Puducherry ….Paris of the East….

I started my travel blogs taking you all on a tour of hills and vales of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. This time around I just thought of taking you all to the coastal plains down south. The place of focus is Puducherry which I happened to visit in Oct 2019.

History….

As per historical records Poduke or Poduca (a market place) was a Roman trading destination from 3^rd century BC. In 1674 the French East India Company set up a trading center at Pondicherry. This eventually became the chief French settlement in India. On 18 Mar 1854 the Municipalities passed number of resolutions seeking merger of Pondicherry with India. The de facto transfer of governance took place on 01 Nov1954, however the formal document of transfer was signed on 16 Aug 1962.

The journey….

It was a short and sweet visit as always. I landed in Chennai on 05th Oct 19 with my daughter. My son joined us at Chennai. Three of us took a cab and drove down to Puducherry located approximately 143 Kms further south along the coast. The topography is same as that of coastal Tamil Nadu and average elevation is at sea level.

The weather was lovely and the drive beautiful. After about three hours we reached our hotel located on the Serenity beach Kottakuppam. The first evening was spent enjoying the calm environment on the beach.

Places of Tourist Interests….

Oct to Mar is the best period to visit Puducherry because of the prevalent weather conditions. The sea beaches are the main attractions for the tourists. The main beaches include Auroville, Serenity, Rock/Promenade, Paradise, Karaikal, Mahe and the Quiet beach. Due to excessive corrosion the sand has disappeared from most beaches. Promenade is one of the cleanest beaches you will find in India.

A kilometre plus walk along the Promenade in the evening is a beautiful experience. There are numerous eateries/ restaurants along the Promenade to cater for your palate.

The city has many colonial buildings, statues and churches which preserves the old colonial ambiance. Sri Aurobindo ashram founded by spiritual philosopher Sri Aurobindo is one of the most famous ashrams in India.

Thirukaameeswarar temple is one of the ancient temples located in Villianur. The temple is nearly 1000 years plus and the main deity is Lord Shiva.

We spent the next day of the journey exploring the beaches and other historical places and we started back for Chennai at 7 pm.

It was a short visit but every minute spent in Puducherry was worth it. The time we got to bond as a family made the visit more memorable.

Connectivity….

The airport at Pondicherry has direct flights from Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The nearest Railway station is at Villupuram located 35 kms away. The city is located approximately 143 Kms from Chennai Airport. One can take a bus or a cab from Chennai .

Please enjoy this short slide show of the pictures I had taken on my mobile.

Travel to learn, rejuvenate and building bonds