Pondicherry

• Capital: Pondicherry
• Language: French, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English.
• Best Season: September-March
• Weather: Summers 22°-37°C. Winters 19°-32°C

Places to See Around

Arikamedu Akalankannu Karaikal Sandy Beach Aurobindo Ashram Jawahar Toy Museum Saneeswara Temple Statue of Dupleix Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple Kanniga Parameswari Temple Raj Niwas (Palais du Gouvernement) Plage Paradiso Thirukundangudimahadeva Temple Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus Auroville City Botanical Garden and Aquarium Pondicherry Museum Plage Paradiso (Paradise Beach) Serenity Beach Romain Rolland Library Raj Niwas

The coastal union territory Pondicherry lies on the Coromandel Coast where the balmy breeze gently swishes across the palm fronds. To know more about Pondicherry, we have to flick through the musty pages of history books which testify Pondicherry's past as a former French colony.

Pondicherry's claim to fame rests in Mahe, Yanaon and Karikal, an integral part of its geographic dominion. The union territory is also famed to be a noted seaport that recounts several heroic maritime sagas. The union territory, an erstwhile French settlement for over 300 years lies approximately 160 south of the urban metropolis of Chennai. In fact even today visitors can catch occasional snatches of the French culture, prevalent in certain regions.

 

The union territory of Pondicherry surrounded hugging the voluminous Bay of Bengal on one side and encircled by Tamil Nadu's South Arcot on the other side is nothing short of a tropical paradise. The facts on Pondicherry reveal that the puny and picturesque union territory encompasses an area of approximately 480 sq. km.

The sea facing district is bound by the Bay of Bengal in the east while Tamil Nadu's South Arcot District forms the rest of the geographic boundary. The puny union territory encompasses an area of 492 sq. km and extends across the latitudinal parallel of 11°83' North and the longitudinal meridian of 79°83' East.

There are a multitude of options for reaching Pondicherry. Regular buses carrying bus load of tourists ply to and from the city. Located a mere three and a half hours away from Chennai, visitors often drive down to the sun kissed paradise. Although infrequent, occasional trains also travel through the union territory.  

 

The tropical paradise of the union territory of Pondicherry with its exotic cocktail of the sun kissed white sands and the emerald green seas and plenty of bright sunshine is an irresistible attraction for tourists all across the world. The salubrious Pondicherry weather undoubtedly augments the tourism potential of the union territory.

The archetypal tropical climate characterizes the Pondicherry weather. Searing hot summers and mild winters define the weather of the coastal union territory. Driving monsoon downpours when the overlooming nimbus clouds unfold to unveil a rich blue skies are also typical of Pondicherry. The months spanning between January to July are usually dry while October, November and December witness pouring rains that nearly wash away the coastal villages. Often, it also rains cats and dogs in the stretch extending from July to September. Seasonal showers brought forth by the northeast monsoon are also not an unusual affair.

 

Tourism in Pondicherry is an essential component of its service sector. The strategic location, awe-inspiring natural beauty, coupled with its French past and cultural heritage make Pondicherry tourism a major tourist destination. Over the last few years, Pondicherry tourism attracted a good number of domestic as well as international tourists from all parts of the world and this number is growing steadily every year.

Pondicherry has potential to improve and carve out a special place for itself on the world tourism map. Pondicherry tourism plans to convert this tranquil beach town from a day trip and weekend destination to a long haul destination. In order to move in this direction, Pondicherry tourism is upgrading hotel infrastructure to acceptable service standards, identifying potential new tourist sites, developing physical infrastructure, opening Pondicherry tourism reception centers at all major cities across India , introducing tourism related courses , training Pondicherry tourism guides , and promoting tourist attractions, heritage sites and arts and culture of Pondicherry.