[ramanan.skr]

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks Ramanan. I'm aware of road conditions till Chittoor since I visited Tirupati 2 weeks ago. Is the stretch from Chittoor to Katpadi and then Vellore - Sripuram really avoidable ?

Road conditions are good from Chittoor to Naraharipet(famous AP check post)
Beyond that you have to deviate towards Vellore. Look for the signages as there are possiblities that it may be missed out.

Road from there to Katpadi (10 Kms) is rough as it is a SH.

Katpadi to Vellore Fort station is the road that passes through the city and well maintained

Vellore Fort station to South End till Central Jail is ok and you will have to take it if you come through NH46 touching Vellore

Central Jail to Sripuram (3kms) is a SH and conditions are ok

Originally Posted by NPV

In that case should I take the NH46 Krishnagiri route both ways ?

Anyday, GQ is better compared to NH4 given the conditions of the road.

Originally Posted by NPV

If I understood correctly the turn off to Sripuram in that route is just after the Pallikonda toll, correct ?

Turnoff to Sripuram comes just after Pallikonda toll. But I am not sure about the road conditions as it marked Sripuram 15kms from there. Or you can also take a right just before the Vellore Airport which would be much better.

[Amazingandy]

Hi All,

I am planning to drive down from Bangalore to Vellore next weekend, I am planning to use the route Bangalore > Hosur > Krishnagiri > Vaniyambadi > Vellore which I am used to and have used several times before during my college days in Vellore (CMC). However its been really long (like 4 years) since I last used this road and I have head that there is widening that is taking place on this route making it a little different than it used to be, I have the following question from regular users of this route

1. Which all areas is the construction going on and does it affect ride quality (bad roads, traffic hold ups)
2. How long would the journey take with the current condition?
3. Have driven a lot on the highways on my Bike, and advice for me as I have now graduated to the car?

Many thanks for your help!

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Amazingandy

1. Which all areas is the construction going on and does it affect ride quality (bad roads, traffic hold ups)
2. How long would the journey take with the current condition?
3. Have driven a lot on the highways on my Bike, and advice for me as I have now graduated to the car?

There is widening work beween Hosur & Krishnagiri and again after you turn off at Krishnagiri, it continues till Vellore. There are several diversions due to this work and shoulders at some places are non-existent. However, note that the roads are still good.
The other route via Old Madras Road (NH4) is also good overall - nice 4 laned roads from KR Puram to Mulbagal, then 2 laned and not so great for about 20km till you reach the Andhra border and then very good 2 laned undivided roads. You can also decide to take slightly longer route via Ranipet and join the GQ Road there or drive via Katpadi-Vellore.
Also, base your decision on the time of travel and where you live in Bangalore. If you're close to KR Puram and starting early you can try the Old Madras Road route and on your way back try the Krishnagiri route.
**Later during the day you may encounter a lot of truck traffic on the Old Madras Road route.

[Amazingandy]

@NPV....Many thanks for your post and the Information buddy

Wow...diversions all the way to vellore thats going to affect average speed, How long do you suppose it will take from Bangy to Vellore (via Krishnagiri, prefer not to take the mulbagal route as it is undivided and I still need to build up highway credit/hours)..doorstep to doorstep assuming I am a very chilled out driver (60 - 90 kph)

Well I intend to leave from Bangalore (I am located in Banaswadi) at 1:30 pm in the afternoon on a saturday, How would the traffic situation been like and how long would it take for me to pass Hosur?

Thanks once again.

[Amazingandy]

Vrrom Fellow BHPians,

I recently did the Bangalore to Vellore run....here is a summary of my motor-statastics (this is after more than 3000 km of highway riding/driving experience), pictures to follow soon

Well I am a more conservative driver (family man, still building highway experience) I usually average 45 - 50 kmph on the entire journey with some sections where I am comfortable I reach 100+.

EC to Hosur : Road - bad in patches : 24 km : 40 mins
Hosur to Krishnagiri : Road - great : 52 km : 45 mins
Krishnagiri to Vaniyambadi : Road - great, few diversions : 54 km : 45 mins
Vaniyambadi to Ambur : Road - good, through few towns : 23 km : 20 mins
Ambur to Vellore : Road - great, few diversions : 55 km : 60 mins

Start time / End time - 1:30 pm / 5:30 pm
Breaks - 1 (45 mins)
Total distance - 244 km
Average/ Highest speed - 50 kmph / 119 kmph
Tolls - 40 + 25 + 55 + 70 + 70
Fuel / FE - 25 liters / 18 kmph

Well I would call myself a conservative driver for sure, enjoy the journey more than the thrill of reaching the destination quickly. Hope this is a useful reference to some of the light footed drivers on here.

