[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by procrj

Any idea if SH6A from Harur to Tiruvannamalai is good road? If this is decent, then this is a viable alternate route without the bad stretch, truck traffic and tolls

From Harur till Naripalli, the road is good. After Naripalli till T V Malai, it is good in patches. The patchwork is of average quality which makes your ride bumpy if you exceed beyond 60 kmph. As such we dont have major craters as seen on NH 66. From T V Malai if one wishes to go to Pondicherry, he/she can take the Villupuram route. Very good road but a 2 lane one.

[shwetanshu]

planning to leave for Pondicherry early morn tomorrow. Is this route correct?

Also we are hiring a self drive car. (Zoomcar.in) ... Does anyone have any idea about entry taxes/toll taxes on the way?

[procrj]

Originally Posted by shwetanshu

planning to leave for Pondicherry early morn tomorrow. Also we are hiring a self drive car. (Zoomcar.in) ... Does anyone have any idea about entry taxes/toll taxes on the way?

Looks like you are not using the bypass at Tindivanam and Vandavasi. Please do use the bypass as going through Vandavasi is confusing thanks to the one ways. Ampere had mentioned the details of Tindivanam bypass in the last page.
Details about taxes are Here

[shwetanshu]

Originally Posted by procrj

Looks like you are not using the bypass at Tindivanam and Vandavasi. Please do use the bypass as going through Vandavasi is confusing thanks to the one ways. Ampere had mentioned the details of Tindivanam bypass in the last page.
Details about taxes are Here

How about this now?

[procrj]

Originally Posted by shwetanshu

How about now?

Perfect. Looks like you plan to go through Hosur - Krishnagiri instead of Chittoor. Do make sure you leave really early as all the tolls will be choc a block tomorrow morning thanks to the long weekend. Also you will need to stop at the RTO checkpost at Hosur, which will again take time

[RoadFiend]

We are starting this afternoon, from Whitefield - so still debating between Chittoor vs Krishnagiri routes.

Thanks to all great guidance here, have taken prints for the bypasses after Arcot.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by RoadFiend

We are starting this afternoon, from Whitefield - so still debating between Chittoor vs Krishnagiri routes.

Thanks to all great guidance here, have taken prints for the bypasses after Arcot.

No Second thoughts. Take the Chitoor route. No point driving to Hosur. Had it been early morning you could have even thought about it. Noon it doesn't make sense.

[perseus]

Originally Posted by ampere

No Second thoughts. Take the Chitoor route. No point driving to Hosur. Had it been early morning you could have even thought about it. Noon it doesn't make sense.

I am starting from pondicherry for bangalore in a couple of hours. I was wondering if I should take GQ or chittoor route. I stay in Mahadevpura near k r puram railway station. Where is the diversion to chittoor from GQ ? From vellore town ? Is it correct in google navigation ?

Thanks.

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by perseus

I am starting from pondicherry for bangalore in a couple of hours. I was wondering if I should take GQ or chittoor route. I stay in Mahadevpura near k r puram railway station. Where is the diversion to chittoor from GQ ? From vellore town ? Is it correct in google navigation ?

Thanks.

Either right turn under Ranipet Flyover or at Vellore. Another option would be Pallikonda-Gudiyatham-Mulbaghal. Depends on your proposed return route from Pondy.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by perseus

I am starting from pondicherry for bangalore in a couple of hours. I was wondering if I should take GQ or chittoor route. I stay in Mahadevpura near k r puram railway station. Where is the diversion to chittoor from GQ ? From vellore town ? Is it correct in google navigation ?

Thanks.

Chittoor route is the best option for you. Just after the tirupati by pass road , if you proceed a bit further, you will come across a Y shaped junction. The left side of the Y takes you to chittoor town while the right side of the Y takes you to chennai/vellore.

Why go via GQ and then divert to chittoor??

[perseus]

Took the chittoor route to reach my home. Encountered very less traffic the entire stretch. I was expecting heavy rush considering long weekend.

