6 Must Do Tours When You Are in Pondicherry
There is always a deeper connection and stories behind each and every place and corner. This will give you the truest sense of the place. Overall making you visit to Pondicherry a fulfilling experience.
1). Pondicherry Cycle Tour
Taking the Pondicherry cycle tour on the day of your arrival will give you a massive level-up. It gives you access and knowledge to an extensive list of new places other than what you found on Google. Join a local storyteller who will take you to all the heritage quarters of the boulevard. Be it the French quarters, the ashram quarters, and the Tamil quarters. The tour will open up new portals to make your remaining time in Pondicherry blissful and memorable. Do enroll for the everyday cycle tour which happens at 7 AM / 8.30 AM or 3.30 PM. For those who cannot cycle – the storyteller provides cycle rickshaws so that they can also enjoy the same tour with other cyclists. The tour will cover the history of Pondicherry, the architecture of Pondicherry, local French culture and Tamil culture of Pondicherry, shops, cafes of Pondicherry, personalities, monuments, and local stories of Pondicherry.
2). Auroville Tour with an Aurovillian
What one finds about Auroville in the internet is the visitor center and the viewpoint of Matrimandir. That is just 3% of Auroville. Auroville is spread across 20 sq km. Missing that wholesome experience of Auroville international township will not make your tour to Pondicherry a fulfilling experience. This Auroville tour is done by an Aurovillian who has born and brought up in Auroville and is officially part of the international community of 60+ nationalities. The experience will take you through the pavilion of different countries, and visit Auroville’s best practices and sustainable initiatives with an interactive and immersive experience.
3). Nature Trail Cycling
The topography of Pondicherry is coastal mudflats and swamps is only 1km from the coast. The rest are red soils, sandstone, clay, limestone, and pebble formations. These red earth land formations were once teaming with wildlife. There are records elephants and tigers roamed freely until the Europeans came and cleared out for timber. Once a tropical dry evergreen forest became barren over the years due to excessive monsoon rains and topsoil erosion making way for ravines.
In the 1960s, land regeneration started. Pondicherry and Auroville started experimentation with forestry. Now there are more than 15 forest patches and 150 sacred groves in Pondicherry and Auroville surrounding. It is magical to explore them in cycles. Join us for the incredible experience of taking the nature trail cycling through the regenerated forests and getting to know their compelling story of resilience as the conservation status of these forests comes under the category of critically endangered.
4). Sunrise at the ocean with fishermen.
Such a massive experience to get into a fishermen’s boat and face their lives as ours. Thrilling and adventurous ride into the ocean to catch up on the sunrise from the waters. Gone are those days you go to the beaches in Pondicherry for sunrise. Now Pondicherry has leveled itself up. Fishermen who are licensed in water sports will take you for this experience in a safe and controlled environment to make you special and fulfilled.
Usually, the sunrise time is around 5.45 AM to 6.15 AM. We start 30 mins before with filling out registration forms, and life vests with a few instructions on dos and don’ts from the captain. The reporting is from the art and crafts village and it is only on pre-booking a day before. We witness the sunrise with swells of water and splashes as we cruise into the ocean. We spend around an hour and return back. It is the most ideal way to start your day by being close to nature and recharging yourself with blessings from the sun and salt water.
5). Kayaking in the mangroves and backwaters
Water, adventure, leisure, and skills are mixed to make this experience. It is approximately 3kms circuit through the backwaters and mangroves of Pondicherry. One can learn skills when it comes to how to approach the waters and how to do kayaking and what are techniques for kayaking in Pondicherry. Further it is an adventurous experience to explore newer surroundings and it gives you that thrill factor. In addition to it at the mangroves in Pondicherry one can learn about bird watching in Pondicherry. Close to 90 plus bird species are documented and one can know about the mangrove ecosystem with backwater habitats.
6). Villages & Crafts
Pondicherry is sprouted with many traditional crafts and of contemporary sorts. These traditional crafts are found and practiced in the deep villages of Pondicherry. Pondicherry has 90+ villages where one can see the soul and essence of Pondicherry. One can feel the hospitality and showering of love. The rustic setting and endless farm fields offer itself as quintessential place of liveliness. Crafts such as terracotta, pottery, weaving, papier mache etc., In addition to this villages expresses many of the folk cultures with the presence many sacred groves which serve as indigenous repositories for local flora. Incidentally, one of the Life of pi movie locations is also nestled inside these deep villages. It is an interesting cultural break to go to the villages escaping from our rush life touching back to our roots