Cheers!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Amazingandy

Total distance - 244 km
Average/ Highest speed - 50 kmph / 119 kmph

50kmph is actually good. One cant hope to achieve much better, with the kind of traffic we see between Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri

[Amazingandy]

Originally Posted by ampere

50kmph is actually good. One cant hope to achieve much better, with the kind of traffic we see between Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri

Thanks Ampere,

But with 50 kmph as an average it takes me close to 5 hours to complete the distance (doorstep to doorstep) and that's with just the one stop (time excluded). Whats interesting was that the going journey was in the day at an average of 50 kmph and the return journey was in the night at an average of 45 kmph, would have expected there to be a bigger difference.

In a few earlier quotes I read people doing this distance in 2.5 hours, that's only possible at an average of 100 kmph minimum, not sure how that's even possible coz though the GQ/NH 47 are good I personally dont think that it is safe at speeds in excess of 140+ simply because there are just too many slow moving trucks/buses and gaps in medians to get a free run for long. Wonder how guys like akroy and Javed do it so fast, amazing!

Would like to hear the opinions of the others frequenting this route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Amazingandy

Thanks Ampere,
But with 50 kmph as an average it takes me close to 5 hours to complete the distance (doorstep to doorstep) and that's with just the one stop (time excluded).

In a few earlier quotes I read people doing this distance in 2.5 hours, that's only possible at an average of 100 kmph minimum, not sure how that's even possible coz though the GQ/NH 47 are good I personally dont think that it is safe at speeds in excess of 140+ simply because there are just too many slow moving trucks/buses and gaps in medians to get a free run for long. Wonder how guys like akroy and Javed do it so fast, amazing!

5 Hours for Vellore is I think, as you said a bit on slower side. Maybe that 50 can cranked up to 55/60 at best. At sedate speeds I do door-to-door Chennai-BLR in 6 hours. And that 6 is only possible when I drive early morning from Bangalore without wasting time on tolls. It also includes about 25 minutes for a break. More importantly that 6 hours includes an hour of commute from Ponamallee to city (say for e.g. Kathipara) . And it also means one does not spend any time getting out of Bangalore. In that case with 4.5 hours of drive time (5 hours of journey time) one can easily reach beyond Kanchi almost all the way till Poonamallee. That gives an average of about 75 till Poonamallee.

[DDiSLover]

Hey guys, anyone traveled this route recently? Bangalore - hosur - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Chennai ? Any updates on road work etc? Planning to drive down next week

[ampere]

Originally Posted by DDiSLover

Hey guys, anyone traveled this route recently? Bangalore - hosur - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Chennai ? Any updates on road work etc? Planning to drive down next week

Quite heavily used by many.

- Construction till Hosur.
- Traffic till Hosur.
- Hosur-Krishnahiri : Now quite peaceful
- Krishnagiri-Vellore : Bliss! 6 lane.
- Vellore-Kanchi-Sriperumbudur-Chennai : Rought patches at many place. Lots of traffic.

See this thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...alore-110.html

[gkveda]

Hi everyone
Am planning to go to Vellore tomorrow. Planning to leave at around 12 Noon and come back in the evening.

Request the experts here to suggest
1. Can I take Bangalore-> Palamner -> Gudiyatham-> Vellore route ? How are the road conditions? ( I read about Bangalore -> Krishnagiri Ambur route and impressed to take this route. But, trying the other option as well just for a change)

2. How much time does it usually take to have Darshan in the temple ? If it is more than 3-4 hours, will plan to leave early. If it is normal 30-45 mins, then, will stick to original plan of 12 Noon

Please suggest

[NPV]

Originally Posted by gkveda

1. Can I take Bangalore-> Palamner -> Gudiyatham-> Vellore route ? How are the road conditions? ( I read about Bangalore -> Krishnagiri Ambur route and impressed to take this route. But, trying the other option as well just for a change)

2. How much time does it usually take to have Darshan in the temple ? If it is more than 3-4 hours, will plan to leave early. If it is normal 30-45 mins, then, will stick to original plan of 12 Noon

I would stick to Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Vellore for the 6 laned roads, bliss to drive.
If you start early morning you can return same day quite easily. The temple darshan will usually not take too much time (they even have "special" parking/darshan, etc so one can pay a premium and complete the visit quickly).

