[bdutta]

Originally Posted by nileshch

Banibrata, check the previous few posts. You should find all your answers!

Thanks @nileshch. Actually my post with moved/merged with this thread. Indeed this thread has all the answers.

[bdutta]

Here's my quick trip report. Went to Pondicherry (from B'lore) on 20th August, and headed back on 22nd August (yesterday).

Car: Logan GLX Petrol 1.3
Loading: 4 Adults, 2 kids (both 7yrs), and boot-full of luggage
Mileage: 14Kmpl (95% or more, of A/C)
Max-Speed done: 125Kmph (only on sections on NH-7 and NH-66)
Typical Speed: 90-100Kmph is safely doable in most other parts.


B'lore -> Pondicherry : 470 Kms (About 160Kms & 3hours extra, with total 1hr in stopovers)

NH-7 (Bangalore -> Hosur) : No issues, did a steady 110Kmph

Detour (Forced): Met with a "Chakka-Jam" by students of some Engg college, on Hosur Road, very close to a part which 'thankfully' had the SH-17 branch-out very close. Lost some 45mins in the hold up prior to branching out on SH-17.

SH-17 (Hosur -> Roayakottay -> Krishnagiri) : Pass thru some villages then hit SH-17. Did a steady 90Kmph. The only sore point was the TN-state busses headed for Dharmapuri. They continue to bully you off-road from time to time.

We had a 10:30am late breakfast, at a village whose name I do not recollect. It was an experience. As a typical city-bred idiot, I've always thought that village eateries to be unhygenic and serving dirty food. Of course I've been proven wrong in the past, this time it was a smack on the face. The food was plain awsome, every one, including kids and ladies, were raving about it. It was plain idly-dosa and 3 kinds of chutney and tea. And folks goaded me to return via same route, although I unfortunately couldn't. Took some snaps, spent some time in the village. The highpoint of the day.

NH-46 (Krishnagiri -> Vellore) : Sweet drive, and last section in the hilly areas is beautiful. Mostly did 100Kmph.

NH-234 (Vellore -> Kannamangalam) : Had to stop and ask for directions. Given my limited vocab of Tamil of less than 10 words, had a tough time understanding directions. Good thing is, inspite of apparent "lost expression" on the face, people are very helpful and go to great length explaining. Someone suggested the route via Arcot. Should've taken that, but we took the one via Arani instead.

SH-132 (Kannamangalam -> Arani) : Not bad, and can do 70kmph barring some in-city sections

SH-4 (Arani -> Chetpet -> Gingee bypass) : Immediately after Arani, we committed the cardinal sin of enabling GPS, asking for direction, taking back-seat driver advise and got totally confused. Missed the route via Vandavasi, and landed up losing some good 60Kms worth of saving. Instead headed back for Gingee (which was unnecessary had we aimed for Vandavasi). Until that mistake, GPS was showing distance to destination (Pondy) as 72Kms, but after the missed turn, it shot to 130Kms. This was the first trip we used GPS in India. It was the standard s/w on Nokia C7, and I was mighty impressed. The routes were quite accurate, with most petropumps, pit-stops well marked.

NH-66 (Gingee bypass -> Tindivanam -> Pondicherry) : Standard route, and as usual. Nothing to comment except for the final leg of 15-20Kms approaching Pondicherry is now complete, and is almost international class freeway quality, and a pleasure to drive.



Pondicherry -> B'lore : 315 Kms (About 7hours, with total 1hr in stopovers)

Standard route via NH-66 and NH-7 (Pondicherry -> Tindivannam -> Ginjee -> Thiruvannamali -> Krishnagiri -> Hosur -> Bangalore).

Feedback: The section between Thiruvannamalai & Krishnagiri **SHOULD NOT** be done if it has rained overnight or is raining. There are upwards of 100 crater-sized potholes, especially the last leg of 30Kms while going from Thiruvannamali, and before reaching Krishnagiri. You will most probably wreck your vehicle, unless it is a really robust SUV. The last 20-30Kms your average speed might fall to 40Kmph, but for rest I did an average of 70Kmph (i.e. in this section).

However if it is dry condition since last 1-2 days, and you are driving in full natural light, i.e. doing the said section before 7AM-5PM, and if you are a careful driver, you can manage all of the potholes and craters, and do an average of 70-80kmph in this section, which can save you a good 1.5hrs (or more) for the Vellore detour.


