What to expect
Highlights
- Marakkanam Salt Pans and Beach — A working coastal salt-pan landscape near Marakkanam beach, where centuries-old solar salt evaporation is still practised alongside a stretch of quiet shoreline.
- Matrimandir — The golden spherical meditation hall at the centre of Auroville, designed as a place of silent individual concentration; entry to the inner chamber requires advance booking.
- Kaluveli Bird Sanctuary (Kaliveli Lake) — A large coastal brackish lagoon and wetland, one of the biggest such wetlands on the Coromandel Coast. Notified as a bird sanctuary in 2021 covering about 51.56 sq km, it was designated a Ramsar site of international importance in 2024. It is a major wintering ground for migratory waterbirds and flamingos.
- Bhoomeeswarar Temple, Marakkanam — A Shiva temple in the coastal town of Marakkanam believed to be over a thousand years old and dating to the Chola period. It stands in a town that was an important ancient port, identified with the classical Sopatma, on the Bay of Bengal. Its setting near the salt pans and coast adds to its historical interest.
