Explore Pondicherry below 10K

What excites you about Pondicherry? Beaches, University, French architecture, Monuments, Food or Cafes? If you’re a traveller like me, the answer would be; An itinerary consisting of ‘populars’ among all these. However, there is a disclaimer. Pondicherry isn’t an island!!! Several people, including me, picture it as an Island with a cool and moderate climate but it’s not. It’s another moderately populated city (union territory) situated 150km from Chennai and on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

Note: Many travel bloggers and agencies keep harping about planning a budget trip. I think it’s up to us. The two major stakeholders which sweep our pockets are basically travelling fares and lodging costs. Minimise these two and you’re good to go. Others are manageable, I suppose.

How to Reach:

Pondicherry is well-connected with roadways and railways. There is an airport too but direct flights are rare. From whichever place you’re travelling, your Pit Stop should be Chennai. You can choose whichever mode according to your convenience and budget. From Chennai, trains run at regular intervals, mostly locals which will take around 4-5 hrs. However, buses appear more convenient. I would recommend the electric buses (NueGo) which are both luxurious and comfy. It can be booked through Redbus or the NueGo website. Make sure to enter the Pickup point correctly. Those who wish to travel from Delhi can take Duranto Express (commuting on Tuesday and Saturday) which will drop you in 29 hours. The ticket fare for 3AC is around Rs. 3400/- and if you exclude the catering, you’ll get a discount of Rs. 800/-. Since dynamic pricing is applicable, fares are subject to change according to the availability of seats.

Best time to visit: Summers are usually hot. So it’s winter (Oct- Feb) but avoid the monsoon season. Since Chennai is a coastal area, do check the weather forecast for disturbances, if any.

Duration: Minimum 2 days. Maximum it’s up to you. A day extra if you wanna visit Mahabalipuram.

Key Sites to Explore:

Day 1: White Colony, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Manakula Vinayagar Temple, Pondicherry Museum, The Sacred Heart Basilica, Statue of Gandhi, French War Memorial, Pondicherry Light House, Beaches such as Paradise Beach, Promenade Beach, Rock Beach and Pondi Marina. Note: These places are located within a radius of 2 km.

Day 2: Auroville and other places.

Day 3: Mahabalipuram

Best Way to Explore: Hire a Scooty/Bike on rent. You can rent a scooty for a day at around Rs. 350- 500 and Royal Enfield around 1000/-. You can check out Sri Dhanam Rental, located near the Pondicherry bus stand for affordable pricing. Otherwise, hotels/resorts/homestays personnel can also give you leads. If you’re hiring an auto-rickshaw, check the price on Ola/Uber as they’ll quote much higher prices than usual.

Day 1 itinerary (better if followed in order)

1. Sacred Heart Basilica:

Marvel in structure (Gothic Revival Architecture), I would say, start your journey from here. It can be a bit crowded but you can sit inside the church for some time to feel its divinity. A statue of Jesus Christ is placed at the centre. The church is open all day from 5 am to 8 pm.

2. Pondicherry Museum:

I don’t have any other pictures other than this, the reason for which you already know. This place has the repository of art, culture and history of Pondicherry. You’ll be transported back to the French and British days. It’s quite entertaining to take a round at this place.

3. Aayi Mandapam:

Not exactly a place to explore, but you can still take a round in this park to see people engaged in different kinds of activities. It’s near the Pondi Museum and is also known as Monument du Parc or White Monument.

Situated in the centre of Bharati Park and built during the time of Napoleon III, Emperor of France, the monument commemorates the provision of water during French rule. The initial word ‘Aayi’ is symbolic of the lady courtesan named ‘Ayi’ who destroyed her own house to construct a reservoir to supply water for the city.

4. Craft Baazar:

I know you’re desperate to view the beach. I’ll take you there by the lunch-time. You’ll get to know the reason shortly. Meanwhile, you can visit here:

This exquisite market, promoted by the Department of Tourism and run mostly by women, showcases different art and handicrafts. The pricing is affordable, still, there is a chance of bargaining when you purchase 3-4 items. Whosoever visiting Pondi, I would advise you to take some souvenirs to reminisce about your visit.

5. Mahatma Gandhi Statue and Old Light House:

These are the two memorials located in the White Town near the Beach Road. You can take a glance.

I ain’t sure whether you can enter into this lighthouse or not. However, I’ll recommend another one, on the way to Pondi Marina where you can visit.

5. Beach Road:

Intezar khatm hua! It’s the street road which runs parallel to the cluster of beaches such as Rock, Paradise and Promenade. The road is closed for vehicles to avoid traffic.

These beaches are clean and well-maintained and strolling on the road beside is one of a kind feeling. You can hear the roar of the sea, the rustling of the breeze and the hustle-bustle of the city simultaneously. Sit on the rocks near the edge of the sea and watch the waves thumping it endlessly till you feel hungry.

6. Dine at Le Cafe with Sea- view:

This is the reason why I didn’t take you to the beaches earlier. Till the time you reach here, you might be hungry and there is no better option than dining at Le Cafe, which is located just where the waves of the sea culminate.

