Page 11 - Diving In India Demo
P. 11

 • Bicycle/Motorcycle - One of the best ways to explore Pondicherry is by hiring a bicycle, motorcycle or gearless scooter, readily available on rent from rental outlets on MG Road and Mission Street. The prices for hire range from INR 40 per day for a bicycle to INR 250-350 per day for a motorcycle and scooter.
Transporta3on:
• Train – Pondicherry is connected by trains to major ci3es such as Mumbai, Delhi,
Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Bangalore, Mangalore and Chennai. Two passenger trains are running daily to Chennai Egmore Railway sta3on and Tirupa3 and a daily express train to Chennai Egmore. The Chennai-Pondy route by train, however, is rather slow, and travel by road is faster.
• Airport - Located in Lawspet, approximately 7 km from the city. As of now, there are daily flights operated by Spice Jet to Bangalore and Hyderabad only. However, flights to Trichy, Salem, Chennai are in the pipeline and should commence soon.
• Road - Pondicherry is well connected by road from all sides. You can get buses to and from Pondy-Chennai prac3cally every 10 minutes. The bus journey from Chennai takes approximately 3.5 to 4 hours depending on the 3me of the day and traffic condi3ons. There are frequent bus services in other direc3ons such as Tindivanam, Villupuram and Cuddalore and beyond.
You can also take a taxi from Chennai Airport. Ola Cabs and Uber have launched outsta3on services and provide AC cabs for both one-way as well as two-way trips. Taxis take less 3me as compared to buses: 2.5 to 3 hours from Chennai.
There are two principal routes to reach Pondicherry from Chennai. The more scenic road is the ECR (East Coast Road). This route passes through Mahabalipuram, Kalpakkam, Pudupaknam, Idaikkazhinadu (Alamparai Fort also called Alambara Fort), Mudaliarkuppam (has a cool boat house), Marakkanam (contains large areas under salt pans), etc. before reaching Pondicherry.
The other route that can be taken to reach Pondy is through the Na3onal Highway 45 (NH-45) also called the Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road. This route passes through Tambaram, Madhurantakam, Melmaruvathur, and Tindivanam before reaching Pondicherry. Both the major roads from Chennai are toll roads and take approximately the same 3me.
Pondicherry is about 320 km from Bangalore. Drive down Na3onal Highway 7 (NH-7) 3ll Krishnagiri, take a lei off the main highway (road signs mark the route) and then take Na3onal Highway 66 (NH-66) to Pondicherry. This route passes through Uthangarai, Chengam, Tiruvannamalai, Gingee and Tindivanam. One can reach Pondicherry either through Tindivanam (via Gingee) or Villupuram (via Thirukovilur). Gingee fort is also on the way to Tindivanam and
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