While at Pondi
Hope to post some Pondi pics. This was my 4th trip to Pondi in last 7yrs. The promenade (Beach Road), beauty & cleanliness seems to have taken a hit. The hawkers / road-side stalls ("thelas") are now all along the (rocky) beach-front. The crowd was quite a bit, however I still love it everytime I visit.

Aurobeach was a stinking, dirty, deserted beach. Dead fish all over the place, and the beach's incline into water gives it a very "uncomfortable" feel. Not good for family and kids. So we headed out to "Paradise Beach". Ask for directions to "Boat House". It's on the Cuddalore route, about 10Kms down south. That is bliss, and the highpoint of the trip. Spent a good day there on the beach, and got a terrific (and painful) tan.

~bdutta

[subbarp]

Originally Posted by kirantp

Guys, You can also take the Bangalore -> Tirpattur->T.annamalai->Pondicherry route if you wish to avoid the 40KM bad stretch. I received this suggestion from a Pondichery localite who is my colleague and does this route every alternate weekend.

Note: This route would be a 40KMS deviation from the usual Bangalore->T.annamalai-> Pondicherry route but worth doing it to keep theLow GC cars in good shape

How do you go from Tirpattur to T.annamalai? Looks like you have to hit NH-66 again after Tirpattur, and from what I read here, the pain is more so in the last 30 Km towards T.annamalai.
Could you provide some more detail on the interim spots?

thanks,
Subbarp

[ampere]

Originally Posted by subbarp

How do you go from Tirpattur to T.annamalai? Looks like you have to hit NH-66 again after Tirpattur, and from what I read here, the pain is more so in the last 30 Km towards T.annamalai.
Could you provide some more detail on the interim spots?

thanks,
Subbarp

I think the last 30 km are comparatively better then the first leg. Chengam-Tiruvannamalai is somewhat better than the Uthangarai/Samalpatti section, where its pretty bad.

[subbarp]

Originally Posted by ampere

I think the last 30 km are comparatively better then the first leg. Chengam-Tiruvannamalai is somewhat better than the Uthangarai/Samalpatti section, where its pretty bad.

I took the call of going by the shortest route. Reached Bangalore(home) to Krishnagiri in 1 hour 45 minutes ( home to krishnagiri - 93km).
Thereafter it took me 3hours 10 min to T'malai. The road wasn't too bad if you've driven in Bangalore post rains. Pretty similar, however what it does to you is brings down your top and average speed. You can safely navigate all potholes provided you drive slowly and have enough time to navigate potholes. I also got a railway crossing at Samalpatti(3 hours from Bangalore). T'vanam was touched in 6 hours but journey after that was super quick. Total journey time 6 hours 45 min to Pondicherry.
Subbarp

Originally Posted by subbarp

I also got a railway crossing at Samalpatti

There is a narrow subway available at Samalpatti railway level crossing [on LHS from Krishnagiri side] for LMV, which is used by buses too. However, the entry and exit ramps are not maintained properly. But, we can use it in case of closure of gates at the level crossing instead of waiting.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

There is a narrow subway available at Samalpatti railway level crossing [on LHS from Krishnagiri side] for LMV, which is used by buses too. However, the entry and exit ramps are not maintained properly. But, we can use it in case of closure of gates at the level crossing instead of waiting.

Thanks. Never bothered to find this. The crossing in itself is pretty bad.
This would also help, even in case, when the gates are open.

[subbarp]

Originally Posted by subbarp

I took the call of going by the shortest route. Reached Bangalore(home) to Krishnagiri in 1 hour 45 minutes ( home to krishnagiri - 93km).
Thereafter it took me 3hours 10 min to T'malai. The road wasn't too bad if you've driven in Bangalore post rains. Pretty similar, however what it does to you is brings down your top and average speed. You can safely navigate all potholes provided you drive slowly and have enough time to navigate potholes. I also got a railway crossing at Samalpatti(3 hours from Bangalore). T'vanam was touched in 6 hours but journey after that was super quick. Total journey time 6 hours 45 min to Pondicherry.
Subbarp

