[CANPUSH]

Taking Krishnagiri - Arcot - Arani -Gingee - Pondicherry route.

What are good places for Lunch?

Do they ask for RT-PCR test while entering Karnataka from Tamilnadu?

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by CANPUSH

Taking Krishnagiri - Arcot - Arani -Gingee - Pondicherry route.

What are good places for Lunch?

Do they ask for RT-PCR test while entering Karnataka from Tamilnadu?

Depends on what time you are starting from Bangalore.
There is the McD, A2B and Murugan Idli before Krishnagiri toll.
You have SaiSangeet, Star Biriyani, Thalapakatti before Pallikonda toll.
Then you have Aryas at Pallikonda toll and lots of restaurants at Vellore.
Then again the A2B at Arcot.

For TN, just have the ePass. There is usually no check anywhere.

Since you are hitting Arcot, why not use the Cheyyar Vandavasi route? If you are hitting Arani, then you can really divert before Vellore to Arani.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by CANPUSH

Do they ask for RT-PCR test while entering Karnataka from Tamilnadu?

Per se from Karnataka no. But if you are travelling on an MH or KL car, you are more likely to be flagged. So better to be prepared.

[ant_vas]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

There is no checking in TN, but still better to take the TN epass. (https://eregister.tnega.org/#/user/pass)

I tried to register, but since am traveling to pondicherry i am not sure what is the District in TN to select. Then i also have to select the place where i will be crossing the border.

Any idea how to register for just passing via TN?

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

I tried to register, but since am traveling to pondicherry i am not sure what is the District in TN to select. Then i also have to select the place where i will be crossing the border.

Any idea how to register for just passing via TN?

Yes, there is no transit pass. Maybe you can register one to a destination in TN and then the second one from TN to Pondicherry.

[Bakash4u]

Hello All
I'm traveling to Pondi next week with my wife and 2 kids.
The trip is for 4 nights and stay is in heritage town.
Pls let me know:-

1. Is this route the best : Bangalore -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Vellore -> Cheyaar -> Tindivanam -> Heritage Town Pondi
2. What are the economical authentic Fench restaurants in pondi? Not just the name but something in budget but authentic
3. Which are the good Pizzerias in pondi? I am confused by all this Xsati, Tanto, Taka... but dont want to go just because its costly,..
4. Most importantly has anyone travelled recently during covid times and how was it?

Also please advise some good non veg. restaurants in pondi. I have read about Sultanpet and Kulipalayam but not sure what is what
Thanks
A Bakash

[CANPUSH]

I travelled to Pondicherry from Pune and Back.

I will post my Bangalore - Pondicherry and return travel experience here.

We took NICE road to bypass Bangalore and joined Hosur road. So the travel was Hosur - Krishnagiri - Ambur - Vellore lower ring road - Arani - Chetpet - Gingee - Tindivanam - Pondicherry and same route on return.

Road conditions are good throughout. Few exceptions - Between Gingee and Tindivanam road work is going on.

The Vellore lower ring road essentially passes through rural TN and essentially two lane road. However, road quality is good and I found it to be good relief after high speed yet boring Hosur - Krishnagiri - Ambur section. Between Lower ring road junction at Athumadurai and Arani town on Arani Vellore road there are number of speed breakers at every small town.

On bigger highways, at every break in median there are temporary road blockages erected similar to Police checkpoints. We found them on all highways: Hosur -Krishnagiri - Vellore, Tindivanam - Pondicherry (Both Six lane) and also on ECR (Two lane) while vising Mamallapuram.

Aarni - Gingee section is two lane but very well made with low traffic. One can sustain three digit speed here.

Crossing Arani, Tindivanam takes some time as you go through the town but that is expected.

Toll plazas in the section had very quick FastTag scans. It took us Six hours from NICE exit to enter Pondicherry. (And one more hour to reach our destination on the other end) Including two tea breaks of 20 minutes each and lunch break of 40 minutes. So effective driving time was 4 hours 40 minutes.

Overall it was smooth drive. Despite of MH registered car, were not stopped by police anywhere. They were stopping bike drivers, may be not wearing masks or helmets.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by Bakash4u

Hello All
I'm traveling to Pondi next week with my wife and 2 kids.
The trip is for 4 nights and stay is in heritage town.
Pls let me know:-

1. Is this route the best : Bangalore -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Vellore -> Cheyaar -> Tindivanam -> Heritage Town Pondi
2. What are the economical authentic Fench restaurants in pondi? Not just the name but something in budget but authentic
3. Which are the good Pizzerias in pondi? I am confused by all this Xsati, Tanto, Taka... but dont want to go just because its costly,..
4. Most importantly has anyone travelled recently during covid times and how was it?

Also please advise some good non veg. restaurants in pondi. I have read about Sultanpet and Kulipalayam but not sure what is what
Thanks
A Bakash

There are lots of posts on the route from Bangalore. Avoid the Chengam-Tiruvanamalai route. All other routes are equally good/bad.

The food part is interesting.
For Pizza : Tantos is "the place". Some people like Xtasy but Tantos offers some good Italian fare like Ravioli as well.
Non-Veg : For Tamil style - dont ever ever miss out SriKamatchi. Its a meat lovers paradise. Go early as the place can get crowded.
French food ( good places are expensive) : Boulangerie at Auroville, Baker Street ( check timings), Cafe Veloute, Rendezvous ( Fusion). There could be others as well.

[ant_vas]

We took NICE road to bypass Bangalore and joined Hosur road. So the travel was Hosur - Krishnagiri - Ambur - Vellore lower ring road - Arani - Chetpet - Gingee - Tindivanam - Pondicherry and same route on return.

Road conditions are good throughout. Few exceptions - Between Gingee and Tindivanam road work is going on.

