Union Territory of Pondicherry Tourist Traps

tolls and entry permits

by pravdr

the beautiful east coast road is a toll way.on the way to pondichery you have to pay tolls twice one for mamalapuram stage INR35=75CENTS the second is upto pondichery INR65=$1.25if you want entry permit from the east coast road(ecr) you have to enter thro a narrow road which runs close to auroville and emerges on the national highway.you go back some distance to pick up your permit rs 250=$5and then travel to pondichery entrance.but i never once saw somebody check whether i have taken the permit?so those who want to save 5$ come from the national highway and return back by the ECR.Can somebody clarify on this? well inspite of the toll and entry permit i would like nature lovers to take the ECR route.if you save 5$ on entry permit you spend that much on fuel.you can save a lot of fuel on high speed ECR. alternative is to travel down the national highway from chennai and enter pondichery...