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I have noticed the liquor check points every time I exit Pondicherry in recent times. Both towards the ECR and towards Tindivanam. They were present some years ago and were absent later on when the prices became equal in both states, but reintroduced for some reason now. I slow down at the point but have not been stopped so far. Probably due to the presence of my aged mom and young son in the car in earlier days, and because of my silver hair and my wife in the front seat now!

But checks are definitely happening. So it is better to use one's discretion.

I am leaving tomorrow morning around 6 AM from Whitefield. Google says that Old madras road is 20 minutes faster than Hosur- Krishnagiri ...
Any opinions ?

It is not mandatory 100% check but done for most cars heading out of Pondy by the TN police. It is there at all major exit roads from Pondy in all directions. Better be safe.

Hi
I recently returned back from Pondicherry. While return back to Bangalore, went to Auroville, took the NH32 to Tindivanam, then to Ginger, Chetpet, Arani, Vellore, Ambur and Bangalore .

There were check posts on NH32, but I didn’t see a single car being stopped for a check. I crossed NH32 between 4-6 pm.

I agree with this factor, previously was never stopped but a police man tried to approach possibly for check at the toll gate, and looking at the same factors he went back without stopping. Some advantages of silver :) Just exchanged smiles and slowed down. He didnt bother to stop.

I returned yesterday exactly the same way.It took exactly 7 hours with no lunch break and moderate speed.

For first timers to Pondicherry or people like me going after decades, please be very careful of the route. There are multiple routes and frankly Google does not do a good job in helping you decide. Sometimes it is better to take the longer route if time is the same since the stress is less though the toll might be more.
There was one checkpoint where the sole excise ? person had stopped a car and pulled out a bottle from it.
One strange aspect was that the mileage (as reported by Honda city) from Bangalore - Pondicherry was approx 17 kmpl on the onward journey and 14.8 on the return. Conditions were almost the same. The only explanation would be fuel quality but that still does not explain such a high variance

I took my Ritz petrol to Pondicherry a week back. While going it returned the average of 21ish, while coming back it dropped to 19ish. I think the main reason is descending and ascending from and to Bangalore. We're at 920m above sea level after all. But this is just my guess. :coldsweat

While the altitude item is true, it may also because you would have endured the return traffic within Bangalore while coming back.

While going to Pondicherry that would have been negated.

That makes sense. I did not think of it. There has to be a difference for sure. But i would expect the consumption to gradually decrease while in my case it was largely constant

The route is quite tricky I think for first timers. One route shows 50 kms lesser but same time as the one that we took.
Thanks to this topic, I was good taking the recommended route.

The Arani option has come up only recently. I would still say just stick to the time and tested route of Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Tindivinam. Its the easiest to drive and maximises the drive on the 6-lane. Plus not to mention you get more options to break. The last being A2B at Arcot.

Also the towns have bypasses (Cheyyar/Vandavasi/Tindivanam). (Route Link)

Unless of course you all want to explore more routes!

Happy to get this route, thanks for sharing
In fact I didn’t know about this route and tried Arani route - it was a good experience but there were very few cars on Arani route heading towards Pondicherry, kept me pondering if the route was a regular one or not.

Will try using this route for next trip :)

I have seen similar variation on my Bangalore - Chennai/Pondy trips. Usually will get 16 on the onward and 14-14.5 on the return. The reason must be the elevation as we travel from 900m above sea level to sea level. In fact I notice a 1 kmpl difference between Bangalore-Krishnagiri itself. This is with moderate city traffic on both onward and return so that evens out.

I travelled to Pondicherry recently.

On the way, I took the Krishnagiri - Chengam - Thiruvannamalai - Gingee - Tindivanam route.

For the return trip, I took the Tindivanam - Gingee - Arani - Pallikonda route.

I will go against the grain here and state that the Thiruvannamalai route is both quicker (marginally), cheaper (tolls), and better. Yes, there are sections where the road is terrible and even non-existent, but you can spot them coming, and the sections in between are simply fantastic. There are fewer vehicles, fewer speed bumps, and is just more scenic.

I had intended to take the Arani route onward as well but Google kept showing me the Thiruvannamalai route as taking the same time, and being cheaper, which I kept ignoring. However, by the time I neared Krishnagiri, Google was showing me the Thiruvannamalai route as being quicker, which led me to take the call.

I did the Arani route while returning and it was frustrating passing through Arani, dealing with the traffic, and the many villages you hit on the way. I took this on a Sunday, so that may have something to do with it, but my observation still stands.

I have not tried the Arcot - Cheyyur - Vandavasi route so that's likely the best route from Bangalore given that you are on the highway longer, as seems to be the consensus here, but between the Arani route and the Thiruvannamalai route, I would choose the latter.

I travelled to Pondicherry on 17th September( Saturday) and Returned on 19th September (Monday).

To Pondy - I took Krishnagiri- Vellore- Arcot- Cheyyar- Vandavasi- Tindivanam-Pondy

Till Vellore it was really good roads and not much traffic. After that the towns have bypass. I was following @ampere's route he provided above. However somewhere between Vandavasi and Tindivanam Gmap re-routed and I did not give much attention. But that road was pain. So stick to the main road.

Return- I took Pondy-Tindivanam-Gingee-Chepet-Arani-Arcot-Vellore-Krishnagiri route.
Though the area near Gingee is very scenic, rocky hills looks like a mini Hampi, passing through the towns are pain (I was travelling on Monday). Roads are good for 95%. Some places road work was going on.

Given these two I would prefer first option for next time. But if someone who have not tried Gingee route, it is worth for one time to see the landscape.