Silver Beach is a beach on the southeast coast of India. It is located from downtown

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is a heavy industries hub and a port city, and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important city and port during the Britis ...

, the headquarters of

Cuddalore district Cuddalore District is one of the 38 List of districts of Tamil Nadu, districts in the States and union territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu in India. History Since ancient times, the old town has been a seaport. Through the centuries, Cu ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. Silver Beach, however, is untouched by the busy life of the city. It is the second longest beach on the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

and one of the longest beaches in Asia. The 57 km-long stretch of beach faces severe seafront erosion.

Transportation

There are town buses which ply frequently between Cuddalore town bus stand and Silver Beach. It is also accessible via Taxis and Autos from different parts of the town.

Water sports

To the south of the beach the South Cuddalore Bay area appears as if it is a separate island. The backwater separating the main beach from the island-like structure is a safe place for

water sports Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ...

. Boats are not available for rent currently as the boat house has been closed.

Mangrove

To the west a river flows into dense

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

forests teeming with birds. On the coast there is century-old

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

. A few resorts have sprung up in the area. Most of these are sponsored by the state government for promoting tourism.

Forts in the beach

Silver Beach is also the location of Fort St. David, which has a long history as one of the three important

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

s built by the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. An arts college, Periyar College of Arts and Science, is situated near the beach. There are summer festivals celebrated in Silver Beach yearly during April or May.

Tsunami

The beach was struck by the 2004 Asian tsunami. It was the second most heavily affected area, after

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

, Tamil Nadu. The death toll at Silver Beach was more than 2,700.

References

* http://www.tourism-of-india.com/tamil-nadu-tour/cuddalore-tour.html Beaches of Tamil Nadu {{Cuddalore-geo-stub