The Vellore lower ring road essentially passes through rural TN and essentially two lane road. However, road quality is good and I found it to be good relief after high speed yet boring Hosur - Krishnagiri - Ambur section. Between Lower ring road junction at Athumadurai and Arani town on Arani Vellore road there are number of speed breakers at every small town.

On bigger highways, at every break in median there are temporary road blockages erected similar to Police checkpoints. We found them on all highways: Hosur -Krishnagiri - Vellore, Tindivanam - Pondicherry (Both Six lane) and also on ECR (Two lane) while vising Mamallapuram.

Aarni - Gingee section is two lane but very well made with low traffic. One can sustain three digit speed here.

Crossing Arani, Tindivanam takes some time as you go through the town but that is expected.

Did the exact same route for my trip. started at 6.30AM friday and was in Pondicherry by 12.30 with 2 breaks for coffee/breakfast. Crossing Arnai was easy as there was less traffic. Took Thindivanam bypass so didn't have to deal with the town traffic

No checks for COVID any where but did see police after Arni, chetpet and at the Gingee junction but was not stopped.

On the return journey on sunday started at 10.30AM and took the same route. This time went inside Thindivanam as the exit route is shorter and the market though was crowded we were out in less than 10 mins. We were stopped at Chetpet for COVID check but since i knew where these check's were happening we were masked up and were let go. Crossing Arani this time took few extra minutes owing to sunday and people had parked their two wheeler haphazardly

As soon as we hit Chennai-Bangalore highway rain's started accompanying us. Had lunch at sarvana bhavan and reached rainy Bangalore at 4.30PM

[Bakash4u]

Originally Posted by m8002?

There are lots of posts on the route from Bangalore. Avoid the Chengam-Tiruvanamalai route. All other routes are equally good/bad.

The food part is interesting.
For Pizza : Tantos is "the place". Some people like Xtasy but Tantos offers some good Italian fare like Ravioli as well.
Non-Veg : For Tamil style - dont ever ever miss out SriKamatchi. Its a meat lovers paradise. Go early as the place can get crowded.
French food ( good places are expensive) : Boulangerie at Auroville, Baker Street ( check timings), Cafe Veloute, Rendezvous ( Fusion). There could be others as well.

Thanks for the inputs.
I visited Boulangerie at Auroville for breakfast, Baker street for lunch and Rendezvous Rooftop for dinner.
The dishes were more fusion based on fench rather than french itself. But all the places were excellent!
For Pizza i tried Taka as recommended by the home stay owners. Not bad.
For restautant visits we were also constrained for time as good hotels were not accepting guests from 9pm and there was no Zomato delivery after 9.30 pm :(

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by Bakash4u

Thanks for the inputs.
I visited Boulangerie at Auroville for breakfast, Baker street for lunch and Rendezvous Rooftop for dinner.
The dishes were more fusion based on fench rather than french itself. But all the places were excellent!
For Pizza i tried Taka as recommended by the home stay owners. Not bad.
For restautant visits we were also constrained for time as good hotels were not accepting guests from 9pm and there was no Zomato delivery after 9.30 pm :(

Glad you liked the recommendations. Rendezvous was always a fusion place.

I still think you should have tried Tantos for pizza and also SriKamatchi for some traditional TamilNadu items. But there is always another time!!

[Bakash4u]

Originally Posted by m8002?

Glad you liked the recommendations. Rendezvous was always a fusion place.

I still think you should have tried Tantos for pizza and also SriKamatchi for some traditional TamilNadu items. But there is always another time!!

Sure will try Tantos next time for the Pizza.
Basically it was Pizzas that I wanted to try most, because, for the French food, I travel to France frequently and so I get many opportunities to try the French food. Howvwer the pizzerias were corwded in the afternoon and in the evenings they were closing early due to restrictions.

For the tamil food, it will happen sooner, even if not on Sri Kamatchi, as I am married in Tamilnadu

[Repsol]

Hello All,

I will be traveling to Pondicherry next weekend. Last time when I did a Pondicherry trip (in 2017), the route I took was:

Bangalore > Hosur > Krishnagiri > Ambur > Arcot> Cheyyar > Tindivanam > Pondicherry

But, based on the last few posts on this thread, I understood that the below route is the best (scenic + road condition + 25km shorter than first route).

Bangalore > Hosur > Krishnagiri > Ambur > Pallikonda > Arani > Gingee > Tindivanam > Pondicherry

Please correct me if I need to make any changes to the above route. Also, we are fully vaccinated, so I plan to take the vaccine certificates, along with the TN ePass. For my 6 yr old daughter, I am not planning to take RT-PCR.

[sachinpk]

^^^ Addendum to the above post. Planning for a Pondicherry visit.
1. Are there e-Pass requirements for TN or Pondicherry? If yes, where to get it from?
2. Any kind of night curfews or police bandobust which we should watch out for?
3. We will be carrying RT-PCR reports (if they are COVID negative) for all travellers and hope that is sufficient.

Also; how is the route from Pondicherry to Bangalore via Tiruvannamalai. Are the roads better now? Wanted to avoid the monotony of driving on four lane highways.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Repsol

Hello All,

I will be traveling to Pondicherry next weekend. Last time when I did a Pondicherry trip (in 2017), the route I took was:

Bangalore > Hosur > Krishnagiri > Ambur > Arcot> Cheyyar > Tindivanam > Pondicherry

But, based on the last few posts on this thread, I understood that the below route is the best (scenic + road condition + 25km shorter than first route).

Bangalore > Hosur > Krishnagiri > Ambur > Pallikonda > Arani > Gingee > Tindivanam > Pondicherry

I think still the Arcot-Vandavasi route may be better. Some broken roads here and there, but over all its still a better option. Also use the bypass at Cheyyar, Vandavasi and Tindivanam.