Pondicherry City Information

Pondicherry, now known as Puducherry, is the third most populated union territory in India. Pondicherry is often called the French capital of India because a lot of the heritage from its ancient times when the French rulers, Britishers and Portuguese arrived in the area is preserved. A portion of its territory is still a replica of French tradition and culture and can also be found in its various tourist spots.

Pondicherry
Union territory	Pondicherry
District	Pondicherry
PIN Code	6050xx
Website	py.gov.in

Climate and Weather of Pondicherry

Pondicherry's climate is typically tropical wet and dry. Summer lasts from April to early June, when maximum temperatures may reach 41 °C (106 °F). The average maximum temperature is 36 °C (97 °F). Minimum temperatures are in the order of 28–32 °C (82–90 °F). This is followed by a period of high humidity and occasional thundershowers from June till September.

The northeast monsoon sets in during the middle of October, and Pondicherry gets the bulk of its annual rainfall during the period from October to December. The annual average rainfall is 1,355 millimetres or 53 inches. Winters are very warm, with highs of 30 °C (86 °F) and lows often dipping to around 18–20 °C (64–68 °F).

Economy in Pondicherry

The economy of Pondicherry is largely based on engineering, food processing, chemicals, metals, tourism, textiles, and IT (Information technology).

Apart from these, agriculture and fishing are also the main drivers of the economy. Almost half of the population in the Union Territory is dependent on these. There are nearly 30 fishing villages in Pondicherry and crops like rice, pulses, sugarcane, coconuts, and cotton are grown extensively.

Education in Pondicherry

The average literacy rate of the region is 81.24% where the average female literacy rate is 73.90% and the male literacy rate is 88.62%.

There are a lot of good educational institutions in the region and more and more opportunities are opening up with the rapid development. Here is a short list of the top acclaimed colleges in the area-

- Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research
- Pondicherry University
- National Institute of Technology
- Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth

Businesses in Pondicherry

Pondicherry has nearly 5,500 small scale industries apart from 23 large scale and 80 medium scale industries. These alone provide employment to more than 50,000 people and are the ones which bring the most business to the city.

The most significant industries in Pondicherry are chemicals, textiles, light engineering, metals, and food processing. Special mention needs to be made of the tourism sector in Pondicherry. Due to its French past, coastal location, Aurobindo ashram, Auroville, cuisine, and resorts, Pondicherry attracts a lot of tourists. In 2006 alone, more than 300,000 tourists from all over the world visited Pondicherry. As a result, Pondicherry's investment opportunities are tremendous– hotels, resorts, amusement parks, and spas, all are lucrative sectors. The Indian government supports investment in Pondicherry by increasing subsidies.

Sectors like eco-tourism, footwear, and marine products are some of the areas where an investment boost is expected in Pondicherry.

Points of Interest in Pondicherry

1.Paradise beach

Very close to Pondicherry, lies a place called Chunnambar which is home to this dreamy beach. This is a little isolated beach in the town that is adorned with shimmery golden sand.

To reach the beach, one has to take the ferry which gives you a good 20-30 min ride in the boat before you reach this beautiful place. The beach is very silent and serene and there you won't see much hustle-bustle. There are no fancy street food stalls, just a few kiosks here and there to feed you some fresh tender coconut water, refreshments and drinks. Even fishing is allowed in the vicinity.

Go by yourself to escape the busy and bustling life or with your family and loved ones to spend some quality time in this epitome of heaven on earth.

2.Aurobindo Ashram

Founded by Shri Aurobindo Ghosh, hence the name, in the year 1926, the ashram attracts devotees and spiritual people all year long.

Shri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher, a spiritual leader, a nationalist, a poet and a journalist who set up this place when he was surrounded by his disciples all over after he retired from politics and settled in Pondicherry.

Some of the facilities offered by the Ashram including the library and the main building can be accessed only after receiving a gate pass from the Bureau Central or guest houses of the Ashram. In addition to this, the ashram also has a spiritual centre which consists of four houses that were inhabited by the Mother and Sri Aurobindo for different intervals of time. There exists a samadhi as well in the courtyard under the frangipani tree where the bodies of Mother and Sri Aurobindo were buried. People come to pay their respect every day by laying flowers on them.

3.Scuba Diving

Pondicherry is a paradise for marine life lovers. Pondicherry offers an amazing adventure of scuba diving off the country's East Coast. A dive into the sea will let you explore the rich life comprising of beautiful natural coral reefs and other exotic creatures such as manta rays, kingfish, sea snakes, lionfish, butterflies, crustaceans, moray eels and many more. Apart from that, if it is your lucky day you might even spot whale sharks, even sharks, dolphins and turtles. You also have an option of enjoying the dive at an artificial reef and experiencing the thrill of the activity making Pondicherry an irresistible diving destination.

4.Arikamedu

This is an offbeat tourism place, which mostly has remained undiscovered by the majority of the tourists in the city, but the ones who have had a chance to experience its beauty, have never not loved it.

Arikamedu is an ancient Roman trade centre. This was unearthed pretty late and revealed a lot of historic facts about the Indo-Roman era. This port town was occupied by the people of Rome, Cholas, and the French serving as a very famous maritime centre from 1st century BC to 2nd century AD. The glass bead manufacturing factory of Arikamedu is called the mother of all bead centres in the entire world.

If you have an eye for historic places and want to learn new and better stuff, this place is a must-visit.

How to Reach Pondicherry

Road

The roadways in Pondicherry are quite well maintained and developed and is connected to most of the neighbouring towns, states and cities. Pondicherry is connected to Chennai via the East Coast Road through Mahabalipuram. National Highway 45-A and 66 are connecting the place well and also gives buses a route.

Air

Pondicherry Airport is located at Lawspet, an Assembly Constituency in the union territory of Pondicherry. It has direct flights to Hyderabad, Bengaluru Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Varanasi, Trivandrum, Ahmedabad, Tirupati and many more.

Train

Pondicherry is connected by train to Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai, as well as other important cities such as Kanyakumari, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Mangalore. Moreover, VM/Villupuram Junction which is at a distance of around 24 miles i.e.40 km(both by rail & road) is connected to several other Indian Cities.

Moving to Pondicherry

Moving to Pondicherry can be a very good option for you if you enjoy the beauty of nature. As the connectivity in the city is quite good and is getting better each passing day, shifting in the city would most likely not be a problem.

You can plan your shift around two months before your preferred day of arrival in Pondicherry and contact a packer and mover to shift in Pondicherry for a smooth moving experience.

If you're worried about which mode of transport will be the best for you, the packer and mover will guide you with the most suitable mode of transport for your shifting needs. The best packers and movers in Pondicherry can be found on the web, where you can make a list of a few and get quotes to get the idea of the basic market rate. You can proceed further with the one who gives you the most genuine services at reasonable needs.

But, before you finalise with the packer and mover, be sure to have a contract with him so that all the terms that you’ve mutually decided on are on paper to avoid any confusion. You must also check for his credentials like company registration number and GST number, this will assure you of the credibility of the packer and mover company.

We recommend you get all your goods covered under insurance, especially if the distance between your present location and Pondicherry is long. This will give you a cover and hold the packer and mover responsible in case of any loss or damage.

The city and the environment are beautiful and you’d most likely enjoy your time there. Hope we answered all your questions regarding the city of Pondicherry and shifting there smoothly.

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