[gajadonga]

Had traveled two weeks back.
Onwards was via Karur as was returning from Coimbatore.
Good roads throughout take the Karur bypass that saves a lot of time.

Return via Thottiyam and Namakkal.
This was also good occasional potholes between Gunaselam and Musiri but that's manageable.

When Thottiyam route was bad used to take Nochiyam - Pagalvadi - Kannanur - Alangantham - Budansandai.

The fastest route still is Musiri - Thottiyam - Namakkal.

Chose the time during the day to avoid traffic. Afternoon is the best but most of the traffic is after Thottiyam towards Namakkal.

Hope this helps.

[vvijayakrishnan]

Originally Posted by ns94

Hi, I'm visiting Srirangam next weekend. Which route would be the best?

Routes 1 & 2, both are almost equidistant. Though Kulithalai route has a toll road for half the distance. I would prefer Kulithalai route.


Route 3, is actually too much round about. Now that the roads between Namakkal and Kulithalai/Musiri is good though not four lane toll road, it is fine to travel. Even in Karur route, we won't be able to travel at higher speeds for long distances as it has good traffic. Remember, Karur to Trichy which is 80kms is covered with four lane road only for about 20kms, and the rest though toll road, except for the last 15kms, is not four lane.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ns94

Hi, I'm visiting Srirangam next weekend. Which route would be the best?

1. Namakkal - Musiri - Gunaseelam - Thiruvanaikaval or
2. Namakkal - Kulittalai - Trichy - Srirangam
or
3. Namakkal - Karur - Kulittalai - Trichy - Srirangam

Priority 1: Smooth roads
Priority 2: Lesser traffic


Thanks

I traveled from Trichy to Bangalore last month.
I suggest you either take Route #1 or take Thuraiyur road from Namakkal via ThathayyangarPettai-Kannanur-Pagalavadi-Manachanallur- No.1 Tollgate.

The road conditions are good

I did travel from Karur to Trichy via Kulittalai and IMPO its quite tiring due to heavy traffic, particularly with sand trucks that are very irritating.
I don't find its worth to pay the toll in that road and is not that something you can do good speeds.

Instead, better to take Thuraiyur road which is calm and quite and time difference is not significant (max 15 minutes).

Since you are going to SriRangam, either Musiri or Thuraiyur Road routes will be best choice.

-Ravi

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by ns94

Hi, I'm visiting Srirangam next weekend. Which route would be the best?
1. Namakkal - Musiri - Gunaseelam - Thiruvanaikaval or
2. Namakkal - Kulittalai - Trichy - Srirangam
or
3. Namakkal - Karur - Kulittalai - Trichy - Srirangam
....

Been driving to Trichy in each of last 3 weekends.

I would suggest you to take route 1 (Namakkal-Musiri-Gunaseelam road). The road condition is good throughout.
Nights will see more lorry traffic (still less compared to Kulithalai route), and some may find this difficult due to curvy roads.
Plan to do this stretch before dusk if you are not comfortable with traffic in 2 lane roads. afternoon would be ideal with almost no traffic.
With sedate driving (read 70-80 kmph), you can cover Musiri-Gunaseelam-Srirangam within 40 mins with lesser traffic.

I normally dont prefer Musiri-Kulithalai-Trichy any time, as I dont see major time saving there, taking that route but have to pay one extra toll.
Last 10 kms is narrow & curvy (narrower than Musiri stretch). Sees more lorry/bus traffic in evenings/night than the other route, especially in last 1 year.

You can avoid route 3, as road condition in conventional Namakkal-Musiri stretch is very good with many straight stretches and not difficult at all, even for a first time driver.

