Tourist Attractions of Pondicherry

Pondicherry located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal is known across the globe for its interwoven charm of spiritual aura, French colonial heritage, Tamil culture and the cosmopolitan flair of many nationalities. It was a former French colony which became one of the Union Territories of India after independence. Tourists from across the globe come here to spend their vacations in the serene and scenic ambiances of pristine nature. Some of the well-known tourist attractions of Pondicherry are: Auroville: This is a universal community in India situated near the Pondicherry city. It is a celebrated tourist destination of Pondicherry popularly known as the ‘City of Dawn’. This city was established with a vision of a Universal town where people from different nationalities reside together in perfect harmony. The Auroville city has around people of 35 countries. This city is devoted towards ‘unity of mankind’. People from across the world come here to learn the arts of converting life into ‘Supramental Consciousness’. Aurobindo Ashram: The Sri Aurobindo Ashram was founded by Sri Aurobindo on the 24th November 1926. This ashram is a center of yoga preaching where truth seekers from across the globe come here to learn the arts of living. Today this center has more than 1,500 spiritual seekers from different parts of the world. Though these seekers are from a different nationality and cultural background yet they aspire and work for the same goal. The main aim of the ashram is to preach practice of Yoga in its truest form. All spiritual seekers of this ashram do some productive work every day in their respective departments of the Ashram. Navagraha Temples: This is another known tourist attraction of Pondicherry visited by a large number of devotees as well as tourists throughout the year. Each temple of this place is a sanctum for one of the nine divines celestial bodies. It is believed that these planetary bodies play a different important role in astrological calculations, which have a significant impact on a human being. The nine celestial bodies are not the nine planets but the nine Gods of Hindu religion. The nine Gods are Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and two shadow planets Rahu and Kethu.