Le Pondy – Seaside Indulgence

Sometimes, you just want to get away from the maddening crowd,
Sometimes, all you need is a quiet place to get away from the voice in your head.
Sometimes, all you need is a momentary lapse of reason,
Le Pondy, for us, was all that and more.

We stumbled upon Le Pondy 4 years ago, when at the end of a rather bad day we decided to go ahead with a relatively expensive resort instead of our usual off beat options. Ever since, this has become our annual pilgrimage  and the experience just keeps getting better with each visit!

Location and hospitality are the best features of this relatively secluded resort. Located on the southward stretch of paradise beach,it is tucked away between the Chunnambar river and the Bay of Bengal. Serene – is one word I would use to describe this place.

For us, Le Pondy is pure indulgence. All we do is wake up, go to the beach, dive into the pool, eat, sleep, rinse repeat! Very rarely do we step out of the premises to explore pondicherry. Even if we do, there are only 2 things we go searching for – Good Food & Desserts 🙂

Hence if you are looking for good vegetarian food in Pondicherry, here are our recommendations:

1. Hotel Suguru – Good South Indian fare located in the middle of town. Perfect place to eat some good dose or vada dipped in TN style sambar
2. Cafe Xtasi – Mouthwatering & delicious wood fired pizza. Always crowded and hence be ready to wait awhile.
3. La Terrasse – A quaint little restaurant located at the end of the promenade that serves some delicious wood fired pizza and usual hotchpotch of  Italian/Indian/Chinese cuisine. Light on the pocket and yummy in the tummy!
4. New Farm Fresh – Large portions of wood fired pizza and some delicious french fries.
5. Zuka – Our visit to Pondy is never complete without a visit to Zuka for some sinful dark chocolate and melt in your mouth pastries. There are a lot of places in Bangalore (Desserted) that come close to what Zuka has to offer but still this is a must do place for us every single time.

Route & Road Conditions

Option 1: Bangalore – Krishnagiri – Arcot – Cheyyar Bypass – Vandavasi Bypass – Tindivanam Bypass – Pondicherry

Route map — Click

The best part of the above route is that a large part of it is 4L tolled roads with ample options for a pit stop. A few of them that we recommend for families are – CCD Shoolagiri, Anandha Bhavan – Krishnagiri, Sai Sangeet Before Ambur, A2B Arcot.

At Arcot you need to take the road that runs parallel to the dry river bed, which leads to Vandavasi. The 2L roads from Arcot – Tindivanam are good roads where you can do decent speeds but need to keep your eyes open for speed breakers and two wheelers. Do ensure that you take the Cheyyar Bypass, Vandavasi Bypass & Tindivanam bypass to avoid getting stuck in town traffic (especially behind busses that take their own sweet time to move!).

Option 2: Bangalore – Krishnagiri – Bargur- Tirpattur – Chengam – Tiruvannamalai – Gingee – Tindivanam Bypass – Pondicherry

Route map — Click

This is the lesser of the two evils if you are interested in driving on 2L roads with trees and some scenic beauty around you. Do note that Krishnagriri – Chengam is still in shambles. Google maps will show this as the default route – Dont take it unless you want to test your car’s suspension setup! Apart from a few patchy/broken stretches, the road condition from Bargur – Tindivanam is quiet good and makes for a decent drive as long as you have the patience to deal with the traffic in the towns that you pass through. Do refer this thread for more updates on this route & road conditions.

Option 3: Bangalore – Attible – Keelamangalam – Rayakottai – Krishnagiri – Pondicherry

Route map — Click

This is the long weekend escape route if you are driving to Pondicherry during the long weekend. Attibele & Krishnagiri Tolls are famous for long long jams during the long weekend and the above route helps bypass both of these tolls when heading out or back into Bangalore. After Krishnagiri, you can take the Arcot or Tiruvannamakai route suggested in the above options.

Happy Suttings!