Private Full-Day Tour to Pondicherry from Chennai

After pick up from your hotel at 7am, drive from Chennai to Pondicherry (155 kms/4 hrs approx by road). Pondicherry, the French capital of India, is a destination offering serenity and sanctity in its true sense. The city is peaceful and its architecture depicts the French style (especially the White Town area), including neat streets with French names, lined with bougainvillea-draped colonial style townhouses. Upon arrival, visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram - a spiritual community founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo - a renowned freedom fighter and spiritualist. The ashram grew out of a small community of disciples who had gathered around Sri Aurobindo after he retired from politics and settled in Pondicherry in 1910.

Next, visit the Pondicherry Museum and Sculpture Gallery. The multipurpose museum houses ancient bronze sculptures, Buddha images, paintings, arms and weapons, terracotta figures, shards of Arretine and Roulletted ware, burial urns, and an old printing press among other items. Also displayed are French colonial period details to give you an insight into the French history and legends.

Later drive to Auroville, a small town situated (15 kms/1 hr approx. by road) from Pondicherry. It’s a universal township founded in 1968 by French women ‘Mirra Alfassa’ - known as the Mother, who was the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo. The town was envisioned to realize human unity in diversity, where men and women from across the globe can live in peace and progressive harmony. At Auroville, visit Matrimandir - the temple of the Mother, featuring a huge golden globe 30 metres in height, and surrounded by lotus shaped base. Matrimandir is regarded as the soul of the city and is not dedicated to any particular religion. While in Pondicherry, don’t miss to try the local cuisine, as the French town offers a whole mosaic of culinary integration. Discover traces of French flavors intermingled with the local delicacies.