Budget Trip to Pondicherry (Puducherry) ! Dates Travelled : 15th June to 17th June 2024
Number of Persons : 3
Vehicle : Maruthi WagonR
Fuel Cost (To and Fro) : Rs.3500/-
Toll Charges (To and Fro) : Rs.720/-
Tickets (Auroville , Museum and Beach Parking) : Rs.230/-
Food* (Vegetarian) - 3 days (approx Rs.3500/-). Includes snacks carried, apart from the main course. It would be advisable even to carry home made food for breakfast.
*Cost may vary for Non-Vegetarian food and any additional snacks/ beverages that is bought. Carried Maggi as well just to keep handy in case of a crisis :D
Accommodation : Rs.7250/- including taxes for two nights. (Check in 2.00 pm- Check out 10.00 am)
Travel Time : One way- Approx 7 hours including breakfast and a couple of small breaks.
Road Conditions : Excellent throughout the journey.
Points to be aware :
After Krishnagiri there are no good Restaurants (Veg), so it's recommended to plan having breakfast, either at Hosur Or Krishnagiri. There are tons of Duplicate “Saravana Bhavans” :P though !
From Krishnagiri, there are no proper Travel direction boards to take the exit route from Krishnagiri to Pondicherry, so make sure the Mobiles are charged and follow Google Maps.
Climate : Was 34 to 36 Deg C throughout.
Accommodation Details : Booked a 1 BHK furnished Flat through AirBnB. The flat was located on the second floor, pretty decent, spacious room, sea view (which can change over a few years since rapid construction is going and looks many of the houses are offering their property to AirBnB), neatly maintained with independent entry and exit to the property. Ideal for Budget travellers - 2 or 3 people.
Met expectations on whatever had been shared on AirBnB regarding the property and amenities. Only catch is, if one is looking for a sophisticated or a fancy neighbourhood, then this may not suit some. The neighbourhood though, was calm, with no disturbance whatsoever. But since as a Traveller since most of the time will be spent, visiting the tourist spots during the day, this should not really matter.
Travelling Around : The flat was pretty near to most of the main tourist attractions and hence we could cover the main attractions through walk. If one is used to regular walks- 2 to 3 kms a day, this should be a “Cake walk” :P. Alternately, one can rent a two-wheeler for local sightseeing. I had specifically checked the location so that we do not spend too much time to cover the main attractions. The only exception was the Eden Beach which was approx 12 kms from the property.
Main Attractions :
1. Auroville - Auroville is situated about 11 kms from Pondicherry. I am not going to to describe what is Auroville since much of the information is available on the Internet. We left Bengaluru at 5.00 am in the morning on 15th June and reached the outskirts of Pondicherry around 12.00 pm. Since we had 2 hrs time for checkin, we decided to visit Auroville (which we had was originally planned to visit on Sunday- June 16th). So one place was ticked out of the Travel attractions list right away. There is nothing much inside Auroville, except for the 1.5 - 2 kms walk to the Matrimandir view point. For further details please visit https://auroville.org/. The entrance to Auroville is free, parking for 4 wheeler is Rs.150.We had lunch there which was clean and reasonably priced.
2. Rock Beach : Rock beach was the nearest of the Beaches to the property and at a walkable distance. The Beach surroundings are not that clean but good enough to spend a quiet evening Or to get a good Sunrise from some vantage points. There are some good Restaurants on the beach side, which of course are expensive for obvious reasons.
3. White Town : White town is quite adjacent to the Rock Beach and one can walk through some of the French architecture heritage buildings, including a few housing Government Offices. It is a happening place for youngsters happily posing away for Instagram profile pics. There are a quite a few French delicacy food joints available , including the famous “Baker Street”, to try out some pastries etc.
4. Manukula Vinayagar Temple - Located just a few blocks away from the White Town is the Manukula Vinayagar Temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. It is said to be more than 500 years old. There are nearly forty incarnations of Lord Ganesha carved within the temple. Special and normal Darshan is available.
5. Aurobindo Ashram - Once again located in the White Town and walkable distance from the Manuela Vinayagar Temple, houses the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (Mirra Alfassa) and exhibits the works of the duo about their Spiritual Journey.
6. Eden Beach - Eden Beach is considered has clean surroundings and boasts as the Blue-flag certified Beach in Pondicherry. There is a safe zone where travellers are allowed to enter the Sea Water, Life guards are available and there are separate Cleaning Rooms and Change Rooms available . For people who want to laze out on the Beach for a longer time, there are Paid services available where you can sit under the shade of thatched shelters. Within 1 km of Eden Beach is the Paradise Beach, another Tourist attraction.
These are the places that can be easily covered within two days without a Rush. Mahabalipuram will be another option which is situated within 100 kms from Pondicherry.
Apart from the above, on the way from Bengaluru to Pondicherry, one can also visit the famous Tiruvannamalai temple, Gingee Fort and Satanur Dam if additional time available at your disposal.
Thankyou for Reading through ! Please feel free to share any of your Travel adventures on this Blog ! Checkout below for some Pics Captured at Pondicherry !
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