[Repsol]

Just came back from Bangalore - Pondy trip, and used the route which has been suggested here by everyone. Very nice and scenic route with almost nil traffic. Though its some 50kms extra but each km of that is pure enjoyment.

[Mnjdnght]

A quick update from my recent Bangalore - Pondicherry (Puducherry) trip.

Route: Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Arcot - Cheyyar - Vandavasi - Tindivanam - Pondicherry

Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Arcot: Well travelled and covered section. No new updates.
Exit from Arcot towards Cheyyar: After A2B (to your left), stay on the right lane and take the right exit towards Arcot. Follow this road and it will bring you to the other lane of the highway (kind of a longish U turn). Merge and move to the extreme left (tricky since you need to cut multiple lanes of traffic). Turn left to follow the road to Cheyyar. I understand that, earlier, one had to cross the Arcot bridge to make the U turn.
Arcot - Cheyyar - Vandavasi: Good 2-lane highway. There are a couple of speed breakers but can be spotted well. Surface is patchy in places but no major potholes. There are unmarked speed breakers on the Cheyyar bypass. The Vandavasi bypass is not clearly marked (for non-tamil readers) so keep an eye on google maps.
Vandavasi - Tindivanam: Good 2-lane highway. More speed breakers on this section. The Tindivanam bypass is not clearly marked (for non-tamil readers) so keep an eye on google maps.
Tindivanam - Pondicherry: Excellent 4-lane highway. If you are staying in the French quarter or towards the beach (or even anywhere to the left of Anna Salai), you can take the Auroville exit (before the Toll gates) and join ECR road to enter Pondicherry via MG Road, SV Road.

[BenjiRoss]

Did Vellore to pondicherry this week. As mentioned above taking the exit at Arcot to cheyyar is a bit tricky as Mnjdnght had mentioned. Here is my dash cam footage of this section which is exactly as per his description. Will try to upload more video footage of this route later.

https://youtu.be/GWAFNVx4s4w

Beyond this the road condition for a few km is a bit iffy with some patching and rough sections. Speed breakers are annoying - I found some of them unmarked. Beyond this the roads are narrow but lovely to drive on. Winding, lots of greenery.
On the return trip we did the last 60 km after dark and the major hazard were people, cycles and cattle walking on the side of the road which was difficult to spot at times as it is a two lane road.

[nerd1200]

I visited Pondy last weekend. It was an impromptu trip and did not research the routes or even POIs for that matter!

We started on Friday morning (~4AM) from TC Palya and followed the Kolar >> Chittor >> Ranipet >> Arcot >> Vandabasi >> Tindivanam >> Puducherry as suggested by GMaps.



Apart from a few uneven patches near Chittor, the trip was pretty pleasant. Only sore point was, between Arcot and Tindivanam, there aren't any good restaurants.

Now, for the return trip, GMaps suggested-
Puducherry >> Tindivanam >> Tiruvannamalai >> Chengam >> Krishnagiri >> Hosur >> Bangalore

Chengam to Krishnagiri is possibly the worst road to be driving on in the dark. There are no lane markers, reflectors or lane dividers of any sort. Add to that sudden broken patches of road, no roads and buses/trucks driving towards you head on with their high-beams on.
Unless already mentioned on this thread, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS ROUTE AFTER DARK!



Hope this helps!

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by nerd1200

Chengam to Krishnagiri is possibly the worst road to be driving on in the dark. There are no lane markers, reflectors or lane dividers of any sort. Add to that sudden broken patches of road, no roads and buses/trucks driving towards you head on with their high-beams on.
Unless already mentioned on this thread, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS ROUTE AFTER DARK!

Attachment 1688851

Hope this helps!

I had been on this stretch in May 2017 to Gingee. I had also mentioned in my post that this stretch is not conducive for driving in the dark. Otherwise no issues during day time

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ples-fort.html

[airbus]

We will be driving to Pondicherry during early December. Google map is giving me the following route, is this route fine?

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by airbus

We will be driving to Pondicherry during early December. Google map is giving me the following route, is this route fine?

Mate, the roads shown in the image are 2 lane right from Krishnagiri till Tiruvannamalai. Road work is going on in some stretches. Speed can be a deterrent here. Avoid driving on this stretch in the night.
In case you wish to drive on very good roads with options to break for food then go via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Ambur, Vellore, Arcot, Cheyyar, Vandavasi and Tindivanam. Till Vellore from Bangalore, it is 6 lane road. Post Vellore you get to drive on 2 lane roads till Tindivanam. Tindivanam to Pondy is a 4 lane tolled road

[RajshreeM]

Hi All,

I will be driving to Pondicherry from Bangalore, taking the Hoskote > Kolar > Palamaner > Arcot > Cheyyar route.

I would like to know the experienced lot, possible food and refreshment stops on the way.

I am not sure if the same was already discussed in the thread, since I couldn't find any relevant info.

Please advice.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by RajshreeM

I will be driving to Pondicherry from Bangalore, taking the Hoskote > Kolar > Palamaner > Arcot > Cheyyar route.

I would like to know the experienced lot, possible food and refreshment stops on the way.

