Pichavaram mangrove forest
 

The mangrove forest in Pichavaram, near Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, is the second largest in the world, after Sundarbans in Bengal. The thick growth in some 1,000+ hectares in the Killai backwaters between Vellar and Coleroon estuaries, permanently rooted in only a few feet of water, is a popular picnic spot. Thousands of narrow passage ways have been made to take visitors through, offering a sudden out-of-the-world scene within a few minutes of boat ride. Glad to share a few photos:

The first view as you get near the mangroves:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7324/1...d811953b_c.jpg

Wider waterways intially:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7390/1...e9af572a_c.jpg

Gradually leading into narrower lanes:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5531/1...bb4e651a_c.jpg

With space for just one boat to row,
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7426/1...95d84c7b0f.jpg

traffic jams can happen here too:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5530/1...9f011fe4_c.jpg

You come across natives fishing for a living, old as they may be:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5527/1...846b1458_c.jpg

Or a young man squatting (yes, he is stting!) patiently to catch shrimp:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3711/1...2ac0c17e_c.jpg

Occasionally you get to see other people too:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3697/1...b5af90b8_c.jpg

Birds are there, big and small:
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2845/1...1142e601_c.jpg

Crossing the mangrove stretch,you hit the beach
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5516/1...9c2c890f_c.jpg

So desolate there is no one but us and the boatman. This is my wife and son.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2854/1...69f5612a_c.jpg

Hope you like these. C&C welcome.

Beautiful Photos and place.

Thanks for sharing these beautiful places of unspoilt and serene nature!

Looks like a place you could easily get lost in.
Great series, thanks for showing us another part of the world. :)

Mike

Lisa, Alex & Mike: So glad you all liked the photos and the place. Though I live comparatively near the place and have heard of it many times, it has taken a long time for me to finally make it, and i am glad I made it at least now! Thanks for your appreciation.

What a fascinating place and captured so well

Thank you, Darren. It was an interesting trip, and I enjoyed testing the FZ200 there.

A very interesting series Raghu, I am glad you eventually got there !
I am glad you found your way out of the thousands of passage ways :)
The FZ200 is doing very well.