After breakfast, start exploring Pondicherry, the enchanting tourist town, which is popularly known as the 'French Riviera of the East' as it was ruled by the French until 1954. This small town has stunning beaches, historical churches, charming cottages and relaxed streets. Major attractions in this town are the famous beaches, backwaters, Aurobindo Ashram, and Auroville.
Today, you will visit Auroville which is considered as a Universal Town where people from all over the world, of all culture and tradition, come and live together. It was founded in 1968. Next, you will visit the Aurobindo Ashram which was founded in 1926 and has grown from a small group of two dozen disciples to a community of nearly 2000 people. The ashram provides everything to its members to lead a happy and healthy life.
Enjoy at the famous beaches of Pondicherry like Promenade Beach, Paradise Beach, Serenity Beach and Auroville Beach. Promenade Beach is rocky and the most famous beach in Pondicherry. Paradise Beach is the cleanest beach maintained by Chunnambar Resort and Serenity Beach has a surfing training school near the Beach. You will also visit the fishing villages in Pondicherry. The famous fishing villages include Pillaichavady, Veerampattinam, Vambakeerapalayam, and Kotakuppam.
Start to Swamimalai after lunch and on the way you can enjoy a guided tour of Chidambaram Temple and Gangaikonda Cholapuram. In Chidambaram, Nataraja or Lord Shiva is worshipped as the 'Lord of Dance', and he appears as the cosmic dancer. The temple was built in the 10th-century when Chidambaram was the capital of the Chola Dynasty. This temple lies at the center point of the world's magnetic equator. Gangaikonda Cholapuram was built in the 11th-century by Rajendra Chola who was the son of Raja Raja Chola, who built Brihadeeswara Temple in Tanjore. Gangaikonda Cholapuram is one of the most important south Indian temples built during the reign of Chola Kings. This temple is a part of the Great Living Chola Temples. After a guided tour of these two temples check in at a listed hotel in Swamimalai.
Next, you will be visiting the Swamimalai temple which is dedicated to Lord Muruga/Karthik. It is one of the six holy shrines of Lord Muruga. The shrine lies on a hillock and there are sixty steps to reach the temple which denote the sixty Tamil years. It is believed that Lord Muruga explained the meaning of 'Om' to his father Lord Shiva at this place.
Stay overnight in the hotel.