[MCR]

Originally Posted by MCR

JP Nagar 8th Phase - Nice Road - Hosur - Bagalur - Malur - Kolar - Mulabagilu - Palamner - Chittor - Tirupati.

I ended up taking the normal route via Hosakote since we started early in the morning. The route via MG Road-Indiranagar-KR Puram was ok without many potholes.

However on the return we took the Chittor-Vellore-Krishnagiri-Hosur-NICE Road route.
Though this route was slightly longer than the normal Hosakote route, it was faster.
The road between Chittoor and Vellore is not so great near Chittor, however its in a good shape once you cross the initial few kms.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by MCR

.....
However on the return we took the Chittor-Vellore-Krishnagiri-Hosur-NICE Road route.
Though this route was slightly longer than the normal Hosakote route, it was faster.
The road between Chittoor and Vellore is not so great near Chittor, however its in a good shape once you cross the initial few kms.

How was the traffic between Katpadi and Vellore? What time did you cross this section? In December-2021, I took this stretch around dusk time and the traffic was heavy and unruly.

Also, there was a small but very bad section (with deep potholes) in the AP side before AP-TN border. Has this been patched up now?

[MCR]

Originally Posted by srvm

How was the traffic between Katpadi and Vellore? What time did you cross this section? In December-2021, I took this stretch around dusk time and the traffic was heavy and unruly.

Also, there was a small but very bad section (with deep potholes) in the AP side before AP-TN border. Has this been patched up now?

I was near Vellore around 4.30PM. The traffic from Katpadi to Vellore and up to the NH ring connecting the highway was quiet unruly as you have mentioned. I stuck to the right most lane and was very patient and it was ok.

Yes, the bad section is still there however the potholes are not so deep. It was a breeze to drive in my Seltos.

[ravib]

Completed a quick 1 day trip to Tirumala to pray the lord on Purattasi month first saturday. Took Break darshan and indeed it was blissful experience as usual to see the lord in close proximity. Words can't describe the experience for sure.

Darshan
Entered queue at 5.45 am and after almost 1.5 hours of waiting in compartment/cage from 6 am to 7.30 am, had darshan and came out by 8.30 am. All through the queue, there was no push/pull. However, once we enter inner sanctorum beyond Jaya/Vijaya statues, there was quite a lot of push by volunteers. Not so good or expected for break darshan atleast. Barring that, its mesmerizing to get lords darshan on this auspicious day.

Route and timings - Nothing new to add, and as usual it was great except for just 1 km where they left half constructed bridge beyond Gadanki toll.
Left bangalore at 2.30 pm sharp on friday and reached Trichanur at 5.45 including a 15 minutes tea break. Return took it slow today afternoon at 1.30 pm and took a detour to Kanipakkam temple, so there were multiple stops , but overall driving time was about 3.30 hours.

Food - Earlier we had shared about PS4 Restaurant in Alipiri road which is an excellent option. NOw another very good news for veggie lovers is there is a new (less than a month old) PS4 restaurant in Trichanur road, which is brand new extremely spacious seating,very large and ample cark parking. As usual food is amazing and now much better experience than the older one. This is closer to Bangalore highway too, so very convenient.

Gmaps location: https://goo.gl/maps/XQwsJrRGhh37aErj7

Parking in Tirumala - The usual Medarmitta car parking in Tirumala near to SriRangam Srimath andavan ashram is undergoing some construction work. It can be still used for parking , but can't enter the parking space via usual entry point. Just have to little further 20 metres to take next entrance via Ahobila math entry point.

Chaos in Tirupati traffic : Given that the primary Railover bridge between Tirupati bus stand and Renigunta road is closed for construction, there is lot of chaos and traffic to get on to Bangalore highway from alipiri side. All traffic has to go via bus stand and RUB near to railway station and crawl through city traffic. So plan extra time for all these and be patient to overcome all crazy two wheeler and auto rickshaw traffic !

On a side note FASTag was implemented in Alipiri toll ( since my previous visit), so didn't pay for it explicitly. I didn't see money debited and also it seems no time check is done to drive up from Alipiri to Tirumala and to climb down too. I don't see the RED/YELLOW/GREEN monitors or any checking.


