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Men only travel was always on the cards to take a break from the busy corporate life and attending to family desires. Just wanted to get away from Bengaluru for 3-4 days to relax and rejuvenate.

One of our close friends had moved from Bengaluru to Pondicherry recently and been inviting us. However, he was at Bengaluru for a project since few months and planning on moving back to Pondy in December mid, coincided and perfectly aligned with our trip.

Four of us decided the drive in my trusted workhorse Renault Duster (110PS) to Pondicherry, not very far, nothing much to do, sunny weather and not-so-crowded beaches - perfect for lazy holidays.

After a lot of contemplation, we decided on the route Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Vaniyambadi- Jawadhu Hills-Thiruvannamalai-Pondicherry. Distance shown was 369 kms and travel time shown was 7hrs 56mins as per google maps.

Two of us started at 5.40am, picked up other two on Hosur road, it was 6.30am when we crossed Hosa road junction.

All excited faces on flight to Pondy (me driving on right with beard):


We stopped at Murugan Idli Hotel on the left, timing & exit were just perfect, looked very good with ample car parking, clean rest rooms, garden and nice ambience. We had proper Tamilnadu style sweet Pongal, podi ildis, ghee roast dosas ending with strong filter coffee, it was a great starter for the long journey, I “sometime” believe in subha shakuns (good omen).




We took diversion at Vaniambadi towards Polur which goes through Jawadhu hills route. It’s narrow road, very less traffic, through villages, small hilly regions with some nice view points.

Jawadhu hills are an extension of the Eastern Ghats spread across parts of Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts in the northern part of Tamilnadu. This range separates Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts. It’s a small break away from national highways, but don’t compare with western ghats. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javadi_Hills

Somewhere on a view point on Jawadhu hills:


We reached Tiruvannamalai around noon. It was so crowded, forget about car parking, it was difficult to even walk near the temple, so we parked far away from the temple and walked in. Fortunately, temple was open whole day due to dhanurmasa, otherwise closes at 12pm it seems. We had peaceful darshan of the deity Arulmigu Arunchalaeswarar.

Tiruvannamalai is very famous place both spiritually and historically. The temple is very unique as it is one among pancha bhooda stalam, it has enormous area covering around 25 acres with four tall gopurams in 4 directions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachalesvara_Temple

Narrow and crowded roads near temple:


One of the four towers:


Huge kalyani:


Old cinnamomum camphora tree (commonly known as camphor tree):


Timely devotional start for the trip:


We were very hungry, wanted to finish lunch before visiting famous Ramanasram, we found a decent hotel and had a traditional local thali at Hotel Kanna.


Later visited Ramanasram, it’s a small and peaceful place where Ramana Mahashree’s old house and his samadhi is located. https://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/






Pondicherry is just 110 kms away from Tiruvannamalai, we continued our journey, stopped for a coffee at a shop thinking it’s famous Kumbhakonam coffee point, but coffee was horribly bad. I learnt tea is best at Tamilnadu, coffee would be good only at big restaurants.




We entered Pondy around 5.30pm, welcomed by the Puducherry tower:


Drove straight to my friend’s flat on Chennai – Pondy road. Flat was not in a condition to stay since it was closed for 4 months, it needed cleaning. It was getting late and we wanted to settle down somewhere, so we booked two rooms at The Hermit Crab, just opposite to serenity beach for two nights.

The Hermit Crab:


Brought the dinner packed from the town, sat by the beach for dinner and talked late into midnight. It was an awesome experience, completely dark atmosphere with only sound of roaring waves. Generally bay of Bengal is rougher than Arabian sea. Arabian Sea is calmer as stronger winds help dissipate the heat and lack of constant fresh water helps the warm water to mix with the cool water underneath, reducing the surface temperature whereas warm, shallow water makes Bay of Bengal prone to cyclones.

Got up late next day, had breakfast at the nearby Krishna Bhavan and went to auroville. It’s very near to the place where we stayed. 210+ acres of barren land has been transformed into a green heaven, it’s a different world.

auroville (City of Dawn) is an experimental township in Viluppuram district, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, with some parts in the Union Territory of Pondicherry in India. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (known as "the Mother") and designed by Architect Roger Anger. As stated in Alfassa's first public message in 1965 stated: auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of auroville is to realize human unity — Mirra Alfassa

On 28th February 1968 some 5,000 people assembled near the banyan tree at the centre of the future township for an inauguration ceremony attended by representatives of 124 nations, including all the States of India. The representatives brought with them some soil from their homeland, to be mixed in a white marble- clad, lotus-shaped urn, now sited at the focal point of the Amphitheatre.

