Traveling from Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh to Puducherry via Vishakhapatnam covering a distance of 1335kms, a road trip from waterfall to French riviera of India; we have experienced all from mountains to sea, from one climate winter to another pleasant dry and sometimes a little rainy.
Keep tight yourself to explore it all with our experiences.
Preface:
Some journeys are about more than just reaching a destination and this was one for us. It was all about the changing landscapes, cultures, and experiences along the way.
From the roaring Chitrakote Falls to the serene beaches of the French Riviera of India, this journey was a transformation—of scenery, of food, and even of mindset.
Starting in the heart of Bastar, known for its tribal heritage and dense forests, we set out on an adventure that took us through mountains, valley, dense forest, bustling cities, and coastal highways before finally reaching the charming, colonial streets of Puducherry(Pondicherry).
Location
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vyGbzraKQdKgvUZx9
Route and itineraries
Day-1
We fulled the tank a day before our journey, we hit the road very early in the next morning. Our first day target was to reach Vishakapatnam via Jeypore – Araku Valley.
On our first day we covered 300kms it took us 10hours to cover as we were anchoring at a lot of places, as it was our very first road trip so we didn’t want to exhaust ourself.
We wanted to enjoy and experience each and every moment, scenery, food and our moments together and wanted to experience more though this journey .
We enjoyed the day one journey and engraved it all in our soul with beautiful tasty food of Jeypore ( at Daawat Restaurant but unfortunately it is closed permanently at present ), sceneric view of the bridge: Patraput bridge the beauty of architecture and then crossed the famous Kota junction chowk which is famous for refreshing snacks sold by local vendors; we took sweet corns, roasted peanuts and freshly cut fruits to energized ourselves.
The route was itself a heavenly experiences for us to cross various villages, roared around mountains and valleys and driving by the side of Padua Lake which forms the boundary between Andhra Pradesh & Odisha then we reached The Araku Valley.
Before entering the Araku Valley we took bamboo chicken in the Araku city and also packed the Kadi chicken for the route ( we never travel empty and sad stomach ).
We anchored at the Galikonda view point and at coffee plantation, captured and created a lot of memories we sat for a while and embraced the beauty of what Lord has put into this world.
We soaked ourself in the surreal beauty of longing lush green forest, mist cover hills for a while.
Then we headed towards the Vishakapatnam, which is 115kms from Araku. We stayed at Kothavalasa which is located at 29kms before Vishakapatnam at our friend’s place.
Later on that same night we visited the R.K beach which was little crowded ( and I found it a little overrated ) by the side of the beach people from everywhere of every age group chilling, enjoying, sharing their all day life together and few seated silently with gazing eyes over the ocean ( I also love to do that it some how calm the hurricane in my mind ).
After spending an hour at the ocean side we headed and looked for our dinner at Brew n Bistro, we ended our day by having Arrabita Pasta and fish florentisne which made our mouth drooling.
We backed to home to rest and to start early in the morning.
Day-2
We started our day very early towards our destination Puducherry, from Vishakhapatnam onwards what I experienced was another level of joy, charm in the atmosphere and the innocence in the environment.
With every road toll we crossed, the local people had a lot to offer us which we had tasted through out the journey.
We had tried green coconut, yellow coconut, greens mangoes, one different kind of fruit which we had never tried before which was Mangosteen ( it is rich in antioxidants with high nutritional values, very good for immune system, digestive system, helps in reducing inflammation with little benefits over skin when consuming in little quantity and large quantity consumption can make you dizzy a little ).
We were never being this hungry and we tasted it all.
The NH16, the route which we roared was so smooth we couldn’t felt any extra stress or tiredness through out the journey and the service which we liked very much was the restroom facilities near the toll, and also in petrol pumps it was all clean through out the route.
And within 2-3kms we encountered the famous south tea time stall franchisee for refreshment snacks and tea/coffee through out the highway.
We never felt a single time that we were on some strange or new road, it was all lively and safe.
We reached Nellore by 10:30pm and decided to take nap, we booked the room it was good, clean, cosy, a little small though but it was all good and later on the next day morning we had our breakfast and we fasten up and moved towards Puducherry.
Day-3
We started our day early and waved forward towards Puducherry( Pondicherry) which was at around 350kms away from us.
