ABOUT:
Some travel to find peace, some to see new places and some to explore different cultures. This place is a perfect combination of all. Get the feel of living in traditional Indian and French culture away from the hustle of the city. Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry are quiet towns with so much to offer from picturesque colonial heritage buildings to the spiritual sceneries, to endless unspoiled virgin beaches to a variety of restaurants serving a variety of cuisines.
So, Wolfs let’s escape to this dreamy place and find ourselves wandering in those 7th-century ruins or some yellow painted streets’; let us indulge into the wanderlust of the Pondicherry trip!!
DURATION
3N / 4D
BATCHES
- 14 Jan 2023
- 28 Jan 2023
- 11 Feb 2023
- 25 Feb 2023
- 04 Mar 2023
- 25 Mar 2023
Price
Chennai to Chennai – ₹11,999/- per person
Extra amount Dual Sharing room: ₹1500/- per person
NOTE: Block your seat at just ₹5000/- and pay the rest 25 days before the trip date.
discounts & offers
BRIEF ITINERARY:
Day 1: Reach the Chennai airport by 9:00 a.m. and leave for Auroville. Today on our menu of Pondicherry tour we are exploring Vardaraj Temple, Auroville (Matrimandir, Savaram, and Auroville Bakery) Serenity beach, and the shopping market. Overnight stay in Pondicherry.
Day 2: Leave for the famous Pichavaram backwaters while enjoying scenic views of the route. Enjoy the surreal views while boating between the mangrove forest. Enjoy the Architecture of our ancestors by visiting the Chidambaram temple. Also, visit Eden beach which is a blue flag beach. We’ll have a HikerWolf leisure party and a night stay in Pondicherry.
Day 3: We begin the Local Pondicherry sightseeing with a visit to the French war memorial, streets of the white house, the Puducherry Museum, the Rock beach, the basilica of the sacred heart of Jesus, and the promenade beach. Overnight stay in Pondicherry.
Day 4: Leave for Mahabalipuram. Visit Panch Rathas, Mahabalipuram beach and if time permits go to the cave temple and explore the Mahabalipuram lighthouse. Depart from Mahabalipuram at 5 p.m. Reach the Chennai airport by 6:30 p.m. bid our goodbyes to our new friends, and fall back into the comfort of our home with all the beautiful memories from the trip.
IMAGE GALLERY










INCLUSIONS:
- Pick up and drop to and from Chennai Airport
- Accommodation for 3 nights
- All internal transfers
- Breakfast for all days
- Entry fees to monuments
- Boating at Pichavaram lake
- Guided tour charges wherever required
- Complete assistance in all activities
- Music, Dance, and Masti
- Basic First Aid
- HikerWolf expertise
EXCLUSIONS:
- 5% GST
- Meals not mentioned above
- Anything not mentioned in the above inclusion
- Other Adventure activities
- Insurance
THINGS TO CARRY:
- Most Important your ID proof
- Cap/Hats
- Sunscreen, moisturizer
- Charger
- Camera
- Power bank
- Bluetooth speakers
- Torch
- Glares
- Pair of clothes
- Beachwear
- Towel
- Casual shoes and flip-flops
- Sanitary Kit
- Please avoid wearing Gold and other costly jewelry (at your own risk)
- Personal medicines (if any)An extra bag to keep your wet clothes
- Water bottle (Minimum 1-2 liter)
DETAILED ITINERARY:
Day 1:
We'll meet at Chennai Airport at around 9 am. Have a fine meet and greet with our fellow travellers and drive to Mahabalipuram. The travel in Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram is a journey more fun-filled than the destination and when it’s with HikerWolf the masti is on a different level.
Mahabalipuram, where history is shrouded in deep mystery, is a UNESCO's World Heritage Site. Many stories exist about the origin of the name, and the popular one is that it's named after the benevolent king Bali also known as Mahabali.
As I said history is deep, so does our exploration of Shore temple, it is the finest early example of medieval southern Indian temple architecture. Heading next to Panch Rathas which has links to the Pandavas (From Mahabharata). Panch Rathas are the monolithic chariot structures. You can imagine if we got so excited to see villain Bhallal Deva’s chariot war scene from the hit movie Bahubali than this place definitely has different magic and excitement. After a round of feeling strong and proud to see such ancient monuments from the 7th century, we will move to our next destination but not before having some delicious authentic south Indian food (Indeed this is one of the best parts of our journey).
Remember in our childhood days we had a habit of bringing shells when we stroll around seas, it was crazy to collect different types of shells but to be honest, it's impossible to collect all in a lifetime, so why not visit a seashell museum. Surprisingly, we have a whole museum filled with a variety of shells, and the fun fact is it is the biggest seashell museum in the whole of Asia.
The day is yet not over, we all will end our day by visiting most Famous Mahabalipuram beach, and the best part is if we reach there by evening we will be able to witness the mesmerizing sunset. Unlike other commercialized and crowded beaches of Chennai, this pristine beach is immaculately clean and offers a peaceful and serene ambience and a perfect place to hangout for our pack. We will hop, jump, explore, soak the sun, and set our souls free like never before. After a full Masti on the beach, we will go shopping in the seashell market. We will also visit the nearby villages to enjoy the rural vibe, and taste traditional cuisine. After a stomach full of entertainment at our rooms, playing and singing, we will call it a day.
Day 2:
Get ready peeps, it's time to explore the other side of Mahabalipuram, early morning after some heavy breakfast we will leave to visit the Crocodile farms.
