Pondicherry | The Indian French colony

Pondicherry is a small French town on the Coramandel coast, just 3 hours away from Chennai and around 6000 miles from France. Mostly known for its architecture and beaches, Pondicherry is a perfect weekend getaway.  

How to get there

The best way to reach there is to drive via East coast road from Chennai. So we landed in Chennai and rented a car which is generally available in most of the metro cities in India. Also having a car of your own helps you explore more freely and without any time constraints, so it’s always a plus.

The road is just amazing in terms of the scenic beauty with Bay of Bengal on your left and cocount trees all along the other end.

There are various other attractions which are there on the way from Chennai to Pondicherry, so its better to keep room for some extra time as it took us almost 6 hours to cover 170 km, which one can easily cover in almost two and a half hours. 

On the Way

Cavelong Beach

It’s around 20 kms from Chennai with a good scenic view which will make you stop and click  photographs. I didn’t find a lot to be explored here so decided to head forward without spending much time.

Crocodile bank

This is a must visit if you are travelling to Pondicherry via ECR. The wildlife park is the house to around 6000+ crocodiles covering almost all the species in the world. It also houses some of the world’s dangerous snakes such as the Great Cobra, Python etc.

Try going there during the lunch hour as you’ll be astonished to see the local staff feeding these giant animals by going in their fences.

Mahabalipuram shore Temple

This is one of the most famous tourist attraction and is situated mid-way between Chennai and Pondicherry. The ancient temple is build right on the shore facing Bay of Bengal. Build in 7^th century it’s known for the stone cravings, cave temple, panch Rathas and statues. Also it has some local shops which are must to explore.

After 6 hours of road trip and stopping at various attractions in between we finally reached Pondicherry in the evening around 7.

Where to stay

There are various options available in terms of stay as it’s the most popular weekend getaways of south India, but if you are planning to stay there on weekends its preferable that you make booking well in advance especially if you want to stay on the Promenade.

On Promenade: You can book any of the hotels, as the view is really worth staying there.

Otherwise: Since I didn’t have any prior bookings, even after scouting 10 hotels on the promenade I wasn’t able to get any decent room.

I finally settled for Hotel Shenbaga, it’s a 4 star hotel which is around 1 km from Promenade and has all the facilities which one could ask for.

Food

There are a lot of cafes present in the white town which offer tons of options especially sea food. Some of the cafes which I would recommend worth trying are:

Le Café: Situated on the promenade this cafe serves coffee 24X7. The best experience was having the cup of coffee at the time of sunrise.

Le Dupleix: It is well known for its sea food and ambiance

Villa Shanti: Again it’s famous for the good food as well as the ambiance. Do make a reservation in advance as it generally has a lot of waiting time. Chocolate éclair is a must try if you plan to visit this cafe.

Café Xtasi: This place is a must for pizza loves and is well known for its wood-fire pizza.

Promenade

Promenade beach or simply Promenade is the rock beach and is the heart of this white town. It’s similar to the Mumbai's Marine drive, but with a little less traffic. Also the road is closed for vehicles from 6PM to 10 AM. Its a 2 km long road which houses hotels, churches and some good cafes on one side and spectacular sea view on the other.

Beaches

There are various beaches present in Pondicherry such as serenity beach, Paradise beach rock beach etc. But most of the beaches which are there in the city are not as well maintained as compared to other beach destinations in India such as Goa or Andamans.

Paradise beach is one of the good beaches which you can go for.  It is around 7km from the city. and you’ll have to take a ferry to get there.

One thing to keep in mind is the beach timing which are 9-5 PM, hence plan accordingly.

Auroville

Auroville is a famous tourist place especially for the meditation and for those with religious beliefs. Its an experimental township with the purpose of realizing human unity. It’s situated around 10 kms from promenade and is made in a circular fashion with a temple in the middle which is well known as “Matrimandir”

The viewing point of Matri mandir is open for the visitors for free from 9-5 PM, but if one wishes to go inside and experience the silence then there are passes which need to be purchased one day in advance from visitor’s center for which timings are:

Mon. to Sat., 9.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.

Sunday, 9.00 a.m. - 13.00 p.m. only

Also there are few shops present within which has some good Indian ethnic collection and things like authentic incense sticks, perfumes etc.

The best part

It’s experiencing the sunrise on the promenade when the nature’s beauty is at its peak. One can sit for hours just to see the orange sky at the dawn. So it’s highly recommended that if you are visiting Pondicherry be ready to sacrifice the morning sleep as its worth of an experience to view Sun’s refection on the sea and the ferries which fishermen usually take out to catch fishes.