[sridhar_setty]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

I found the village roads were in better condition than the NH 66, perhaps to due to volume of traffic.

Hmm. We need to find a new route which would be on village roads only

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

I think you can take the Kanchi - chengalpattu - tindivanam - pondi route, except for 40kms of kanchi - chengalpattu state highway rest are NH. just waiting to get a confirmation on the condition post chengalpattu from rjstyles.

I would say the roads get better about 10/15kms just before you reach tindivanam.

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

For the up journey, I took Bangalore>Vellore>Arcot>Arani>Chetpet>Gingee>Koott eripet>Vidur via NH 7/46/SH 4/NH 45 as per this Google map:
Attachment 467398

On this route, the 1st detour was about 4kms from the thiruvannamalai town.I first spotted a wildly wheel spinning Innova and then another school bus. Only way to get thru the puddles was speed, but then I would have to launch the 2 tonner into the air if I were to try it. Decided to backtrack to the original route.

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Since your village is close to Tindivanam, any feedback of the NH45 that comes via chengalpattu?

NH 45, being a 4-laned toll road, should be good. But, I travelled on NH 45 only for a small stretch from Kootteripet to Veedur Dam, which was in excellent shape.

[rahul2842]

I did a Pondy trip last weekend, took the below routes, #2 was definitely better.

#1 Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Arni - Chetpet - Gingee - Thindivanam - Pondy
The road till Vellore is very good, after that till Thindivanam, its a mixed ride. From Arni to Chetpet is the worse part of this route with hardly any tarred stretch. Average speed was ~25 km/hr and took almost an hour to negotiate.

#2 Pondy - Thindivanam - Chengalpattu - Kanchipuram - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
This route was much better overall than #1, the ~25 kms stretch from Chengalpattu - Kanchipuram was a narrow SH but the road was in good condition. Average speed on this stretch was 50 kms/hr. Apart from this, the entire route was very good.

I would recommend #2 if you want a peaceful ride, distance is more in #2 but the time taken would be similar in both. Hope this helps.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by rahul2842

I did a Pondy trip last weekend, took the below routes, #2 was definitely better.

#1 Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Arni - Chetpet - Gingee - Thindivanam - Pondy
The road till Vellore is very good, after that till Thindivanam, its a mixed ride. From Arni to Chetpet is the worse part of this route with hardly any tarred stretch. Average speed was ~25 km/hr and took almost an hour to negotiate.

#2 Pondy - Thindivanam - Chengalpattu - Kanchipuram - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
This route was much better overall than #1, the ~25 kms stretch from Chengalpattu - Kanchipuram was a narrow SH but the road was in good condition. Average speed on this stretch was 50 kms/hr. Apart from this, the entire route was very good.

I would recommend #2 if you want a peaceful ride, distance is more in #2 but the time taken would be similar in both. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the confirmation Rahul, i think you have cleared a lot of confusion in this thread

[sv1976]

I remember reading earlier in this thread on approvals for doing up NH66 (Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai-Tindivanam). Anyone with more updates on that news?

Its really frustrating to think about the fact that despite paying the highest road tax in the country, B'loreans have to take alternate routes and travel an extra 100kms to get to the nearest beach.

Hope they do atleast some patch up work on NH66 quickly.

[ranarula]

#1 Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Arni - Chetpet - Gingee - Thindivanam - Pondy


#2 Pondy - Thindivanam - Chengalpattu - Kanchipuram - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore


I would recommend #2 if you want a peaceful ride, distance is more in #2 but the time taken would be similar in both. Hope this helps.

I have finally decided to take route #2 which is about 20 kms or so more than route 1 above(per google maps) and about 100km more than the original NH66 route.

Plan to spend a day in Kanchipuram doing some sarees shopping and temple visits

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by ranarula

I have finally decided to take route #2 which is about 20 kms or so more than route 1 above(per google maps) and about 100km more than the original NH66 route.

Plan to spend a day in Kanchipuram doing some sarees shopping and temple visits

Good idea, let me know where you stay so that I can grab a bite at night when passing through Kanchi

[ranarula]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Good idea, let me know where you stay so that I can grab a bite at night when passing through Kanchi

Sure buddy though still looking at options in Kanchi
Hotel Baboo Soorya
Hotel Sree Sakthi
are on my radar for the night stay.

btw when are you going to be in Pondy ?

I plan to start on 25 or 26 from Bangalore

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by ranarula

Sure buddy though still looking at options in Kanchi
Hotel Baboo Soorya
Hotel Sree Sakthi
are on my radar for the night stay.

btw when are you going to be in Pondy ?

I plan to start on 25 or 26 from Bangalore

I am starting on the 23rd evening, would be there till 26th. So i guess i can tell you which hotel to eat By the way where are you booked? I didnt find any accommodation and went for some Garden view.

[madhukar_n]

So Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Kanchi-Thindivanam-Pondy seems to be the best route. I dont mind driving a extra 100 kms in my new car but i dont know about my family.

i am leaving on 24th. so if before that NH66 somehow magically becomes better, i guess we have to add a 100 kms extra.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by madhukar_n

So Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Kanchi-Thindivanam-Pondy seems to be the best route. I dont mind driving a extra 100 kms in my new car but i dont know about my family.

i am leaving on 24th. so if before that NH66 somehow magically becomes better, i guess we have to add a 100 kms extra.

In 10days our NHAI will repair 66? well i would still stick to the longer route as it will take almost the same time.

Which car are you travelling? i see a lot of bhpian's in Pondi during this particular weekend.

[madhukar_n]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

In 10days our NHAI will repair 66? well i would still stick to the longer route as it will take almost the same time.

Which car are you travelling? i see a lot of bhpian's in Pondi during this particular weekend.

It will be the first outing for the Linea T-Jet !
we are about 4 college friends(with family) driving to Pondy.

[vinaydas]

Did a Huge mistake by taking the tiruvanamalai road en route to pondy yesterday night.
The road is a pot hole Hell.
I did the trip during the night and the suspension of the camry had to undergo heavy torture !!

Despite the situation of the road. I reached pondy in 5.5 Hours.

[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

Did a Huge mistake by taking the tiruvanamalai road en route to pondy yesterday night.
The road is a pot hole Hell.
I did the trip during the night and the suspension of the camry had to undergo heavy torture !!

Despite the situation of the road. I reached pondy in 5.5 Hours.

That road is in a serious mess. I would recommend the route via Chennai (although 130 kms longer) as it is a smooth drive and perhaps would take the same time unless you rough it over the pot holes all the way.