[manavdotcom]

Originally Posted by VMG

Thanks . Walking may take about 4-5 hours then Darishan may take another 4-5 hours, coming back to downhill and driving back to Chennai is tedious.
I prefer to go to Thirumala previous day and finish the Darishan by next day morning.

Once you approach Alipiri, there is a parking place for Bus on the left hand side.We parked our car there but that was during day time.Guess it's safe for Night also.

[VMG]

Thanks. I will try to find out about night time parking.

[navan49]

Had a trip on Monday. The latest information here is the road condition from Tirupati to Tirumala is under maintenance. We left Tirupati at 4 am and there was a smooth movement on one way upwards. The darshan was fast and we were coming down at 12.25. Due to Road repair both up and down vehicles were allowed in the old road. The police were holding here and there allowing only either up vehicles or down vehicles. It took 1hor 40 minutes to come down. Fellow Bhpians can be mentally prepared for the delay.

[Reisender]

Originally Posted by navan49

Had a trip on Monday. The latest information here is the road condition from Tirupati to Tirumala is under maintenance. We left Tirupati at 4 am and there was a smooth movement on one way upwards. The darshan was fast and we were coming down at 12.25. Due to Road repair both up and down vehicles were allowed in the old road. The police were holding here and there allowing only either up vehicles or down vehicles. It took 1hor 40 minutes to come down. Fellow Bhpians can be mentally prepared for the delay.

Thanks for the info Navan sir.. I think i see you replying after long time..

Regards
R

[navan49]

Hi Reisender,
The fact was that not only for reply but I myself was totally out of this part of the world for a long time. So once became active I have started visiting places and the out come of my recent visit was this quote. tomorrow planning for a rail trip to Salem and a Motor way to Dindigul Madurai. If some thing is there I will update.

[callvvijay]

Went for a drive to Tirupati (actually Tiruchanur) last Sunday (27th Nov) to attend a friend's wedding. Started from my place (Nanganallur) at 5am and reached there by around 8:15am after taking a break just before Thiruthani.
Route: Nanganallur - Porur - Poonamalee - Tiruvallur - Thiruthani - Nagari - Puttur - Tirupathi.
Road was okay except for a few patches. Might be its because of the recent rains.

Return: Started by 10:30am and reached Anna Nagar by around 3pm. Unfortunately, we took the most NOT sought-after route.
Route: Tirupathi - Puttur - Uttukottai - Periyapaalayam - RedHills - Anna Nagar.

Road from Tirupathi to Uttukottai was really good and scenic. We also spotted a waterfalls on the nearby hill. Only negative point of this stretch was that there were quite a few speed-breakers without any markings. So, you will have to keep an eye for that constantly.
After reaching Uttukottai, we checked with a local cop about the route to take and he suggested both the routes viz., to Tiruvallur and to RedHills. What he didn't mention was that there is nothing called "road" if you take up the RedHills route which we took.

The road was pathetic for the whole distance and it was very circuitous. Believe me, I was not able to drive at more than 20kmph for a distance of nearly 30kms. Gosh! And we also had to pay toll of Rs.35/- for using the GNT road.

The return trip drained all the energy in us and it was a terribly spoilt weekend!

[SuperSlick]

Hi folks! Bumping an old thread with some new updates as we happened to visit Tirupati on March 5/6th. Hope this piece of update is helpful for anyone planning to take the trip through the below-mentioned routes.

March 5th 5:15 a.m. - We took our usual route via Poonamalee - Tiruvallur - Thiruthani - Nagari - Puttur – Tirupati as we had been doing for the last 2-3 years. This route until now was kind of okayish for us as we reside closer to the Chennai bypass road and never thought of taking the Tada route. The roads until Tiruvallur are in good condition, but after Tiruvallur the road surface is not smooth at all. It has lots of patchwork done with still many craters left open. You cannot do more than 40 Kms/hr on these roads for quite a distance. After which the roads are okay until you reach TN & AP Border (Thiruthani and Nagari). There seems to be 4-laning work undertaken and there are lots of diversions. It will easily take a year or more to get this done. The road gets narrow with vehicles coming from the opposite side on the same road. The road surface here is again nothing to mention about. The Puttur to Tirupati stretch is good. It took us exactly 4 hours to reach the Alapiri gate with a 30 minute break included.

March 6th 11:00 a.m. – After having darshan at the Tiruchanur temple we had decided to take a different route this time since we also wanted to check out the route and road conditions to Sri Kalahasthi as well for a future trip. So we took the Tirupati – Srikalahasthi – Varadaiahpalem - Tada – Red Hills route. The roads all through this route are awesome and very scenic with lots of curves, which I really loved. You got to watch out for the umpteen number of speed breakers at some sharp curves and while entering/exiting the villages. Mostly these speed breakers are marked with signboards on the left well ahead to alert you. I had a really good time driving through this route which does not have much traffic at all, except for some tractor-trailors of the farmers.

