[Gokrish]

There is no restriction on entry except timing which is between 6 am and 6 pm. But no entry after 4 pm generally as you would have to exit the other point before 6 pm. Even two wheelers are allowed to enter.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by vinukm

Hello Friends,

Exploring a weekend to Valparai and Athirepally Falls. How is the road from Vaparai to Chalakudy understand the Drive is thrilling but will a hatch be able to negotiate the roads?

As of last month the road was in excellent condition from Athirampilly Falls upto about 10 kms from the Malakkapara check post. That section has been metalled and levelled, but its obviously not as smooth as a road. The road from Malakkapara to Valparai is okay (though uneven), except for the first stretch just after Malakkapara which is slightly broken.

Very much do-able by a hatch - the broken stretches are better than some Bangalore roads.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by ampere

You should be able to reach easily. Its about 600km. If you start by 4, you should be able to reach by late noon. You just have to to beat the Walayar to CBE bypass traffic. Beyond that its smooth.

Trichir-Palakkad-CBE bypass- Salem-Ulundurpet-Tindivanam-Chennai
You should be able to make good progress beyond Avinashi as its 4-lane from there on.

Food stops can be had at Salem, Ulundurper, Tindivanam.

Thanks Ampere. I need to reach East Anna Nagar in Chennai. Any idea on what is the best route to take once I reach Chennai?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

Thanks Ampere. I need to reach East Anna Nagar in Chennai. Any idea on what is the best route to take once I reach Chennai?

I think the best option would be:

- Drive till Perungalathur before Tambaram
- Take the bypass road all the way to NH4
- Get on NH4 and drive to Anna Nagar

Originally Posted by Ddrive

Yes, but the Chennai by-pass towards NH4 exits well before you drive into Tambaram.
After crossing 'Perungalathur bus-stand area' and while driving on the elevated road, take left there on the elevated road itself... clear signages will be there, yet easy to miss.

Thanks Ddrive. I thought the whole area is Tambaram. Thanks for correcting.

@DL corrected my post.

[Ddrive]

Yes, but the Chennai by-pass towards NH4 exits well before you drive into Tambaram.
After crossing 'Perungalathur bus-stand area' and while driving on the elevated road, take left there on the elevated road itself... clear signages will be there, yet easy to miss.

[VMB]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

Thanks Ampere. I need to reach East Anna Nagar in Chennai. Any idea on what is the best route to take once I reach Chennai?

Route 1

Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore (L & T Byepass) - Salem - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Sriperumbathur - Chennai

Route 2

Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore (L & T Byepass) - Salem - Ulundurpet - Tindivanam - Chennai

Im from Thrissur & live in Chennai. Having travelled in both the routes, here are my take on both the routes.

Route 1

Pros-
I would suggest you to take route 1 as the road from Krishnagiri to Sriperambathur is 6 lane & its a pleasure to drive. Also considering that you have to reach Anna Nagar, its better to take this route as it joins Koyambedu which is very near to Anna Nagar.
Cons -
High traffic from Sriperambathur.

Route 2

Pros-
Very less traffic from Salem till Chengalpet.
20km less than Route 1.

Cons
High traffic from Chengalpet. And traffic is heavy from Tambaram till Anna Nagar as you have to drive almost completely through the city.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by VMB

Route 1

Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore (L & T Byepass) - Salem - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Sriperumbathur - Chennai

Route 2

Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore (L & T Byepass) - Salem - Ulundurpet - Tindivanam - Chennai

Im from Thrissur & live in Chennai. Having travelled in both the routes, here are my take on both the routes.

Route 1

Pros-
I would suggest you to take route 1 as the road from Krishnagiri to Sriperambathur is 6 lane & its a pleasure to drive. Also considering that you have to reach Anna Nagar, its better to take this route as it joins Koyambedu which is very near to Anna Nagar.
Cons -
High traffic from Sriperambathur.

Route 2

Pros-
Very less traffic from Salem till Chengalpet.
20km less than Route 1.

Cons
High traffic from Chengalpet. And traffic is heavy from Tambaram till Anna Nagar as you have to drive almost completely through the city.

Thanks Guys. I was looking at both options on google map and the first option takes me closer to Anna Nagar with comparatively less city driving. I think it would be better to stick to option 1 as I would reach Chennai by late afternoon/evening peak traffic hours. Could you also suggest some good hotels on the way? I would take multiple breaks as I am driving with parents.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

Thanks Guys. I was looking at both options on google map and the first option takes me closer to Anna Nagar with comparatively less city driving. I think it would be better to stick to option 1 as I would reach Chennai by late afternoon/evening peak traffic hours. Could you also suggest some good hotels on the way? I would take multiple breaks as I am driving with parents.

Or so it seems! Because beyond Kanchipuram, its mayhem with trucks and sand lorries. I think you are much better off with the other option.

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

Thanks Guys. I was looking at both options on google map and the first option takes me closer to Anna Nagar with comparatively less city driving. I think it would be better to stick to option 1 as I would reach Chennai by late afternoon/evening peak traffic hours. Could you also suggest some good hotels on the way? I would take multiple breaks as I am driving with parents.