You might have visited different types of farms, berry farms, fruits farms, etc., but you may not have visited a reptile farm. Yes, here at Madras crocodile bank there is a wide variety of crocodiles and many other reptiles.
After viewing crocodiles, it's time to enter the world of the 7th century again. Our next go-to place is Arjuna's penance or can say Descent of Ganges. The ancient monument measures approx. 100ft long and 15m high. The person standing on the ground could barely touch the elephant’s feet, so you can imagine how huge and distinct the architecture would be for our tiny eyes. We will also explore nearby places such as Krishna mandapa and cave temple which are equally exquisite.
After some mind-blowing photography, it's time for the most intriguing place of Mahabalipuram. Intriguing because this place has a 250-ton rock boulder which is resting inclined on a slope, appears to be frozen or refuses to give its gravity and no one is sure why? So wolves, it's our time to visit and roll it down, at least why not give it a try. It will be a place where we will have fun games, share our old scary horror stories, and take luft of those chilled winds. #HIKERWOLF TIMES!!!
After rolling these relaxed times we will go and see Mahabalipuram, the green city from the lighthouse, and believe it the view from the top is captivating. This will mark the end of our sightseeing at Mahabalipuram then we will go to a hotel at Mahabalipuram to stay.
Day 3:
Quickly gobble the breakfast in the morning and get take a ride to Pondicherry. Just two hours’ drive and we step into the place which will make us wonder whether you are in India or France. Starting our day by paying respect to our brave soldiers at the French War Memorial, sacrificing their lives for the country during World War 1.
Next, we will explore the beautiful ‘white town’ famous for its colorful streets, old build houses, and a variety of cafes. The white town is the French quarters in Pondicherry primarily, the French families are still living there. Pale yellow walls with attractive graffiti certainly will create your interest even with a momentary glance. The old lighthouse, Joan arch park, the old complex, and the multitude of old buildings here are a photographer's delight. Keep your camera ready for some random clicks (you can also hire bikes at your own cost to roam around). Also, the cool part about this place will be interacting with the French families and learning something more about this place.
These white streets also offer a beautiful museum known as the Puducherry Museum, which is a storehouse of a wonderful collection of anti-craft and remainders, belonging to the Chola and Pallava dynasty. Here, we can also buy some handicrafts as a beautiful memory of these streets.
To add on with a little tranquillity in our journey, we will visit an amazing botanical Garden which consists of approx 1500 species of flora. A quick roam around, and we head to the next place, which is a Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. These churches beautifully showcase the Gothic architecture, the mirror ambience here is just Awe-striking.
The evening will be full of masti at Promenade beach with a twist of Hikerwolf, here we will be having a leisure party, with some good music, dance and lots of fun. Basically, it's the part of the trip where we will be having a night in the ambience of chilled winds and the soft sound of waves. Ending our day with relaxing and enjoying the spectacular night sharing, caring, signing, and living the best with our fellow mates.
Day 4:
Breaking the hangover and keeping it light for the day with some good breakfast and Garam chai. We will start our day with the blessing of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi at the very famous Sri Vardaraj Perumal temple where the carvings, architecture are just stunning and remarkable.
After lunch, we begin to travel in Pondicherry and head to Auroville, reaching there around 3:30 pm. We will explore Matrimandir- the soul of the city, a place for individual silent concentration. The vibe here is very different and the aura around is extremely sacred and cosmic. After feeling the holy winds, we will be heading to one of the best beaches in Pondicherry known as Serenity beach.
The beautiful combo of sun, sand, and sea gives us the best time for relaxation with a pinch of surfing as an adventure. Yes, we will try some surfing, some amazing games, barefoot walks in the sand waters, and just stare at the sunsets. The evening here will be just perfect like our dream...
A trip to Pondicherry is incomplete without shopping! We will explore the nearby market for some French art and buy some lovely handmade artifacts as a memory of this lovely place.
Day 5:
Early morning with a heavy heart, but with a big bunch of Cherishable memories we'll leave for Chennai airport and board the flight back to our home towns.
1. How big will the group be?
We prefer to have a group of 15-18 people as we intend to have more fun and give personal care. We need at least 6 people to manage our trip
2. Who will accompany us on the trip?
All our trips are led by professional travel coordinators who have good experience in management groups.
3. If I’m the only girl in the group, is it safe to travel?
We generally have many girls joining us on the trip so there are high chances that you are not the only girl on the trip.
Safety is of prime importance and we understand them very well. The major of our staff is a girl for that very reason so be assured you are in safe and reliable hands.
4. What type of ground transportation will be used during the trip?
We rent taxis such as Innova, Tempo Traveler, Bolero, Tata Sumo, etc. from our suppliers.
5. What will be the type of accommodation?
We are known to provide the best possible accommodation on our trips, the accommodation can be in a hotel / alpine tent/dome tent/living room at home.
6. How many trippers will be in a room?
It totally depends on the dynamics of the group. If there is a couple, we can give them a separate room, or if there is an odd number of people, then there would be a triple exchange. (If you’ll are couple inform us once you have booked)
7. How can I book a trip with you?
After selecting the trip, you can book by clicking the Book now button or you can contact us and we will guide you through the booking.
8. What kind of food is served during the Trip?
We provide nutritious and healthy food on the trip. We always try to select best/famous restaurants for the food on our trips
9. Can we change the itinerary?
Yes, you can make suggestions. We will analyze this and, if we consider it feasible, we will apply it.
10. Can the trip be personalized?
Yes, we can customize any trip based on your needs and feasibility.
11. Do you prefer to take medications with me?
Yes, it is recommended to bring your own medicines on the trip