[csentil]

I would still ask folks to use the Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Katpadi - Chittoor - Tirupathi route for those who are unfamiliar with all the other routes and don't want to drive on the currently bad NH4.

The roads are very safe till Vellore being 4 laned all the way. You can drive more peacefully and be more relaxed.

This is 70 kms more than the normal Bangalore - Tirupathi route.

Vellore to Chittoor is around 35 kms.

Only issue is getting into Vellore town and Katpadi town which can be congested depending on time of day.

Strict No-No to drive on NH4 during the night. With all the road work going on, its not safe.

If one has to drive in the night I suggest taking the Vellore - Bangalore route as atleast you will have 4 laned road and a bit more safety.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by csentil

Strict No-No to drive on NH4 during the night. With all the road work going on, its not safe.

If one has to drive in the night I suggest taking the Vellore - Bangalore route as atleast you will have 4 laned road and a bit more safety.

+1 to that. Best would be to start early from both the places so that you end up at destination in broad daylight. At least I did not like start late in the afternoon from Tirupati and arriving in Bangalore by 10 or 10:30!

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

@Addyhemmige, @Ampere :

I am staying in BSK 3rd Stage ( near Big Bazaar) and am thinking of driving to Tirupati sometime end of this month / early next month.

Addy, observed that you have taken a new route via Chintamani-Bhakarpet - Tirupathi. I will be driving a Wagon-R, so do you reckon my drive will be more comfy than the route via Kolar/Mulbagal ?

What about the safety aspects of this route i need to observe ? Did u observe, if any repair services available in case of breakdowns / punctures in this road / route ? Night driving advisable ? Will be travelling with family.

@Ampere : Can i go via Silk board junction-Sarjapur rd-Varthur-Hoskote and then take the route as suggested by Addy ?

Help required pls !!!

As far as repair services are concerned, I remember seeing puncture shops in most villages on the route. The bigger towns like Chintamani and Madanapalle might have some facilities.

This route is more comfy than the Kolar-Mulbagal route due to the reason that it has very less traffic. Also there are a lot of straight stretches till Madanapalle. I took my swift and didn't face any problems.

Night driving is a touch and go issue. I'd definitely try this because, it will be stress free. But, please note that there will be very little or no traffic at all and it passes through some desolate stretches.

Silk board-Sarjapur-Varthur-Hoskote will be round about. If you go to Sarjapur, you can as well go through Malur-Kolar. If you are planning to leave early in the morning, better go through the city. Else, you can take the ORR from Silk Board and go through Mahadevapura-Kadugodi-Hoskote. I had been to Hoskote yesterday and I took this route from Katriguppe.

Originally Posted by ampere

This then becomes too roundabout. If drive all the way till Sarjapur, you can then as well go via Baglur/Malur and join at Kolar. Route suggested by Addy helps if you are in North Bangalore. The but the main point is to By-pass Bangalore-Kolar, any which way you can. Both the routes suggested do that.

NH4 actually is not that bad. I agree there are potholes, but can be managed. Chitoor by-pass is very important and should not be missed. Else getting into the town is a pain.


Another point: I am not if Addy's suggested has good hotel/clean toilets. NH4 sure has plenty (3 CCD are good enough!) PLUS woodys at Kolar and many in AP.

If you have a GPS, I can upload the tracks for this route.

There are no good hotels in the Chintamani-Madanapalle route. Although I did not stop anywhere, I did not see any. There are a couple of hotels in Madanapalle, but I have not tried them. You have plenty of options in this regard on NH4.

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

Thanks ampere !!

I know about the Kolar-Mulbagal-Chittoor route. Have driven to Tirupati about 5-6 times in this route.

But now since the road widening work is going on and reading various reports that driving is a pain till the AP border, so was thinking of some alternatives.

Came across Addy's report of an alternative route. Hence was curious to know more about it and also maybe give it a shot.

Then, u say that i am better off taking the route inside the city upto Hoskote ? rather than that via Sarjapur-varthur ?

Sorry, i do not have GPS with me.

Both routes diverge after Hoskote. Tirupati-Hoskote distance is almost same in either of the routes. So it should not make any difference (distance wise) if you take either of them.

Btw, driving at night on the Kolar-Mulbagal route is definitely a pain. The truck traffic coupled with the road widening works is really stressful.

[sushrutha]

+1 csentil & ampere.
I had been to Tirupathi last weekend, went thru Kolar -Chittor, most of the road is in bad shape lots of potholes + frequent road humps.

[Rajesh K R]

Thanks Addy for the info. Will seriously consider going thro' Hoskote-Madanpalle route & also try to cover this part during daylight.

Also Ampere was suggesting Sarjapur-Bagalur-Kolar-Mulbagal route. By taking this route, we will totally avoid the KR Puram-Hoskote-Kolar stretch.

[Captain Slow]

ampere, addyhemmige
Yes you guys are right! the way I took was really long ! We plan for another trip sometimes in Dec. I will surely try a better route then

[vasoo]

I am driving to Tirupati tomorrow. I stay in Bellandur and would like to avoid the mess between city and Hoskote. How about joining NH4 near Hoskote through Varthur road and Whitefield Saibaba Ashram? Has anybody tried this route? Given below is the Google Map representation of the said route. I am planning to start at about 10AM tomorrow.

