[ukamath]

Going to Tirupati after nearly a decade on Sunday and wanted to check with you all on a few things. Any inputs would be very helpful.

1. Is the route via KRP, Hoskote, Kolar, Palamner, Chittor still the best option or is it a good idea to try the Hosur, Krishnagiri, Ambur, Chitoor route. I don't mind traveling a bit further if the roads are better and smoother.

2. I have a toddler and elderly on board - so would need frequent stops at restaurants with clean / decent rest rooms. Any pointers to veg only places along the routes would be great.

Some other queries on the darshan itself -

I have booked online for a special darshan at 3 pm on Monday afternoon. Would My wife is climbing up via SriVari Mettu, while I will drive down with the rest. Any recommendations on where I should be parking so the walking distance is minimal for the others and we can all proceed to the darshan.

Thanks much!

[nirmaljusdoit]

Has Indigo started daily ATR flights from Bangalore to Tirupati ?

Planning to go to Tirupati next month by road but may change my mind and take a flight instead.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ukamath

Going to Tirupati after nearly a decade on Sunday and wanted to check with you all on a few things. Any inputs would be very helpful.

1. Is the route via KRP, Hoskote, Kolar, Palamner, Chittor still the best option or is it a good idea to try the Hosur, Krishnagiri, Ambur, Chitoor route. I don't mind traveling a bit further if the roads are better and smoother.

2. I have a toddler and elderly on board - so would need frequent stops at restaurants with clean / decent rest rooms. Any pointers to veg only places along the routes would be great.

Some other queries on the darshan itself -

I have booked online for a special darshan at 3 pm on Monday afternoon. Would My wife is climbing up via SriVari Mettu, while I will drive down with the rest. Any recommendations on where I should be parking so the walking distance is minimal for the others and we can all proceed to the darshan.

Thanks much!

1) Yes, you can stick to standard route via Hoskote, Kolar and Chittoor. No need to take a detour via Krishnagiri. However, you need to drive carefully between KA/AP border till Chittoor bypass as it is a 2L road.
Beyond Chittoor till Tirupati is also a 2L road, but wide, but beware of rash driving by Private/APSRTC/KSRTC buses, especially while they or you overtake.

2) The above route has now lot of stop over veg options. You can go through the below thread as it was asked multiple times. To name a few, Vasudev Adigas, Food court after Kolar, Nandi Plaza after Bangarupalayam and multiple Cafe Coffee days.

For parking, i suggest you park near to where Srivari Mettu steps end at Tirumala, so that its easy to meet and then walk towards darshan entry queue. Even better option is to park near to TTD Museum so that it is more convenient once you finish darshan and take laddus and just walk for less than half a km to reach car and drive back easily. However, you have to walk more to reach entry gate in this case. Either way, one time you have to walk more.

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ukamath

I have booked online for a special darshan at 3 pm on Monday afternoon. Would My wife is climbing up via SriVari Mettu, while I will drive down with the rest. Any recommendations on where I should be parking so the walking distance is minimal for the others and we can all proceed to the darshan.

I would suggest go one day in advance. That way you get to park at the hotel at Tirupathi. Then the next day when your better half walks up, you can hire a cab and go up. No concerns over parking as well. May not be the best possible approach, but I would prefer it that way.

[jkrishnakj]

I went last month. Whilst the roads are just about ok , the stretch from Mulbagal to the bypass before Chittoor was quite frustrating , largely because of the heavy volumes of trucks. Our darshan was at 1 pm and we just about made it on time. I was so frustrated that I came back via the Ambur, Krishnagiri route on my return.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

I was so frustrated that I came back via the Ambur, Krishnagiri route on my return.

But again the stretch from Chittoor by pass till the GQ is not that great. The last time i went on this stretch, it was above average but very much doable

[ukamath]

Originally Posted by ampere

I would suggest go one day in advance. That way you get to park at the hotel at Tirupathi. Then the next day when your walks up, you can hire a cab and go up. No concerns over parking as well. May not be the best possible approach, but I would prefer it that way.

Thank you. That is a good recommendation. I have already booked a hotel from Sunday onwards. Are taxis available in abundance back to Tirupati, if I take one up?

Originally Posted by ravib

2) The above route has now lot of stop over veg options. You can go through the below thread as it was asked multiple times. To name a few, Vasudev Adigas, Food court after Kolar, Nandi Plaza after Bangarupalayam and multiple Cafe Coffee days.

-Ravi

Thanks Ravi. Will follow the route and parking recommendations. . Could you please share the link to the thread you have indicated.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ukamath

Thank you. That is a good recommendation. I have already booked a hotel from Sunday onwards. Are taxis available in abundance back to Tirupati, if I take one up?

There are many. If nothing works, there are buses too. Easiest would be to ask the hotel guys to book one. You end up paying more, but its convenience. We were there 3-4 months back. We started by 3:30PM in the evening from Bangalore and reached by 8:30/9. We parked at the hotel, climbed up the next day (had a quick darshan booking). For return, we just took a cab available on the fly to hotel via Alivelu Mangapuram.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

I went last month. Whilst the roads are just about ok , the stretch from Mulbagal to the bypass before Chittoor was quite frustrating , largely because of the heavy volumes of trucks. Our darshan was at 1 pm and we just about made it on time. I was so frustrated that I came back via the Ambur, Krishnagiri route on my return.

Its frustrating no doubt. Per my opinion it was not that bad that I had to think of hitting the Hosur side.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

I went last month. Whilst the roads are just about ok , the stretch from Mulbagal to the bypass before Chittoor was quite frustrating , largely because of the heavy volumes of trucks. Our darshan was at 1 pm and we just about made it on time. I was so frustrated that I came back via the Ambur, Krishnagiri route on my return.

