). 

This is the only temple where Lord Saneeshwara lost all his powers to Lord shiva who saved his devotee King Nala from Saturn's curses. Lot of people were visiting this temple on Saturday to get the same type of blessings as King Nala got and whenever the Zodiac sign change is occurring, millions of people will throng to this temple.