A beach vacation on your mind? Why not travel to Puducherry, the French Capital of India? This beautiful seaside town on the Coromandel Coast is making elaborate arrangements to welcome back tourists, starting with a beach festival this week. The 4-day beach festival, called I Sea Pondy 2022, will start on April 13 and continue till April 16.
Featuring a plethora of entertaining events, from cultural performances to catamaran races, beach volleyball tournaments to bicycle marathons; this beach festival will give you more reasons to love Puducherry’s golden beaches and its laid-back vibe.
Several other programs like sky lantern display, kite flying competitions, fashion shows, puppet shows, violin concerts, and live band performances will also be organized at the Puducherry beach festival to make it fun and exciting for people of different age groups and diverse interests.
Apart from the above, I Sea Pondy 2022 also attempts to bring back the glory of the ancient martial art form called silambam and a traditional game called uriyadi (which is similar to dahi handi) by making them a part of the 4-day extravaganza.
The events will be held across four venues – Promenade Beach, Chunnambar Water Sports Complex, Paradise Beach, and Pondy Marina Beach. A seafood festival on the second day, i.e. on April 16, will throw a lavish treat to food lovers on the occasion of Puthandu, the Tamil New Year.
All in all, this beach festival is a celebration of Puducherry’s distinct culture, tradition, and cuisine against the backdrop of its beautiful beaches. Puducherry tourism is expected to make a comeback with this beach festival now that the COVID caseload in this Union Territory is zero and there has been no reporting of new cases for the last 10 days continuously.
How to reach Puducherry or Pondicherry?
Puducherry is situated about 135 km from Chennai International Airport, which is well-connected to almost all major Indian cities. You can hire a taxi or cab from the airport.
Puducherry Railway Station serves the union territory and it is located only 5 km from the downtown. Regular public/private buses also ply from Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Mahabalipuram and Bengaluru to Puducherry. Self-drive option is also feasible as this place is connected to nearby cities by a good network of expressways and highways. East Coast Road (ECR), Grand Southern Trunk Road (GST) and National Highway 32 are some routes that cut through Puducherry.
Choose the transportation mode as per your convenience, but plan your trip as soon as you can because the Puducherry Beach Festival is going to start tomorrow!
Puducherry is a marvelous destination to visit for a relaxing weekend or even a longer holiday. So, if you can’t make it to the festival this time around, you can plan your visit anytime between October and March for the best experience of its balmy beaches and colonial charm.
