Pondicherry / Puducherry

Road journey: Chennai – Mahabalipuram – Pondicherry

27 Feb 2016 – 2 March 2016

We arrive at Chennai Airport in the wee hours of the morning, Hop into our pre-booked cab and head towards Puducherry / Pondicherry / Pondy. This is my first visit in Chennai and the the coastal towns of Tamil Nadu. We have been to hill stations of Tamil Nadu viz Ooty and Kodai Kanal.

My love for South Indian food is not limited to the typical Idlis and dosais, I love everything from Meals to dishes like puttu-kadla, payasam, appam, paniyaram; name it all. So we have decided to have authentic food only as long as we are here. After a scrumptious breakfast at the famous Sangeetha restaurant, we hit the road again only to stop at the crocodile park and Mahabalipuram (Click on link below for our Mahabalipuram experience).

Mahabalipuram/ Mamallapuram

Check out our route below.

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Pondicherry was a French Colonial Settlement in India until 1954, its now a union territory. However the French heritage and its culture could be experienced in the French Quarters. The quarters are beautiful with tree lined streets, and gorgeous mustard–coloured villas.

Auroville

Its a planned township designed for entire human kind irrespective of their nationality, colour, caste or creed. The highlight of Auroville is the Matrimandir (Temple of the mother). It is splendid golden dome-like structure from outside. Visit to Matrimandir and its view point are free of cost, but we have to watch a 10 minute video about the vision of this trust, then we are given free passes to go to viewing point.

Cars are to be parked at the visitors center. There is a long walk from here to the view point. We walk our way till the viewing point, take pictures, sit and relax and decide to take the free shuttle back to the visitors center, but have to wait 20 more minutes. It is post lunch time, sun right above our heads, a little late realization but our timings are totally wrong. Me and kids have sun exhaustion and are tired and frustrated. I would recommend auroville visit early morning or late evening.

Visit auroville website for more information on accessing the Matrimandir for concentration. Bookings can’t be done online. It has to be in person a couple of days in advance at the center.

Remember, it is closed on Tuesdays.

Walking Tours are offered on Friday Saturday and Monday at 10.30 am and at 2.30 pm. 

There are shops and cafe’s in and around the visitors center. Shops selling Pure cottons and linens apparels, and at reasonable rates. If you are organic-fabric lover, keep extra time for shopping. Very good cafeteria as well.

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Sea – Side Promenade

A sea-side promenade is a 1.5 km runs along the Bay of Bengal, with several statues along the boardwalk. Reminds much of Mumbai’s Nariman Point. The Promenade is lined up with several 5 star hotels on one side and the Bay of Bengal on the other side. There is Gandhi Memorial, Saint Joan of Arc Statue, French world war I memorial, Kargil war memorial, Pondicherry beach, rock beach all on the same stretch. A very refreshing stretch for morning and evening walks. Very clean and well maintained.

French Quarters

When I walk the streets of the French Quarters, I get vibes like I am a part of the French colony that still survives here. The highlight of the French Quarters are its houses painted in orange, white and peach. Also there is graffiti on the ground as well as on the walls at several places here. A Walk around here is a beautiful experience of the old-world charm.

An interesting fact is that in 1954 when Pondicherry was handed to India, the French nationality residents here were given an option to retain their French passports, even if they decide to stay back in Pondicherry. So, we find several French citizens here, language of communication is French, names of the streets are French as well. The popular restaurants and cafes serve French food and of course the homes are predominantly of French architecture.

Many of these French villas are now converted into homestays, guest houses, hotels or restaurants. The French Quarters (Ville Blanche or white town) and the Indian Quarters (Ville Noire or black town) are separated by a canal. The Heritage Walk in the French Quarter of Pondicherry is through the primary four streets: RUE DUMAS, RUE ROMAIN ROLLAND, RUE SUFFREN and RUE LA BOURDONNAIS. The best way to soak in the French culture is to explore these streets on foot. Simply Google “heritage walk Pondicherry” and you will get several route options. We havent taken any specific route, so no recommendations from me on this one.

Aurobindo Ashram

Founded in 1926, the Aurobindo Ashram is a must visit in Pondicherry. At the center of the ashram in a tree-shaded courtyard, lies the samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Not as magnificient and huge as the Auroville, but we could visit inside and participate in the ongoing meditation.

Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple

Manakula Vinayagar temple is dedicated to the Hindu Lord Ganesha, and is one of the many ancient temples in Pondicherry. It is just a 10 minute walk away from the famous beach road facing the Promenade beach.

Interesting story here as well (I really love stories don’t I?? None of my travel diaries are complete without a story). Ok, so here it goes. A little baby elephant was abandoned by (or got separated from) her herd in 1997, the temple has adopted her, named her Lakshmi and she has been living here ever since. (Update as of Sep 2020: There was a little controversy in Feb 2020, a complaint filed by PETA about animal rights violation and Lakshmi was handed over to forest department, but since her health deteriorated she was then handed back to the temple in July 2020, now she is hale and healthy here.)

So, what is so special about Lakshmi. All devotees visiting this elephant God temple are blessed by the elephant. Check out this video, Lakshmi is blessing Hiren. Its not the greatest of all video shoots, I am still learning video shooting, so please excuse the bad shoot, but you can clearly see Hiren being blessed by Ma Lakshmi.

Pondicherry Beaches

Of course no visit to Pondicherry is complete without a visit to the beaches. I would recommend staying in one of the many resorts located just outside Pondicherry. Most of these resorts have a vast property for the tourists to explore and relax and they also have their own private beach.

We have chosen Club Mahindra for our stay for 4 days ( though I wouldn’t recommend such a long stay at the resort – refer to my ideal itinerary below). Its a magnificent property, beautiful restaurant, delicious food, sports activities and green lush grasslands. And of course each day we have enjoyed a morning walk in the beach along with Yoga and meditation; so serene, so peaceful; the only sounds to be heard are that of swooshing of water and chirping of birds.

And of course, water sports activities could not be missed.

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Best time to visit: Pondicherry has a warm climate all year long. October – March can be considered as the ideal time to visit.

Ideal Itinerary for 5 days

• 1 night – Mahabalipuram.
• 1 or 2 nights – Stay in Pondicherry town, preferably in the French quarters, the experience of the beautiful old villas converted into boutique hotels is one-of-a-kind.
• 2 nights – Stay in one of the several beach resorts outskirts of Pondicherry. Enjoy their private beaches and just chill.

Of course, you have to tweak the above itinerary to fit into your plans.

There are several heritage trails available during sunrise and sunset, walk and cycling options both available. I had intended to take a heritage trail, but we were staying at a resort outskirts of Pondicherry, so were unable to do so. Hence I recommend spending at least a night or 2 in the Pondicherry city preferably at the boutique hotels at French quarter to absorb the culture.

Tip: the sun is very strong at noon here, so time your outings accordingly, plan all outdoor activities in mornings or late evenings. Our Auroville visit in the afternoon turned out to be disaster for me and my kids due to sun exhaustion.

Food Recommendations: I am not giving any food recommendations for Pondicherry, as there are hundreds on internet. But I would surely say that balance your taste buds with French food as well as South Indian food, both are as authentic as it can get. JUST ENJOY FOOD wherever you eat. French cuisine might not be vegetarian or vegan everywhere, so first call the cafe’ and ask about the available options before taking a decision.

Photography: We have a very enthusiastic and talented photographer in our group, hence I have borrowed all the pictures on this page from her collection. Thanks Shweta Khokhani, for saving me from the job of photography on this trip. Only that pathetic video and road map is by the clumsy ME.