I’ve included the menu. There are veg and non-veg options. Enjoy your favourite food with the sea view. It’s a self-service thing. The wait might be a little longer than usual. Till then, enjoy the view!

Note: You might be wondering as to why I didn’t include White Town in my itinerary. Actually, all these places are situated in and around the White Town/colony only. So if you’re exploring these plays, you’re roaming in the French settlement which you can identify from the colour and structure of the building.

Let’s begin our post-lunch session.

7. Aurobindo Ashram:

The first thing I would suggest you do after lunch is to visit ‘Aurobindo Ashram’. Literature people might be familiar with Aurobindo’s Savitri, subtitled ‘Legend and Symbol’ which is a poem in verse. It’s open all day in a week and the visiting hour is 8 am to 11:30 am and 2 pm to 5:30 pm.

It’s the memorial of a saint, philosopher and writer Sri Aurobindo where he spent the rest of his days after retiring from politics. You’ve to keep your footwear outside (service is free of cost) and switch off your phone before entering. Silence should be maintained as several people practise meditation there. After paying homage to Sri Aurobindo, one can take a look at the bookstore which also includes several photographs/memoirs associated with him. I purchased two books In the Hour of God and Thoughts and Aphorism, besides a couple of photographs. The price is decent. You can check out the website for further information.

8. New Lighthouse:

Though I missed this one as I reached there 15 minutes later than the closing time, I don’t want you to miss the opportunity to visit there. There is only 3 hr window i.e. 2 pm – 5 pm during which you can pay the visit.

9. Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Devasthanam:

Before leaving for the last destination of the day, do visit this magnificent temple, dedicated to Lord Ganesha.

You can seek respite and calm yourself here for some time in the divine atmosphere of this temple. There are several shops around the temple where you can shop for miniatures, decorations, idols of God and Goddesses, artworks and handicrafts. You can visit the temple in the morning from 5:45 am to 12:30 pm and in the evening, the timing is 4 pm to 9:30 pm.

10. Pondi Marina:

It’s also a beach but with a difference. First, it has a significantly larger area where you can enjoy camel rides, boating, besides other activities. Second, the road extends parallel to the sea up to around 1.5 km where you can relish driving. The third and most important is that on the other side, there is the touch of cosmopolitanism.

There are several outlets providing different kinds of foods, beverages, and desserts. A part of the complex is designated for fun, especially for children where toy Train, Swings etc are there to entertain them.

You can always go back to the White Town and the Beaches to see them drenched in lights in the night. The ambience is great at night too. Since cafes don’t interest me much, I can’t recommend any. However, you can always surf the net to find one with good ratings. However, I can suggest a good restaurant to relish south-Indian delicacies at affordable prices.

11. Dinner at Atherai Veg Restaurant A/C:

For the exact location, use Google Maps. They work pretty well here.

We took a homestay for day 1, Villa Shakti, which costs around Rs. 1800/- (breakfast and swimming pool included) for three people. The deal was good so you can think of it as an option.

Itinerary for Day 2:

We stayed in De Luma Beach View Hotel for day 2. The hotel and its services were okayish against the money they charged (2500/-) for three people. The breakfast was also average. The reason for booking is to have the beach view but aisa kuch nhi tha. The beach and hotel are separated by a highway and the view is mostly eclipsed by the trees. However, the purpose of our stay was justified when we found a beach in proximity to it.

12. Auroville Beach:

Unlike the beaches I mentioned above, this beach isn’t just for sightseeing but bathing as well.

I would not call it a well-maintained beach, however, good in the sense that it was near to my hotel (only 300m) where one can take bath and return back to the hotel to take bath again. It’s also devoid of the crowd. There are 3-4 dhabas run by locals on the coast where you can dine. They mostly provide non-veg.

13. Aroville:

This is the single place which draws many tourists from all over India and the World. Set up by the mother of Sri Aurobindo, it’s also known as Matrimandir. If you wanna explore this place to the fullest, you need to dedicate 3-4 hrs. You can either choose to walk amidst nature or take the bus which plies at regular intervals. There was some construction work going on, hence, we were not allowed inside the temple.

It’s a city in itself having a unique vision spread over a considerably large area. The site is located approximately 1 km from the starting point. The idea is;

“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 realise human unity“                        (source: https://auroville.org/)

For further information/opportunities, do check its website before visiting. The request to view the inner part of the temple can be made through the site.

Near the entrance to Auroville, you can find several shops, selling the items manufactured by this society, uniquely crafted handicrafts, paintings, photographs etc. Many food outlets are there serving various cuisines. But I would advise you to check its canteen, specifically Thali, which serves regional dishes as well.

I couldn’t explore more as we had to catch a train back to Chennai. The trip to Auroville turned out to be a time-consuming and tiring affair. However, if you’ve enough time and energy left, you can check out the remaining places as well;

Mahabalipuram is located on the way between Chennai and Pondicherry. It can be explored in a day trip. I’ll be dealing with it in a separate blog post.

P.S.: Check the gallery below for exquisite photographs and information. Also, Heartiest Thanks @Suman and @Rahul for accompanying me.

©Shashank

All the images and content are subject to copyright. Give due credit while using.