4 Days Chennai To Pondicherry – Karaikal Sighseeing Tour By Car

Itinerary for Day 1 Pondicherry Local Sigtseeing Tour

About Pondicherry

Pondicherry, also known as Puducherry and commonly referred as just Pondy, is one of the seven Union Territories of India. is often famously referred to as the French Riviera of the East, and it is indeed one of the most charming and mesmerising places to visit in South India. Located in the state of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry is a little town tucked away on the south-east coastline of India, and it is a destination that promises travellers sanctity and serenity, in the real sense of the terms.

DAY 1 PICKUP FROM CHENNAI: Hotel / Airport / Railway Station / Bus Station and proceed to Pondicherry Local Sightseeing places including:

MANAKULA VINAYAGAR TEMPLE

Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple is the only Ganesha temple in India, which is completely covered in gold. Tree-legged idol of the lord stands here beautifully, facing eastwards towards the Bay of Bengal, along with his consorts, Buddhi and Siddhi. It is one of the ancient temples of Pudducherry. The temple is not only visited by Hindu followers but Christians too. The temple complex also consists of a Gold Chariot, which was made after collecting donations from the devotees.The temple becomes the venue of annual festival, The Mega festival of Lord Manakula Vinayagar, celebrated here for 24 days during the months of August and September.

SRI AUROBINDO ASHRAM

The Aurobindo Ashram is one of the most visited tourism sites in Pondicherry. This ashram comprises several buildings and there are around 1,200 members along with 400 students living in this center.The serene Aurobindo Ashram comes alive during the festivals. Thousands of tourists, followers and visitors come here. Despite the large crowd the members maintain discipline within the complex, restoring its peaceful environment. The ideals of the ashrams are based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and Mira Alfassa. The ashram contains a library, printing press, playground, art gallery, a dispensary/nursing home, dairy, farms and guest houses.

PONDICHERRY MUSEUM

This museum has an excellent gallery with sculptures and has the remains of archaeological findings from the Arikamedu Roman settlement. This gallery is known to have artifacts belonging to Cholas and Pallavas rule of Pondicherry and Karaikal. Burial urns, French furniture, terracotta figures, crockery, guns, swords, paintings, mirrors and several other things dating back to different periods are preserved here.The painting section includes Tanjore and glass paintings, colonial prints and contemporary oils, pastels and water colors. It has bronze statues of several gods and goddesses along with handicrafts, art work and temple lamps. The ground floor of the museum has a palanquin and pousse-pousse exhibited.

BHARATHI PARK / GOVERNMENT PARK

The scenic Bharati Government Park calls for some wonderful moments of relaxation with your family or friends. The road leading up to the garden is marked by a scenic and picturesque journey. In addition to its natural beauty, the park houses Aayi Mandapam which is a significant monument of this town. With spacious and well-kept gardens, it is perfect for planning a day’s picnic with your family or friends and bring back some cherish-able memories with you. As it is surrounded by many important buildings like the Legislative Assembly, Ashram Dining Room, Governor’s Palace and the Cercle de Pondichéry private club, you will love the sight of these architectural splendours while you relax in nature’s lap

MAHATMA GANDHI STATUE

The Statue of Mahatma Gandhi is located on the beach front of Pondicherry. Built by the famous sculptor Roy Choudhary from Madras School of Art and Crafts, it is one of the major landmarks in Pondicherry. It is surrounded by eight exquisitely carved monolithic granite pillars which were brought from Gingee Fort.The statue stands 4 m (13 feet) high is the 3rd biggest Mahatma Gandhi statue. It was inaugurated on January 26, 1965. The square in front of the statue referred to as Gandhi Thidal, plays host to various cultural and musical activities through the year.There is a tunnel below the Gandhi statue which is believed to be leading to Gingee Fort. There were some efforts to explore the tunnel. But, after a few people died of suffocation, the tunnel was closed.

PONDICHERRY BEACH / PROMENADE BEACH

This beach is called by multiple names like rock beach due to rocks along the beach, Gandhi beach because of statue of Mahatma Gandhi and also as Promenade beach. Popularly this beach is also called Pondicherry beach because of its close proximity to the city.It’s a long stretch of rocky beach with benches and wide pavement for morning and evening walks. It is adjacent to Goubert Avenue, the historical section of the city which has several beautiful colonial buildings. This long stretch has statues of Jeanne d’Arc Dupleix, Mahatma Gandhi and War Memorial. There is also a 27 meter tall old Lighthouse near this place. The Hotel de Ville and Town Hall also adorn this place.