[DeepChat]

I did the Bangalore-Pondicherry-Bangalore trip over the long weekend.

After going thru this thread, I decided on this route: BLR (Hosur)-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Arcot (bypass)-Cheyyar (bypass)-Vandavasi (bypass)-Tindivanam (bypass)-Pondicherry.

It's good roads all the way. You can maintain 3-digit speeds till Vellore. From Arcot to Tindivanam, it's decent two laned roads. 70-90 kmph is the norm.

On the way out, got late and started only at 8 30 AM. Hosur was jammed due to ongoing construction work. We managed to cross Hosur at 10 30 AM. Smooth sailing from there on, and reached Club Mahindra Pondicherry by 5 PM (after a couple of breaks that took up 60 mins).

On the way back, started from the resort at 9 30 AM, and was at Domlur by 4 PM (including a break of 60 mins). Didn't encounter traffic anywhere.

Link to the route that I took: http://goo.gl/maps/7Z2M7

Need to be alert to take the bypasses, but they are a boon. You can completely avoid the traffic. The Vandavasi bypass has a lot of speed breakers, so be careful.

The only sad part was that Google maps showed a lot of water bodies (river near Arcot, and lakes near Cheyyar and Vandavasi), but all of them have dried up long since.

A note on police checks at Pondicherry - the cops in Pondicherry are an enthusiastic bunch and a non-Pondicherry number plate increases that enthusiasm (or maybe, they really liked my car ). My car was checked a total of 4 times in one day, while I was driving around the French quarter and to Auroville.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by DeepChat

On the way out, got late and started only at 8 30 AM. Hosur was jammed due to ongoing construction work. We managed to cross Hosur at 10 30 AM.

On a long weekend if you start late and have to go around Hosur, I think one should stick to the Sarjapur-Baglur-Hosur option. Works quite well. Beats the Attibele toll and also the traffic till Hosur. Else its a nightmare.

Meanwhile I also felt that there are much lesser diversions on the way back (Krishnagiri-Bangalore) as compared to Bangalore-Krishnagiri.

[aroonanand]

Thanks to inputs by fellow BHP-ians, I completed a trip to Pondicherry over the long weekend.

Left home at Sarjapur Road by 720 AM and reached Pondicherry by ~130 PM; this included a 45 min break for breakfast + diesel at Sri Krishna Café before Krishnagiri. As I stay near Wipro, I took the Sarjapur - Attibele route and hence could reach Krishna Café in 1 hour. Spent ~5 mins at the Attibele toll. The roads are a breeze beyond Hosur and could consistently maintain 100-120 kmph upto Arcot where I took the deviation. Krishnagiri toll plaza was also crowded due to the weekend traffic.

Arcot - Cheyyar - Vandavasi - Tindivanam, despite being a State Highway and 2 line are in decent shape and one can maintain ~70-80 kmph easily. Ended up inside Vandavasi town as that is the default route as per Google Maps. Avoided part of Tindivanam but took one wrong turn and so touched the town partially!

For the return, left Pondy at 12 noon and could reach Bangalore in ~5 hours 20 mins, including a 20 minute halt for a quick lunch. Made sure I took all the bye-passes this time around and saved time. Again, because of the time of the day, did not encounter rush at any of the toll plazas barring Attibele.

Saw a lot of KA cars in Pondy but hardly any of them on the Tindivanam - Arcot stretch, so I presume most drivers were taking the pothole ridden NH for this route !

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by ampere

Meanwhile I also felt that there are much lesser diversions on the way back (Krishnagiri-Bangalore) as compared to Bangalore-Krishnagiri.

Ampere, do you have latest update on the road condition from Tindivanam to Tiruvannamalai? I am driving to Melmaruvathur using the Krishnagiri - Arcot- Cheyyar - Vandavasi route. On the return, I want to visit Tiruvannamalai. If the Tindivanam - Tiruvannamalai road is in shambles, then I will have to give Lord Annamalai a miss.