The Union Territory of Pondicherry comprises of 4 coastal regions viz. Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe situated on the East Coasts in Tamil Nadu and Andhra.Pradesh and West Coast in Kerala . Pondicherry is the Capital of this Union Territory. It is on the east coast about 162 kms south of Chennai located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal.

Like most ancient .cities, the origin of Pondicherry lies hurried in legends. It could, have been the mythical 'Podhigai' said to have beech the sacred abode of the legendary Sage Agusthia or and it could be the now forgotten 'Vedhspuri' a settlement of scholars well-versed in the vedas. Excavations in the Arikamedu area near Pondicherry have brought to light the remains of a trading port which had connections with the Grecko-Roman world more than a century before the down of the Christian Era. You will be bound to see the glorious remains of Arikamedu excavations in the Archaeology section of the Pondicherry Museum.

Having remained the capital of the erstwhile French India, the legacies in Pondicherry have a special flavour not found anywhere in the Indian sub-continent. The French town-sense, neatly laid roads, wide and vibrant beach promenade French colonial history,the eventful life of Joseph Francois Dupleix (whose magnificent statue watches Goubert Avenue pensively from its southern corner), the Mansion of Ananda Ranga Pillai 'the Diarist', architecturally handsome churches and public buildings of a bygone era, all add up to the French connection package.

HOW TO GET THERE :

• Rail   : Pondicherry is connected directly from Chennai via Villupuram.
• Road : Pondicherry is connected to variour places of tourist interest. The places and their distances are given below : Chidambaram 68 kms, Chennai 162 kms, Mahabalipuram 134 kms, Bangalore 303 kms, Madurai 326 kms, Thanjavur170 kms, Tiruchirapalli 170 kms, Tirupathi 222 kms.