They come from some 49 nations, from all age groups (from infancy to over eighty, averaging around 30), from all social classes, backgrounds and cultures, representing humanity as a whole. The population of the township is constantly growing, but currently stands at around 2,500 people, of whom approx one-third are Indian. https://auroville.org/

We spent some time in visitors gallery looking at the pictures, reading history, idea and objective of auroville, saw a short film also and finally visited the most famous matrimandir. There was no entry inside matrimandir (may be due to COVID), we were able to see from a distant view point. Bought few stuff from auroville shops.

auroville Visitors Center:


Entry to matrimandir:


matrimandir view point:




matrimandir silent zone:


On the way back, within auroville township, we had nice lunch at an Italian restaurant called Tanto. Soups, pizzas, salads all were tasty and filling too.


Had a super tasty masala chai at a small shop, I am a hardcore coffee guy but became tea lover till we left Pondy.


We relaxed by the beachside near an old temple till evening and took some pictures:










Went to white town for beachside walk and dinner. White town was where French stayed, still we can see French street names, streets are all straight, no winding roads. Most buildings were typical French architecture and give you the glimpse of European traditional touch. We had ice cream at the famous GMT, walked around promenade beach, had light dinner at French restaurant Le Chateau:


Later at night, we had an awesome Burmese soup at a small restaurant, it was so refreshing, masala dosas at another vegetarian restaurant before retiring for the night.

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Next day got up bit early, sat near the sunrise point at serenity beach and did some photo shooting:
















Finished breakfast quickly at the beach facing “Theevu Plage”, bread omlette and strong filter coffee this time:


One of our friends finished his meetings also 😊:


Later went to white town visited Aurabindo ashram and the famous Ganesha temple:


















Bought some bakery items from the famous French bakery “Baker Street”:


We wanted to have a nice vegetarian meal before starting the return journey to Bangalore. All pointed us to “Surguru“, it was one of the best vegetarian restaurants at Pondy, traditional and super tasty meals.


Old French school building in front of Surguru:


Dropped our friend to his flat near serenity beach and joined the highway to Bangalore via auroville route.


Bought rangoli power of different colors at Tindivanam:


Stopped on the way somewhere for refreshments, enroute we saw deviation to Vellore golden temple just 4 kms, wanted to give a visit, bought the quick darshan tickets. I had visited the same temple 10 years back, but now it has become another Tirupati, too much of crowd, money / tickets everywhere, it’s a lot of walk before reaching main Lakshmi temple. In the queues, people literally did not know social distancing, COVID protocols and moreover breathing right into your neck. We managed to piss off many people asking them to wear mask properly over the nose and to maintain some distance. Luckily we did not catch COVID. Couldn’t take any pictures as mobiles & cameras were not allowed inside.

It was 8pm when we left Vellore, we had to stop somewhere for dinner, we had to cross Ambur, why not try Ambur Star Biriyani Hotel?, you don’t believe Ambur is full of Star Biriyani Hotels 😊, we did some research to find the authentic one, it took some time, we had to make an U turn, traveled back few kms, finally found THE AUTHENTIC Ambur Star Biriyani Hotel, it was one of the best biriyanis ever, it was worth the effort searching, I understood why Bangalore has so many fake Ambur Star Biriyani Hotels !!

After Ambur biriyani, it was refreshing and drive was more enjoyable, we stopped at a small shop for tea near Krishnagiri, reached Bangalore around midnight and reached our homes safely.


The Circuit:

Onward: Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Vaniyambadi- Jawadhu Hills-Thiruvannamalai-Tindivanam-Pondicherry.


Return: Pondicherry- Tindivanam-Arani-Arcot-Vellore-Ambur- Krishnagiri-Bangalore


Total distance covered – ~900 kms

Road condition – Excellent except few narrow stretches on Jawadhu hills road.

It was a much needed men-only get together after many years, which really helped to ponder and introspect.

As always did yet another safe trip with my trusted Renault Duster without skipping any heart beat throughout


Wear seat belts and drive safe !!

[Jeevan Sukumar]

Thanks for short yet sufficiently detailed Travelogue. Could you please pin point the exact location of authentic Ambur Star Biriyani Hotel at Ambur?

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Originally Posted by Jeevan Sukumar

Thanks for short yet sufficiently detailed Travelogue. Could you please pin point the exact location of authentic Ambur Star Biriyani Hotel at Ambur?

Thanks Jeevan, here is the link:
https://g.page/ambur-star-briyani-since-1890?share
Address: # 5, National Highway Kannikapuram, Ambur, Tamil Nadu 635802
Phone: 099409 07373