Pulicat Sanctuary

This is the time to visit Pulicat, and participate in the Flamingo Festival on till February 5, organised by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department. Established in September 1976, the country's second largest brackish water lagoon is famous for its birds, particularly the flamingos. About 15,000 of these pink birds visit the sanctuary every year.

Located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, the lake is on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with two-thirds of it in Andhra Pradesh. Pulicat is fed by three rivers (Swarnamukhi, Kalangi and Araniar) and several canals. It is surrounded by the southern tropical dry evergreen forest, and most of the inhabitants of the adjoining areas and the 16 islands depend on the lake for their livelihood. The lake and the Buckingham Canal are popular picnic spots, and offer catamaran rides.

Also visit: Church of Our Lady of Glory believed to have been founded by the Portuguese who landed here in 1510 A.D. The Dutch cemeteries dating back to 1606 to 1690 A.D at Ambedkar Nagar, and the Dutch cemetery and mausoleums closer to the market place that are under the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Area: 500 sq. km. in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh or Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu

Birds: Flamingo, pelican, teal, painted stork, tern, gull, wader, open billed stork, grey heron, cormorant, white ibis, spoon bill, egret, reef heron, spot billed duck, shoe veller, pintail, sand piper, gill and river tern

Also find: 65 different species of fish like Sable Fish, Sargin Fish, white, black and silver pomfret. And reptiles like monitor lizard, cobra and Russell's viper.

How to get there

Road: Chennai (60 km)

Rail: Sulurpet

Air: Chennai (60 km)

Best time to visit: October to March

Where to stay: Inspection bungalows at Sulurpet and Tada