What Ampere has said above is true. You will be better off with GST road option.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by VMB

Route 1

Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore (L & T Byepass) - Salem - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Sriperumbathur - Chennai

Route 2

Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore (L & T Byepass) - Salem - Ulundurpet - Tindivanam - Chennai

Im from Thrissur & live in Chennai. Having travelled in both the routes, here are my take on both the routes.

Route 1

Pros-
I would suggest you to take route 1 as the road from Krishnagiri to Sriperambathur is 6 lane & its a pleasure to drive. Also considering that you have to reach Anna Nagar, its better to take this route as it joins Koyambedu which is very near to Anna Nagar.
Cons -
High traffic from Sriperambathur.

Route 2

Pros-
Very less traffic from Salem till Chengalpet.
20km less than Route 1.

Cons
High traffic from Chengalpet. And traffic is heavy from Tambaram till Anna Nagar as you have to drive almost completely through the city.

Mate, Go for Route 2. In Route 1, from kanchipuram onwards the road has been patched up . Not worth the toll amount we pay. Plus we have the army of factory buses vying with each other and creating hindrance for others.

BTW what time do you intend to leave from Thrissur. If you are expecting to reach chennai outer by evening, then be prepared to face the factory buses nuisance in Route 1.
There will be traffic in Route 2 in the evening but atleast the roads ae far better than the ones in Route 1

[VMB]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Mate, Go for Route 2. In Route 1, from kanchipuram onwards the road has been patched up . Not worth the toll amount we pay. Plus we have the army of factory buses vying with each other and creating hindrance for others.

BTW what time do you intend to leave from Thrissur. If you are expecting to reach chennai outer by evening, then be prepared to face the factory buses nuisance in Route 1.
There will be traffic in Route 2 in the evening but atleast the roads ae far better than the ones in Route 1

Considering the fact that he has to go to Anna Nagar, its better to take route 1 itself. Its true that the road from Kanchipuram isn't that good, but its still drivable at 60-70km/hr. Only thing is that traffic after Sriperumbudur is high. Still I would ask him to take route 1 as there is equal amount of traffic from Tambaram too.
And as you said, if he is reaching Chennai by night, after 9pm, its better to take Route 2 because the roads will be empty, where as in Route 1, there will be heavy Lorry traffic.

[Ddrive]

Driving Tambaram-Annanagar is not going to be a difficult factor, as its been recommended to take the Chennai bypass NH45 to NH4 (before Tambaram itself) IMHO.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Mate, Go for Route 2. In Route 1, from kanchipuram onwards the road has been patched up . Not worth the toll amount we pay. Plus we have the army of factory buses vying with each other and creating hindrance for others.

BTW what time do you intend to leave from Thrissur. If you are expecting to reach chennai outer by evening, then be prepared to face the factory buses nuisance in Route 1.
There will be traffic in Route 2 in the evening but atleast the roads ae far better than the ones in Route 1

I am planning to leave thrissur by 5 AM. The arrival at Chennai outer may be around 5 PM? I am expecting 4-5 breaks in between as I am travelling with parents. I would any day prefer a less crowded route even if the distance is more by few kms.

[binand]

Originally Posted by binand

[...] planning to take Bangalore-Kollegal-Gundlupet-Gudalur-Nilambur-Shornur-Thrissur-Angamaly route

I am planning this trip (Bangalore-Kodanad) at the moment; the shortest route seems to me (after entering Kerala) is:

Vazhikkadavu-Nilambur-Vandur-Pandikkad-Perinthalmanna-Pulamanthol-Pattambi-Shornur-Wadakkancheri-Viyyur-NH47.

This, as per Google Maps, works out to 135 km which I expect to cover in 3.5 hours. Is this the right route to take or is there a better route?

To pass through Thrissur I plan to use ranjitp1's directions which I have mapped here: http://goo.gl/maps/my4NN.

It seems to me I can do the full distance in max 12 hours including food breaks etc. - start at 6 and arrive sometime between 5 and 7.

Any advice on best practices for shipping a TV by car?

[binaiks]

A short update on my Drive from Bangalore to Kodungallur -

Left home (on Bannerghatta Road) at 0415hrs. I took the Kanakapura-Kollegal-Ch.Nagar-Sathy-Annur-Coimbatore-Palakkad Bypass-Thrissur-Kodungallur route. I was planning to take the Annur-Karumathampatti-Neelambur-CBE Bypass route, but ended up missing the turn at Annur, and continued towards Coimbatore. I stopped for breakfast at a hotel in Annur (Ananda Bhavan or something like that) - the break was from 0825 to 0850. The hotel has good toilets and adequate parking space as well.

Traffic was heavy from Annur to Coimbatore (Gandhipuram), as well as towards Madukkarai. I passed Madukkarai around 0950. I reached Thrissur town at 1210 - had some work there. Left from Thrissur at 1325 and reached home by 1400hrs. Overall end-to-end 10hrs including 25 minutes for breakfast, and 1h15m break in Thrissur. Bangalore to Thrissur in exactly 8hrs including breakfast break, and some more time lost for photos in Dimbham ghats.

Two trucks had broken down in Dimbham as well - cars were permitted through though. Heavy vehicles were stopped. Overall great roads throughout (except a stretch from Palakkad bypass till Vadakkencherry).