We knew two paths the one which Google showed us it was NH16 which would bypass Chennai and through this route we could easily headed towards Puducherry directly, but after bypassing Chennai we chose to go from Vandalur we took 121 state highway Kelambakkam-Vandalur road because we wanted to drive along the side of costal areas.
And it was the best decision we took.
We crossed many small villages of costal areas, stalls, small markets and of course the ocean breeze and sandy smell throughout the journey.
Before bypassing Chennai we anchored and visited the Pulicat Bird Sanctuary.
Pulicat Bird Sanctuary is the second largest brackish water eco-system in India.
Here every year alot of migratory birds came to lay there eggs and stays here for month.
We saw flamingos, storks and other terrestrial birds ( most of the birds which I had seen was either in books or discovery channel and that was put to end on that day ).
And this was our first experience to witness such a huge creatures which were the size of an adult humans ( almost 5feet ).
This place was a large green kingdom which represent a-lot of green spices and home to many birds and animals.
We had never seen such huge birds with large beak. It seems like it was all falls directly from Disney.
After roaming for an hour we bypassed the Chennai and follow the route which walks side by side to the coastal region.
The moisture and tangy sensation of the sea breeze continued throughout the journey.
And this amazing journey with breezing sea and the scent that lingers along the way it finally drops us at Puducherry ( Pondicherry ).
Before entering the Puducherry we had an amazing lunch at the coastal side with the view of never ending pool, Odiyur lake.
We had our meal at Rose Lake view & Rose Village Restaurant with a wide open area with aestheticity, they had playing area for kids, and also beautiful area for sitting and admiring their property and the nature simultaneously.
They had served us amazing sea food and we tried the local sea fish for the first time, it was tangy sour and had a smell of sea in it. I quite loved it but for him it was not palatable.
We both are passionate about trying and exploring new flavours, foods and cuisines. Trying new foods is one of our ways to experience different places and cultures .
After the meal we headed towards our destination the Puducherry.
Puducherry [ Day 1 in Pondicherry ]
We reached Puducherry by 4:30pm, as we were entering, there was a beautiful beach on our side:
The Auroville Beach
Aurovellie Beach is at a distance of 145kms from Chennai.
It is approximately 12kms north of Puducherry.
Why it is so special :
The golden sands, gentle waves, and peaceful ambiance and the time of sunset perfectly captivated us.
After the long journey covering for more than 1000kms to this peaceful beach and sandy waves all the tiredness suddenly went away and a urge to explore Puducherry through our naked eyes comes into our mind, to see the place to experience it all and a sense engraving it all in our heart.
After being there for an hour we moved towards our hotel. After we freshened up it was almost 8:30pm we went for my Birthday dinner date at Flaming Dragons Lounge, it was all an awesome experience.
We had prawn scrunch sushi, red cook chicken, dynamite prawns and Phat phrik khing; all dishes were on its peak of taste. Glad we chose to go there.
After spending few hours there with a little dance, we headed back to Hotel.
And the next day we started it all enthusiastically.
Another Day [day 2 in Puducherry]
We started our morning a little late and then waved directly towards the French colony.
French colony:
Puducherry (formerly known as Pondicherry) is a unique region in India with a rich French colonial heritage.
The building and houses of white colonial all were colourful in the French Quarter.
Though Tamil is the main language but people speaks French very well.
We walked around the French Colony embraced its architecture and searched for good place to sit, eat and get photographed.
We got a place after roaming for a while The Coromandel Cafe.
It is very famous for serving continental food, good tea & drinks and freshly baked pastries and desserts.
It is situated in the heart of the French Town.
After we sat down at the beautiful open place surrounded by lots of greenery and trees and then we ordered our food – lobster sea food risotto, cucumber and mint cooler and lastly the Korean Chicken Satay Wings.
After fuelling our body we went straight to the nearby local market area for sovereigns and later on the same day on evening we went to the Rock beach which was in walking distance to this place.
We walked along the side of Rock beach, played with the waves and in the sand.
Rock Beach, Puducherry:
That evening felt like something straight out of a dream. The sun was slowly dipping into the Bay of Bengal, casting golden hues over the crashing waves at Rock Beach.
And there I was, hand in hand with the one I love, soaking in every moment.
