Trip to Pondicherry December 2018
In the last week of December 2018 I was sitting idle at home. Had full week of vacation and nothing much to do at home. So I
decided to go to Pondicherry from Bangalore for a 2 day trip with family.
The plan got finalized at a short notice and I started looking for some decent hotel. Due to vacation season there was too much rush in Pondicherry and all the hotels were either fully booked for new year or room tariffs were unusually high. Finally got a room for 2 nights in a decent hotel near to promenade at 3 times the usual price 😥.
Distance to Pondicherry from Bangalore is around 310 kilometers by road. I had planned to drive.
If you look at Google Maps then it will suggest the shortest route which is :
Bangalore->Hosur->Krishnagiri->Chengam->Tiruvannamalai->Gingee->Tindivanam->Pondicherry
I decided to trust google maps and took this route. Map showed total 6 hours to reach Pondicherry from Bangalore.
We started early at 6:30AM on Thursday from Bangalore. Stopped at A2B at Krishnagiri(they have shifted to a new building) for breakfast and then continued. There was not much traffic on Thursday we were able to go past toll booths at Hosur and Krishnagiri without too much of waiting time.
After crossing Krishnagiri toll booth you have to take left towards Chennai. Just after taking left you need to leave the Chennai Highway and take a right turn towards Chengam. The road stretch between Krishnagiri and Tiruvannamalai is very bad. After that road is bit better till Gingee. After Gingee road is good till Tindivanam and after Tindivanam till Pondicherry it is a proper highway.
Due to road conditions in fact it took around 7 hours to reach Pondicherry.
Once we reached Hotel in Pondicherry at 1:30PM we were told that room was not ready. So we spent some time in hotel lobby. The first thought which came to mind was that the hotel was certainly overpriced. They had charged more than double the room rate which this hotel deserves.
Food was bad in the hotel restaurant and again was overpriced.
Only good thing was that the hotel was 1.5 KM away from the Promenade. In the afternoon we went to Promenade and then spent evening there.
Next day we went to some other beaches and then spent time walking around the French Quarters. What Pondicherry looks on TV and in photos is much different from what it is in reality. Over years it has also become overcrowded like other Indian towns and cities. Too many vehicles, too much noise and chaos.
After spending two evenings in Pondicherry our return journey was on Saturday morning. On return I definitely wanted to avoid the Chengam route. Secondly I also wanted to take the Palamner and Hoskote route to Bangalore so as to reach Whitefield with ease avoiding city traffic.
On return I decided to take this route:
Pondicherry->Tindivanam->Gingee->Arani->Pallikonda->Palamner->Hoskote->Whitefield, Bangalore
This route is little longer but had better roads. From Pondicherry till Arani the road is very good. After Arani till Pallikonda it is not good, bit congested. Once you reach NH48 you need to take a left and drive for few kilometers and then exit the highway again to go to Palamner. The route between Gudiyattam and Palamner is scenic and beautiful. After Palamner it is very good highway till Whitefield. Only at 3-4 places there are diversions due to overbridge construction.We covered the entire journey in under 6 hours on return.
Thus ended our 3 days trip to Pondicherry.
Due to road conditions in fact it took around 7 hours to reach Pondicherry.
Once we reached Hotel in Pondicherry at 1:30PM we were told that room was not ready. So we spent some time in hotel lobby. The first thought which came to mind was that the hotel was certainly overpriced. They had charged more than double the room rate which this hotel deserves.
Food was bad in the hotel restaurant and again was overpriced.
Only good thing was that the hotel was 1.5 KM away from the Promenade. In the afternoon we went to Promenade and then spent evening there.
Next day we went to some other beaches and then spent time walking around the French Quarters. What Pondicherry looks on TV and in photos is much different from what it is in reality. Over years it has also become overcrowded like other Indian towns and cities. Too many vehicles, too much noise and chaos.
After spending two evenings in Pondicherry our return journey was on Saturday morning. On return I definitely wanted to avoid the Chengam route. Secondly I also wanted to take the Palamner and Hoskote route to Bangalore so as to reach Whitefield with ease avoiding city traffic.
On return I decided to take this route:
Pondicherry->Tindivanam->Gingee->Arani->Pallikonda->Palamner->Hoskote->Whitefield, Bangalore
This route is little longer but had better roads. From Pondicherry till Arani the road is very good. After Arani till Pallikonda it is not good, bit congested. Once you reach NH48 you need to take a left and drive for few kilometers and then exit the highway again to go to Palamner. The route between Gudiyattam and Palamner is scenic and beautiful. After Palamner it is very good highway till Whitefield. Only at 3-4 places there are diversions due to overbridge construction.We covered the entire journey in under 6 hours on return.
Thus ended our 3 days trip to Pondicherry.