What to See in Pondicherry

Pondicherry is just a few hour's drive away from Chennai, the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. With unique French-style villas, the serene Aurobindo Ashram, beaches, chic cafés, and its close proximity to one of the largest cities in India, Pondicherry is a popular destination and has something to offer for everyone.

Pondicherry, also called Puducherry, was a French colonial settlement until 1954. It is now part of the union territory of India, which consists of four other former French India settlements.

We drove from Chennai, Tamil Nadu and visited the Auroville and Panchamukha Anjaneyar temples on our way to Pondicherry, which was where we intended to drop our anchors for the weekend. We took roughly three hours to reach the Panchmukha Anjaneyar Temple, and the road getting there was pretty decent.

There are a number of resorts and restaurants on the way if you wish to stop for breakfast or lunch. We had tea at a small roadside eatery and stopped for the breakfast buffet at Ocean Spray Resort. The buffet had an okay-ish vegetarian spread and cost us around INR 600. The resort, spread over a large property, was well maintained and seemed pretty popular, too; the restaurant was filled with resort guests.

Resorts in and around Pondicherry require booking at least two to three months in advance for December-as this seems to be the most popular holiday season of the year.

From beaches to shopping, here are a few activities we recommend you do while in the area.

Panchamukha Anjaneyar

This temple is located in Panchavati, not far from Auroville. It took us roughly 30 minutes to get to Auroville from here. Though a relatively new temple (it was built in the year 2003), it is truly worth a visit. The deity itself is 36 feet tall.

Panchamukha literally means "five faces", and the deity here has five faces- Anjaneyar in the centre, with Garuda, Hayagreeva, Varaha, and Narashimha being the other four.

The temple is quite huge but the queues are well organized. There wasn't much of a crowd when we visited, though. It's nice as there is ample parking space too.

Auroville

Situated between Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Auroville is a township founded by Mirra Alfassa, referred to as "Mother" by her followers. "Mother" was born in France. Even as a child, she seems to have had psychic abilities and spiritual experiences. When she heard about Sri Aurobindo from her husband, she travelled to Pondicherry to meet him and immediately recognized a mentor in him.

Aurobindo was a well-read scholar and nationalist leader who supported India's independence and was sent to jail for treason. While in jail, he had several spiritual experiences which prompted him to take to spirituality.

Mother settled down in Pondicherry, organized Sri Aurobindo's followers, and created Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville as well.

In the mid-1960s, Mother proposed the idea of a universal township to the government of India, who gave their backing and took it to the General Assembly of UNESCO. In 1966, UNESCO passed a unanimous resolution commending it as a project of importance to the future of humanity. Auroville was thus born. Today, people from many countries choose to stay at Auroville.

The grounds are indeed serene and green. We visited for a short while and were impressed by how the restaurants served organic, tasty food. The lodgings are nestled deeper inside, away from the bustle of daily tourists, so we were unable to see what they were like.

There are shops selling souvenir items, skin care products and clothing. While not inexpensive by any standard, the quality of the products here is quite good. I can say from experience that the cotton outfits are soft on the skin, and the body butters are both mild and awesome.

It's a 15- to 20-minute walk from the main restaurant/shopping area to the "Matri Mandir " viewpoint. The structure is dome-shaped and painted in gold and is quite splendid to behold. If you wish to visit the inner chamber, you need to book in advance.

French Quarter

There are about four streets that make up the French Quarter, and we stayed at one of the boutique hotels here. It seems as though many French-style villas here have been turned into hotels and restaurants.

The street names are delightfully French, with "Rue Dumas" and "Rue Suffren" being a couple of them, and the buildings are all marked by long doors and windows. Many of these buildings do have a lovely "Kolam" (geometric or floral patterns drawn on the floor with rice flour) at the entrance, marking the beautiful blend of Tamil and French cultures.

The streets are narrow, though, which makes driving a little challenging. Thankfully, there are paid parking lots that are quite reasonably priced.

