[gajadonga]

Last weekend I was driving from Hyderabad to Erumeli.
The roads from Periyakulam-Theni-Cumbum lot of diversions due to road work going on
Looks like in a years time these roads will be pleasure to drive on.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Aryaas is located in Villupuram on the left side of the NH itself.

Can you point the exact location on google? This would be helpful
especially to arbitrate when there is crowd!

Actually there are 2 options, A2B and Hotel Temple city. Both are located just before the toll in Madurai and are opposite to each other.
Again, I prefer Hotel Temple city as the lunch here is just awesome. A2B is crap. Hotel Temple city is located on the left side of the highway when coming from Trichy.

Thanks. Thats quite helpful. I was there quite some time back when the 4-lane just got completed. Then there was absolutely nothing.

Also I realise that hotels have not cropped in between the two cities.
Looks like traffic density between the two is not that high to necessitate more break points.

[jeeva]

The Gundelpet-Sulthan Bathery road through the Bandipur forest is now full of deep trenches across the road adding to those large speed breakers.
Some of them are real deep with sharp corners. Absolute mayhem now!
A biker in front of me hit the trench and flew by into the forest. Lucky chap, was not hurt much, his helmet saved the day for him. No sign boards or anything of that sort. You will be taken by surprise.

Brilliant ways to save forest! Wonder what's next!

[nfsfreak]

Did B'lore-Pamba (Sabarimala) trip last weekend.

Route taken:
B'lore - Salem - Dindigul - Theni - Kumily - Vandiperiyar - Mundakayam - Pamba (http://goo.gl/maps/dCJ5d) - almost 600 KMs

Updates:

The road conditions from B'lore-Dindigul already well discussed.

Dindigul-Theni : Took Dindigul-Kodai Rd-Devadanapatty-Vaigai dam -Theni and the roads are good. In conventional Theni-Dindigul route, Road widening is still in progress in many stretches and is in pathetic condition mostly but the above route mostly avoids any bad stretches and saves time (though its around 10 Kms more)

Theni-Kumily : Roads are mostly OK. But Road widening is in progress in many small stretches and slows you down.

Kumily-Pamba : Very good roads all the way and I enjoyed the drive throughout. Well maintained. Occasional small pot holes but very much manageable.

Recommended: Yes

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by ampere

Can you point the exact location on google? This would be helpful. especially to arbitrate when there is crowd!

There are 3 Hotel Aryaas from Chennai till Ulundurpet. The first (Aryaas Garden) is located in Dindivanam. It will be on the right side when driven from Chennai and is located just before the Dindivanam bypass starts. The second (Hotel Aryaas) is located in Villupuram. It is on the left side on the Villupuram bypass itself. The third (Arya Nivas) is located right after the Ulundurpet Toll. The quality of food at Dindivanam and Villuparam Aryaas is miles ahead than the A2B. The food at Ulundurpet Aryaas is average.

Sorry, I couldn't locate the one at Villupuram in Google Map. But, that is very easy to see when driven in that NH. We have to little alert when we enter the Villupuram bypass. That is it.

[gajadonga]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Did B'lore-Pamba (Sabarimala) trip last weekend.

Route taken:
B'lore - Salem - Dindigul - Theni - Kumily - Vandiperiyar - Mundakayam - Pamba (http://goo.gl/maps/dCJ5d) - almost 600 KMs

Dindigul-Theni : Took Dindigul-Kodai Rd-Devadanapatty-Vaigai dam -Theni and the roads are good. In conventional Theni-Dindigul route, Road widening is still in progress in many stretches and is in pathetic condition mostly but the above route mostly avoids any bad stretches and saves time (though its around 10 Kms more)

Recommended: Yes

I did the same route last week from Kodai road took the route via Batalagundu
- Theni- Cumbum as you said road widening is going on a lot of deviations but manageble roads.
While coming back from Sabarimala I took the route via Pathanamthitta-
Punalur-Shenkottai-Rajapalayam- Madurai.This was better route compared
to the Theni route.
From Mundakayam I took the route which did not touch Erumeli and Plapally.
Did you take the same route?

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by gajadonga

While coming back from Sabarimala I took the route via Pathanamthitta-
Punalur-Shenkottai-Rajapalayam- Madurai.This was better route compared
to the Theni route.

Just checked the route in googlemaps and it was around 100+ Kms more than Theni Route (as per maps). So if its the case, then I guess I would still prefer Theni route as the road conditions are not that bad (I did most of the driving to & fro in night).

Originally Posted by gajadonga

From Mundakayam I took the route which did not touch Erumeli and Plapally.
Did you take the same route?

Yes.. I took the same route which did not touch Erumeli. Very convenient and short.

[SafeDrive]

Originally Posted by ampere

BF - A2B at Ulundurpet (200km from Chennai)

Hotel Capsi (Around 140km from Madurai) after the second toll (thanks to NPV for this data)

Dont know of anything in between Trichy and Madurai. Would have been ideal for a break in that stretch.
I wonder how come there is no place between these two cities on the 4-lane.

The one at Ulundurpet, which side of the road is it at and is it also attached to a petrol pump?

