The Coromandel coast on the south-eastern shoreline of India extends from Nellore till Kanyakumari. I have tried to traverse the entire length of this coast and explore it to the best of my abilities. Although not all at once, I have managed to do it in parts as explained below.

Part 1:

The topmost point of this region starts with lake Pulicat. The fondest memory I have of this place is witnessing a rocket-launch at Sriharikota. Apart from that, lake Pulicat is the second largest brackish water lake that is home to several avian species. I couldn’t help but take a boat ride with the help of a fisherman to see the greater flamingoes that come here annually during their breeding season. My family and I just went into the middle of this large waterbody and decided to lose ourselves in the moment. It was a moment of sitting in front of a million flamingoes and enjoying the vastness of the planet.

Part 2:

I have explored Chennai during multiple visits for business and leisure. One of the most memorable of them all was my visit to this city with my friends, volunteering for ‘Turtle walk- A sea turtle conservation event’. That was sometime back when I had just graduated from college. We had seen the beaches of Chennai coupled with a visit to Mahabalipuram. Thus, touching the northernmost tip of ECR (East Coast Road) in Tamil Nadu during this trip.

Part 3:

This was a family backpacking trip, mainly conceptualized by my dad and one that had been long due on his bucket list. He wanted to see how the end of River Kaveri; our family deity looks like. Our family of four planned to cover a portion of the Coromandel coast during this trip. Our itinerary for this trip was Bangalore – Mayiladuthurai – Poompuhar – Tarangambadi – Karaikal – Nagapattinam – Velankanni – Tanjavur – Trichy – Bangalore.

This remains to be one of the BEST family trips, even to date. We travelled by train, local transport and public buses during the entire trip and hotels/ lodges were booked after reaching the planned destination. Since this itinerary was mostly planned by my father, we were able to more-or-less stick to it without any surprises.

Part 4:

This was an offbeat backpacking embarked on by my friend and me to mark the 100th anniversary of an engineering marvel. We took a train ride over the iconic ‘Pamban bridge’ that connects mainland India to the island of Rameswaram. Our itinerary was: Bangalore – Madurai – Ramanathapuram – Rameswaram – Dhanushkodi – Kurusudai island – Rameswaram – Madurai – Bangalore

The holy town of Rameswaram needs no introduction (Click here if you want to know more about our trip). From there, we explored the ghost town of Dhanushkodi and caught a glimpse of Ramasetu and managed to gain access to a protected island and get mind blown with the natural treasure of the gulf of Mannar. (Click here to read more in detail).

Part 5:

This time, I decided to use my week-long plant shutdown for Diwali at my workplace, to cover the remaining of the Coromandel coast in this south Indian state. For this to happen, my brother and I had embarked on a backpacking trip with the itinerary in which we originally planned to cover Bangalore- Kumbakonam – Gangaikondacholapuram – Chidambaram – Pichavaram – Pondicherry – Tiruvannamalai – Bangalore

Although the main intention was to cover ECR, we couldn’t make it as the weather ruined our vacation and we had to return home mid-way, only to visit those places at a later date. The best part of this trip: Seeing the grandeur of two of the greatest living Chola temples in an off-tourist season. (Click here to read the detailed itinerary) But, what’s the highlight? Finding a place on the globe that I wouldn’t want to visit again (Click here to read my nightmarish travel experience).

Part 6:

Kanyakumari- the last stretch of the coromandel coast and the last bit remaining on my shoreline itinerary. This too was part of a family trip to the edge of Indian mainland. However, unlike all my previous family vacations along the ECR, this was a well-planned itinerary with all bookings sorted (Click here for the complete story). The whole intention of this trip was to see the famous sunset and sunrise at the edge of Indian sub-continent but that, however, continues to remain undone!

Have you done a road trip in East-Coast road of India? Which is your favorite destination? Let me know in the comments below.