Things to Do
Walks, Trips & Experiences
Pondicherry is a good base for the south Tamil Nadu coast. The town itself rewards slow walking. Beyond it, the day trips are genuinely worth the effort.
Walks
2 to 3 hours
White Town Walk
A self-guided walk through the French Quarter: colonial streets, heritage buildings, temples, and the seafront…
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1 to 2 hours
The Lighthouse and Fishing Village Walk
From the promenade south through a working fishing village to the new lighthouse. Fabric warehouses with…
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2 to 3 hours
Temples of the Tamil Quarter
The city's older history lies just across the canal, in the streets traditionally known as the Tamil Quarter.…
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Day Trips
Half day
Ousteri Lake
The largest natural freshwater lake in the Pondicherry region, five kilometres west of town. A Ramsar wetland…
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Full day
Gingee Fort
Seventy kilometres west of Pondicherry, one of the most formidable fortresses in South India: three granite…
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Half day
Arikamedu
Four kilometres south of the French Quarter, an ancient port where Roman traders exchanged Mediterranean goods…
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Half to full day
Pichavaram
One of India's most remarkable coastal landscapes, 65 kilometres north of Puducherry. More than 1,100 hectares…
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Half to full day
Auroville
30km north of Pondicherry: the experimental township founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa as a city belonging to…
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Full day
Mahabalipuram
UNESCO-listed Pallava monuments carved from granite in the 7th century: cave temples, bas-reliefs, and a Shore…
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