[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by ampere

Thanks for that correction. Its indeed 66 till Pondicherry. My mistake.
But I think as a part of 45 they should be looking at 4L. Else they would not have named it 45a/b/c. I am not sure about it though.

Any ideas about the road to chengalpattu, hvk said its quite narrow. i hope it wouldnt be much of a problem. anyhow its only about 38kms from Kanchipuram.

[Seagull76]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Any ideas about the road to chengalpattu, hvk said its quite narrow. i hope it wouldnt be much of a problem. anyhow its only about 38kms from Kanchipuram.

Kanchipuram to Chengalpattu is around 36kms. though it's narrow,it's not bumpy.
No need to enter chengalpattu town.The 4Lane road (NH45 ) cuts thro SH48 before chengalpattu town

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by Seagull76

Kanchipuram to Chengalpattu is around 36kms. though it's narrow,it's not bumpy.
No need to enter chengalpattu town.The 4Lane road (NH45 ) cuts thro SH48 before chengalpattu town

Got that thanks, so the revised planned route is as follows:

Blore - Vellore (nh 46) - Kanchipuram (nh 46) - Chengalpattu (sh 58) - Tindivanam (nh 45) - Pondicherry (nh 66)

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Got that thanks, so the revised planned route is as follows:

Blore - Vellore (nh 46) - Kanchipuram (nh 46) - Chengalpattu (sh 58) - Tindivanam (nh 45) - Pondicherry (nh 66)

And whats the final take on the condition of this route and also the distance when compared to the regular route via Tiruvannamalai ?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

And whats the final take on the condition of this route and also the distance when compared to the regular route via Tiruvannamalai ?

Whether you go via Vellore-Tiruvannamalai or Vellore-Kanchipuram to Tindivanam en route Pondy, both are approximately 80 kms more than the direct NH66 route via Uttangarai.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Whether you go via Vellore-Tiruvannamalai or Vellore-Kanchipuram to Tindivanam en route Pondy, both are approximately 80 kms more than the direct NH66 route via Uttangarai.

Thanks Kumar, I wouldn't bother much using the regular route(via tiruvannamalai) when am driving the Scorpio.But then a close friend is traveling with his i20 and I really don't want his maiden trip in the i20 turn out to be a nightmare.

So the Vellore-kanchipuram to Tindivanam route is in good state, aint it ?

[hvkumar]

Yes, both the Vellore and the Kanchi routes are better than the NH66 route.
If you take the Vellore-Tiruvannamalai-Tindivanam route, be wary of some minor bad patches from Vellore to Kannamangalam.
And if you take the Kanchi-Chengalapattu-Tindivanam route, take care when navigating Kanchi town and the narrow roads till Chengalpattu.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

And whats the final take on the condition of this route and also the distance when compared to the regular route via Tiruvannamalai ?

Well till Kanchipuram its your NH46 4 lane that goes on to chennai. Kanchi to Chengelpattu is narrow it seems but 36kms should not be a problem. The rest of the way via Tindivanam is 4L i.e. nh45 & nh66 (Tindivanam - Pondy)

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Whether you go via Vellore-Tiruvannamalai or Vellore-Kanchipuram to Tindivanam en route Pondy, both are approximately 80 kms more than the direct NH66 route via Uttangarai.

Yeah its approximately 80kms difference, but since the detours are good 4l's the time would be the same as nh66 direct i guess.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Thanks Kumar, I wouldn't bother much using the regular route(via tiruvannamalai) when am driving the Scorpio.But then a close friend is traveling with his i20 and I really don't want his maiden trip in the i20 turn out to be a nightmare.

So the Vellore-kanchipuram to Tindivanam route is in good state, aint it ?

Yeah for hatch backs and small cars the alternate route would be much better than scrapping the bottom.

[sridhar_setty]

Just thinking for Blr-Pondy info and Team-bhp is there to help

I am going for a 4-5 day vacation to Pondy starting the weekend on 18th Dec. I am planning to leave Blr early morning (6am) and reach Pondy before lunch. Do you guys think its feasible?

I would be staying in a resort on Pondy-Cuddalore road, which is around 15 kms from Pondy. Assuming that I would be travelling day time, I need suggestions to whether take 80+15=~100 kms of round about or go via bad roads. The bad road is around 100kms and we are talking of another 100kms to avoid it

Another question. I don't have any big plans for 4-5 day holiday. Any suggestions for nice places around Pondy? My second kid is just 11 months.

[hvkumar]

sridhar_setty, you can take either the Vellore or Kanchi route.
You can easily reach before lunch time.
Off Pondy, you can go north to Mahabalipuram (day trip) and south to Pichavaram (day trip). In case you are looking to see some temples, maybe Chidambaram is a good idea too (on the way to Pichavaram)

[netarchie]

It took me exactly 1 hour today after turning off frm NH4 to kanchi till chenglapettu (NH45).
Lots of pot holes and traffic on the road, so it takes about 1 hour to cover the 40 odd kms till NH45.

[sridhar_setty]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

sridhar_setty, you can take either the Vellore or Kanchi route.
You can easily reach before lunch time.
Off Pondy, you can go north to Mahabalipuram (day trip) and south to Pichavaram (day trip). In case you are looking to see some temples, maybe Chidambaram is a good idea too (on the way to Pichavaram)

Thank you for the info. I would add Mahabalipuram to the plan. I am excited to drive on the East Coast Road and its a good enough reason

Originally Posted by netarchie

It took me exactly 1 hour today after turning off frm NH4 to kanchi till chenglapettu (NH45).
Lots of pot holes and traffic on the road, so it takes about 1 hour to cover the 40 odd kms till NH45.

Thats a good update. Google gives the below one as the shortest. How is State Highway 9 from Tiruvannamalai to Cuddalore?

[ampere]

Thats the whole debate. NH66 till TV Malai is in a mess. Hence all the other routes to avoid the same. We come back to the same point!

[sridhar_setty]

Originally Posted by ampere

Thats the whole debate. NH66 till TV Malai is in a mess. Hence all the other routes to avoid the same. We come back to the same point!

I understood the issue with NH66 and have Vellore route in mind. My question is about SH9 from TV Malai onward. @netarchie says that NH45 is not good from kanchi till chenglapettu.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sridhar_setty

I understood the issue with NH66 and have Vellore route in mind. My question is about SH9 from TV Malai onward. @netarchie says that NH45 is not good from kanchi till chenglapettu.

Kanchi to Chengelpet is not NH45 but a SH. which I guess you will need to bear. Its still better than NH66. Just that it would be crowded.