Return from Pondicherry to Bangalore was via the Team-bhp recommended route ( Pondicherry - Tindivanam 45 min, Tindivanam - Vandavasi - Cheyyar -Arcot 2 hours 20 min, Arcot - Vellore - Krishnagiri 1 hour 50 min, Krishnagiri-Bangalore (home) 1.5 hours. Total time about 6 hours 25 min, with 2 breaks 5 min each.
Onward via k'giri - T'malai - Tindivanam - Pondicherry : 6 hours 45 min for 328 km
Return via. Tindivanam - Vandavasi - Cheyyar - Arcot - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Bangalore : 6 hours 25 min for 374 km. Road from Tindivanam to Arcot is decent somewhat like the erstwhile national highways with 1.5 lane each side and no divider.

Thanks,
Subbarp

[mohan41]

I am planning to visit Pondicherry with my wife and kid. Which are the best beach resorts out there? Good veg food availability is an important requirement for us.

[Fortuner71]

@Mohan for good veg food visit Surguru , there are 3 branches in Pondy . Try Dunes resort on cuddalore road .

[Harshavarthan]

Originally Posted by mohan41

I am planning to visit Pondicherry with my wife and kid. Which are the best beach resorts out there? Good veg food availability is an important requirement for us.

Surguru is the best veg restaurant as far as i know. And for the stay, my suggestion is zest beach resort (club mahindra). Though it is around 15kms from the city.

[Zed]

@ Mohan - The Dune is quite an off beat resort - you will either love it or hate it. The food is awesome and the staff very friendly & will do their best to accommodate your food preferences. The room concepts are very interesting but can seem pricey from an indian perspective since the non air-conditioned rooms are essentially aesthetic done up straw huts - off beat and edgy but not exactly the last word in luxury if that your kind of thing. My wife and I loved our stay. Complimentary bicycles are offered with all rooms to move around the resort. The highlight however is the ' tower house' room and the price tag is just as impressive! Quick tip - do not opt for the tower house on a rainy\Thundery night !
The zest resort is more of a conventional upmarket resort with lots of things to keep kids and grown ups occupied.
I wish you and the family a great drive and a memorable stay

[NPV]

@Mohan - For food (veg) Surguru is good. There is also an A2B (Adayar Ananda Bhavan) in the shopping area on the way to the beach. Haven't stayed at any resorts there so unable to help on that front. Did you search travelogues/other forum posts in TBHP ?

[mohan41]

Originally Posted by narayans80

For guys trying to use the Arcot route (which is going inside Arcot town). There are 2 exits into Arcot, first at 119 km mark and another at 115 km. The first is easier from Bangalore side. There are couple of identifications:

- 5 km after Ratnagiri Murugan Temple (124 km mark), which is visible from the highway.
- 21 km from the very first Vellore bridge (coming from Bangalore side). Vellore town is ~ 138 km mark.

No need to cross Palar bridge which is after both Arcot exits.

- If you guys are coming from Chittoor side, you have to drive towards Vellore on NH46. Arcot exit is 5 km further down. This means Chittoor route merges at 110 km mark, you drive towards Vellore and take the exit at 115 km mark.

PS: All distances are milestone distances towards Madras.

Thanks Narayan. I am planning to take this route.

Is the point A the one 5km from Ratnagiri Murugan temple? I hope there is a exit marked Arcot at that place. Just in case I miss that point, is there a U turn available before or after the Palar bridge to come back into Arcot?

Also can you also describe what signs to look for once we enter into Arcot town to easily find the road to Tindivanam.

Thanks again!

[mohan41]

Originally Posted by mohan41

Thanks Narayan. I am planning to take this route.

Is the point A the one 5km from Ratnagiri Murugan temple? I hope there is a exit marked Arcot at that place. Just in case I miss that point, is there a U turn available before or after the Palar bridge to come back into Arcot?

Also can you also describe what signs to look for once we enter into Arcot town to easily find the road to Tindivanam.

Thanks again!

After going through previous pages of this thread, looks like the answer is in this post.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2447425

In any case, I would also like to know if Krishnagiri-Tirupattur-Tiruvannamalai-Tindivanam route is worth considering? I will be driving my Getz. Is this the correct route to Tiruvannamalai after Krishnagiri? NH46-SH131 to Tirupattur-SH18A to Tiruvannamalai.