[pranava999]

Thanks SDP appreciate it. Any update son road conditions other than TVM and what highways will I be travelling on?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Best route will be as in post #37 above - Bangalore->Hosur->Krishnagiri->TVM->Pondi.

Just avoid going thru TVM town. The roads are usually in horrible condition with large potholes inside TVM. Just before TVM town there's a diversion ( you have to take a complete U-turn almost ) and go around the Arunachal hill to avoid TVM town, you'll find buses and trucks being diverted.

The U-Turn mentioned is about 2-3Km after Arunai Ananata resort (that you will see on your right while heading towards TVM)

[Gandhi]

Originally Posted by pranava999

Thanks SDP appreciate it. Any update son road conditions other than TVM and what highways will I be travelling on?

Hey, hope you had a great trip to Pondy. Can you update on the road conditions?. We are driving down to Pondy next weekend (26th June) and any info on the road condition would help.

[pranava999]

Originally Posted by Gandhi

Hey, hope you had a great trip to Pondy. Can you update on the road conditions?. We are driving down to Pondy next weekend (26th June) and any info on the road condition would help.

Well the NHs upto Krishnagiri are great . Post K'giri NH46 and Nh66 are 2 lane highways and will slow you down with patchwork,also there are quite a few potholes and some sharp bends that one has to watch out for, especially if you are driving through rain.

Passing through Thiruvannamalai slows you down as the roads are pretty bad but motorable (still have to be asphalted post some civic works for drainage). The route takes you around the temple to a busy street and then a traffic junction,do ask for directions in TVM . We missed the bypass that was mentioned in Ampere's above posts, so we just drove straight through the town. The bypass I think its an almost U type left turn that one has to take just after the resort mentioned. I'm not sure, but maybe some one can confirm. Passing through the town may take you anywhere between 20-25mins.

While approaching and passing through Thindivanam look out for traffic and some jams as the highway becomes a one way and you must take a bit of a detour that takes you into a narrow town streets that are again pretty badly potholed, crowded and you join back onto the NH Flyover Junction) - 20-25mins depending on traffic.

We left Bangalore at 6am and reached Pondy at 12pm, with a 15min breakfast break . The return journey on the same route took us 6.30hrs with a 15 min lunch break in between at TVM.

The route has both old and new direction signs all along and even the locals are well informed. Should not be a problem.

Cheers, Have a good drive.

[Lukeskywalker]

The byepass is just a road around the hill, in fact it is called "Malaisutthavali" meaning road round the hill, there is an english board too translating the same, "hillround roadway" or such.
This road isn't actually a byepass, it just avoids the road next to the temple and then you end up on the crowded market again.


I went to Pondycherry last weekend.

[anandbhat]

Hi,
I'm planning to Pondi this weekend.
Planning to leave Sat early morning and take EC elevated road. Any suggestions on the route most welcome.

Also, please suggest good place to have break-fast. Thinking of A2B. Is this after Krishnagiri or before?
Any places to visit in Pondi? Below is my list of what to see...

Place What to see Gingee Fort ECR Mahatma Gandhi statue Auroville Matri Mandir
Chunnambar Beach
Aurobindo Ashram
Manakula Vinayaka Temple AUROSHIKHA shopping Mission Street Nehru Street

Botanical Garden
Thanks in advance. Is road condition between Krishnagiri and TVM any better now?

[anandbhat]

Went Pondicherry 14,5-Aug. Over all drive was good.
Route taken was:
Bangalore->Hosur (via EC flyover)->Krishnagiri-> Utangarai->Chengam->Thiruvanmalai->Gingee->Tindivanam->Pondicherry
Over all decent roads through out. No "big pot holes" but there are.
Could do return journey in about 6.30hrs door to door.
We stayed at The Dune, and it is a great place to be if you want to just relax.

[falcon009]

Hi we are travelling this week end to Pondicherry. Any diversions en route or is it a straight route that doesn't require asking for directions?

[anandbhat]

falcon009,
No diversions except for Thiruvannamalai, as suggest in one of the previous post.
If you don't want to go through Thiruvannamalai traffic and tiny roads, take a left turn (almost U turn) and will cross pretty much Thiruvannamalai.

[ch.nathan]

Whoever wanna drive through Tiruvannamalai, please make sure that sure you don't plan the travel around 'Full Moon Day'. That town gets extremely busy during Full Moon days.
I did the mistake once and had to spend almost 1.5 hrs inside the town.

[subs]

HI guys

To all you Pondicherry Specialists....

I am visiting Pondi 3rd week of November. Can anyone help me out with good local restaurants at Pondi. Me and wifey being sea food enthusiasts, restaurants who specialise in Indian style sea food would be ideal. I am looking at good authentic places and not too bothered about the decor or design or presentation.

Please help us eat....


Subs

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by subs

HI guys

To all you Pondicherry Specialists....

I am visiting Pondi 3rd week of November. Can anyone help me out with good local restaurants at Pondi. Me and wifey being sea food enthusiasts, restaurants who specialise in Indian style sea food would be ideal. I am looking at good authentic places and not too bothered about the decor or design or presentation.

Please help us eat....


Subs

You are in for a complete surprise if you are expecting Indian cuisine in Pondy. Dont be too optimistic about India seafood since Pondy hardly has anything to offer on those lines.

If you have a taste for French cuisine then the options are unlimited. Try Madame Shante's and Rendezvous on beach road. They serve pretty good lasagna's and pasta, apart from this you have local pizzerias where you can try some authentic Italian pizza's.

[subs]

Hi rj

Thanks for the response.

That is a bit surprising as Pondi being a coastal town should have been an ideal seafood place like Mangalore, Goa etc., Even if its not Indian style, as long as its seafood am happy.

But please no lasagne or pasta, I am having enough of it already.

Cheers
Subs

[Fortuner71]

Originally Posted by subs

HI guys

To all you Pondicherry Specialists....

I am visiting Pondi 3rd week of November. Can anyone help me out with good local restaurants at Pondi. Me and wifey being sea food enthusiasts, restaurants who specialise in Indian style sea food would be ideal. I am looking at good authentic places and not too bothered about the decor or design or presentation.

Please help us eat....


Subs

For good chettinad food , try out Anjappar on Bussy Street , nice fish Fry as well . I make sure to eat here , whenever iam in Pondy.

enjoy.

[sv1976]

Just an update on the road condition from Bangalore to Pondicherry. We returned yesterday after the weekend trip. Krishnagiri-Thiruvannamalai stretch has become worse after the recent rains. 2-3 potholes are really deep to scrape the underbody and the worst is you cant avoid one tyre going down one of the ditches. Night drives are best avoided here and if you can't, keep the speeds within 40-50kmph in this stretch. Tiruvannamalai - Tindivanam is decent though not completely pothole free. Tindivanam-Pondi you can now take the 4 lane NH 66 which is done up 90%. Be watchful of bikes and cycles coming your way that too on the innermost lane. You need to be careful at the intersections here as people/vehicles just cross without looking anywhere.