Rocky Beach, the famous Manakkula Vinayagar Temple, Aurobindo Ashram, and shopping streets are all within walking distance from the French Quarter.

Manakkula Vinayagar Temple and Ashram

This is a temple that is dedicated to Lord Ganesh and is over a hundred years old. It's fairly popular among tourists and locals and hence can get really crowded.

This temple, until very recently, housed the elephant Lakshmi. I remember placing bananas on her trunk, which she had stylishly taken to her mouth many years back. She would then put her trunk on your head as you stood bowing before her. Unfortunately, she passed away in the year 2022.

Aurobindo Ashram lies very close to this temple. A couple of interconnected houses make up the spot, and several followers of Sri Aurobindo and Mother live around this area. Tourists usually visit the Samadhis of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo and meditate under the tree here.

There is also a bookshop I recommend. You must keep silent and switch off your phone while inside the ashram.

Rocky Beach and Serenity Beach

Rocky Beach is a lovely stretch of land that I recommend you take the time to see.

As the name suggests, there are huge rocks, but there is a good amount of sand too. You could stand close to the water and wet your feet in the seawater, or you could just find a rock to sit on and watch the waves crashing the shore.

Every rock crevice, unfortunately, has cola cans and plastic covers strewn about; I'd say the beach, while not disgustingly dirty, could certainly be maintained better.

The street facing the beach and the promenade are ideal for a breezy evening stroll or early morning jog. The place is dotted with cafés and boutiques. Since we visited during the yearend, there was some music and dance gig that was going on near the beach, right before the Mahatma Gandhi statue.

Serenity Beach is supposedly the better of the two beaches, but it is on the outskirts of Pondicherry-about a 15- to 20-minute drive from the French Quarter. Sadly, we passed through without stopping by.

Shopping Streets

The area around Mission Street is dotted with several shops. You will find branded stores and roadside vendors as well, jostling for space here. Casablanca on Mission Street is a fun place to shop. There are branded handbags and garment stores nearby as well. In these streets, I took care of my shopping.

There were several shops selling incense sticks and other aroma products. Many shops claim to source incense sticks from Auroville. I have started to use them and find them to be gentle and nice.

Around Manakkula Vinayagar Temple, the roadside shops mostly sell clothes. I found a few shops selling costume jewellery and small craft items that I liked as well.

Pichavaram and Chidambaram

If you are staying for more than two days, you can make a trip to Chidambaram, which is about a two to two-and-a-half-hour car drive from Pondicherry.

Chidambaram

Chidambaram is known for the famous Chimbaram Natarajar temple. This temple was constructed in the 10th century by the Chola kings. The place was really crowded when we visited, with people standing everywhere. Things were a little disorganized, and there were no queues in sight. Some priests offer to take you close to the deity, and you are left wondering what the right thing to do is. This is a pretty huge temple with many legends associated with it; therefore, I'd say this place is probably best visited with a local trustworthy guide.

Pichavaram

Pichavaram is known for its mangrove forest, which is the second largest in the world. The wait time for a boat ride to get close to the mangrove forest could be as high as two hours or more during the holiday season. If you're hoping to avoid such a long way, you should try to make it there earlier in the day (they open at 9 a.m.). During summer, people prefer to take a boat ride in the evenings to avoid getting baked in the day's heat.

Final Thoughts

Until a decade or so ago, French natives could be spotted throughout Pondicherry, but when we visited last month, we didn't see too many.

We visited during the yearend, and the place was indeed crowded with tourists. But even so, Pondicherry does have a laidback vibe to it. Enter one of the cafes that dot the French Quarter, and you can find yourself chatting away for hours. We visited many cafes, and in every place, we were brought the bill only after asking for it. Pondicherry indeed must be heavenly during the off season when there is not much crowd and noise.

Pondicherry, in my view, is for chilling at a café, strolling near the beach and having some quiet, meditative downtime. I suggest you arrive without too strict a checklist, and I hope these recommendations piqued your interest.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional. © 2024 Anupama