[idofsuresh]

Originally Posted by nssrini

Thanks for you inputs..Any new/good places to eat en-route beyond Krishnagiri and before Nammakkal ? I generally do not like going offcourse just for some bite..

In Dharmapuri, there are 3 or 4 restaurants in the NH itself, after you enter the city. I eat in a restaurant called as Rama's. No ambiance. But good south Indian food.

In Salem, on the NH, you have quite a few restaurants. The one on the right hand side at Nandi circle is pretty decent. In this circle the straight road goes to Madurai/Trichy(NH7) and the right side goes to Coimbatore/Cochin (NH47).

PS: These restaurants are 'good' from a small town perspective. Not from a metro perspective.

[nssrini]

I just came back after the bangalore - trichy and back trip - on the straightforward route: BLR - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Salem - Nammakkal - Trichy. Road Experience:

BLR - K. Giri - no need to say - GQ - awesome
Krishnagiri to Dharmapuri - Bad roads for atleast 30/50 KMs, with some places being really bad

Dharmapuri - Salem - Terrible roads for atleast 35/65 kms. Except near Thoppur Ghat few kms & nearer to Salem - the roads are non existent.

Salem - Nammakkal - Bad - but not so worse as the other ones.

Nammakkal - Trichy: pretty good for most stretches - except in very few places. will put NH into shame.

It took nearly 8hrs while going due to terrible traffic and deepavali rush - but return was better.

Better to do this during day time..

[gopz]

Have the roads improved now?

We are planning to do a trip (Bangalore - Trichy - Thirunallar)

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

[androdev]

What is the travel time between B'lore and Trichy by car excluding the breaks?

When do you see less traffic (weekdays or weekends)?

Deccan Air is starting flights between B'lore and Trichy from this in a weeks time.

I am trying to decide between these two options.

TIA.

[csentil]

Very difficult question with the road conditions. My advice is to leave either early or go by flight in peace.

Approx 6 to 7 hours. If you go via Hosur - Rayakottai - Palakode - Dharmapuri outer, you will save a lot more time. Definitely 45 minutes or more.

Also depends when you leave Bangalore. There is work going on right from Silk Board till TN border. Flyovers, 6 laning etc. Leave early in the morning if you want to avoid all this irritation.

Traffic is typically less on sundays and on weekdays in the daytime after 10 am. But road work is in full swing all along. So it might not make a big difference.

[androdev]

Thanks csentil. Will stick to flight I guess. I just hope Air Deccan does not pull a last minute cancellation stunt! Also they don't have the usual evening return flight, will be forced to spend a night there.

[PatchyBoy]

I would not trust the flights. Deccan is known to cancel flights due to insufficient patronage. I doubt if there will be many takers for a flight to Trichy.

I did this trip in the second week of Jan. The roads are pretty decent, except between Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri. Took me 6 hours (Breaks excluded) each way.

I live in Kumaraswamy layout and have a way of getting to TN border in less than an hour - anytime of the day

Cheers,
Rajan

[androdev]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

I would not trust the flights. Deccan is known to cancel flights due to insufficient patronage. I doubt if there will be many takers for a flight to Trichy.

that is my concern too. and the ATR planes are not very confidence inspiring ;-)

I live in Kumaraswamy layout and have a way of getting to TN border in less than an hour - anytime of the day

and the secret formula is? don't you get stuck in that "elevated express way"?

[pypkmsrikanth]

An update of this road as of 21st March. I had gone to Kodaikanal from Chennai because I was adviced the Tindivinam - Trichy stretch needs to be avoided if possible, so I went in the following route.

Chennai - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Salem - Namakkal - Karur - Dindigul - Kodaikanal.

Since the Bangalore - Krishnagiri status is pretty straight forward let me update between Krishnagir - Namakkal.

Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri is extremely driveable even though one may not be in a position to rip. Most of the pot holes have been patched up. The road might be rough at places because of the patch works, but its much better than earlier. In some stretches the traffic plies on new roads so even better except one needs to be cautious while taking the deviations.

Dharmapuri - Salem Lot of work happening in the entire stretch, Omalur to Salem is almost complete, the only bottle necks are just before and after Thoppur Ghats and the railway over bridge. Apart from this the stretch again is not extremely bad, the far worse stretch is still to come.

Salem - Namakkal - Extremely Bad Stretch, with lots of pot holes a few craters here and there, lots and lots of diversions and slow pace of work as well. If there is one stretch which needs to be avoided this is the one. I took the same amount of time as a "Salem - Namakkal" bus while going through on this stretch, despite me overtaking him at Salem byepass while he was waiting to pick up passengers, we reached Namakkal byepass as the same time despite the bus stopping at most places to pick up passengers, whether I was slow because of the bad road conditions or the bus driver was maniacal I dont know, I think it was a combination of both.

