The earlier name of this Union Territory was Pondicherry and it was changed to Puducherry on 20 Sept 2006.
The UT consists of four geographically isolated districts – Puducherry, Karaikal and Yanam near the Bay of Bengal and Mahe near the Arabian Sea.
Puducherry and Karaikal are surrounded by Tamil Nadu from the north, south and west directions and the Bay of Bengal in the east direction.
Yanam district is surrounded by Andhra Pradesh from the north, south and west sides and the Bay of Bengal from the eastern side.
Mahe is located on the western coast. The district is surrounded by Kerala from the north, south and east sides and the Arabian Sea from the western side.
Pondicherry was handed over to India by the French in 1954. In 1962, it was declared Union Territory.
From 1948 to 1954, Madras was the capital of Pondicherry.
Puducherry celebrates its own Independence Day on the 1st of November.
Puducherry is called ‘Paris of the South’ and ‘India’s Little France’.
The French National Day on the 14th of July is also celebrated in Puducherry.
Pondicherry has the third-largest Gandhi statue in the world. The statue is 13 feet tall and located on Promenade beach.
Opposite the statue of Mahatama Gandhi is a French War Memorial, which was built to commemorate the martyred French soldiers of World War I.
Puducherry is also known for Shri Aurobindo and his Ashram.
Matrimandir located in Auroville township of Pondicherry is a spherical structure with golden discs. This is used for practising Yoga. This is built by Mirra Alfassa, the spiritual ally of Shri Aurobindo.
In Manakula Vinayagar Temple of Lord Ganesh in Pondicherry, an elephant named Laxmi takes gifts and money from the devotees and blesses them. the UT has 70 Temples that are devoted to Lord Ganesha.
Puducherry is the birthplace of famous Hollywood director M. Night Shyamalan.
The beautiful Basilica Sacred Heart of Jesus Church of Puducherry is too huge to hold 2000 people.