Nature Traveller

Neithal Trail

A 1-Day Tour to explore our coast

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‘Climate Change’ and ‘Global Warming’ – the terms which we used to hear in the news, is happening to us in the form of floods, inundation, cyclones, cloud bursts and other extreme weather events, year after year.

In these modern times, we tend to ignore the geography, natural history, or ecology of the city we live in. Its only when the natural calamities strike, there is lot of hue and cry on the Environment getting degraded caused by human action, rapid urbanization, unplanned development, and pollution.

Here comes an opportunity to learn about your surroundings!

  • Have you ever wondered how the landscape of the coastal city of Chennai was a few decades ago?
  • From a ‘dry city’ which did not get its annual quota of rains regularly how did it transform to a ‘wet city’ with inundation and floods?
  • Will you believe that Chennai has a unique dry, evergreen forest type – the trees of which were referred in the Sangam literature and even today these trees form the sthala viruksham in most temples?
  • Do you know that the fastest bird, the highest-flying bird, longest-flying bird visit Chennai as it is part of the ‘Central Asian Flyway’? The wetlands around Chennai are haven to thousands of migratory birds like barn swallows, reed warblers, harriers, terns, and gulls.
  • Have we ever observed the rivers when they merge with the sea? The estuarine ecosystem which serves as a habitat for different fish, invertebrates, and bird species also protects against storms, tidal surges, soil erosion.
  • How could the heritage information on ecology help us in conservation?

Rivers, wetlands, marshes,
mangroves, estuaries, backwaters,
coastlines, evergreen and deciduous trees,
aquatic flora, and fauna

– all these are not reserved only for National Geographic.

One can discover these natural wonders in Chennai, which is gifted with such landscapes and its characteristics connected in a beautiful pattern.

In the Sangam age, land was geographically classified into 5 types called Thinais.

  1. Kurinji,

  2. Mullai,

  3. Marutham,

  4. Neithal

  5. Palai

“Neithal” is the Tamil Sangam thinai for coastal landscapes.

There are hundreds of Tamil Sangam literary songs on Neithal landscape, flora, marine life, and culture of its people.

This experiential tour embarks on a journey to the natural heritage ecosystems in the southern part of the city along the East Coast, the importance of their existence, and how carefully the entire pattern is intricately knit and what we, humans, are causing to these fragile environs.

Places Covered

Adyar [Start]

Pallikaranai

Okkiyam Maduvu

Muttukadu

Nemmeli

Mahabalipuram

Vaayalur checkdam

Odhiyur

Edaikazhinadu

Alamparai [End]

115 kms

1-Day

Come aboard!

Let’s explore our coast, experience, enjoy and enlighten ourselves!

Elelelo, Ailasa! Elelelo, Ailasa!

Come aboard!

Let’s explore our coast, experience, enjoy and enlighten ourselves!

Elelelo, Ailasa! Elelelo, Ailasa!

REGISTER
REGISTER