'''Cuddalore''' is a town in Cuddalore District in Tamil Nadu. Cuddalore is a beautiful town located along Bay of Bengal which is home to the famous Silver Beach.
Get in
Cuddalore is also known as Thiruppadhirippuliyur or Tiruppappuliyur colloquially. It is located 190 km south of Chennai and is well-connected by road. The rail connection is not there as the conversion to Broad Gauge is not yet over.
Get around
You can reach Cuddalore from Chennai by State buses or private transport. Takes about 4 hours via the ECR route. There are plenty of hotels, and eateries here.
it will be time consuming if you take an bus through bypass ...
See
There is a famous Shiva temple here. Sri Paataleeswarar is the presiding Deity with Brahannayaki Amman. This is an ancient and beautiful temple. Five kilometres from the main busstand is the town Thiruvahindrapuram where the famous Vaishnavite temple of Sri Devanathan is situated. Hayagrivar Sannadhi in this temple is well-known. There is also a temple for Veera Anjaneyar very near the busstand.
Do
Visit these temples and you can also go to the beautiful and serene beach at Thevanampattinam, 4 km away. You can also find a minor port over there.
Don't miss the "Paadaleswarar Temple", "Devanadha Swamy Temple" and "Sri Veera Anjaneya Swami" Temple - near to Bus stand and railway station - Thirupapuliyur. Also You can visit the " Sri Pidari Amman Temple" adjacent to the Brahannayaki Temple - Both these 2 temples are very close to the bus stand / Railway Station.
Buy
You can buy good variety of Clay dolls for Navarathri from nearby place Vandipalayam (about 2 km). Also, there is a town called Panruti, 12 km from here, which is famous for its Palaa Pazham (Jack fruit), Cashew nuts, and ground nuts. Panruti dolls are also famous. This town is easily accessible by frequent local buses.
Eat
A good number of hotels and lodges are here. South Indian and North Indian food are available in these hotels.
There are good number of hotels available near Cuddalore Bus Stand and the Railway station. Cuddalore is one of the places where you can get the authentic South Indian food.
Be warned : All the hotels serve full meals only till 4 PM ! You can not get tiffin like Idli, dosai etc till after 4-30 PM
Drink
Sleep
Get out
The entire visit may take about 10 - 12 hours and then you can leave for Pondicherry, now renamed as Puducherry, 18 km from here, of the erstwhile French territory; or to Chidambaram another town 50 km away famous for its Nataraja Temple.