[ampere]

Originally Posted by Karthik1100

Urgent route query - I need to travel from Bangalore to Thiruvannamalai tomorrow morning at 2am. Which is the best route with good roads? Will be driving a Fiesta.

Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur-Thanipadi-Tiruvannamalai.

Route Link

- Drive on the Salem highway (NH7) till about 22km from Krishnagiri-Chennai turn-off.
- Once you reach the Karimangalam bypass, you should see a board for Morappur/Harur.
- Exit here and Take this state highway and drive till Harur.
- At Harur, ask for road to Tiruvannamalai for Theerthamalai/Thanipadi.

Good roads overall. The last section I heard is turning out to be a bit rough. That section is also bit deserted.

[Karthik1100]

Originally Posted by ampere

Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur-Thanipadi-Tiruvannamalai.

Route Link

- Drive on the Salem highway (NH7) till about 22km from Krishnagiri-Chennai turn-off.
- Once you reach the Karimangalam bypass, you should see a board for Morappur/Harur.
- Exit here and Take this state highway and drive till Harur.
- At Harur, ask for road to Tiruvannamalai for Theerthamalai/Thanipadi.

Good roads overall. The last section I heard is turning out to be a bit rough. That section is also bit deserted.

Super thanks Amp. Starting now. Will update this thread accordingly.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Karthik1100

Super thanks Amp. Starting now. Will update this thread accordingly.

I hope you reached safe and sound. The roads beyond the 4-lane may be difficult to find in the dark, late in the night.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ampere

Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur-Thanipadi-Tiruvannamalai.

In the route that you have mentioned above, karimangalam does not actually come in the picture. While proceeding beyond krishnagiri on the NH, you will see a board mentioning MORAPPUR to the left. At this junction below the flyover, left takes you to kambainallur while the right takes you to karimangalam.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

In the route that you have mentioned above, karimangalam does not actually come in the picture. While proceeding beyond krishnagiri on the NH, you will see a board mentioning MORAPPUR to the left. At this junction below the flyover, left takes you to kambainallur while the right takes you to karimangalam.

True. The point you mention is the Karimangalam bypass. Thats the only way we can refer it.
I refer to this point.

[Karthik1100]

Originally Posted by ampere

I hope you reached safe and sound. The roads beyond the 4-lane may be difficult to find in the dark, late in the night.

Had been to Thiruvannamalai to attend a wedding. Ampere, the route mentioned by you was excellent. Total distance one way is 230kms. The last 120kms from Morappur to Thiruvannamalai is single lane road. 80% of this stretch was excellent rest were just good. Started at 2:45am from BTM, reached Thiruvannamalai at 7am as I drove very leisurely, Was back home by 2pm.

The sign board to take left to Morappur is exactly 80kms from Attibele toll.

Thanks!!

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by ampere

- Once you reach the Karimangalam bypass, you should see a board for Morappur/Harur.
- Exit here and Take this state highway and drive till Harur.
- At Harur, ask for road to Tiruvannamalai for Theerthamalai/Thanipadi.
Good roads overall. The last section I heard is turning out to be a bit rough.

Originally Posted by Karthik1100

The last 120 Kms from Morappur to Thiruvannamalai is single lane road.
80% of this stretch was excellent rest were just good.
The sign board to take left to Morappur is exactly 80kms from Attibele toll.

Had been to Thirunvannamalai a few days ago from Bangalore.
Thanks to this thread, had an uneventful drive to & from Thiruvannamalai.

To add to Ampere's & Karthik's posts:

- The turn to Morappur is ~22 Kms from Krishnagiri ( on AH43 towards Dharmapuri )
- This sign-board is overhead, large, & difficult to miss ( not the tiny ones on the side of the carriageway )
- As soon as you see the sign-board, get on to the upcoming service road
- This service road leads beside a flyover, the left turn to Morappur is beneath this flyover
- The road to Morappur is reasonably good, although narrow
- Traffic was also quite light on this stretch
- One can maintain 60 to 70 Kmph on this road in a hatchback like the Figo, Swift, etc.
- On a small hatchback like the Alto, speeds may have to be constrained to 50 Kmph or so
- Once you reach Morappur, the road to Harur is straight-forward, the main road through town leads to Harur
- The road from Morappur to Harur is slightly bad, with some pothole filled stretches
- Better to watch one's speed in this stretch as the potholes appear out of nowhere
- Once you reach Harur, it's better to ask somebody or refer to an online GPS map
- Follow the main road through Harur town & cross the bus stand
- After the bus stand, there's a bridge to your left that leads to Thiruvannamalai
- The Thiruvannamalai to Harur road is good, for the most part
- The road is quite twisty & there are a lot of ups-&-downs as well
- This stretch could be fun in a nice handling car ( was in a Figo myself, so was grinning for the most part )
- Reminds one of the NH 209 stretch from Annur to Coimbatore, but more twisty
- However, watch out for the curves because some of them are blind ( due to the elevation changes )
- About 40 Kms from Thiruvannamalai, there's a stretch where the road is pretty badly pot-holed
- As you get close to Thiruvannamalai, the road appears to have been freshly laid & marked
- On the whole, this is a reasonably decent route, could be tiring in a small hatchback though

At Harur, it's wise to refer to your online maps application or navigation device to get on to the road to Morappur.
On the return journey I followed the main road through Harur town & somehow ended up on a road just wide enough for a car in some "Patti" in the outskirts North of Harur !

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by im_srini

- Once you reach Harur, it's better to ask somebody or refer to an online GPS map
- Follow the main road through Harur town & cross the bus stand
- After the bus stand, there's a bridge to your left that leads to Thiruvannamalai
- The Thiruvannamalai to Harur road is good, for the most part
- The road is quite twisty & there are a lot of ups-&-downs as well
- This stretch could be fun in a nice handling car ( was in a Figo myself, so was grinning for the most part )
- Reminds one of the NH 209 stretch from Annur to Coimbatore, but more twisty
- However, watch out for the curves because some of them are blind ( due to the elevation changes )
- About 40 Kms from Thiruvannamalai, there's a stretch where the road is pretty badly pot-holed
- As you get close to Thiruvannamalai, the road appears to have been freshly laid & marked
- On the whole, this is a reasonably decent route, could be tiring in a small hatchback though

At Harur, it's wise to refer to your online maps application or navigation device to get on to the road to Morappur.
On the return journey I followed the main road through Harur town & somehow ended up on a road just wide enough for a car in some "Patti" in the outskirts North of Harur !

From Harur, did you ask the locals how to go to Theerthamalai or Tiruvannamalai. The reason being by default the locals will suggest you the route that leads to Uthangarai . From here it is the NH 66 route all the way to T V Malai via Singarapettai. Harur to Uthangarai (SH18) is a good 2 lane road. I guess the road is bad from Uthangarai to T V Malai.

But if you insist on Theerthamalai, then the route is via Theerthamalai, Naripalli and Thanipadi. From Naripalli onwards till T V Malai the road is good in patches. In the sense when you exceed beyond 60 kmph, it becomes a bumpy drive due to the patchwork.

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

From Harur, did you ask the locals how to go to Theerthamalai or Tiruvannamalai. The reason being by default the locals will suggest you the route that leads to Uthangarai. But if you insist on Theerthamalai, then the route is via Theerthamalai, Naripalli and Thanipadi.

Hi Suresh, thanks, I did not know about the Uthankarai bit. When I reached Harur, it was around 2 AM, there were a couple of cops checking trucks at the main intersection though. They directed me to take the left turn after the Harur bus-stand. After crossing the bus-stand I missed the bridge the first time around - got back on track only after referring to an online map.

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

From Naripalli onwards till T V Malai the road is good in patches. In the sense when you exceed beyond 60 kmph, it becomes a bumpy drive due to the patchwork.

Yes, the patch work quality is poor & hence the drive gets bumpy at speed, it could be quite tiresome in a small car if you're in a hurry.

[sureshurs]

I did Bangalore- Tiruvanamalai day trip on 5th July 2014. Thanks to Ampere and other on this thread, I set out to take the the Bangalore-Karimangalam-Harur-Theerthamalai-Thiruvanamalai route.