Drop at Pondicherry Hotel / Over Night Stay In Pondicherry End of a Day 1 Pondicherry Local Sightseeing Tour…

Itinerary for Day 2 Pondicherry Local Sigtseeing Tour

DAY 2 PICKUP FROM PONDICHERRY: Hotel / After Brakefast and proceed Pondicherry Local Sightseeing places including:

BASILICA OF SACRED HEART OF JESUS

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an excellent example of Gothic architecture. The structure is 50 meters long, 48 meters wide and 18 meters high and is held by 24 columns. One can see the biblical words on entrance written in Latin along with the images of Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mother Mary carved in the entrance door.It contains rare stained glass panels depicting events from the life of Christ and saints of the Catholic Church. A striking statue of Madonna is placed at the right side of the high altar. The statue is draped with a blue sari. Statues of the four evangelists were erected, beneath which there are four lamp posts describing their lives and inviting Jesus and the twelve apostles. The church premise also has a grotto dedicated to Our lady of Lourdes, a parish hall and an adoration chapel.

BOTANICAL GARDEN

The Botanical Gardens is spread over an area of 22 acres in the center of the city. The garden is a famous retreat for locals and tourists. It is spread with pruned trees, flower beds and fountains. Perrotet was responsible for transforming the place into a botanical garden. His memorial can be seen inside the garden premises. He introduced many exotic plants from all over the world. In 1960, after the Transfer of Power from the French, the garden became the hub of horticultural development in Pondicherry.There are 28 plots in the Botanical Garden and each one has separate theme. Other attractions of the Botanical Garden include Children’s toy train, musical fountain, aquarium and a Japanese rock.

PARADISE BEACH

The beach is extremely attractive as the sands are very clean and the water is crystal clear. The Paradise Beach is situated close to Cuddalore main road and it houses the famous Chunnambar resort.Visitors have to cross the Chunnambar backwaters by boat to reach Paradise Beach. These boats leave from Chunnambar boathouse around 6 km from Pondicherry. The beach has shelters and palm trees for shade and protection from the sun and rain. There is one small bar which serves soft drinks and snacks. The tides at the beach are strong at times and it is not advisable to go deeper into the sea. This beach is famed for its lovely sunbathing options and resting under the cool breeze of palm trees.

Drop at Pondicherry Hotel / Over Night Stay In Pondicherry End of a Day 2 Pondicherry Local Sightseeing Tour…

Itinerary for Day 3 Mayiladuthurai Local Sigtseeing Tour

About Mailaduthurai

Mayiladuthurai is a town in Nagapattinam district of tamilnadu and is well connected with Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Pondicherry. It is a town of historical significance and famous for popular Shaivite shrine Mayuranathaswami Temple. In the history it was ruled by many dynasties such as Cholas, Delhi Sultanate, Thanjavur Nayaks, Thanjavur Marathas and the British.If you love old architecture and temples, you must visit this part of Tamilnadu. You can cover many temples here. Few of them are Suriyanar Temple, Thingaloor Temple, Thirunallaru- Lord Shani Temple, Thirunageswaram, near Kumabkonam etc. This belt of Tamilnadu has specific temple for each of Navagraha.

DAY 3 PICKUP FROM PONDICHERRY: Hotel / After Brakefast Chekout and proceed Mayiladuthurai Local Sightseeing places including:

VAITHEESWARAN KOIL

Vaitheeswaran Koil is town in Nagapattinam district which is famous for the Vaidyanatha Swamy Temple. The temple is also known as Pullirukkuvelur.Vaidyanatha Swamy and Thaiyalnayaki are the presiding deities of this temple. The Selva Muthukumara Swamy shrine here is also considered to be of important. There are Shiva lingas said to have been worshipped by Rama, Jatayu, Skanda, Surya and Angaraka. It is believed that Rama and his brother Lakshmana cremated the vulture king Jatayu who was killed by Ravana when he tried to prevent the abduction of Sita at this place. There is a pond at this temple called Jatayu kundam.

MAYILADUTHURAI

Mayiladuthurai is a town and headquarters of the Mayiladuthurai Taluk in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. Mayiladuthurai is known for the Mayuranatha Swamy Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is one among the six temples which are compared as equivalent to the temple in Varanasi. The other 5 Shivasthalams are Tiruvenkaadu, Chaayaavanam, Tiruvaiyaru, Tiruvanchiam and Tiruvidaimarudur.This temple was reconstructed with stone in 10th century during the period of Sembiyan Mahadevi. However, the renovations from the 19th century have destroyed some of the older structures and the inscriptions. Some of the stone sculptures of Vinayakar, Natarajar, Dakshimamurthy, Lingodbhavar, Brahma, Ganga Visarjanamurthi, Durga and Bhikshatanar from the period of Sembiyan Mahadevi have been well preserved.

