Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NORTHERN TAMIL NADU
TOP OF CHAPTER
Chennai to Mamallapuram
Chennai's sprawl peters out after an hour or so heading south on the East Coast Road
(ECR), at which point Tamil Nadu becomes green fields, trees, red dirt, blue skies and not a
few towns and villages (or, if you take the 'IT Expressway' inland, huge new buildings).
There's a tropical bohemian groove floating around Injambakkam village, site of the
Cholamandal Artists' Village
( 044-24490092; Injambakkam; museum ?20; museum & galleries 9am-6.30pm)
,
10km south of the Adyar River. This 3-hectare artists' cooperative - founded in 1966 by
artists of the Madras Movement, pioneers of modern art in South India - is a serene muse
away from the world, and the art in its museum and galleries is very much worth inspec-
tion. Look especially for work by KCS Paniker, SG Vasudev, M Senathipathi and S Nand-
agopal. You can have a very good Iranian meal in a lovely garden at
Shiraz
(mains ?150-300,
Sunday lunch buffet ?600; 11am-11pm Wed-Mon)
, just along the lane past the museum.
As Cholamandal is to contemporary artistic expression,
DakshinaChitra
(
044-27472603;
www.dakshinachitra.net
;
East Coast Rd, Muttukadu; Indian adult/student ?75/30, foreign ?200/70; 10am-6pm Wed-
Mon)
, 12km further south, is to South India's traditional arts and crafts. This jumble of open-
air museum, traditional architecture, artisan workshops (including pottery, silk weaving,
puppet building and basket making) and live theatre and dance performances is another
stop that's well worth it (including for kids).
Kovalam, a fishing village 4km south of DakshinaChitra, has probably the best surfing
waves on the Tamil Nadu coast. Waves get up to 2m and rides of 200m aren't uncommon.
For classes or surf companionship, look up villager Murthy, Kovalam's original local surf
pioneer, who runs the 'social surfing school'
Kovelong Point
(
9840975916;
Madras Crocodile Bank
(
044-27472447;
www.madrascrocodilebank.org
; Vadanemmeli; adult/child ?35/10,
camera/video ?20/100; 8.30am-5.30pm Tue-Sun)
, 6km on down the ECR from Kovalam, is a
fascinating peep into a world of reptiles, and an incredible conservation and research trust
to boot. With 18 of the world's 23 species of crocodilian (crocodiles and similar creatures)
now here, the Bank does crucial work in maintaining genetic reserves of these animals,
