Bangalore To Pondicherry: Road Condition & Route

[suresh_gs]

Have you went to the roof of the temple?. It will give different kind of feeling when you walk in the roof of the temple.

Is there any significance associated with this??. May be next time i should go to the temple roof.

As you rightly said, the best part of the drive was the T V Malai - Thirukkoilur stretch. Awesome road but one has to be vigilant about the speed breakers. As a matter of fact, for my return leg, I reached T V Malai from Manalurpet without touching Tirukkoilur. This was another beauty wherein i was able to clock 90 kmph on a consistent basis.

 

[AppU]

Is there any significance associated with this??. May be next time i should go to the temple roof.

There is no such significance buddy. But, So far we have visited so many temples. visiting the roof of the temple is something Unique and different. Don't miss next time

As you rightly said, the best part of the drive was the T V Malai - Thirukkoilur stretch. Awesome road but one has to be vigilant about the speed breakers. As a matter of fact, for my return leg, I reached T V Malai from Manalurpet without touching Tirukkoilur. This was another beauty wherein i was able to clock 90 kmph on a consistent basis.

That is why I always say, Most of the roads in TN is really good.

Hope you had a wonderful experience during the trip

 

[suresh_gs]

There is no such significance buddy. But, So far we have visited so many temples. visiting the roof of the temple is something Unique and different. Don't miss next time



That is why I always say, Most of the roads in TN is really good.

Hope you had a wonderful experience during the trip

It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience burying the ghosts of my earlier drive when i went via the infamous Krishnagiri-T V Malai NH. That was hell of an experience.

 

[vijayvm]

Next week planning to travel to Thiruvarangam, Tirukkoilur, Tiruvannamalai and back to Bangalore ... could you pl. let us know whether the following route is fine
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hew...3c383a8!2m2!1d77.661487!2d12.852476!3e0?hl=en

Appreciate your guidance !

 

[gandhi]

Next week planning to travel to Thiruvarangam, Tirukkoilur, Tiruvannamalai and back to Bangalore ... could you pl. let us know whether the following route is fine
Appreciate your guidance !

Glad that you are visiting Thiruvarangam. Look at my thread http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/voyage-junction/17129-not-easily-seen-but-exceptional-temples-tamil-nadu-villupuram-dist.html

AFAIK, Harur road is good. Update the road conditions after your trip.

 

[vijayvm]

Thanks a lot Gandhi for sharing the link Not Easily Seen But Exceptional Temples – Tamil Nadu (Villupuram Dist) which provides much needed inputs for both the important vaishna temples near Tirukkoilur
1. Vaishnava temples
a. Thiruvarangam, Tamil Nadu, India
b. Trivikram temple/Ulagalandha Perumal Koil, [Means God who measured the world] Thirukoilur, Tamil Nadu, India

Thanks a lot.. will provide feedback on the travel & roads after the trip.

 

[karthik_swami]

HOSUR --> Krishngiri --> Vellore --> Arcot --> Cheyyar --> Vandavasi --> Tindivanam --> Pondy.

it is bettter, as i travel this route frequently and y next trip would be on 25th -27th Dec on the same route

 

[gandhi]

Almost after a decade , now the road has improved. As the work has not completed fully, still some rough patches are available to ensure that you use your brake and clutch .

 

[CasualSurfer]

Almost after a decade , now the road has improved. As the work has not completed fully, still some rough patches are available to ensure that you use your brake and clutch .

Hi Gandhi,

Did you mention the usual NH66 route? Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Uthangarai - Chengam - Tiruvannamalai - Tindivanam - Pondy. My friend who travels regularly this route (his destination is Tindivanam) says that the section between Krishnagiri - Chengam is being repaired. The other sections seemed fine, according to him.

I did the following route in June.
Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Arcot - Cheyyar - Vandavasi - Tindivanam - Pondy.

Everything seemed fine, excepting for the 2 bypass roads of Vandavasi & Cheyyar. In fact, the speedbreakers had reduced as well (in those bypass roads).

 

[CasualSurfer]

I did the following route in June.
Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Arcot - Cheyyar - Vandavasi - Tindivanam - Pondy.

Everything seemed fine, excepting for the 2 bypass roads of Vandavasi & Cheyyar. In fact, the speedbreakers had reduced as well (in those bypass roads).

Just completed a Bangalore-Pondy-Bangalore round trip. Road conditions still remain good. In some sections (Arcot - Cheyyar) top layers have come off. But definitely manageable.