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

The one at Ulundurpet, which side of the road is it at and is it also attached to a petrol pump?

A2B is located on right side of the road when you drive from Chennai. It is attached along with the BP pump. It is located before the Ulundurpet Toll.

Well, if you have missed my earlier post, please get to know that I would recommend Hotel Aryaas in Villupuram for breakfast than the A2B. The food at A2B is very average and sometimes below average too.

[B103]

Did a get away to Wayanad from Bangalore on the weekend of Duesshera. Kalpetta-Calicut route is in shambles.

On the way back, we came via Mananthavady-Mysore road via Nagerhole tiger reserve. After some time, the traffic was rerouted to a virtually non-existent road inside the forest and oh boy, it was a virtual nightmare for the next 30-40 kms. It took 3 hrs to cover 100 kms. Anybody who plan to take this route to Mananthavady or back, beware.

Again once in Mysore, I decided to give a try to Mysore -Bennur - Malavalli - Kanakapura (NH 209) - Bangalore route. There are hardly any direction boards on the road. At Malavalli, I checked with locals who guided me to go in a particular direction which took me to Maddur itself. And again, the condition of this road is not good that it can be recommended.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

It is not actually 'on the way' to Tirunelly, you still have to take a slight detour which is not very far but. On the way back from Tirunelly, once you reach Kattikulam ,the junction where you meet the main road to Bavali/Mysore, you have to take a left there and proceed for a KM on bavali road. You will see the signage for kuruva island on to your right. The boat landing centre would be around 6 km from there. Local folks will be happy to help with directions any day anywhere in Wayanad! Do ask taxi/auto drivers about the route conditions.
It is almost peak tourist season, so expect a lot of buses with college/school students and cars in that narrow road.
Don't have any concrete information about the closure of the island, will try to find out and let you know.

This trip was cancelled as my son was down with fever. However, my sister and BIL decided to go and utilised the rooms booked by us. They are having a tough time as all major tourist places are crowded like hell and they have to spend hours in queue and traffic blocks in and around these places.
Good that I didn't go for the trip as it would have been a tough experience for parents and the little one..

[Wind]

Originally Posted by ampere

While driving towards CBE:

After you cross the first Perundurai exit and take the bypass, you would see Aryas on the right.
Then you hit the second exit to the town and immediately you see Annalakshmi on your left.

I had a chance to stop by at Annalakshmi and Aryaas during my recent round trip to Kerala. The rest rooms at Annalakshmi are far better than Aryaas . So from now on if I am planning to take a break at Perundarai, it would be at Annalaksmi.

-- Wind

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Wind

I had a chance to stop by at Annalakshmi and Aryaas during my recent round trip to Kerala. The rest rooms at Annalakshmi are far better than Aryaas . So from now on if I am planning to take a break at Perundarai, it would be at Annalaksmi.

Annalakshmi food is also decent. The other good part is if one is planning to get off the GQ and plan to take the Kangeyam road, he can take the adjacent road to the hotel and easily get into the town.

[kala]

Originally Posted by B103

Did a get away to Wayanad from Bangalore on the weekend of Duesshera. Kalpetta-Calicut route is in shambles.

Actually NH212 between Kalpetta and Calicut is in very good condition. It's the stretch between Kerala border and Kalpetta that is bad. (The last 15-20 kms to Kalpetta being extremely so)

On the way back, we came via Mananthavady-Mysore road via Nagerhole tiger reserve. After some time, the traffic was rerouted to a virtually non-existent road inside the forest and oh boy, it was a virtual nightmare for the next 30-40 kms. It took 3 hrs to cover 100 kms. Anybody who plan to take this route to Mananthavady or back, beware.

I think the route you took must have been SH33 via H.D.Kote and not the one via Nagarahole (it does skim through the southern tips of the sanctuary though). That 16 km stretch through villages has been known to be in terrible shape (Yes it is only 16 kms though it feels like at least 40 ), and had always been one of the "avoid if you can" roads.

The road through Nagarahole is somewhat better - you need to get to that road through Tholpetty-Kutta, which is a left turn at the T junction that you reach when coming from Thirunelli (The right turn takes you to Kattikulam-Bavali/Mananthavady)

Again once in Mysore, I decided to give a try to Mysore -Bennur - Malavalli - Kanakapura (NH 209) - Bangalore route. There are hardly any direction boards on the road. At Malavalli, I checked with locals who guided me to go in a particular direction which took me to Maddur itself. And again, the condition of this road is not good that it can be recommended.

The Malavalli-Kanakapura-Bangalore (NH209) route would have been a much better option. As per reports seen here, the Malavalli-Maddur sector has been bad for ages.

[SafeDrive]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

A2B is located on right side of the road when you drive from Chennai. It is attached along with the BP pump. It is located before the Ulundurpet Toll.

Well, if you have missed my earlier post, please get to know that I would recommend Hotel Aryaas in Villupuram for breakfast than the A2B. The food at A2B is very average and sometimes below average too.

Thanks Ramesh. Boh hotels are in the radar. It would be more a matter of timing for me on the choice I guess