It has been a while I drove on this stretch since started using the air on my frequent Chennai trips. While I used to drive earlier, as recent as early 2017, the roads were in much better shape. Yes, the truck traffic was a downer, but the road surface was excellent.

But in my recent roadtrip to Vizag in Dec '17, I found the surface in the AP side has deteriorated with potholes. This was a complete let down and since I took this stretch at night was really difficult in spotting the craters. Adding to this were the newly laid speed breakers in the Mulbagal-Palamaner forest stretch.

So in summary, it doesn't appear to be lucrative to take this stretch and the GQ may sound a sweeter alternative. But then again, if you live in East/North Bangalore, the Kolar route is still the option to go as otherwise it takes too much longer coming via GQ.

[rvlkiran]

I just finished a driving trip Bangalore -> Tirumala -> back, both driving at night. I stayed overnight at Tirumala. The 4 lane toll gate from Hoskote, Kolar, Mulbagal all the way to the KA/AP border (~90 km) is in excellent condition. You have to stay alert for police barricades / speed breakers near busy road crossings (the purpose is to slow you down to a safer speed limit of 40-60 kmph). But once you cross in to AP, the road from state border -> Palamaner -> Chittoor bypass is narrow 2 lane road with a lot of truck & bus traffic. I have noticed ongoing road widening work (4 laning ?) from the state border to Palamaner town. From Chittoor bypass -> Puthalapattu -> Tirupati it is a wider 2 lane road, and you can drive slightly faster. There are two railway crossings, and you may face 10-15 minutes delay if they're closed for a crossing train. Within Tirupati, the 4 lane bypass road is now operational, so if you drive to Tiruchanur/Alimelu Mangapuram/Srikalahasti, you can take the bypass road. I saw sign boards about it being a toll road, but there was no toll collection booth within the distance that I traveled.

Here are my (approximate) timings:

Onwards:
Hoskote toll plaza (6 pm), Mulbagal toll plaza (6.50 pm), Nangli Toll plaza/State border (7.15 pm), 1 hour stop over for dinner/break, Alipiri toll gate (11.10 pm), Tirumala (11.40 pm)

Return:
Tirupati Railway station (6.00 pm), Chittoor bypass (7.40 pm, delay at one of the railway crossings), 10 minutes break, Palamaner town (8.45 pm), Nangli toll plaza / state border (9.10 pm), Hoskote toll plaza (10.30 pm)

[santhoshs]

Originally Posted by rvlkiran

I just finished a driving trip Bangalore -> Tirumala -> back, both driving at night. I stayed overnight at Tirumala. The 4 lane toll gate from Hoskote, Kolar, Mulbagal all the way to the KA/AP border (~90 km) is in excellent condition. You have to stay alert for police barricades / speed breakers near busy road crossings (the purpose is to slow you down to a safer speed limit of 40-60 kmph). But once you cross in to AP, the road from state border -> Palamaner -> Chittoor bypass is narrow 2 lane road with a lot of truck & bus traffic. I have noticed ongoing road widening work (4 laning ?) from the state border to Palamaner town. From Chittoor bypass -> Puthalapattu -> Tirupati it is a wider 2 lane road, and you can drive slightly faster. There are two railway crossings, and you may face 10-15 minutes delay if they're closed for a crossing train. Within Tirupati, the 4 lane bypass road is now operational, so if you drive to Tiruchanur/Alimelu Mangapuram/Srikalahasti, you can take the bypass road. I saw sign boards about it being a toll road, but there was no toll collection booth within the distance that I traveled.

How is the road condition, the surface. we have booked darshan on 13th Feb, leaving Bangalore on 12th Feb afternoon (around 2-3 pm).

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by santhoshs

How is the road condition, the surface. we have booked darshan on 13th Feb, leaving Bangalore on 12th Feb afternoon (around 2-3 pm).

It has deteriorated in the AP side for sure. Please see my post in the previous page. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4332796

[Mafioso]

Originally Posted by santhoshs

How is the road condition, the surface. we have booked darshan on 13th Feb, leaving Bangalore on 12th Feb afternoon (around 2-3 pm).

Try and avoid leaving in the noon, the time suggests that you will be in AP around evening time which is not advisable because of the road widening and heavy traffic! Either leave early morning or late evening so that you can avoid the traffic. The stretch from Palamner to Chitoor is not that great and watch out for some big potholes out of no where.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Mafioso

Try and avoid leaving in the noon, the time suggests that you will be in AP around evening time which is not advisable because of the road widening and heavy traffic! Either leave early morning or late evening so that you can avoid the traffic. The stretch from Palamner to Chitoor is not that great and watch out for some big potholes out of no where.

Where is the road widening work happening?

Also Chitoor-Tirupathi would always be heavy on traffic (esp tilll the point where you remain on the Hyderabad highway before taking exit to Tirupathi). I would still suggest to leave in the after 2PM (Earlier the better to beat evening office traffic). I had done the same 5-6 months back. Started around 3 and made to Tirupathi by 8:30 or so.

Yes traffic is bad and many drive on high beam. But it still helps to reach by night as you get to sleep over night and be fresh next day.

[rvlkiran]

Originally Posted by ampere

Where is the road widening work happening?

The work is happening immediately after KA/AP border, for about 10-15 kms as I could remember from my trip. I guess the extension will be at least until Palamaner town (20 kms from border). There is digging and levelling work on both sides of the existing carriageway.