Chennai - Thanjavur

[neoranjit]

Any idea on how good the roads are from Chennai to tanjore ? I know the road is good until Tindivanam and not after that. I was thinking of going in the other route ie.. pondy - cuddalore - mayiladthurai - tanjore.

Anyone knows how good / bad this road is ?

[Blue Thunder]

Tindivanam-Neyveli was bad (not just potholes, but huge craters) during Dec 2007 : but when I went in Apr 2008, the patch-work had been done. Which means we need not crawl along to tackle the craters, but can continue at slightly higher speeds. But of course the roads are not smooth, the ride will be a bit rough. Certain stretches are good in the Panruti-Neyveli stretch : good straight roads with wide spaces on the side and cashew plantations on both sides.I havent done beyond Neyveli on this road, but the Neyveli-Sethiathope stretch is also not that good. I think the Pondy-Chidambaram-Mayiladuthurai route may be better : you may be driving through towns/villages and the roads will be curving all the time, but the roads themselves may be smooth.

[csentil]

Just made this long trip into TN and back.

I definitely think the route that you are looking at is good. Chennai - Pondicherry via ECR. The road conditions are still excellent, but beware of the bends.

Pondicherry - Cuddalore - Chidambaram is in very good condition. You can then do Sirkazhi - Mayiladuthurai (Mayavaram) - Kumbakonam. I think the road sort of narrows down after Sirkazhi. There were no unmarked speed humps till Chidambaram. This was as of 15th June !!

[tifosikrishna]

ranjit,

route 1:

chennai -tindivanam-panruti-sethiathope-kumbakonam-tanjore

road is good upto tindivanam, kumbakonam-tanjore is also good, and in between tindivanam and kumbakonam, roads are ok, some stretches are bad.

route 2:
chennai-tindivanam-pondi- "chi" "dam" "bram" - mayiladuthurai-kumbaks-tanjore

as blue thunder said, between chidambram to tanjore - you have to pass through a number of villages, high traffic and curvy and narrow road. but road quality will be better.

i would choose option 1.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Dunno if this late for you, anyways my update : I did this stretch about a month back. As everyone said the road upto Tindivanam is very good. Work happening between Tindivanam & Vikravandi. Quite a few stretches have been opened with the new road so its not as bad as it used to be (this is a 10 day old update as I went Villupuram last weekend). Post Vikravandi the stretch is slightly rough because of pot holes being covered. I covered Villupuram to Kumbakonam in about 3 hours and 15 minutes for 120 kms keeping a sedate speed of 60 kmph. The stretches after Anaikattu have been done up quite well so you have long straight stretches with good roads. After Kumbakonam the road is decent upto Thanjavur. On any day I would suggest you to take the regular route to go to Thanjavur. Please note I had a Wagon R at my disposal, depending on your car you would have a decent to comfortable ride.

Cheers

Srikanth

[DWind]

Hi,

Does anybody have any current updates on the route after the rains?
I am aware of the following options
Option 1: Chennai - Tindivanam - Pondy - Cuddalore - Chidambaram - Sirkazi - Kumbakonam - Thanjavur (Traffic)
Option 2: Chennai - Tindivanam - Panruti - Sethiathoppu - Kumbakonam - Thanjavur (regular route)
Option 3: Chennai - Villupuram - Ulundurpet - Vridachalam - Jayamkondan - Kumbakonam - Thanjavur
Option 4: Chennai - Villupuram - Perambalur - Ariyalur - Thanjavur (avaoiding Tiruchi)

Please let me know.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by DWind

Hi,

Does anybody have any current updates on the route after the rains?
I am aware of the following options
Option 1: Chennai - Tindivanam - Pondy - Cuddalore - Chidambaram - Sirkazi - Kumbakonam - Thanjavur (Traffic)
Option 2: Chennai - Tindivanam - Panruti - Sethiathoppu - Kumbakonam - Thanjavur (regular route)


Please let me know.

I would advice you to take the regular route to Thanjavur as the stretch between Vikravandi (the point where the road diverges from the NH45) and Panruti has been done and beyond the Panruti the roads were decent when I last did the stetch. I dont see any reason for the roads to be bad except for the rains which are lashing Tamil Nadu the last couple of days.

[csentil]

Rains are still continuing so suggest you avoid the coastal stretch totally. Tindivanam Panruti is the best bet. Panruti - Sethiathoppu roads were ok sometime back as srikanth says.

[PraveenM]

Hi we are planning a road trip to Kumbakonam from Chennai, any has info the road conditions after cyclone Nisha?

We heard that the Cudalore-Sirkazhi road has been badly damaged..any info on the Tindivanam-Panruti-Sethiathoppu route, would be greatly appreciated.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by PraveenM

We heard that the Cudalore-Sirkazhi road has been badly damaged..

Me too is of the same opinion, but HVK has responded in a different thread that roads were not damaged as per the info he got.

[pypkmsrikanth]

I would suggest you to stick to the regular Panrutti - Sethiathoppu route, I had been upto Panruti a couple of weeks back and the road looked in decent shape like the way it was during my earlier trip to Kumbakonam ( not that the road upto Panruti is a way of things beyond Panruti). No point taking detours, I did see Rathimeena A/c coaches going by the regular route which could be an indication of the shape of the roads.

[PRADEEP KUMAR]

folks,
Planning to Vailankanni next tuesday and onwards to Poondi(tirukattupalli)-trichy and back to chennai.

Any updates on the cuddalore- sirkazhi- karaikal- nagore route pls.

tnx

[Jai3033]

Came to know that the Vadalur-Neyveli section has been closed temporarily because a new bridge is being constructed near Vadalur. All the traffic is now being diverted through Chidambaram. Not sure when it will be opened for traffic again.

[pypkmsrikanth]

The lower anaikut bridge is closed ,this is between Tirupanandal & Kumbakonam, there are tractors which will tow you across the river or the alternate route is via Chidambaram & Mayavaram onto Kumbakonam

[MadRash]

Hi Guys:
Once more another Team BHPian needs some info on this route. On 22nd May, I'm going to my home town Udumalaipet. On the way I'm planning to visit a temple in between Kumbakonam & Tanjavur. Please suggest a good route based on the current road condition.

Option 1: Chennai - Tindivanam - Panruti - Sethiathoppu - Kumbakonam - Thanjavur (regular route.)
Option 2: Chennai - Villupuram - Ulundurpet - Vridachalam - Jayamkondan - Kumbakonam - Thanjavur
Option 3: Chennai - Villupuram - Perambalur - Ariyalur - Thanjavur (avoiding Trichy)
Option 4: Chennai - Villupuram - Ulundurpet - Trichy - Tanjavur

I will start @ around 4 AM. and I planning to reach Tanjavur in less than 4 hours. I prefer good road and less traffic. Please share the current road conditions and also let me know the better option.