While on Karimangalam- Harur road, I did check google maps for routing and came across the following route

1. Via Dharmapuri-Tirupattur road ( left at a junction 10kms from Karimangalam) - via Pulliyoor road -utharangarai -Thiruvanamalai

2. This route was showing 20 mins faster than Harur- Theerthamalai- Thiruvanamalai route.

I took the first route and it was a good road till Utharangarai. However there were literally no roads between Utharangarai and Thiruvanamalai. I regretted taking this road as I did not gain any time but for battering to Vitara. It took me 5 hrs on this route

On the return trip, started at 9:15 pm and took the suggested Theerthamalai-Harur-Karimangalam route and it took us 4:15 hrs.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sureshurs

I took the first route and it was a good road till Utharangarai. However there were literally no roads between Utharangarai and Thiruvanamalai. I regretted taking this road as I did not gain any time but for battering to Vitara. It took me 5 hrs on this route

Thats because, you ended up taking the very road, which you wanted to avoid in the first place !

Uthangarai-Tiruvannamalai is the dreaded NH66. So looks like its still status quo for this sector.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by sureshurs

I did Bangalore- Tiruvanamalai day trip on 5th July 2014. Thanks to Ampere and other on this thread, I set out to take the the Bangalore-Karimangalam-Harur-Theerthamalai-Thiruvanamalai route.

While on Karimangalam- Harur road, I did check google maps for routing and came across the following route

1. Via Dharmapuri-Tirupattur road ( left at a junction 10kms from Karimangalam) - via Pulliyoor road -utharangarai -Thiruvanamalai

2. This route was showing 20 mins faster than Harur- Theerthamalai- Thiruvanamalai route.

I took the first route and it was a good road till Utharangarai. However there were literally no roads between Utharangarai and Thiruvanamalai. I regretted taking this road as I did not gain any time but for battering to Vitara. It took me 5 hrs on this route

On the return trip, started at 9:15 pm and took the suggested Theerthamalai-Harur-Karimangalam route and it took us 4:15 hrs.

Apart from the Harur-Theerthamalai-Thanipadi route, one can also go via Krishnagiri, Bargur,Tirupattur before reaching Singarapettai. Till here good roads all the way. But from Singarapettai onwards till T V Malai , one has to endure non existent roads.

[sureshurs]

Originally Posted by ampere

Thats because, you ended up taking the very road, which you wanted to avoid in the first place !

Uthangarai-Tiruvannamalai is the dreaded NH66. So looks like its still status quo for this sector.

Yes. I did not realize . Construction work is in progress on Uthangarai - Thiruvannamalai stretch and at the current pace it would take another year to complete.

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Apart from the Harur-Theerthamalai-Thanipadi route, one can also go via Krishnagiri, Bargur,Tirupattur before reaching Singarapettai. Till here good roads all the way. But from Singarapettai onwards till T V Malai , one has to endure non existent roads.

After my Uthangarai-Singarapettai-Thiruvanamalai experience, I would avoid this alternate route and would stick to Theerthamalai road.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by sureshurs

On the return trip, started at 9:15 pm and took the suggested Theerthamalai-Harur-Karimangalam route and it took us 4:15 hrs.

from my experience on this stretch, (tvmalai - thanipadi - small ghat section) was really poor road surface, and the repair patchwork did not make any difference as the patching was done really badly without any levelling whatsoever. I don't remember any continuous 2km stretch without getting jolts from the patches. Is it the same now ?

However, I remember the (ghat section - theerthamalai-harur-karimangalam) to be very good surface. Hope this has stayed the same now.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

from my experience on this stretch, (tvmalai - thanipadi - small ghat section) was really poor road surface, and the repair patchwork did not make any difference as the patching was done really badly without any levelling whatsoever. I don't remember any continuous 2km stretch without getting jolts from the patches. Is it the same now ?

However, I remember the (ghat section - theerthamalai-harur-karimangalam) to be very good surface. Hope this has stayed the same now.

Till Naripalli, the roads are good right from kambainallur onwards. Post Naripalli till T V Malai, the drive gets bumpy if you go in excess of 60 kmph