Street Food To Bazaar Trails: These Curated Walks Will Make You Love Chennai Even More

From two hour walking trails to day trips, go on these specially curated walks by Storytrails and see a side to the city you’ve probably never seen before!

Storytrails helps you explore Chennai through the many stories that it has to offer. They curate walking trails around the city that are based on a particular theme, like a Bazaar Trail or a Food Trail. They help you experience local sights and sounds through the eyes of an expert storyteller who goes way beyond just plain views to unravel characters and customs that bring these places back to life.

Their most sought after trails are the Peacock and Bazaar trails. The Peacock trail entails a walk in Mylapore where tourists get to hear fascinating stories of Gods and demons, of ancient customs and symbolism, and of Mylapore and Madras alike. At the end of the trail, they even get to enjoy a yummy south Indian meal and some filter coffee. The Bazaar Trail takes you on a walk in the bustling market of Georgetown, Sowcarpet where you get to hear about the history, mythology and folklore that’s intertwined into each by-lane of the market.

They also have many other trails, like the Food trail which is all about Chennai street food and the communities that have contributed to the city’s culinary scene, the Jewellery trail where you delve into the making of exquisite hand-crafted Indian jewellery and discover the many myths and stories that lie in its crafting, and many more trails that are all unique on their own.

Storytrails organises tours that happen almost everyday and span for a maximum duration of two and a half hours. If you’re worried that the trails entail too much walking then fear not, auto-rickshaws and Uber rides are used on short stretches if it happens to be too long a walk. If you’re a fitness freak then you might want to check out their Stories On The Run which is an early morning running/jogging trail by the Marina Beach that lets you feast on stories of the British Rule in Madras. They also have a British Blueprint trail where you commute in an air-conditioned coach and discover colonial Madras through the buildings that the British left behind.

You can be a part of these tours by booking a spot for yourself on any of the trails that you’re interested in. The best part about Storytrails is the fact that all their trails are kid-friendly and have no age limit. They host private tours, groups tours and also scheduled group tours where you can join a group of like-minded strangers for a tour of your choice. The tours start at INR 1,100 per head and are inclusive of a water bottle, the commute and some snacks (depending on the kind of trail chosen). So book your tour right away and experience Madras like never before!