[Bibin]

Recently did Kottayam to Velankanni and back with a detour to Kodaikanal.
The best part of the trip I liked was the bypass roads constructed all the way from Gudalur to Dindigul. You don't have to enter any of the towns between Kumily and Dindigul.

Gudalur, Cumbum, Uthamapalyam, Chinnamanur, Periyakulam, Theni, Batlagundu, all had new bypass roads which brought down the entire travel hours by atleast 1 hour which is tremendous advantage for all traveling in Kumily Dindigul route. Even if the entire route is just a normal double-lane road its wide enough and can easily traverse at good speeds. The only thing you must take care of is the barricades you have to face every now and then. So, you will have a slowdown in every 5-10kms for sure.

Dindigul bypass to Trichy bypass was smooth but the scorching sun will tire you soon. Full-speed AC also cannot defeat the power of the sun while on TN roads this summer. The same is the case in Kerala too.
Before reaching Trichy got on a detour as suggested by Google Maps and got on Tanjavur road and again as Maps told we got on Mannargudi road without getting inside Tanjavur. Mannargudi to Tiruthuraipoondi was slowest in the entire trip while going and coming back with at least 2 humps on every turn with lot of local traffic on the road. Post Mannargudi till Velankanni was still better. So overall the roads were really good expect for few small patches here and there.

While returning we went uphill to Kodaikanal and stayed there one night and the next day went till Poomparai and Mannavanur ditching the regular known spots in Kodai and then directly back hom via Kodai town

On a Thursday Early morning 4AM we started from home in Athirampuzha,Kottayam and took only 2 stops in between, one for fuelling and one for breakfast (after Dindigul around 8.30AM) and reached Velankanni by 1PM.
Took rest in the hotel near church (Hotel Seagate) and went to church and chappels by around 6.30PM and there was mass near the pond church in the evening. Then we visited all churches in the night itself to escape from sunny daytime. By night 9.30, we got back to hotel and next day morning again visited the main basilica after breakfast and by around 11AM we started our return journey aiming Kodaikanal and we reached Kodai by around 4.30PM and did a drive around the lake and then moved to the hotel.
Next day morning after breakfast we directly went to see Poombarai and Mannavanur. In Mannavanur there is Sheep and Goat farm which the kids liked very much. The entire route is scenic, relaxing, and refreshing. Reached back Kodai town by around 3PM during the return journey and reached home by around 8PM. Posting few en route photos
Vehicle used was a 2016 Innova Crysta.

[Mohan Mathew A]

Time for yet another Velankanni trip.

Route is as below
Onward: Pala-Pondicherry
Return: Pondicherry-Velankanni-Pala

Can anyone who have visited in the recent past suggest which will be the best route to take from Velankanni on the return and also how are the roads from Pondicherry to Velankanni.

[antonylejos]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

Can anyone who have visited in the recent past suggest which will be the best route to take from Velankanni on the return and also how are the roads from Pondicherry to Velankanni.

The condition of the ECR was at its worst when I travelled this route a year ago ( May 2023). Work on four-laning and concretization was underway. It might not have been completed yet. My suggestion is to cover this distance during daylight hours. There are no street lights, and the under-construction or damaged stretches are difficult to navigate during dark hours.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

Time for yet another Velankanni trip.
Route is as below
Onward: Pala-Pondicherry

One option which you can try if you want to avoid Trichy.

Dindigul-Tirupathur-Thirumayam-Pudukottai bypass - Tanjore bypass - Mannargudi - Tiruthuraipoondi - Velankanni


As regards to ECR: Cudalore-Chidambaram-Velankanni : Work on going

[Mohan Mathew A]

Originally Posted by antonylejos

The condition of the ECR was at its worst when I travelled this route a year ago ( May 2023). Work on four-laning and concretization was underway. It might not have been completed yet. My suggestion is to cover this distance during daylight hours. There are no street lights, and the under-construction or damaged stretches are difficult to navigate during dark hours.

Oh. Is it really bad? I was planning to start from Pondicherry at around 5.30 in the morning to reach velankanni by 9 in time for the malayalam mass. Do you think it is doable?

Originally Posted by ampere

One option which you can try if you want to avoid Trichy.

Dindigul-Tirupathur-Thirumayam-Pudukottai bypass - Tanjore bypass - Mannargudi - Tiruthuraipoondi - Velankanni

How is the road and will it be faster? Return journey is going to be a bit of a stretch as starting from pondicherry, then velankanni, then i need to reach pala and then ernakulam the same night as i have something important to attend to the next day morning. So priority will be for a fast and efficient route as it will be only me driving

As regards to ECR: Cudalore-Chidambaram-Velankanni : Work on going

[antonylejos]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

Oh. Is it really bad? I was planning to start from Pondicherry at around 5.30 in the morning to reach velankanni by 9 in time for the malayalam mass. Do you think it is doable?

Last May, I traveled from Bangalore to Velankanni, covering the distance from Chidambaram to Velankanni via the ECR Pondicherry - Velankanni route.

At that time, a four-lane concrete road was under construction. In the sections under construction, the sides of the road had deep excavations due to the height of the concrete. In many places, only two lanes were open on the under-construction roads. This section has a high-beam driving issue. There were also no street lights, which made it quite difficult for me to drive that stretch that day, as the sides of roads will not be visible when opposite vehicle is in high beam.

The road condition may be better now, as a year has passed. Also, considering it is on the east side, it will be daylight there by 5:30 - 5:40, so you will not have to face much of the high-beam menace.

In terms of timing, if you’re asking whether you can reach by 9, before the four-laning started, the Bangalore to Pondicherry journey was doable in 3.5 hours. I managed to do that in January 2021. In 4.5 hours it should be doable even with under construction road conditions, given it is early morning hours, and you will not find small town traffic in between small towns.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

Oh. Is it really bad? I was planning to start from Pondicherry at around 5.30 in the morning to reach velankanni by 9 in time for the malayalam mass. Do you think it is doable?

I went to Velankanni a couple of weeks ago. The road construction work is going on till Nagapatinam. It really will slow you down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9fhkclgWYE