A short guid to Pondicherry

Introduction:

As fancy as the very name, Pondicherry is filled with life. Just like the Pink city Jaipur, the white city is Udaipur, the orange city Nagpur, and Pondicherry is considered to be the ‘Yellow city’. With its full French-influenced building and life, Pondicherry has a very beautiful French yet Indianised vibe.

It is possible for travellers to come across a lot of peaceful, fancy and beautiful buildings in the form of aesthetic cafés, beaches and also ashrams.

It’s important to consider your budget and pre-book the stay because the resorts in Pondy are a little bit on the pricey side. With all that being said, the best month to visit this place is anywhere between the start of October to March and Pondy is also considered to be the ideal and safe place for solo women travellers.

With its considerably small area yet huge travel attraction, it is possible to experience this whole city calmly in 4 days maximum but to only see the famous areas, 2-2.5 days will be more than sufficient without hassle. Here are a few beautiful travel attractions that you could enjoy while you plan your visit to the beautiful yellow city.

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Paradise Beach – Pondicherry.

The first, very famous hangout spot should always be Paradise beach which is 8km away from the city. It can be reached through the boat available in the boat house like Chunnambar boat house. To reach the boat house, one can either go for public transport or a rickshaw. It takes 10-15mins for either of them to reach the boat house. The beach opens at 9 a.m and closes at 6 p.m. costing 150 Rs. per head (+20INR for a camera).

The best aspect of this beach is the calm aura filled with huts built all over the shore as shade thus making it a great destination. The services offered here are a bit expensive. Hence, it’s important to keep that in mind. Apart from that, it’s a beautiful island to spend some quality time with your cherished circle.

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

The second is a very peaceful place to visit. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram that’s located on one of the very famous streets in Pondicherry the ‘ white town’. The general timings mentioned in the official website fall right between 4.30 a.m to 11.00 p.m. Visitors are allowed only between 8.00 a.m – 12.00 p.m and 2.00 p.m to 4.00 p.m with no entry fee.

This is an awesome place for hectic travellers to take a break from their busy day and meditate or rest for a solid 1-2 hours in a very positive space.

Historic places in Pondicherry:

The third includes all historical and aesthetic places being French war memorials. It allows travellers as early as 10.00 a.m till 5.00 p.m. with the entry ticket pricing of 10₹ per person. The other aesthetic place in this category is the Pondicherry museum. As nice as this place feels it is important for one to pre-book your visit which can be 24hrs before the visit if the situation demands.9i rt6

The entry fee here is ₹10 for Indian adults, ₹5 for kids and ₹50 for NRI. It’s filled with lush greenery and deep history thus being an ideal place for all the history mates out there.

Auroville – Matrimandir.

One other best and most beautiful place for any visitor is Auroville – Matrimandir which is half an away from the city. Its visitor time is limited but the walk through the area is the best experience. Visitors are allowed in the times’ phase from 10:00 am to 11:00 am and 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm on all days except Tuesdays.

Not just for its beautiful experience but also for a very strong spiritual vibration. This spot has attracted a huge amount of attention from different parts of the world. With this, as an add-on, there is no entry fee for this place as well. Hence being a perfect place for taking pictures and also meditating.

Add on :

Apart from these beautiful places, Pondy is filled with a lot of beautiful cafés and restaurants. For vegetarians, there is a classic OG, Hotel Jayaram that is located right in the middle of the town. It’s bliss to have a luxurious French brunch or dinner in Cafe Des arts, situated in the white town with an aesthetic setup and royal taste.

To not cut the pockets it is advisable to visit the Pondicherry chat market. They sell amazing chat foods (cheese pav is a must-try dish). There are other budget-friendly yet tasty hotels in that city, thus Rolex hotel.

A nice pocket-friendly place to have great non-veg food.

With all this being said Pondicherry is a beautiful place to plan your short vacation with or without a fancy budget. With its beautiful streets and excellent beach walk Pondicherry will heal your hectic soul without tearing your pocket. Have a safe and happy journey.