Pondicherry also known as Puducherry, still maintains the French flavor in terms of appearance and feel has long beautiful beaches. The best places to visit in Pondicherry are Arabhindho Ashram, Auroville,, Museum, Manakula Vinayakar Temple and Panchavadi Temple. A few budget hotels in Pondicherry city along with a few beach resorts in the sea shores makes this an exciting place to visit for all sector of people.
The major attractions in Pondicherry are its long beaches and beaches such as Paradise Beach, Promenade Beach, Auroville Beach, Serenity Beach and Veerampattinam Beach makes the city as one of the exciting places in the country. A few of these beaches offers nice boating experience and restaurants around the beaches makes this city as a major tourist spot in South India.
The temples in and around Pondy such as Manakula Vinayakar Temple and Panchavadi Temple are popular tourist spots. The tourist places in and around Pondy are Cuddalore and Chidambaram. The Natarajar Temple and Mangrove Forest in Pitchavaram are exciting places in Chidambaram to visit and enjoy.
From Chennai, Pondicherry is well connected by East Coast Road also known as ECR. A bike trip in ECR to Pondicherry is favorite among bikers community and car trip to Pondy via ECR are major attractions in ECR.
As the name suggests this beach is a best place to visit in Pondicherry. The major attractions in this beach is its hosts of benefits – from food and beverages to showers and restrooms, all just a few meters away. Swimming is permitted close to the shore only in the beach. A short boat ride to reach this destination is popular among all the tourist and it is a must visit place.
Promenade Beach is a place to visit in Pondicherry. The beach extends to around 1.5 km long and one can go for a long and relaxed walk. The roads on the shores are closed to vehicle traffic during mornings and evenings to ensure safety to tourists and thus it becomes exciting place to kids and families. Overall tourist can enjoy the ambience without pollution and fear of speeding vehicles.
Auroville Beach popularly referred to as Auro beach situated close to Auroville is a major tourist spot among the swimmers and surfers. The shallow waters and small waves make it best place to swim and relatively bit crowded during weekends. The major attraction in this beach is its surfing facility and both beginners and professionals can hone their skills.
Serenity Beach is one of the exiting places to visit and it is situated near to Auroville. The beach offers surfing facility and thus becomes one of the popular tourist spot among the surfers of all kinds. Fishing boats are parked on the shore and one can see kids do summersaults off the deck. The beach produces bigger waves and it is always safe to stay near the shore and play.
Veerampattinam is the biggest coastal village and a popular tourist place situated between Pondicherry and Cuddalore. The major attraction in the beach is its longest stretch and surroundings. A large number of people sun bathe and relax on the beach almost round the year and thus makes this as a best place to visit.
The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is a spiritual community (ashram) located in Pondicherry. In the sadhana or spiritual discipline at the Ashram, there are no obligatory practices, no rituals, no compulsory meditations or systematic instructions in Yoga. The Ashram provides its members with all they need for a decent and healthy life.
In Ashram there are various departments have been organised to look after the basic requirements of food, clothing and shelter, as well as medical care. There are also libraries for study and facilities for a variety of cultural pursuits.
Auroville (City of Dawn) is an experimental township. Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity. In the middle of the town is the Matrimandir, which was conceived by Alfassa as “a symbol of the Divine’s answer to man’s aspiration for perfection.
Silence is maintained inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility of the space and entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called Peace area. Inside the Matrimandir, a spiraling ramp leads upwards to an air-conditioned chamber of polished white marble referred to as “a place to find one’s consciousness”.
Manakula Vinayagar Temple is a Hindu temple in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India. Dedicated to the god Ganesa, it is a popular pilgrimage site and tourist destination in Puducherry. The temple is of considerable antiquity and predates French occupation of the territory.
The Panchavati Panchamukha Anjaneyar Temple is famous for the 36 feet high Lord Hanuman temple believed to be carved out of a single granite stone. The temple premises are well maintained. Another unique thing is a 16 kg stone kept in a vessel just in front of the statue which floats in the water.This temple is closed in the afternoon.
Looking out over the Bay of Bengal, with its frontage facing the rising sun, the church of Our Lady of Angels stands in the former Capuchins’ square, surrounded by the streets Dumas, Surcouf and Romain Rolland. Between the church and the sea lies a little garden, in the middle of which stands a statue of Joan of Arc, armoured and carrying a battle standard.
The Puducherry Museum is located on Saint Louis Street and is open on all days except Mondays and national holidays between 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The museum is located in the former Law Building. The museum has a collection of rare bronzes and stone sculptures from the Pallava and Chola dynasties and artefacts excavated from Arikamedu (an ancient port just 7 kms. from city that had trade links with the Roman empires).
The Pondicherry Museum is an art and history museum located in Pondicherry, India. It is especially noted for its collection of fine lost wax bronzes form the period of the Chola Empire. The Museum’s collection includes 81 Chola bronze sculptures, ranking as one of the largest collections of Chola bronzes.
Chidambaram Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in the heart of the temple town of Chidambaram,Tamil Nadu).The temple , 78 km south of Pondicherry. Chidambaram is one of the five holiest Shiva temples, each representing one of the five natural elements; Chidambaram represents akasha (aether).
Pichavaram the second largest Mangrove forest in the world, near the temple town of Chidambaram, is one of the unique Eco-tourism spots in South India. The backwaters, inter connected by the Vellar and Coleroon river systems, offer abundant scope for water sports, rowing, Kayak and canoeing. The Pichavaram mangroves are considered among the healthiest mangrove occurrence in the world.
Pondicherry, earlier a union territory is now also known as Puducherry is a small state situated in shores of Bay of Bengal. Affectionately called as Pondy, it is one of the French colony before independence. The tradition, culture, language, food, climate, etc., are similar to Tamil Nadu with a difference of French feel in the buildings, houses and streets which are best places to visit in Pondy and spend quality time with family and friends.
The major attractions of Pondicherry are doesn’t dependent on any particular season or climate and the best time to visit is between September to March. The city is usually a bit hot and beaches in Pondicherry makes it cool thus makes ideal to travel during any period. The beach resorts in the shores of sea and best hotels in and around the Pondicherry makes this city as one of the major tourist spot.
Very good article! We are linking to this particularly great content on our site. Keep up the great writing.
Thank you