Am not aware of the road conditions between Namakkal - Trichy but the road condition is bad until Karur. Afterwhich despite the GQ work happening on the Karur - Dindigul stretch the road is in extremely good condition with new roads in most stretches. In fact in all my travels across South this stretch is one the which seems to have been planned well in terms of diversion and road construction. Not even a couple of kms of bad roads in the entire stretch. The diversions are smooth as well unlike elsewhere where u end up going through craters.

This update is during the rains that lashed these parts of Tamil Nadu which has added to the chaos in most places between Salem and Karur.

[nssrini]

Well - I drive down to trichy often - though not sure about current update - but definitely manageable. Driving time: can take 6hours + say 1hour for breaks = total max 7hours. Typically starting by 5.30am means you reach trichy junction by 12.30 noon.

Apart from unreliability - the flight are ridiculously over priced, especially for a short haul like trichy. The Train is also a good option - but always full. There's a summer special now running - which is outward on Mondays from Bangalore and Sundays from Trichy. (t.no 627/628) - consider that if you need so.

Originally Posted by androdev

that is my concern too. and the ATR planes are not very confidence inspiring ;-)

and the secret formula is? don't you get stuck in that "elevated express way"?

[HappyWheels]

nssrini,

Taking a flight to Trichy is a waste of time and money! Especially if the new airport is to be used. The roads have improved such a lot. With the new roads coming up, found that most of the places the old ones have been dug up and the new ones have been opened up for traffic.

Am just waiting when the work will be over and then what an experience it will be to drive to Trichy! :-)

[lancersfx]

Bangalore to Thoppur is good. very smooth roads.. But after thoppur to salem gets bit rocky...... from namakkal the road is very good till trichy... winding roads River cauvery following along musiri all the way to trichy. Just returned yesterday from a 7 hour journey in my ikon. Feared that there may be a delay as the gas stations stopped fuelling due to a price hike in tamil nadu. Finally the morning arrived when I had to leave trichy and found that the diesel price has gone up by 3 bucks and the petrol by 5. Anyways the ride was good. except the stretch between namakkal and salem... (Drive in Fear--unless you have an SUV).

[subbusos]

Hi all,

I am a frequent traveler to Trichy, and recently completed a trip.

Car: Maruti Zen Lxi

This time, I used Bangalore - Hosur - Royakottai - Palakodu - Dharmapuri - Instead of normal Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri.

Bangalore to Hosur: Road widening and construction work all the way. Quite slow and traffic jams.

Hosur to Royakottai: Some new pot holes at the Sugar factory near Royakottai. Some part of this road has been relaid.

Royakottai - Palakodu: As usual, quite a few pot holes, otherwise good scenic road.

Palakodu - Dharmapuri: Good roads, but very dangerous curves. Watchout for a diversion where there is flyover construction happening at the Dharmapuri byepass. Also one half of this byepass has been under construction. Hence beware of the unsigned potholes and diversions. Be careful especially when driving at night.

Dharmapuri - Thoppur: Quite better now, but watch for diversions due to road widening work.

Thoppur ghat section: 6 lane roads but very uneven. Watch for the steep curves and bumps.

Thoppur ghat - Omalur: Quite better now, but again diversions due to road widening work.

Omalur - Salem: Good 4 lane roads. Beware of the two wheelers on the byepass.

Salem - Namakkal: Become more horrible due to 4 laning work. Be watchful with the private buses, they are horrible. New pot holes popped out.

Namakkal - Thottiyam: Good two lane roads. But a some new potholes have come recently. Beware of the speek brakers on the enroute. There are quite a few in every village.

Thottiyam - Musiri: Good roads with lot of blind curves. Overtaking can be dangerous especially while going out of Thottiyam.

Musiri - Kulithalai: I prefer this instead of normal Tollgate - Trichy route due to less kilometers. Its just a 3 km bridge over the river Cauvery.

Kulithalai - Trichy: Recently repaired, but watch for a big pothole in Kulithalai. And some narrow bridges and blind curves as well. If you are driving in night, careful with the lorries carrying Jallis (small stones used for concrete mix). Otherwise a ok road.

I used the same route for return journey as well.

Time taken: 7.5 hours onward including 2 breaks. 7 hours return including 1 break.

Mileage: 16.5 kms with AC on for 75% of the time.

Thanks & Regards
Subbu

[HappyWheels]

A good report, Subbu.

You said right about Musiri - Kulithalai. This is also my preferred route.

[hvkumar]

Subbu, thanks for the detailed report - what is the status of the bridge at Musiri?