[adi_gt]

I am planning for a trip to Pondy and live in the eastern part of bangalore. I am planning to take Kolar-Palamaner-Pallikonda-Arcot route to Pondy. How's the road condition from Palamaner to Pallikonda ?

[rajivtelang]

Visiting Pondy on 18th October and then go to Mahabalipuram from there. While returning plan is to come to Bangalore directly.

Last time had take below route to-from Pondy
Bangalore->Krishnagiri->Vellor->Cheyyar->Vandavasi->Tindivanam->Pondy

Planning to stick to same route while going but returning directly from Mahabalipuram. Please suggest a good return route.

[GrandTourer]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Visiting Pondy on 18th October and then go to Mahabalipuram from there. While returning plan is to come to Bangalore directly.

Last time had take below route to-from Pondy
Bangalore->Krishnagiri->Vellor->Cheyyar->Vandavasi->Tindivanam->Pondy

Planning to stick to same route while going but returning directly from Mahabalipuram. Please suggest a good return route.

I suggest you stick to the route that Google map suggests Krishnagiri > Chengam > Pondi. I have driven that route multiple times in the last 2 years.
The road was re-paved last year on most parts after Krishnagiri, and it is a delight to drive on. Just make sure you stock up on food and water... There are few shops along the way if you plan to travel in the wee hours of the night apart from a few tea stalls.
In fact while returning, it would make sense to go the Kanchipuram > Vellore > Krishnagiri > Bangalore route.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Last time had take below route to-from Pondy
Bangalore->Krishnagiri->Vellor->Cheyyar->Vandavasi->Tindivanam->Pondy

If you're starting early, you can consider the other (old and shorter) route via Chengam-Tiruvannamalai as well, but your options for stops are limited so you'll have to stop for breakfast before Krishnagiri.

The Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi route is slightly longer but you get more 4 laned roads upto Arcot and more options for breaks.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Planning to stick to same route while going but returning directly from Mahabalipuram. Please suggest a good return route.

The straight forward route for the return in my opinion would be Mahabalipuram - Kelambakkam - Vandalur - Oragadam - Sriperumbudur and join the Chennai - Bangalore highway. Four laned all the way except for like 4-5 KM in between Kovalam junction and Kelambakkam.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

The straight forward route for the return in my opinion would be Mahabalipuram - Kelambakkam - Vandalur - Oragadam - Sriperumbudur and join the Chennai - Bangalore highway. Four laned all the way except for like 4-5 KM in between Kovalam junction and Kelambakkam.

This is great option. The route from Kovalam to Kelambakkam seems to be a small road as per GMAP. Could you please let me know if that road is good?

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

This is great option. The route from Kovalam to Kelambakkam seems to be a small road as per GMAP. Could you please let me know if that road is good?

Road is in perfect condition and is a proper 2-lane road, it provides a good view of the backwater too. The only bottleneck is at the end of the road near Kelambakkam where the road gets a bit narrow and it can get a bit busy depending on the time of the day. But at max it's about 1.5 km inside the Kelambakkam town until you join the Vandalur road from where the road is wide and traffic is less again. Google Maps will route you through this town fine.

[binand]

We took a short vacation to Pondicherry earlier this week. We left Bangalore on Wednesday and returned on Friday (self and brother-in-law, our Polo and their Creta).

On the outward journey, we went via the shortest route - Krishnagiri-Uthangarai-Chengam-Tiruvannamalai-Tindivanam-Pondicherry. The road condition on this route is terrible between Krishnagiri and Chengam. Very deep potholes, places where no road exists, unmarked detours and so on. Avoid! We stopped at Nala Residency in Tiruvannamalai which came at the 3-hour point (6 AM to 9 AM).

Beyond Tiruvannamalai road is good but traffic picks up. Google Maps suggested I take the right into Tindivanam town at the point where this road meets the one coming from Vandavasi. I could also see a bypass which didn't quite look as a fully built road. Going through Tindivanam in this direction wasn't a hassle though.

The dual carriageway NH 32 section was a breeze. This was the first non-GQ/NS&EW/MPEW section where I saw a Fastag enabled toll booth. :-) We crossed the toll booth (11.30 AM) and then realized that we were too early for check-in at our resort. Doubled back and went into Auroville instead.