The temple is usually lit up with colourful lights in the evenings, so if you want to be around for that, it's better you stay overnight or start your return after dinner provided you're not tired/sleepy.

*EDIT:If you plan to start from Bangalore at 12 noon, it will be very hot indeed, we're already experiencing around 35 deg C in Bangalore itself!

[RapidRavi]

Originally Posted by gkveda

Hi everyone
Am planning to go to Vellore tomorrow. Planning to leave at around 12 Noon and come back in the evening.

Request the experts here to suggest
1. Can I take Bangalore-> Palamner -> Gudiyatham-> Vellore route ? How are the road conditions? ( I read about Bangalore -> Krishnagiri Ambur route and impressed to take this route. But, trying the other option as well just for a change)

2. How much time does it usually take to have Darshan in the temple ? If it is more than 3-4 hours, will plan to leave early. If it is normal 30-45 mins, then, will stick to original plan of 12 Noon

Please suggest

For quick round trip I would suggest you to take Hosur - krishnagiri- vellore road. Sometime back I took the same route. Started from South Bangalore around 1pm to reach temple by 6pm.
Temple Darshan takes about 2 hrs with special entry for Rs 250 per head.Evening is the best time to visit as the temple looks great with lighting.
You can start by 8 pm to reach late night as this drive will not make you much tired.

[King_pin09]

Originally Posted by gkveda

Hi everyone
Am planning to go to Vellore tomorrow. Planning to leave at around 12 Noon and come back in the evening.

Request the experts here to suggest
1. Can I take Bangalore-> Palamner -> Gudiyatham-> Vellore route ? How are the road conditions? ( I read about Bangalore -> Krishnagiri Ambur route and impressed to take this route. But, trying the other option as well just for a change)

2. How much time does it usually take to have Darshan in the temple ? If it is more than 3-4 hours, will plan to leave early. If it is normal 30-45 mins, then, will stick to original plan of 12 Noon

Please suggest

I have travelled on this route from Bangalore to Chennai sometime during 2014. The road from Bangalore / Hoskote till KA-AP border (after Mulbagal) was top notch. Upon entry into AP the road turned into 2 laned road passing under the canopy of trees making it a perfect country side road. The surface was however rough and encountering occasional potholes was a usual affair. Due to KA/AP Volvos occupying the most of the road, it was not possible for cars to hit 100+ speeds easily. A manned level crossing made us wait for some 30 minutes as well. This road merges with the Krishnagiri – Poonamalle highway at a place near Walajahpet (or maybe it was Ranipet, not very sure). The road thereon up to Koyembedu was silky smooth.

I am unaware of the present situation, but I would not be surprised if it remains the same.


O.T: The stretch of road from Palmaner to Chittor presumably gets deserted after 6:30 P.M with no human settlements nearby. Once I stopped my car to buy custard apples from a vendor who had put up his stall besides this road. It was around 6:15 P.M and the vendor was in absolute hurry to wrap up business. He would walk down to his village some 2 Kms away, thereafter. He knew Kannada somewhat and from his words and face it seemed he was hell scared to stay there after 6:30 p.m. So much that when I tried to bargain for price this fellow just gave away an entire bag containing some 300 custard apples for just Rs 50 and left the place. I tried to establish some conversation with him to know the cause for his fear but he just slipped from the place asking me to move off quickly as well.

[gkveda]

Thanks to King_pin09, RapidRavi and NPV

I read all your suggestions and took standard Hosur, Krishnagiri, Ambur route to Vellore. Avoided Palamner route.

But, we could not start early in the morning as recommended. We started at 12 Noon and reached there by 4 PM. Thanks to all Tolls! !

Waited for lights to ON and then, had very good Darshan. Left the temple at night 9 PM and reached Bangalore by 12:30 AM

Roads are real breeze and was a cake walk right from home till temple !!