AMN/ WEB DESK
The fossil wood park situated near Puducherry holds trees that have turned as fossils is believed to be 20 Million years old.
The National Fossil Wood Park situated in the bordering Thirvakkarai village in Viluppuram District of Tamil Nadu will add a feather to the cap of the tourism map of Puducherry if more infrastructure development is done. Thiruvakkarai is less than 25 Kilo metres from Puducherry.
Situated at the banks of Sankarabarani River in the Puducherry Tamil Nadu border, this national fossil wood park hosts around 200 pieces of stone turned trees that are estimated to be more than 20 Million years old. These trees are believed to have been drifted to this place that might have been formed due to crushed sediments of the Sankarabarani River due to plate tectonics that would have happened millions of years ago.
Even though these trees are scattered in a sprawling 247 acres of land, stone trees that lay in around 15 acres of land are open for the public.
This archeological site attracts only few hundred visitors in a month and mostly during weekends. The poor footfall may be attributed to the lack of infrastructure facility like commuting to this place.This Thiruvakkarai also holds a renowned deity Vakkrakaliamman. This temple is known as a Parihara Sthlam for vakra dosha of malefic places of the planets.
Puducherry which is being given a thrust to tourism by both Central and State Governments, under the BEST Puducherry Project, concentrates more on spiritual tourism. So, if the Puducherry Government concentrates on Spiritual tourism, adding Thiruvakkarai to its map will also help improve the popularity of this fossil wood park.