[ampere]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

I am not sure about the road conditions between Harur & Thiruvannamalai, there are regular buses which ply between Dharmapuri - Harur while its not the case between Tiruvannamalai & Harur, nevertheless it would be a good thing to check it out once.

The stretch till the turn-off for Sathanur was very good (as indicated in the attached figure. That is the section I have done). In fact that road (SH) seemed pretty wide too.
Let us see if the road beyond Tambarambattu to Harur is good in conditions as you said. Also I saw quite some traffic on the this approach road from Tiruvannamalai.

[pypkmsrikanth]

You have good traffic between Tandarambattu and Tiruvannamalai, also if my memory serves correct I have seen buses going from Tiruvannamalai to Harur on their way to Salem via Utthangarai & Chengam which is what makes me suspect about the balance stretch. If it was shorter and good enough the buses would not go all the way to Uthangarai and then turn towards Harur.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

You have good traffic between Tandarambattu and Tiruvannamalai, also if my memory serves correct I have seen buses going from Tiruvannamalai to Harur on their way to Salem via Utthangarai & Chengam which is what makes me suspect about the balance stretch. If it was shorter and good enough the buses would not go all the way to Uthangarai and then turn towards Harur.

What you say is true, but buses may go via Chengam/Utthangarai because, they are towns, and buses would need to cater to them.

The balance distance is about 60Km. As you say, need to know, how bad (of good?) is this stretch!

EDIT: I also realized there is ghat section involved there.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by karanp23

We just completed a trip to pondy, last week, to participate in the auroville marathon. Four of our runner friends started from Bangalore, to be precise at 6:10 am from IIM, Bannerghata Road.

Having heard about the bad road conditions between Krishnagiri and Tiruvannmalai, we chose to drive to Vellore. We reached vellore at 8:55 am, halted for break fast, it was a long break of 1 hour at a relatives place and then left for POndy via arni-chetpet-gingee. The road condition between Vellore and Arni was good but it was worst between Arni and Chetpet especially, for a distance of 10-12 kms. Otherwise, the rest of the section was really good.

To summarize, we took the following route Bangalore - Vellore (NH7/NH46) - Arni - Chetpet - Gingee (Joined NH66 here) - Tindivanam - Pondy. We reached Pody exactly at 12:55 pm, distance of 369 kms in a running time of 5 hours and 50 minutes. The car used was CEDIA sports

As we found Vellore a strategic mid point, we chose to drive back the same route. The return journey took about 6 hours.

I noticed that after the toll booth at Pallikonda (just before vellore), one can take a U Turn, proceed to SRIPURAM TEmple and from there a link road connects to the Vellore ARNI road. WE did not experiment this road but it appears one can save about 15-20 minutes, given the traffic situation inside vellore town.

which car karan? im going to use the same route with a lancer. good to go?

[rk_sans]

Guys,
I am off to pondy next week. So which is the best route and how are the road conditions ?
Last time when i went couple of years ago, i had taken krishnagiri, chengam, Tindivanam and finally pondy.

[ampere]

The best route folks use is via Vellore/Krishnagiri/Kanchi/Chengelpet/Tindivanam/Pondy.
Not worth taking the Krishnagiri/Tiruvannamalai road.

There is a by-pass of he Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai road. This goes via Dharmapuri-Harur-Tiruvannamalai. But since I am not sure about its status, I would not suggest.

[laluks]

With a small detour from what ampere suggested, you can club mahabalipuram and take ECR to Pondy, if you have the time to check Mahabs out.

[rk_sans]

Originally Posted by laluks

With a small detour from what ampere suggested, you can club mahabalipuram and take ECR to Pondy, if you have the time to check Mahabs out.

Laluks,
No detour, no sightseeing. Only Pondy, relax and come back. Let me know which is the best route.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by ampere

The best route folks use is via Vellore/Krishnagiri/Kanchi/Chengelpet/Tindivanam/Pondy.
Not worth taking the Krishnagiri/Tiruvannamalai road.

There is a by-pass of he Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai road. This goes via Dharmapuri-Harur-Tiruvannamalai. But since I am not sure about its status, I would not suggest.

+1 . I too suggest the route thru Kancheepuram ! The roads are brilliant. I tried it after hearing very bad reviews of Tiruvannamalai route and it paid off.

Originally Posted by rk_sans

Laluks,
No detour, no sightseeing. Only Pondy, relax and come back. Let me know which is the best route.

Pondy at this time??? Should be as HOT as HELL !! I could not tolerate the humidity when I went there in last October. Cant even imagine Mar - April !! Anyway please try the route given above, you will not be dissatisfied.

[rk_sans]

Are you guys suggesting the attached pic route ?

Also any pointers on good place to hangout during the evening times in Pondy.

[laluks]

No. Go all the way to kanchipuram on the 4 lane Highway. Then via Kanchipuram hit Chengelpettu. Then Tindivanam, and pondy.

Chunnambar beach would be ideal for a day. You have to cross the back waters using a aboat to the pristine beach. But evening you'll have to come back.

[ampere]

This is what we (Me and Laluks) were referring to:

[brat001]

Ampere: what is the distance from blr to pondi based on the directions in the map above, as opposed to the usual tmalai route? thanks,planning to drive down tomm morning

[rohitm]

Its about 430 Kms. I agree with this route i., Blr - Vellore - Kanchipuram - Chengalpettu - Tindivanam - Pondi. Did it a couple of months back and easily the best route to take. Any other route you better drive in a tractor

[ampere]

There would be at least a 100Km difference. But it is still worth it. The Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai road which is about 120km, is a real pain and totally takes away the joy of driving.
Hence its better to do this extra 100Km.