[vasoo]

Went to Tirupati through the above mentioned route. It was completely smooth all the way. There are a few left/right diversions in the NH-4 till Kolar. After that it is an excellent ride.

After the morning busy hour jam sessions in the city (we started at 10am from home), we took 4 hrs 30 minutes from Hoskote to Tirumala and 5 hours on the way back yesterday with couple of breaks of 15-20 mins each at CCDs en route.

It was pretty crowded at Tirumala yesterday due to Janmashtami and arrangements for PM's visit. It was much better on Tuesday evening with Seeghradarshan done in about 45 minutes.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by vasoo

Went to Tirupati through the above mentioned route. It was completely smooth all the way. There are a few left/right diversions in the NH-4 till Kolar. After that it is an excellent ride.

After the morning busy hour jam sessions in the city (we started at 10am from home), we took 4 hrs 30 minutes from Hoskote to Tirumala and 5 hours on the way back yesterday with couple of breaks of 15-20 mins each at CCDs en route.

It was pretty crowded at Tirumala yesterday due to Janmashtami and arrangements for PM's visit. It was much better on Tuesday evening with Seeghradarshan done in about 45 minutes.

SH35 (Varthur road) is the standard access to join NH4. Very good for bypassing Old Madras Road. There is also a Shell on this road. The other access to Hoskote is through NH207. But not sure how good is NH207 on this stretch.

[raghu230506]

Originally Posted by vasoo

Went to Tirupati through the above mentioned route. It was completely smooth all the way. There are a few left/right diversions in the NH-4 till Kolar. After that it is an excellent ride.

After the morning busy hour jam sessions in the city (we started at 10am from home), we took 4 hrs 30 minutes from Hoskote to Tirumala and 5 hours on the way back yesterday with couple of breaks of 15-20 mins each at CCDs en route.

It was pretty crowded at Tirumala yesterday due to Janmashtami and arrangements for PM's visit. It was much better on Tuesday evening with Seeghradarshan done in about 45 minutes.

Yeh Vasoo,

I was in Tirumala too on 30th and 31st.

While returning wanted to try Kadugodi road, but was not sure about the flyover, is it operational (near to whitefield Station).

Cheers
Raghu

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by raghu230506

Yeh Vasoo,

I was in Tirumala too on 30th and 31st.

While returning wanted to try Kadugodi road, but was not sure about the flyover, is it operational (near to whitefield Station).

Cheers
Raghu

The entire road is pretty good and the flyover is fully operational. Saves a lot of time in reaching NH4 from ORR. Easy to find on the way back also with clear indications.

[ajitkumarlb]

@VASOO: Good to know that the NH4 widening has progressed well – I did this route earlier this year and last year Oct and it was a really tiring to drive with all the deviations and bad stretches.

I will be doing it again on 18th Dec.

Wanted to know the condition of the Chittor bypass – has it improved? Also is it really worth taking the bypass, instead should we just go through the city?
(I did take the bypass once, though it was quite empty, the road was bad, so I usually go via the city)

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ajitkumarlb

@
Wanted to know the condition of the Chittor bypass – has it improved? Also is it really worth taking the bypass, instead should we just go through the city?
(I did take the bypass once, though it was quite empty, the road was bad, so I usually go via the city)

I did it 3-4 months back (then not a status update I guess!), but the road then was not smooth. But having said that, the road is tarred. Its just that its not smooth for 4-5 km. The one good thing of this by-pass is that you hit Hotel Bans, which is a very good place for stop-over.

Ample parking, good hotel and clean toilets. Ideal for break.

EDIT: Just found out that Satguide Maps do not show the Chitoor by-pass, but MMI does (even the old version 4.01)!

Another Trivia: While getting in and out Tirupathi, please use the Nh205 by-pass from the Chennai side. Its very effective.
You can directly end up at the main bus-stand, where you find many hotels.

[prabhusati]

Originally Posted by ajitkumarlb

Wanted to know the condition of the Chittor bypass – has it improved? Also is it really worth taking the bypass, instead should we just go through the city?
(I did take the bypass once, though it was quite empty, the road was bad, so I usually go via the city)

I have not tried going through Chittoor town; but always drove using the by-pass. On 14th Nov 2010, the by-pass had lots of potholes; but when i last drove on 4th Dec 2010, they have started to fill up the pot holes; but you do have a considerable stretch which is rough. Heard from people who have travelled through the town that it will consume more time, but no info regarding the road condition. Hope this helps.

[ranarula]

Originally Posted by prabhusati

I have not tried going through Chittoor town; but always drove using the by-pass. On 14th Nov 2010, the by-pass had lots of potholes; but when i last drove on 4th Dec 2010, they have started to fill up the pot holes; but you do have a considerable stretch which is rough. Heard from people who have travelled through the town that it will consume more time, but no info regarding the road condition. Hope this helps.

I went through the bypass on my onward journey and return via town on my return. I found manoeuvering through the town traffic was easier than riding through the potholed by pass road. Not sure about the current status of the by pass road as this is by my 3 months old experience.