Place of Visit : This time, I have packed my bags to drive to one of the most beautiful coastal towns of Tamil Nadu, Manapadu, in Tuticorin District. What impressed me about this town is the History of the churches built in the period of 1500.
Speciality of the location : Primarily what attracts the tourists here is the beautiful beaches however religious believes has overtaken the natural beauty.
There are three churches, The Holy Cross Church, St. James Church and the Church of the Holy Ghost, massive and sky tall, constructed way back in fifteen hundreds. Also Manapad is claimed to be India's best surfing site. It has a unique coastline that is formed by multiple layers of lava accumulated over a hundreds of years. This gives Manapad the distinction of witnessing the best wave formation throughout the year.
History : Traditional stories say that in 1540, a Portuguese trading vessel, while sailing around the Cape of Good Hope on its way to the East, encountered a violent storm splitting its sails and snapping the hind mast, leaving it at risk of foundering. The captain, who was devoted to the veneration of the Holy Cross, implored and entrusted the safety of the vessel and that of the crew to the crucified Christ. He also made a vow that he would construct a cross from a portion of the splintered mast and have it planted on the shore where they alighted in safety. By chance, the vessel, after having drifted for several days, sought haven in the then well known port of Kulasekharapatnam.
A miracle is said to have occurred when the cross was still in the form of a log cut off from the broken mast. When the mast was lying on the shore, an inhabitant of the village who had trampled on filth had cleansed his foot on this log. No sooner had he wiped his leg than he felt a pain and instantaneous swelling. That night the man had a vision in which it was revealed to him that the ailment was due to his defiling the log intended for a sacred purpose. He was asked to wipe the muck off the log, smear the log with oil, and then apply the same oil to his foot to cure it.
Early next morning, the patient was carried to the log, and to the amazement of the crowd that had collected there, the man was cured immediately and able to walk back home unaided. This remarkable event made the planting of the Cross by the captain an occasion of great piety and festivity. From then onwards, the name and fame of the captain's cross spread throughout the Coromandel Coast.
Well, there is a detailed history of the this town if you are interested to know, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manapad, http://manapad.in/history.html.
Driveway : I have started my drive from Bangalore with the GPS counting 662km from my location. Getting out of the city traffic, drive straight on NH7, passing Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal, Karur, Dindigul, Madurai, Tuticorin, Kayalpatnam, Tiruchendur and Manapad. Do remember the names I have mentioned above or have it written on a piece of paper though you won't be driving into any of these places however the highway will run around these and by remembering the names, you can avoid looking at the GPS.
Travelog : I have planned this to be a weekend drive and started to drive by Friday noon. Reached Tuticorin by night and stayed that night since the options of stay are more and economical. Also sea food is another reason made me to make the pitstop at Tuticorin. Started driving after the breakfast from here through the state highway 176. I choose to drive on this to enjoy the sea view and the fisherman villages than driving in the national highway. This route is of 52 kms and for sure you can drive through in an hour though I have taken long since I was stopping by to take photographs.
People here are exceptionally good hosts, warm and friendly. Even a tea shop guy talks to you as if he knows you for long enough. There aren't great food joints around this place in terms of looks but if you like the small hotels with great taste of the town, you will come across many. Needless to talk about the seafood since this is a fishing town.
The Church of Holy Ghost and St. James Church are pretty much near by and The Holy Cross Church is about half a kilometer drive. By the side, there is an added beauty, a light house. You will love the view of this church from the shores of Manapad. It gives an illusion like the church was constructed on the elevated sand bed of the shore. Beach stretches from the side of the church and the sight of boats anchored in a row is a lovely sight. Water is green and the sky is blue, you will be wondering it is a magical land. Fortunately here, you don't find much of rocks and clean sand will tempt you to jump into the water. Water separated by the heap of sands will create beautiful ripples with the wind. In short, it is a mesmerizing beach.
I was lucky enough to be there till the sunset. The beauty of sun going down behind the churches will stay in your mind as evergreen. I could manage few photos of the sunset and the reflections of the colours on the wracks of the boats anchored along the side of the shore. To my surprise, there is a well, right at the beach side where the whole village walks down to fetch water for drinking and the water tastes amazingly sweet. In fact, I have ended up filling my water bottle there.
I was told that during the feast of the Exaltation of The Holy Cross, this little town turns into a mini-Jerusalem. Thousands of people travel across different states of India to Manapad.
Last but not the least, if you have the craving for beaches and beautiful architecture, Manapad is the place to be visited.