[venkyhere]

I have the same query as ns94 :
from salem, which is the best route to go to thanjavur ? Salem will be passed around 5pm, hence the drive in undivided roads will be dusk/post-dusk. I have four options in mind (numbering same as ns94) :

0. Salem - attur town - perambalur town - hit GST road and take left exit to thanjavur at trichy after jumping over srirangam island
1. Namakkal - musiri - gunaseelam - <hit GST road and do same as 0>
2. Namakkal - musiri - kulithalai - trichy town wadig - thanjavur
3. Karur bypass - kulithalai - trichy town wading - thanjavur

My first priority is road surface, second priority traffic.
A year back, 3 was better than 1&2 for surface. I did not even know about 0, then - is it even worth considering, Im unable to find any info about the attur to perambalur surface, particularly so, since this will be done at dusk/after dusk.
Distance wise, 0 & 3 are around 40km more than 1&2 - which I dont mind.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

0. Salem - attur town - perambalur town - hit GST road and take left exit to thanjavur at trichy after jumping over srirangam island
1. Namakkal - musiri - gunaseelam - <hit GST road and do same as 0>
2. Namakkal - musiri - kulithalai - trichy town wadig - thanjavur
3. Karur bypass - kulithalai - trichy town wading - thanjavur

My first priority is road surface, second priority traffic.
A year back, 3 was better than 1&2 for surface. I did not even know about 0, then - is it even worth considering, Im unable to find any info about the attur to perambalur surface, particularly so, since this will be done at dusk/after dusk.
Distance wise, 0 & 3 are around 40km more than 1&2 - which I dont mind.

Since your destination is Tanjore, you can safely and immediately reject Option 0 (via attur) & Option 3 via Karur. As me and Karthik mentioned, it doesn't make sense. I won't even recommend you to take #2 via Kulithalai if you are anyway taking Musiri route. To answer your question about road surface between Attur to Perambalur town, this is nothing great or different compared to Nammakal-Musiri-Trichy route. Moreover, Salem-Attur is not a complete 4L road. Its a mix of mostly 2Ls and 4Ls for every 20 kms and they have smartly kept a toll plaza where 4L road is laid.

Since you are driving after 6 pm, best option for you is to take Namakkal-Musiri-Gunaseelam-Tollgate-GST-Tanjore Exit-Thiruverumbur-Tanjore route. Of course, very little kms are not in good shape, but you get at least 98% of the good road conditions. Alternate route is via Thuraiyur route were road conditions are very good, but its more deserted compared to Musiri-Gunaseelam route and not a great option after 6 pm.

FYI - I will be travelling to Trichy, then Thanjavur and then further to Kumbakonam this wednesday (4th July). I will be taking either Thuraiyur route (my most favorite in day time) or Musiri-Gunaseelam as next best choice.

-Ravi

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

My first priority is road surface, second priority traffic.

If your timing is to cross Salem at 5pm, I won't recommend Thottiyam-Musiri route unless you are well versed dealing with 2-lane traffic. While surface is holding up so far, am reluctant to recommend this for an after sundown drive.

Regarding Karur-Trichy route. It's 4-laned till Mayanur and wide 2-laned till Kulithalai. Beyond which it'll progressively narrow down till Pettavathalai/Jeeyapuram. All this while traffic density will also progressively increase. Pettavathalai-Chatram is narrow and filled with traffic, it'll be very hard to pass a vehicle in this stretch. Chatram-Trichy bypass road will take 20 mins.

As Ravi says, if you are taking Namakkal-Thottiyam-Musiri it makes no sense to cross Kaveri and go via Kulithalai-Pettavathalai. Musiri road hits a 4-road junction at Number 1 tollgate from there take a left its 1/2 km to bypass road. It saves the misfortune of doing Pettavathalai-Chatram-Bypass road stretch.

Here is an alternative I can think of:

Take Salem-Attur-V Koot Road-Veppur and join NH45. Salem to V Koot road is 4-laned with 2-laned bypass roads, so be watchful of lanes merging and bifurcation.

From Veppur there are 2 alternatives:

1. Veppur-Perambalur-Ariyalur-Paluvur-Thanjavur - Veppur-Perambalur is recently resurfaced 2-lane and Ariyalur-Thanjavur is 4-laned. There is some road work going on near Ariyalur.

2. Veppur-Trichy bypass-Thanjavur

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by narayans80

If your timing is to cross Salem at 5pm, I won't recommend Thottiyam-Musiri route unless you are well versed dealing with 2-lane traffic. While surface is holding up so far, am reluctant to recommend this for an after sundown drive.

Im ok with 2L, as long as surface is ok and no sudden jolts from surprises. Mostly I use a mini truck or bus as pilot, someone who is familiar with route.

Originally Posted by narayans80

Veppur-Perambalur is recently resurfaced 2-lane and Ariyalur-Thanjavur is 4-laned. There is some road work going on near Ariyalur.

