[mayankverma]

I drove to Puducherry on 29 june & returned back on 01 july. I stay in East Bengaluru & took the following route:

Hosur-->Krishnagiri-->Uthangarai-->Chengam-->Tiruvannamalai-->Gingee-->Tindivanam-->Puducherry.

Travel time: ~6 hours for onward journey & ~6.5 hours for return journey(detour via Auroville), excluding lunch & tea breaks. Total trip 700 kms, including local travel within Puducherry. Mileage 15.5 kmpl with AC all the time(Creta '22 Petrol).

Roads feedback:
The roads are excellent (although 2 lane from Krishnagiri-->Tindivanam but light traffic) and construction work is negligible(2~3 locations only). Also no tolls from Krishnagiri-->Tindivanam .

I would take this route if I go again & recommend this route.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

I drove to Puducherry on 29 june & returned back on 01 july. I stay in East Bengaluru & took the following route:

Hosur-->Krishnagiri-->Uthangarai-->Chengam-->Tiruvannamalai-->Gingee-->Tindivanam-->Puducherry.

Travel time: ~6 hours for onward journey & ~6.5 hours for return journey(detour via Auroville), excluding lunch & tea breaks. Total trip 700 kms, including local travel within Puducherry. Mileage 15.5 kmpl with AC all the time(Creta '22 Petrol).

Roads feedback:
The roads are excellent (although 2 lane from Krishnagiri-->Tindivanam but light traffic) and construction work is negligible(2~3 locations only). Also no tolls from Krishnagiri-->Tindivanam .

I would take this route if I go again & recommend this route.

From Krishnagiri onwards, on this route, is it difficult to maintain good speeds? Asking since this is two lane and with no dividers.

Also, what would be a good breakfast stop. Travelling with senior citizens so need a place with clean bathrooms.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Also, what would be a good breakfast stop. Travelling with senior citizens so need a place with clean bathrooms.

Thats a tricky question for this route. If you start very early, you would reach Krishnagiri too early. And then there is not any major ones till you reach Tiruvannamalai. And now with the bypasses up and running, you need get into the town to eat. Hopefully some good hotels come up on these bypasses.

Hope others also report on this.

[mayankverma]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

From Krishnagiri onwards, on this route, is it difficult to maintain good speeds? Asking since this is two lane and with no dividers.

Krishnagiri onwards I was able to maintain 70~90 kph without un-necessary overtaking and light traffic and many by-passes.

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Also, what would be a good breakfast stop. Travelling with senior citizens so need a place with clean bathrooms.

We packed our food for onward journey but had lunch on our return at a restaurant called Hari Haran in Tindivanam city. Clean restaurant and fresh local vegetarian food.

[Viktor2491]

hi , i am planning from Bangalore to Pondi on the 15th august weekend.
being from Whitefield what would be the best route (both to and from). As its a long weekend i expect there will be much traffic

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

I drove to Puducherry on 29 june & returned back on 01 july. I stay in East Bengaluru & took the following route:

Hosur-->Krishnagiri-->Uthangarai-->Chengam-->Tiruvannamalai-->Gingee-->Tindivanam-->Puducherry.

This route is in fantastic shape and is the default recommended route. Roads are good and can keep up 90-110 kmph comfortable speeds throughout, except for a few stretches where the slow moving truck traffic is higher. Otherwise, its a very good route to take.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Also, what would be a good breakfast stop. Travelling with senior citizens so need a place with clean bathrooms.

Murugan Idly before the Krishnagiri toll is an option if you're not reaching there earlier than their opening time (7am ?). After this, there are hardly any options on the Tiruvannamalai route, so if you need another break, probably have to get inside Tiruvannamalai.

Originally Posted by Viktor2491

hi , i am planning from Bangalore to Pondi on the 15th august weekend.
being from Whitefield what would be the best route (both to and from). As its a long weekend i expect there will be much traffic

In general, the Tiruvannamalai route is fine now, but given it's a long weekend, you may have to rely on Google maps for your routing, especially if Whitefield-Varthur-Sarjapur-Atiibele is choked.