POOMPUHAR

Poompuhar was once the biggest port on the east coast of Tamil Nadu, and was as its peak of glory under the earlier Chola kings.The River Kaveri is merging with the sea here. It was known as puhar due to the exquisite beauty of the port town, and it later came to be called Poompuhar. Silappathikaram and Manimekalai, the tamil epics, bring out the greatness of the city in some of the poems in Sangam literature.Danish Fort that was built as early as 1620 A.D is the masterpiece of the Danish architecture in India. The fort is in perfect condition till now and most of the decorations and carvings are still prominent.A fine beach and calm waters offer good opportunity for sunbathing and swimming.

Drop at Karaikal Hotel / Over Night Stay In Karaikal End of a Day 3 Mayiladuthurai Local Sightseeing Tour…

Itinerary for Day 4 Karaikal Local Sigtseeing Tour

About Karaikal

This Karaikal area formed an integral part of the Pallava kingdom in the eighth century(C 731-796). Poet Sekkizhar (992-1042) describes the town as “vanga malik kadar karaikal”, the ‘Karaikal of many vessels on the coast’ in his Peria puranam. In that the poet relates the life story of one Punithavathiar who abandoned the pleasures of material life and devoted herself entirely to a life of prayer and penance to signify her devotion to Lord Siva. He called her ‘Karaikal Ammayar’, conveniently after the town which must have been famous already.

DAY 4 PICKUP FROM KARAIKAL: Hotel / After Brakefast Chekout and proceed Karaikal Local Sightseeing places including:

KARAIKAL BEACH

Karaikal Beach is one of the best natural beaches in the South Tamil Nadu. It is one of the famous tourist attractions in Karikal located on the banks of Arasalar River. It is popular among the tourists as a place of entertainment and it is also the perfect place for those seeking leisure, tranquility, solitude and piousness.The beach has been given easy accessibility by widening the 2 km road along the Arasalar River and by illumination of the road, now known as Beach Road. The Karaikal beach offers a lot to adventure lovers and family tourists with water sports like boating, canoeing, kayaking etc. and beach games like Volleyball. In addition to natural sandy beach, a boat jetty in the Arasalar, Children’s Park, Restaurants, Tennis Court are also attracting large crowd of local people and tourists.

KARAIKAL AMMAIYAR TEMPLE

According to history, a lady named Punithavathi lived in Karaikal in 5th century AD. She married a merchant named Paramadatta and performed spiritual Pujas to Lord Siva. One day Lord Shiva sent two mangoes to Paramadatta through a devotee and he sent it home. Lord Siva disguised himself as a Saint and appeared before her for taking food in the house of Punithavathi. She offered food along with mangoes kept for her husband to the Saint. When the food was supplied to her husband he demanded the mangoes that he had given to her. She prayed Lord Shiva and the mangoes reappeared. When her husband inquired about this, she explained the incident to her husband who in turn praised her devotional attitude.

THIRUNALLAR

Sri Saneeswarar Temple, also known as Dharbaranyeswara Swamy Temple is one of the most popular Shani Temples in India and is located in Thirunallar near Karaikal. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Dharbaranyeswara Temple houses a rare Marakata Linga.According to history, the great King Nala was relieved from the trouble of Lord Saneeswaran after worshipping the Lord consecrated in this temple. It is believed that by bathing in Nala theertham here will wash off all kinds of misfortunes and miseries caused by one’s past karmas. Whenever (planet) Saturn transits from one zodiac sign to another once in every 2.5 years, millions throng this shrine to offer prayers. Believed to have been built in the 7th century, the temple also has small shrines dedicated to other gods including Lord Ganesha.

Drop at Chennai / Hotel / Airport / Railway Station / Bus Station. End of a 4 Days Chennai To Pondicherry & Karaikal Local Sightseeing Tour…

Guests are requested to follow the itinerary provided in the 4 Days Chennai To Pondicherry & Karaikal Local Sightseeing tour package. This 4 days Tamilnadu tour package can not be customized, however if guests prefer to visit different set of places in Tamilnadu and around, they can create their own itinerary and request for a custom quote from cab providers.