Unlike many commercial beaches, Rock Beach isn’t about the typical hustle. There are no loud beach shacks or water sports here—just the rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the rocks and the peaceful buzz of locals and travelers strolling along the promenade.
Rock Beach isn’t just a location—it’s an experience. And for us, it became a beautiful chapter in our journey together.
Another Day-3 in Puducherry
We started our day with sun rays and went towards Chunnambar Boat house but before that we headed towards Nallaas Residency because we found a little cafe for breakfast.
What we had there in Nallaas Food corner was beyond our expectation.
We had idli, the real idli sambar of South India; we have had never encountered such taste till then.
After having this beautiful taste in mouth we moved towards the Chunnambar Boat House at around 10:30am.
Chunnambar Boat House:
One of the most favourite site to be visited by the tourist.
It is famous for its river side destination that offers the path to the untouched Paradise Beach through the water route.
We took the tickets for Paradise beach from here and after few minutes of waiting we board a boat and it took us to the most amazing route, the lush green trees, calm water and the chirping of Bird make it a whole package of Paradise.
Our boat ride was so smooth and relaxing with minimal waves as it was an estuary and not the open sea.
After 15-20mins of riding the boat we reached the narrow sandbar that separates the Bay of Bengal on one side and the Chunnambar River on the other.
The long, clean, beautiful beach away from all the sound is the Paradise Beach.
The time didn’t pause at that moment but it did get stretch long enough for us to realise love isn’t always the grand moments or loud declarations, but sometimes it’s just a quiet walk at the water’s edge or a long drive to understand the love you shared.
After spending the half day at the beach we went back to the White town had a meal at Celine kitchen which was near to the Rock beach on a walking distance.
We ordered some amazing grilled fish and for eyes they had beautiful view seating area.
We used the scenic space to fill our mind and soul and for tummy we had food.
Then we enjoyed the evening promenade walk at the rock beach had some amazing street food.
The market here the food stalls, kitchen closed by 11pm, so do whatever you want to do but before this time.
I must say day here is for exploring and the night is for feeling.
We didn’t knew about the timing, we rushed to food places for a good dinner but most of the kitchens were about to close at that time then we found a place called kurtosshhh… where we had chicken Italiano kurtosh and a coffee for the night.
Thats how we closed our 3rd day with lots of experience.
Day-4
On our fourth day to Puducherry in the very early morning we went straight to the nearby Senerity Beach which was on a walking distance to our Hotel.
We went there before the Sun could reach to its horizon.
It was so soothing and relaxing, I don’t know what it was that made us to wake up so early after the exhausting night and it still felt so freshened, at that moment we could even climbed the mountain.
Senerity Beach lives up-to its name- quiet, uncrowded and absolutely soulful.
Senerity Beach
We wanted to spent a peaceful beach walk with not much crowd on our last day so we had chosen Senerity to end with.
For that we booked a resort nearby the beach so we could enjoy the beach walk and its fresh breezing charm without any hassle.
It not only offered us the soul soothing experience but on the last day trip it did brought the peace to our hurriedness.
Puducherry (Pondicherry) was a blend of cultures for us, colours and costal charm then on the other side Senerity beach was the quietest prayer of Nature.
It was at a distance of 5mins of walk and throughout that road people have there homes and already they were up to doing there daily chaos.
For us it was all surreal experience, we ran, walked, danced, hold hands by the side of beach and froze the moments through our lenses.
Our time at Senerity Beach felt like a pause from the world. The soft golden sand under the feet, the rhythmic hush of the ocean and the warm breeze made everything slower, softer, lighter and sweeter.
We walked side by side barefoot, picking up empty seashells and letting our fingers brushed, sometimes in silence, sometimes sharing my loud laugh, sometimes in deep thoughts, but always connected.
After playing for hour at the beach site we packed our bag from Hotel, set it in our Rebecca(vehicle) and prepared to back to our work place.
Dash of Episodes
As we rolled the long kilometres, over highways, sleepy tidy nights, town cities, beaches, hotels, foods – I began to realise this was not just about reaching Puducherry but to discover ourselves in this along stretchy highways.
The roads brought us closer not just to Puducherry but to a deeper side of our understanding, made us a little patient and fulminant our soft caring side that doesn’t always have to be spoken but to be felt.
Hope you too get something precious on your next trip.
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