[gajadonga]

Originally Posted by Viktor2491

hi , i am planning from Bangalore to Pondi on the 15th august weekend.
being from Whitefield what would be the best route (both to and from). As its a long weekend i expect there will be much traffic

From Whitefield you can take the route to avoid Attibele

Thirumalasettyhalli- Chikkatirupathi - Alambadi - Baglur - Hosur. That is my regular route to bypass Banglore when I come from Hyderabad

[adnaps]

Originally Posted by Viktor2491

hi , i am planning from Bangalore to Pondi on the 15th august weekend.
being from Whitefield what would be the best route (both to and from). As its a long weekend i expect there will be much traffic

The direct route via thiruvanamallai is the best but considering the long weekend and congestion at the tolls would sugest

Whitefield - Hoskote - Chittoor - Ranipet - Cheyyar - Tindivanam -- Pondicherry

https://goo.gl/maps/jpJBFHHdLSsCe95K8

[nagarjun]

Originally Posted by adnaps

The direct route via thiruvanamallai is the best but considering the long weekend and congestion at the tolls would sugest

Whitefield - Hoskote - Chittoor - Ranipet - Cheyyar - Tindivanam -- Pondicherry

https://goo.gl/maps/jpJBFHHdLSsCe95K8

If you are leaving Bangalore early, I would still suggest Thiruvannamallai route as the road is much better. The only toll plazas that might create an issue would Electronic city and Attibele. The road from Chittoor is quite to Tindivanam is not a smooth tarmac and you will not a very low Avg speed.

[mankuthimma]

We will be travelling to Pondy during this Aug 15th weekend, leaving on Friday and coming back on Monday. Planning to visit Thiruvannamalai temple on the way.

Going by the prior posts, will take Krishnagiri route while going and Ranipet-Chittor route while coming back. Thanks for the latest route updates!

Want to experience the exquisite French heritage villas and their food what Pondy is known for. But given that its a long weekend, definitely want to avoid the holiday crowd in touristy places like White Town and Auroville. Any recommendations for relatively quieter places around these areas to spend some time with good food and equally important, without the hassles of finding parking places ?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Any recommendations for relatively quieter places around these areas to spend some time with good food and equally important, without the hassles of finding parking places ?

There is no escaping the crowd. Take one of those good botique hotels like the CGH and walk around.

[car_addict]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Going by the prior posts, will take Krishnagiri route while going and Ranipet-Chittor route while coming back. Thanks for the latest route updates!

I stay in North Bangalore. I have used the NICE Road-Krishnagiri-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Pondi route multiple times. However, from this thread, it seems that Hoskote-Kolar-Chittor-Ranipet-Vandavasi-Pondi route is more suitable to people staying in North Bangalore. I am tempted to take this route this time.

Along the older route, there are multiple options to eat until Arcot. However along Kolar-Chittor route can you please suggest a few places to eat with clean bathrooms?

[adnaps]

Originally Posted by car_addict

I stay in North Bangalore. I have used the NICE Road-Krishnagiri-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Pondi route multiple times. However, from this thread, it seems that Hoskote-Kolar-Chittor-Ranipet-Vandavasi-Pondi route is more suitable to people staying in North Bangalore. I am tempted to take this route this time.

Along the older route, there are multiple options to eat until Arcot. However along Kolar-Chittor route can you please suggest a few places to eat with clean bathrooms?

There are a lot of good restaurants at approx every 20 Km from Hoskote all the way to Karnataka border of the likes of Swati, Addigas, Pakshala, Coffee Day and many more. Even beyond Karnataka border there are a few restaurants but not as frequent.

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by car_addict

Along the older route, there are multiple options to eat until Arcot. However along Kolar-Chittor route can you please suggest a few places to eat with clean bathrooms?

Originally Posted by adnaps

There are a lot of good restaurants at approx every 20 Km from Hoskote all the way to Karnataka border of the likes of Swati, Addigas, Pakshala, Coffee Day and many more. Even beyond Karnataka border there are a few restaurants but not as frequent.

As mentioned by @adnaps, there are lot of options on the Chittoor route. For my own return journey via this route, I have noted down these options, thanks to bhpians from the previous posts -

Aishwarya Bhavan (Tindivanam)
Amirtha Restaurant Ranipet
A2B Arcott
Hotel Alankar
Nandi Food Plaza Chittoor.
Between Chittoor and Kolar, there are no. of places one after the other.

Originally Posted by ampere

There is no escaping the crowd. Take one of those good botique hotels like the CGH and walk around.

Thanks for this suggestion sir ! Always liked CGH in other places. Looks like they have two of them -
Palais de Mahe - CGH Earth
Maison Perumal Hotel & Restaurant – CGH Earth
Will try to visit one of them, hopefully no long queues for waiting, as I read about other 'happening' places in this area.

For someone who is paranoid about parking like me, here are the options that I have noted down for parking near White Town

Botanical Garden Parking
https://goo.gl/maps/y3SA4Jx7YdN6nJSY8

Public Parking near pondichery beach
https://goo.gl/maps/sue4GtzKyZ7ymX1t5