While on the 4-laned roads from Tada, I had thought of taking the Chennai bypass from Puzhal to avoid entering the city, but missed noticing it and had to get into the city. A small signboard on left road side indicates Tambaram bypass as the ramp starts just on the left side after you have crossed Puzhal Central Prison. It is a little tricky to spot the signboard and the ramp unless you are aware of its presence though. There is a toll of Rs. 35/- to be paid and we reached home sharp at 3:00 p.m. without any stoppage.

I felt rejuvenated after the excellent drive! Would suggest taking the Tada route without any doubt!

[skdking]

Originally Posted by SuperSlick

Hi folks! Bumping an old thread with some new updates as we happened to visit Tirupati on March 5/6th. Hope this piece of update is helpful for anyone planning to take the trip through the below-mentioned routes.

March 5th 5:15 a.m. - We took our usual route via Poonamalee - Tiruvallur - Thiruthani - Nagari - Puttur – Tirupati as we had been doing for the last 2-3 years. This route until now was kind of okayish for us as we reside closer to the Chennai bypass road and never thought of taking the Tada route. The roads until Tiruvallur are in good condition, but after Tiruvallur the road surface is not smooth at all. It has lots of patchwork done with still many craters left open. You cannot do more than 40 Kms/hr on these roads for quite a distance. After which the roads are okay until you reach TN & AP Border (Thiruthani and Nagari). There seems to be 4-laning work undertaken and there are lots of diversions. It will easily take a year or more to get this done. The road gets narrow with vehicles coming from the opposite side on the same road. The road surface here is again nothing to mention about. The Puttur to Tirupati stretch is good. It took us exactly 4 hours to reach the Alapiri gate with a 30 minute break included.

March 6th 11:00 a.m. – After having darshan at the Tiruchanur temple we had decided to take a different route this time since we also wanted to check out the route and road conditions to Sri Kalahasthi as well for a future trip. So we took the Tirupati – Srikalahasthi – Varadaiahpalem - Tada – Red Hills route. The roads all through this route are awesome and very scenic with lots of curves, which I really loved. You got to watch out for the umpteen number of speed breakers at some sharp curves and while entering/exiting the villages. Mostly these speed breakers are marked with signboards on the left well ahead to alert you. I had a really good time driving through this route which does not have much traffic at all, except for some tractor-trailors of the farmers.
! Would suggest taking the Tada route without any doubt!

I concur with these comments. Did chennai-tirupati trip on 13 Apr 2012, via thirutthani route. deeply disappointed.

came back on 14 Apr 2012, via tada. very good condition.

[srimani]

dear all,

any updates on this??

how is tiruttani tirupathi road now
tomorow i want to travel
feedback please..
thanks..

[Chillout]

i would avoid thiruthani roue for another year, Tada route is the best for now

[narayans80]

Madras-Tada-Kalahasti-Tirupati will go through Kalahasti and Madras-Nayadupeta-Kalahasti-Tirupati will bypass Kalhasti. Latter is 30 km longer but with wider roads.

[gajadonga]

Originally Posted by srimani

how is tiruttani tirupathi road now
tomorow i want to travel
feedback please..
thanks..

I had traveled about a month back from Tirupathi to Chengalpattu.
Four laning is going on. In some stretches the four laning is complete.
Lot of deviations but manageable.
None of the bypass are complete.

[Neel]

i was searching for a route for someone i know, they took the Tirupath, Srikalahasti, Sullurpet, Tada, Chennai Route in about 3+ hours. 7:30PM to 10:30PM. I believe this is the best route now.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Neel

i was searching for a route for someone i know, they took the Tirupath, Srikalahasti, Sullurpet, Tada, Chennai Route in about 3+ hours. 7:30PM to 10:30PM. I believe this is the best route now.

There are 3 ways to Kalahasti from NH5, one from Tada, one from Sulurpeta and last from Nayadupeta. Nayadupeta is the widest, one truck and 2 cars can comfortably drive abreast. Late evening timings are a pain though due to traffic. This is the prime route used by trucks to get on NH5.

Tada route is 2-lane without shoulder, twisty but defly doable. How is the Sulurpeta one ?

Karanodai-Periyapalayam-Uthukottai-Nagari-Tirupati is the 4th route. This route is not-recommended.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Is the Tada route still the best. I'm planning my first trip to Tirupati. Will be starting early morning tomorrow, and returning same day.

1. Being a sunday, what time should I start to avoid crowds at Tirupati.

2. Which is the best route? I understand that most people recommend the TADA route. Need to google for directions.

3. Is is possible to visit Kalahasti en-route, possibily while returning in the afternoon?