The coastal town of Puducherry with a French ambience is known for its serene atmosphere. Legend associates ancient Puducherry with great Hindu sage Agastya. Sri Aurobindo Ashram and the nearby Auroville International Township lend a unique spiritual flavour to the city. The city nurtured two great Tamil revolutionary poets, Sri Subramani Bharathi and Sri Bharatidasan.
The climate is tropical (between 18o C and 38o C) with two monsoons, having fairly heavy rainfall in November and very moderate rainfall in July. The city is the capital of Union Territory of Puducherry with a Legislative Assembly and an imposing Chief Secretariat. Total population is 0.8 million with very high literacy and total area of 492 square km. Puducherry is 160km down south from Chennai well connected by bus through East Coast Road. To reach Puducherry by Rail, one has to travel for 3 hours from Chennai to Villupuram and change over to meter gauge train for the last lap of about one hour.
Places to Visit :-
Chidambaram :-
Between two rivers in a 40 acre temple-complex, lies the temple of Chidambaram, one of the oldest, and most magnificent temples of South India. Shiva Natraja (the Dancing Shiva) stands in his cosmic dance pose in the golden sanctum sanctorum. Flanking the temple are 108 sculptured illustrations of Bharat Natya Shashtra.
Kanchipuram :-
The temple town of Kanchipuram, 64 kms from Chennai, was the ancient capital of the Pallavas. Famous as a city of 1000 temples, it still has 124 shrines. The first temple, dedicated to Shiva, was built in the 7th and 8th century and has paintings on the walls. The temples of Ekambaswara, Kailasanatha, Sri Kamakshi and Varadarajaswamy are also of interest. Kanchipuram, also called Kanjeevaram, is also famous for its silks.
Madurai:-
Madurai's famous Meenakshi Temple, with its gopurams rising high above the surrounding countryside, is dedicated to Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva. Also visit the Tirumala Nayak Palace, a gracious building in the Indo-saracenic style, famous for the Stuccowork on its domes and arches; the Alagar Hills; and the Tirupara Kundran Rock temple
Kodaikanal :-
120 kms from Madurai, Kodaikanal is a charming hill station situated amidst the grandeur of the southern crest of the upper Palani hill in the Western Ghats, at a height of 2135 mts. Its tranquil lake framed by wooded hills, mighty rocks, slopes and enchanting waterfalls mesmerize visitors. It is noted for hybrids and grafts, hill plantain, fruits and plums and the Kurunji flower which blossoms once in 12 years
Mahabalipuram :-
Mahabalipuram is famous for its' seven pagodas - a group of ancient rock hewn temples on the seashore. They are an excellent example of the Dravidian style of architecture. Mahabalipuram itself is a good example of a temple town, where a multi layered society that preached faith and grew from social harmony developed within the temple precincts
Access:
By Air
Pondicherry does not have any airport with in its boundary. But it lies very close to Chennai, which has an international airport. Chennai is accessible from all over the country. Almost all public and private airlines operate regular flights to and from Chennai
By Road
A good road network, originating from National Highway 45, covers Pondicherry. The most convenient way to Pondicherry is either from Chennai (150kms) and Bangalore (320kms).
By Rail
The nearest railhead is Villupuram (36 kms), which is connected to Chennai and Madurai / Trivandrum. One can also take a train from Bangalore to Cuddalore and then reach Pondicherry by road.
