| Tourism |
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Puthucherry is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South India. The city has many colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues, which, combined with the systematic town planning and the well planned French style avenues, still preserve much of the colonial ambience. The city's temples and churches and imposing monuments of the colonial era are some of the worth visiting sites in this small port city. But today's attraction of Pondy is due to the presence of Auroville, the city of Dawn. It is a perfect place to search for the Divine. The meditation experience in this spherical house (Matri Mandir) is really exciting.
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| Auroville Ashram |
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It is the biggest of all tourist attractions in Puthucherry. Just because of it, the destination of Puthucherry exudes a spiritual aura. For the weary soul, this is an ideal retreat. Any evening head for the Ashram, meditate, soothe the battered psyche.Auroville is also called the city of dawn. |
This city is still being built. Work on it started in 1968 under the guidance of Sri Ma, the companion of Sri Aurobindo, the great spiritual leader and freedom fighter. The city is a unique venture. It strives to be a model city where people from all communities from around the world will forget their differences and live in harmony as part of the same community.At present the city spreads over 50 square kilometers and is inhabited by about 1700 people, though the capacity is of 50000 people. A circular cover of green surrounds Auroville. The center of the township is marked by the Matri Mandir (temple of the Mother). It serves as the spiritual center of the town. The chief feature of the structure is a 30 meter high globe. The town of Auroville is divided into industrial, residential, cultural, and international zones. Two areas are marked as Green area and Peace area. Auroville is one of the highlights of tourism in Puducherry. |
| This territory is important from spiritual as well as from cultural point of view. |
Thirukaameeswarar Temple is one of the ancient, beautiful, and huge temples that is located in a beautiful rural town called "Villianur" (the ancient name was Vilvanallur, which means "vilva marangal niraindha nalla vur"), which is located about 10 km away (towards Villupuram) from Puthucherry town. This temple is renowned as "Periya Koil", which means "Big Temple" in Puthucherry locality. The prime god is Lord Shiva and the prime goddess is Goddess Kokilambigai. In addition, there are also other Hindu gods such as Murugan, Vinayagar, Thakshanamoorthy, Perumal, Bhramah, Chandikeshwarar, Natarajar, Navagrahah, and 63 Naayanmaars. The pioneers in this temple say that the age of this temple is about 1000+ years. This seemed to be constructed by one of the Chola Kings. There is also a huge "temple pond". One of the famous festival of this temple is "Ther Thiruvizha" (Car Festival).The other important temple is "Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple" located within the Puthucherry town.
Joyful boat rides at Chunnambar boat house (Puthucherry-Cuddalore Road) and at Osutari lake, Botanical Garden for joyful train ride and for unseen natures beauty.
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| Parks and Gardens |
Puthucherry's beauty lies in its un-spoilt beaches and well laid out parks and gardens. |
| The Botanical Garden |
The Botanical Garden in Puthucherry was created in 1826. The garden has rare and interesting plants procured from Calcutta, Madras and Sri Lanka. Currently it possesses a proud collection of 1,500 species of different plants and herbs.
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The Government Park
It is laid out with lawns, flower beds and fountains( one at the centre is of Napoleon III period), in front of the Raj Niwas, the residence of the Lieutenant Governor. The park was originally the site of the first French garrison, Fort Louis, destroyed in 1761 by the British |
| Tiruvakkarai |
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It is about 30 km from Puthucherry town. Large fossil bearing areas fenced in to create the country's first National Fossil-Wood Park here. These petrified trees lying scattered on low mounds and stream sections, date from the Cretaceous Age (100 million years ago). |
The Chandramouliswara Temple, a monument of great architectural grandeur dating back to the Chola period, is an added attraction. Every Pournami (Full Moon Day), people gather here to worship Goddess Kali. |
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| Beach |
Pondicherry's beach is virgin; its golden yellow sand is unpolluted, the continental slope is gentle and safe. Pondicherry has a lovely beach, 1.5 Kms Long, where one can relax, sunbathe, swim or take a stroll along the promenade. The beach has historical connections too. These sands have |
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witnessed some of the fiercest Anglo-French battles. On the sea front are two important monuments a) Statue of Mahatma Gandhi set amidst eight exquisitely sculptured monolithic pillars and b) the War Memorial raised by the French to honor the soldiers who died in World War I. The Light house and the 284 metre long new pier are further south of these monuments. |