Onward (Chamarajpet, Bangalore - Pondicherry): Fri, 21/10, 415am - 945am. Traffic was thin on Friday early morning. Breakfast at 715am @ Arcot A2B.
Return (Pondicherry - Chamarajpet, Bangalore): Sat, 22/10, 1130am - 6pm: Traffic was thin till Krishnagiri. Lunch at 230pm @ Saisangeet between Ambur - Vaniyambady.

One culvert is being relaid. Many speedbreakers have gone. But they do remain in the Arcot - Tindivanam section. Many can come unannounced. And be careful about those sudden roads bumbs (not exactly speedbreakers), just that road level is a bit higher suddenly (& off immediately) , to accommodate a pipe or some structure under the road. The rear passengers can be tossed up quite a bit.

 

[vijay_968]

Returned from Pondicherry to Bangalore yesterday night. The route options I had were:

Route-1 : Pondi - Tindivanam - Chengalpattu - Walajabad- Kanchipuram - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
I took this route. From Goubert Avenue, Pondy to my home, it was 442 km and took 7.5 Hrs. Started at 4 pm and reached home at 11:30 pm. The 40km long Chengalpattu-Walajabad-Kanchi is the ONLY State Highway in this Option . Still it took me more than an hour for 4-lane to 4-lane time. I have written my comments on the Drivers in SHs at the end. THE BEST ROUTE-2


Route-2 : Pondi - Tindivanam - Melmaruvathur - Kanchipuram - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
According to Uncle Google, this is only 400 km with 54km State Highway (from Melmaruvathur-Uthiramerur-Kanchi). I did the travel in the reverse direction, in January 2016, but wanted to try Option-1 this time. I could have saved between 25 to 40 minutes in travel time. Who knows ? THE BEST ROUTE-1


Route-3 : Pondi - Tindivanam - Cheyyar - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
As per GoogleMaps, the distance is 396km. I avoided this because of the 100km travel thro the State Highway in "Tindivanam - Cheyyar -Arcot" stretch. That 100km could as well have resulted in close to 3 Hours.


Route 4 : Pondi - Villupuram - Ulundurpet - Attur - Salem - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
As per GoogleMaps, the distance is 430km. I avoided this because of the 180km travel thro the State Highway in "Vilupuram - Salem" stretch. I had TWO touch sessions in this SH. It is recorded in my Ownership thread.


Route 5 : Pondi - Tiruvannamalai - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
I had plenty of bad experiences on the roads on either side of Tiruvannamalai in the past. Simply decided to avoid. BTW, this is THE shortest route at just 326 km with 181km in SHs. Once I left Tiruvannamalai at 5pm and reached home around midnight. THAT nightmare is recorded in my Ownership thread. Dare to challenge your tyres, wheels, shockers, nerve and whatnot ??? Just take this route :-)



About Driving in SHs:
Driving in SHs, drive within 80 kph if YOU ARE ABLE TO CLEARLY SEE WHAT IS AHEAD. Drop speed at night. With licenses given to everyone and 2 wheeler Finances available easily, there are plenty of 2W on Indian SHs now. When these guys see a car, they want to test / prove their driving skills. They way they zig-zag around moving vehicles in these SHs, brought my young age memories. But I never made dangerous moves on 2W. Like, "there is an obstacle ahead - avoid BRAKING - just LEAN - change direction - move in the path of another vehicle - let HIM apply brakes, if he wants to get out of MY AREA" type of moves. My heart was in my mouth many times.

On three occasions, I thought I hit a two wheeler. Once, I was following a Bus; a Honda 100CC bike with 3 guys on it overtook me from left and disappeared on teh left side of Bus; suddenly I saw the bike in my view; the driver cut right in front of me. All this to avoid some obstacle in HIS path. Some how, Verna's brakes saved the day.

 

[CasualSurfer]

Returned from Pondicherry to Bangalore yesterday night. The route options I had were:
Route-1 : Pondi - Tindivanam - Chengalpattu - Walajabad- Kanchipuram - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
Route-2 : Pondi - Tindivanam - Melmaruvathur - Kanchipuram - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore

Frankly never considered these routes. Compared to NH66, these are 100+ kms more. Is it really worth it?

Route-3 : Pondi - Tindivanam - Cheyyar - Vellore - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
That 100km could as well have resulted in close to 3 Hours.

My standard route. Usually I complete this in 1.5 - 2 hrs. You can carry pretty decent speeds (70-80 kmph or so), unless you are crossing them in school / college starting / closing times. Lots of 2-wheelers then.