Depending on what time you start, your options are
1. near Kolar and Mulbagal - Maiyas, MCD, Adigas, Woodys (avoidable)
2. near Chittoor - Cafe coffee day, Bans hotel
3. near Ranipet - MGM resorts
4. near Walajahpet toll - Sai Sangeet but it's on right and you may have to pay toll twice or take the multiple journey ticket and make 2 U-turns, probably not worth the trouble
5. near Arcot - A2B

[nerd1200]

Originally Posted by airbus

We will be driving to Pondicherry during early December. Google map is giving me the following route, is this route fine?

DO NOT take this road as it's in pretty bad shape upto Tiruvannamalai. Although roads are better after that, average speeds would be lower since it traverses through multiple towns and villages. Refer to my post on this.

You'll be better off taking the Krishnagiri - Ambur - Vellore - Arcot - Cheyyar - Vandabasi - Tindivanam - Pondy route. Smoother, faster highway.

In-case you're starting from North/East Bangalore, take the Hosakote - Kolar - Chittor - Ranipet - Arcot route.

[arjithin]

Been to Pondy over the weekend. Took Whitefield- Hosur - Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai - Pondy for onward journey. Krishnagiri to Chengam has lot of Potholes after the rains. Saturday was an auspicious day at Tiruvannamalai & all nearby temples and we lost a good 1+hour crossing Tiruvannamalai. This is the route we finally took to cross Tiruvannamalai, thanks to Police sending us back multiple times.


Took 6.5 hours to reach Pondy with a 6 AM start including 1 hour delay at Tiruvannamalai.


On return took the Pondy -Chittor - Bangalore road. It was a nighmare driving from Chittor to AP/KA border with all the traffic returning from Tirupati (heavy traffic due to the same auspicious day) and trucks. Was crawling in 1st or 2nd gear most of the time in this stretch. Took 8 hours to reach Whitefield with a 12 pm start from Pondy.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Been to Pondy over the weekend. Took Whitefield- Hosur - Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai - Pondy for onward journey. Krishnagiri to Chengam has lot of Potholes after the rains.

Wish you had seen this thread before heading out.
The Krishnagiri-Vellore-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi route continues to be the best option since you get 6 laned roads till Arcot and after that also the 2 laned roads are good.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Been to Pondy over the weekend. Took Whitefield- Hosur - Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai - Pondy for onward journey. Krishnagiri to Chengam has lot of Potholes after the rains. Saturday was an auspicious day at Tiruvannamalai & all nearby temples and we lost a good 1+hour crossing Tiruvannamalai. This is the route we finally took to cross Tiruvannamalai, thanks to Police sending us back multiple times.


Took 6.5 hours to reach Pondy with a 6 AM start including 1 hour delay at Tiruvannamalai.


On return took the Pondy -Chittor - Bangalore road. It was a nighmare driving from Chittor to AP/KA border with all the traffic returning from Tirupati (heavy traffic due to the same auspicious day) and trucks. Was crawling in 1st or 2nd gear most of the time in this stretch. Took 8 hours to reach Whitefield with a 12 pm start from Pondy.

Instead of going via Krishnagiri-Mathur you could have gone via Krishnagiri, Bargur, Tirupattur, Singarapettai and Chengam to Tiruvannamalai. By this you can avoid the bad stretches prevalent on the Krishnagiri-Mathur sector.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by NPV

Wish you had seen this thread before heading out.
The Krishnagiri-Vellore-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi route continues to be the best option since you get 6 laned roads till Arcot and after that also the 2 laned roads are good.

I did check this thread before my travel and it was mentioned early that this route driveable for day time. There are potholes, but still manageable considering the reduction in distance. If i didn't get stuck in Tiruvannamalai, i would have reached Pondy in 5.5 hrs including a breakfast break, which is not that bad.

Similarly the decision to take Chittor route was with the idea of avoiding Hosur to Whitefield traffic in the Sunday evening time. Hoskote to my home at Whitefield is an easy drive and i thought of taking the 2 lane roads before sunset.

What I missed is the Auspicious day (Thrikarthika) and its impact on both the routes.

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Instead of going via Krishnagiri-Mathur you could have gone via Krishnagiri, Bargur, Tirupattur, Singarapettai and Chengam to Tiruvannamalai. By this you can avoid the bad stretches prevalent on the Krishnagiri-Mathur sector.

Thanks. May be for next time.

[MSAneesh]

Hello BHPians

Haven’t seen new posts on this thread since early December. Planning our first trip to Pondy on 10 Jan’18 – early morning from Bangalore North (Hebbal).
Ride – i20, 2 adults and 2 kids – 9 & 3.
Please help me with
• Current condition of the route (Hosur-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Arcot-Tindivanam-Pondy) - the most preferred route on TBHP , hope it still is.
• Fuel filling points enroute and within Pondy , any good ones close to Le Pondy?
• Any updates on the straight route via Tiruvannamalai.
• Considering the stay at Le Pondy – which of the routes would be advisable to minimize city traffic
• Good places in Pondy around Le Pondy for quick visits , want to avoid getting struck in city traffic.