Veppur-perambalur isn't it already NH45 GST road ?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Im ok with 2L, as long as surface is ok and no sudden jolts from surprises. Mostly I use a mini truck or bus as pilot, someone who is familiar with route.

Namakkal-Thottiyam-Musiri is full of blind curves, so you have to be on your toes throughout. 60-80 kph is the sweet spot here. This is the shortest route, if you are able to endure the 70 km this would be the quickest in terms of time.

Be wary of piloting buses (esp private ones) as they have a tendency to randomly stop and pick up passengers.

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Veppur-perambalur isn't it already NH45 GST road ?

Yes it is NH45. I explicitly mentioned since the Ariyalur turnoff happens on Perambalur bypass.

[ravib]

Travelled to Trichy on July 4th and then further to Tanjore/Kumbakonam.
Instead of my regular Thuraiyur route, this time I took Namakkal-Thottiyam-Musiri- No.1 Tollgate-GST Road and then to Tanjore exit.

The road conditions are very good throughout. Absolutely nothing to worry. The patches mentioned in couple of posts earlier is negligible. I travelled between 11.30 to 1 pm and the traffic was less, so it was easy drive luckily.

Also, there is a new A2B opened just the previous day on July 3rd, before Rasipuram exit and, about 20 to 25 kms after Salem. Ideal stop for a tea break and rest room break for those who are not stopping at Salem. Better option than stop over at Namakkal A2B.

I observed that in TN now sand trucks are banned and hence the sand mafia are using Bull carts to transport sand between places. I found this between Kumbakonam to Jayankondam route, so its just another mess and more difficult to overtake the slow moving bullock carts.

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ravib

Also, there is a new A2B opened just the previous day on July 3rd, before Rasipuram exit and, about 20 to 25 kms after Salem. Ideal stop for a tea break and rest room break for those who are not stopping at Salem. Better option than stop over at Namakkal A2B.

This is great to note! The Namakkal A2B you refer is the one in the town right? But this new one is at an ideal location!

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

0. Salem - attur town - perambalur town - hit GST road and take left exit to thanjavur at trichy after jumping over srirangam island
1. Namakkal - musiri - gunaseelam - <hit GST road and do same as 0>
2. Namakkal - musiri - kulithalai - trichy town wadig - thanjavur
3. Karur bypass - kulithalai - trichy town wading - thanjavur

Thanks for the heads up guys, I did this a few days ago. Trip was until trichy only, thanjavur was dropped. With a 3:10AM start, I was wading namakkal town in ~3hrs and took further 1.5 hrs to reach trichy town destination at 7:50AM. I followed Namakkal-musiri-no1 toll gate-GST road-town route and apart from a few bad stretches in & around gunaseelam, road is good throughout.

For the return I used the kulithalai route (surface is horrible until the 1st toll gate at outskirts of trichy) and wanted to jump over cauvery at kulithalai and trace the onward route ; however missed the exit and saw the overpass too late. Continued till karur bypass and onwards and even though the route is longer by ~40km, it took the same 1.5 hrs to cross the namakkal exit point which I had used in the onward journey.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

This is great to note! The Namakkal A2B you refer is the one in the town right? But this new one is at an ideal location!

Yes ampere. I was referring to Namakkal A2B which is right in the town main road and is congested. Its difficult to find parking or have to get into small lane where they have dedicated parking space.

Also, of late, i noticed in multiple places like Thanjavur, Attur etc, along with A2B for veggies, Junior Kuppanna restaurant is also opened in same building/complex for non-veg lovers. Plus few other dress shops/Kulfi shops etc so looks like a planned setup

-Ravi

[ns94]

Took the Salem - Namakkal - Musiri - Gunaseelam - Thiruvanaikaval route to Srirangam last week.
Observations:
1. Smooth road surface throughout
2. Lots of trucks/Tata Ace traffic in the Namakkal - No 1 Tollgate stretch
3. A new A2B is coming up after crossing Salem.
4. All the tolls starting from Attibele till Salem bypass were allowing other vehicles in Fastag lanes

[Prathiiik]

Can anyone please let me know which is the best route from Bangalore to Trichy? Will be leaving Bangalore at around 2 pm on a Sunday.

Thanks In Advance
Prathik