-Ravi

[BrokenHW]

#Tirumala
Due to heavy influx of devotees for Garuda Seva, all parking areas on Tirumala hills are full
No private vehicle is now allowed to Tirumala until tomorrow morning
Devotees are requested to park vehicles at Tirupati and go by bus

[mayukh42]

Is the toll rate at Gadanki increased recently? In September it was Rs. 95, but yesterday it deducted Rs. 115 - both receipts show my vehicle number, so it cannot be due to wrong vehicle type.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by ravib

Chaos in Tirupati traffic : Given that the primary Railover bridge between Tirupati bus stand and Renigunta road is closed for construction, there is lot of chaos and traffic to get on to Bangalore highway from alipiri side. All traffic has to go via bus stand and RUB near to railway station and crawl through city traffic. So plan extra time for all these and be patient to overcome all crazy two wheeler and auto rickshaw traffic !

Thanks, Ravi. Where exactly is/are the road closure(s)? Possible to mark out on a Maps screenshot?

Also, are there no other peaceful alternatives except that awful bus stand area?

[jkrishnakj]

It’s inside ‘town’ I think. From Bangalore, i generally take the inside road via Venkateshwara University leading up to Alipiri and don’t encounter this traffic, unless going towards Tiruchanoor.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Thanks, Ravi. Where exactly is/are the road closure(s)? Possible to mark out on a Maps screenshot?

Also, are there no other peaceful alternatives except that awful bus stand area?

Attached screenshot with red marking where the road and bridge is closed.
No other peaceful alternative. Only way is to go via subway near to Railway station and the go via bus stand.

-Ravi

[itwasntme]

Noted, we always head straight out to BLR from Alipiri hence take the newly renovated road past the zoo towards Kaloor:

[APV]

Originally Posted by ravib

Attached screenshot with red marking where the road and bridge is closed.
No other peaceful alternative. Only way is to go via subway near to Railway station and the go via bus stand.

-Ravi

I was in Tirupati during Diwali weekend. All roads around Ramanuja circle are open for cars in all directions. Bangalore folks will find passing through this circle a walk in the park

[ravib]

Originally Posted by APV

I was in Tirupati during Diwali weekend. All roads around Ramanuja circle are open for cars in all directions. Bangalore folks will find passing through this circle a walk in the park

Thank you . This is great update and good to know they opened in last month. It was a pain to go through railway station subway and bus stand.
Now it should be easy to go through

-Ravi

[APV]

Originally Posted by ravib

Thank you . This is great update and good to know they opened in last month. It was a pain to go through railway station subway and bus stand.
Now it should be easy to go through

-Ravi

Just to clear the air - still construction work is going on around Ramanuja circle, but traffic is open for cars & two wheelers in all directions.

Buses & trucks are restricted from Tiruchanoor road side for sure, not sure about other two sides though(from Alipiri road side & Renigunta road side)

[Karthick Fordia]

Hi All,

Just returned from a one day trip to Tirupathi.
Started from Hebbal around 7am yesterday and reached Govindaraja swamy temple around 11.15 am incl. a total of 45 minutes breakfast/loo break. Traffic was very less and all roads inside tirupathi town was open. Did not find any major diversions.

Crowd was quite epic and people are now getting stuck inside the sanctorum. Off late they are closing the exit from sanctorum to allow more people to come in. This was the first time I experienced rush to get out of the sanctorum.

Breakfast: aradhya grand & royal sangee (tirumala)
Lunch : Bhimas residency(tirupathi) and Swathi hotel & cafe ( near Kolar)

Return driving time was around 4 hrs after starting at 10am from tirumala.

Now, I've made up my mind that will go with break darshan only my daughter got fed up inside the sanctorum.

[DasAuto1985]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Noted, we always head straight out to BLR from Alipiri hence take the newly renovated road past the zoo towards Kaloor:

I am planning to take this route from Bangalore to Tirupati as my stay is near Alipiri. How is the road condition?