A friend suggested the Tiruvannamalai-Harur-Karimangalam route for our drive back. But since we were running a bit late, chose instead Tindivanam-Vandavasi-Cheyyar-Arcot. This road was quite good except for a series of culvert constructions and short detours.

The other car went Tindivanam-Gingee-Arani-Vellore but we both ended up together at Pallikonda toll booth anyway. They also claimed the roads were good.

Arrived in Bangalore only to face the brunt of Friday evening madness. Took nearly 20 minutes to cross the Veerasandra signal and get onto BETL. Exiting Hosur Road at Madiwala at that time is a horrible experience. Stopped at Indira Nagar for dinner and reached home by 9.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

Road is in perfect condition and is a proper 2-lane road, it provides a good view of the backwater too. The only bottleneck is at the end of the road near Kelambakkam where the road gets a bit narrow and it can get a bit busy depending on the time of the day. But at max it's about 1.5 km inside the Kelambakkam town until you join the Vandalur road from where the road is wide and traffic is less again. Google Maps will route you through this town fine.

I could see a parallel road to the coastal highway from Mahabalipuram to Kelambakkam. This too appears 4 laned from gmaps and ultimately meets the route from Kovalam at Kelambakkam. I think I can take that road as well.

[searacer932]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

I could see a parallel road to the coastal highway from Mahabalipuram to Kelambakkam. This too appears 4 laned from gmaps and ultimately meets the route from Kovalam at Kelambakkam. I think I can take that road as well.

If you want to go to Kelambakkam from Mahabalipuram, you have two options.

Option 1 - Mahabalipuram to Kelambakkam via OMR. This is the parallel road that you are referring to

Option 2- Mahabalipuram to Kelambakkam via Kovalam. This is the ECR road which is the coastal road.

Mind you on both of these roads you have the ECR exit toll and you need to show the toll receipt.

If your final destination is Bangalore I would suggest a different route.

Mahabalipuram - Chengelpet - Kanchipuram and you then hit the NH at Kanchipuram exit.

This route will be quicker and is as good as the earlier option.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

We have Crossed chengam and about to reach uthangari. This stretch has roads which are patchy. There was a road diversion for construction of bridge but that's hardly 100 m.

For the benifit of all, attaching a picture of the typical road width and type you will encounter for most part if you take this route to travel between bangalore and pondicherry

Originally Posted by binand

On the outward journey, we went via the shortest route - Krishnagiri-Uthangarai-Chengam-Tiruvannamalai-Tindivanam-Pondicherry. The road condition on this route is terrible between Krishnagiri and Chengam. Very deep potholes, places where no road exists, unmarked detours and so on. Avoid!

Very contrasting conditions just 2 months apart, was the road damaged due to recent spell of heavy rains ?

[binand]

Originally Posted by NPV

Very contrasting conditions just 2 months apart, was the road damaged due to recent spell of heavy rains ?

Yep, I took this route after seeing so many thumbs ups here in the last few months. Quite disappointing really. A lot of potholes were indeed caused by rain damage.

[murthy_p]

I am planning for a drive to Pondicherry on Friday, October 26, 2018 and back on Monday (day travel both ways). Need guidance regarding the route (better roads preferred, happy to drive an extra hour) and veg only restaurants as my parents will be travelling with me. This would be my maiden drive outside of my home state / Andhra and hence do not wish to depend on Google Maps.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

I could see a parallel road to the coastal highway from Mahabalipuram to Kelambakkam. This too appears 4 laned from gmaps and ultimately meets the route from Kovalam at Kelambakkam. I think I can take that road as well.

This is the Old Mahabalipuram Road (or IT Expressway after Siruseri). Yes, it's 4 lane too for most part until Kelambakkam but the Thiruporur town traffic can be a bit heavy on the way for like 2km on 2 lane road and you have to pass through Kelambakkam anyway. Hence, didn't suggest that route as the first option but it can be taken too.

Also, as the other poster suggested, the Chengalpattu - Kanchipuram road is the faster one but is 2-laned until you hit the Bengaluru highway.

[ramanan.skr]

Planning for a visit to Pondy next week. Please suggest a nice place to stay(both for my car and ourselves) in the range of 2K to 4K.