Route 4 : Pondi - Villupuram - Ulundurpet - Attur - Salem - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore

I would better take the Pondy - Villupuram - Thiruvannamalai - Thanipadi - Harur - Morappur - Kambainallur - Karimangalam - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore.

Route 5 : Pondi - Tiruvannamalai - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore

Long forgotten route. Last time I traveled in this route was in Nov 2015. But I heard the road conditions are improving & I am itching to go on this route sooner or later.

About Driving in SHs:

Tell me about it. Now, I think I have gotten used to them. Slow down to 60-70kms.

 

[vijay_968]

Frankly never considered these routes. Compared to NH66, these are 100+ kms more. Is it really worth it?


My standard route. Usually I complete this in 1.5 - 2 hrs. You can carry pretty decent speeds (70-80 kmph or so), unless you are crossing them in school / college starting / closing times. Lots of 2-wheelers then.


I would better take the Pondy - Villupuram - Thiruvannamalai - Thanipadi - Harur - Morappur - Kambainallur - Karimangalam - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore.


Long forgotten route. Last time I traveled in this route was in Nov 2015. But I heard the road conditions are improving & I am itching to go on this route sooner or later.


Tell me about it. Now, I think I have gotten used to them. Slow down to 60-70kms.

On hindsight, I found I've missed an important point in my post. If the journey is in broad daylight, Route-3 (396km) is ideal. If journey is in late evenings & night, Routes 1&2 (440km & 400km) are ideal.

Reason: Though the SHs is TN are pretty good, they spring some nasty surprises in the form of potholes. The local Bus/truck drivers do not like to show down or steep out of road ; they force you out of the road, specially at night. If that happens in a stretch where they are widening the road on the left side ??

I find it more convenient to spend little extra money on fuel (for extra 40+ km and toll) than risking a shocker or tyre-puncture etc.

 

[CasualSurfer]

Route 5 : Pondi - Tiruvannamalai - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore

Just a quick update on this route. Had plenty of time to kill & did a Pondy to-and-fro trip.

Took Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Mathur - Uthangarai - Singarapet - Chengam - Thiruvannamalai - Gingee - Tindivanam - Pondicherry for onward journey.

Bangalore - Krishnagiri: 6 lane highways. No issues at all.
Krishnagiri - Mathur - Uthangarai - Singarapet - Chengam: Lots of unfinished sections. Lots of sudden 0.5 ft - 1 ft drop in road leveling. Lots of unfinished other half-of-the-road-expansions. Wherever sections are complete, it is good roads. But constantly changing scenario of good roads & bad roads kill your enthusiasm completely. All explanations are already given earlier by vijay. By the by, no sign of any work being in progress in any of these sections. I did travel in broad week day morning.
Chengam - Thiruvannamalai - Gingee - Tindivanam: Broader (broad for 2 lane undivided carriageway), smoother roads. But lots of lorry, bus traffic.
Tindivanam - Pondy: As usual.

Journey time: 730am - 3pm. About 7 hrs 30 mins including 1 break (45min) at Claresta, Hosur. Expensive, but good quality & good spread buffett breakfast. Rs 280 + taxes per person.

Took the usual Pondy - Tindivanam - Vandavasi - Cheyyar - Arcot - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore.

Vandavasi bypass is fully ready & no speedbreakers at all. Pretty smooth. Cheyyar bypass is still damn painful with those speedbreakers.

Journey time: 130pm - 8pm (Electronic City). 6 hrs 30 mins including 1 break (1 hour @ Sai Sangeet, Vaniyambadi). Reached home only at 930pm due to heavy traffic on 30th Dec evening.

 

[CasualSurfer]

A quick update on the road conditions.
Route taken was Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Arcot - Cheyyar - Vandavasi - Tindivanam - Pondy.
6am - 1230pm, with 2 breaks of breakfast (45min in Saisangeeth, Vaniyambadi) & coffee break (20min in Vasantha Bhavan, Tindivanam). Note that Saisangeeth had a wait time of 10min before we could get seat @ 8am. It gets really crowded on weekends.

All conditions remain same except for the 2 below mentioned items. (1) Cheyyar bypass still is bad, but no speedbreakers (or just 1-2 speedbreakers). (2) There were 2 culverts being rebuilt in this SH section. Completely done. They do bring a rapid ascent-descent bump. But definitely manageable.