Motorcycle tour to Pondicherry as a day trip from Chennai

Overview

Day by day itinerary

1. 1Pondicherry the French Settelement⌄

   A 160 KM ride will take us from Chennai to Pondicherry

   A 3.5 hour ride will bring us to Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh is arguably the most famous citizen of Pondicherry. The tour of Pondicherry begins with a visit to his memorial at the Aurobindo Ashram. Guests will get a brief experience of his life and times as well as his philosophy and revolutionary ideas. The memorial also has a section on Sri Aurobindo’s famous disciple Mirra Alfassa. It is the perfect place for meditation.

   A French heritage walk is organized through the heart of the city where one can see glimpses of exquisite French style of architecture. This heritage walk will help you appreciate the French connection with Pondicherry.

   We visit a unique factory which makes hand made paper in the next leg of this tour of Pondicherry. Sri Aurobindo Paper Factory started 50 years ago and makes paper from 100% cotton rag pulp. In this visit guests will experience how the paper is produced from cotton rags and then processed with techniques like silk screen printing and marbling.

   Basilica of sacred heart of Jesus is an architectural wonder as well as a sacred pilgrimage point for Christians in Pondicherry. It contains rare stained glass panels depicting events from the life of Christ and saints of the Catholic Church.

   We will also visit Immaculate Conception Cathedral. It is an imposing structure and serves as the cathedral mother church for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore.

   A walk through the famous promenade of Pondicherry facing the lovely Bay of Bengal follows this.

   Overnight: Overnight in Pondicherry

2. 2Auroville & World Heritage site of Mahabalipuram⌄

   We travel to Auroville, the radical concept of a global village where thousands of people from across the world have given up their nationalities and are living as global citizens. Guests will also get to see the various ways in which its citizens practice sustainable way of life

   We ride 95 KM from Auroville to Mahabalipuram.

   Panch Rathas, or the 5 chariots is our first destination. These are rock cut monolith temples structures dedicated to Draupadi and the 5 Pandavas from the epic Mahabharata.

   We visit Arjuna’s Penance, a 100 feet x 45 feet bas relief where an entire masterpiece from the Mahabharata epic has been carved.

   The next halt is at Krishna’s Butterball, a curious sight of a 5 meters diameter ball shaped boulder which is perched precariously on a slope and seems to defy Newton’s laws of gravity!

   The magnificent Shore temple beckons us. This 8th century structural temple is made of granite and served as a beacon for sea farers of the time.

   We ride 70 KM from Mahabalipuram to Chennai

   Meals: Breakfast