WelcomHeritage Calve, Puducherry

 

Auroville (7 Kms)

Auroville or the ‘City of Down’ was conceived as a utopian paradise by the Mother, the spiritual successor of Sri Aurobindo. The idea was to build a futuristic city where people of goodwill would live together in peace and harmony. Auroville came into existence in 1968. The Auroville Charter says “To live in Auroville one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness” and describes it as belonging to “nobody in particular, but to humanity as a whole and as being a place of constant progress and a bridge between the past and the future”.

Auroville Beach (7 Kms)

The Auroville Beach as the name indicates is close to Auroville. It is right off the ECR, opposite the road leading to Auroville. Located around 12 kms from the main Puducherry  town, its shallow waters and small waves make it an ideal place of swimming. It is a fairly popular destination on weekends. On weekdays it is relatively less crowded.

Beaching in Puducherry (600 Meters)

Any trip to Puducherry  would be incomplete without a visit to its beaches. Though it’s hot and muggy through most of the year, Puducherry  has four main beaches which are fairly popular with tourists and locals alike. As opposed to the rest of India, the beaches here are relatively clean and not as crowded.

Promenade

The 1.5 km long promenade running along the beach is the pride of Puducherry . There one can relax or take a stroll at any time of the day. On the sea front are several land marks. The War memorial cold and dispassionate throbbing the memory of last dreams, the statue of Joan of Arc blazing an inspiration, the heritage town hall, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi standing tall, Dupleix statue, old light house, the remains of the old pier, the old customs house, speak the splendor of the by gone era. The well furnished tourist information centre is situated in esthetically heritage building facing the sea to cater to the need of visiting tourists.

Paradise Beach (400 Meters)

Located 8 kms. from the town, along the Cuddalore Main Road this beach can be accessed from the Chunnambar Resort. Flanked by a quiet flowing creek on one side, the beach can only be accessed by boat

Temples in Puducherry (200 Meters)

Though the temples in Puducherry  are not as well known as their more famous counterparts in towns like Tanjavur or Chidambaram, they are charming in their own unique way, with some of them even dating back to the 10th Century AD Chola period.

Manakula Vinayagar Koil (200 Meters)

This temple is more than 300 years old and is dedicated to Ganesha. It has a golden spire and walls portraying forty different forms of Ganesha. The temple also has a smaller shrine dedicated to Lord Murugan, who is Ganesha’s younger brother. Over 5000 devotees flock to this site everyday. The temple compound also plays host to ‘Lakshmi’, the temple elephant, who uses her trunk to dispense blessings and to collect coins from the devotees.

Churches In Puducherry

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (2 Kms)

Located on Subbayah Salai, this white and brown neo-gothic church is one of Pondy’s finest Catholic churches. It was built by French missionaries in the 1700’s in a contrasting Neo-Gothic manner, with towers flanking a central gable and stained glass windows on the side. The church has an imposing entrance and the beautiful stained glass panels depict incidents from Jesus Christ’s life. Further along the southern boulevard is the cemetery which has some interesting tombs with ornate marble decorations.

 

Church of the Capuchins (1 Kms)

Located on rue Dumas, this is one of the first churches to be built in Puducherry . Even though it was one of the very few buildings that partially survived the destruction of the town in 1761, it is a mere shadow of its past glory, except for its rather interesting gable. Today, it houses an orphanage.

Notre Dame de’

Located on Mission Street, this cathedral, which bears a strong resemblance to a church in France, was built in 1791 in the place of a former church. The imposing façade presents paired Doric columns below and ionic above. In front of the church is a statue of Our Lady with the infant Jesus in her arms. The interior design consists of eight barrel vaults and a central dome pierced with eight circular openings.

The Notre Dame des Anges

The Church of our Lady of the Angels on rue Romain Rolland was built in 1852 in the Greek Roman architectural style. Its façade, flanked by two unadorned square towers, faces east towards the ocean. The interior is roofed by a barrel vault, witha great dome rising over the crossing. The pastel peach and lime colours give it a very serene appearance.

This church is also famous for its rare oil painting of Our Lady of the Assumption, which was a gift from the French emperor, Napoleon III. The cemetery next to the church has the tomb of Marquis de Bussy (dated 1785), who was one of Dupleix’s most enterprising followers.

Beach Road (600 Meters)

No visit to Puducherry  is complete without a walk along beach road. Friday, Saturday and Sunday and holiday evening are busiest. The Police close both end of the road for vehicular traffic. Beach road has little of architectural interest, but oceans of simple charm and officially called Goubert Avenue.

Children’s Park & Dupleix Statue (900 Meters)

It is a seaside park with a statue of a Dupleix. Marquis Joseph Francois Dupleix was an integral part of Puducherry ’s colonial past. He was the governor of Puducherry  between 1742 and 1754. The 2.88 m tall statue of Dupleix stands at the southern end of the park. Even though Dupleix left Puducherry  in 1754, French recognition of his contribution came only in 1870, with the commissioning of two statues-one in Puducherry  and the other in France.

The Mairie

Located on Goubert Avenue, this charming white building, facing the sea almost transports you to France. Use your imagination a little and you could very well be on a French sea side resort. Today it houses the offices of the Puducherry  Municipality

Le Café (800 Meters)

It was once the port office when the railway ran along Beach Road from the South Boulevard to the old 240 meters iron pier. A cyclone in 1952 largely destroyed the pier whose remains can still be seen poking out of the water

Gandhi Statue

This is a highlight of Puducherry . A four-meter statue of Mahatma Gandhi is surrounded by eight magnificent granite pillars, which were supposedly brought from Gingee, a fort some 70 Kms. from Puducherry .

Chunnambar Backwater

Chunnambar is situated 8 kms from Puducherry , along the Cuddalore Main Road. This tropical paradise is flanked by a quiet-flowing creek on one side. You can sail downstream to the sands and pitch up a cozy seaside tent for yourself. Overnighting within the tree-houses on the backwater banks provides a relishing experience of the great outdoors.

Botanical Gardens (1 Kms)

The Botanical Gardens are located south of the New Bus Stand. The gate leading to the garden is reminiscent of French architecture and it stands out from its immediate surroundings because it is smack in the middle of the old Tamil town. The Botanical Gardens were laid out in 1826 in the ornate French style, with pruned trees, beautiful flower beds and gravel lined paths and fountains. The French introduced many exotic plants from all over the world, many of which thrived. With over 1500 species of plants, this could actually qualify as one of the best botanical gardens in South India.

Bharathi Park (3 Kms)

The Government Park or Bharati Park is in the green centre of the French Town and its lush trees provide ample relieve from the scorching sun on a hot summer day. With children playing in ponds, on their hill or in the traffic park, grown-ups sitting or lying on granite benches, families on a picnic and occassional sit-ins of striking citizens, the park is the most appreciated public area in town. Strolling under the cool trees is as dynamic as it gets. Unless people rush to the spot when an occassional movie is being shot.

Keezhoor (30 Kms)

There is a huge banyan tree near the village here. The canopy of the 400 year old tree covers a few acres at the very least. Kizhoor a border village is situated at a distance of nearly 28 kms from Puducherry . It is a historic place in the sense that it is here only in the year 1954. Voting took place for the merger of Puducherry  with the Indian Union. As part of the celebrations of 50th Anniversary of De-facto Puducherry , a permanent Exhibition of paintings relating to the merger of Puducherry  was opened at the Kizhoor Monument.