[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ns94

Hi all,
I am planning a drive from Pondicherry to Bangalore next week. The usual route I take is Vandavasi->Arcot->K'Giri which comes upto 375 kms with good roads throughout. Google Maps shows another alternative as TV'Malai->Harur->Karimangalam->K'Giri with a distance of 340 kms. Since the distance is less, I am tempted to take the latter. Can anyone advise on the road conditions? Is it worth taking this road?

I suppose you are talking about Pondy-Villupram-T V Malai-Harur-Morappur-Kambainallur-Krishnagiri-Hosur route to Bangalore. Villupuram-T V Malai is a 2 lane road. Not sure about the road conditions though it should be a good 2 lane road. From T V Malai to Harur, the patchwork seems to be uneven resulting in a bumpy drive. From Harur-Kambainallur, good 2 lane roads.

[venkyhere]

guys,
planning a quick trip to tiruvannamalai tomorrow. Early morning start.

Onwards :
1) bangalore - krishnagiri - turn left - take the 6-lane till pallikonda toll booth
2) take right, stay on SH 207 and hit NH234
3) travel south on NH234 and hit tiruvannamalai

Return :
4) tiruvannamalai - harur
5) harur - karimangalam
6) karimangalam - bangalore on 4L

I have these questions :
Q1 : no idea about (2), (3) - travelling for the first time, would like to know road conditions
Q2 : what is the latest update on (4) ? - the last time i travelled, it was full of bad patchwork.

If (2)(3) are no better than (4), then no point in me driving the extra 50km in the onward direction.

[mpksuhas]

Had taken the 4-5-6 option in Feb mid, road condition is fine. There are few places where road work was ongoing, apart from that no issues. Didn't find any bad patch anywhere.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

If (2)(3) are no better than (4), then no point in me driving the extra 50km in the onward direction.

I still think its better to go via Harur instead of taking the extra 50km. Not sure how the 234 has been of late. What I have read is that Gingee-Arani has been relaid.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

guys,
planning a quick trip to tiruvannamalai tomorrow. Early morning start.

Onwards :
1) bangalore - krishnagiri - turn left - take the 6-lane till pallikonda toll booth
2) take right, stay on SH 207 and hit NH234
3) travel south on NH234 and hit tiruvannamalai

Return :
4) tiruvannamalai - harur
5) harur - karimangalam
6) karimangalam - bangalore on 4L

I have these questions :
Q1 : no idea about (2), (3) - travelling for the first time, would like to know road conditions
Q2 : what is the latest update on (4) ? - the last time i travelled, it was full of bad patchwork.

If (2)(3) are no better than (4), then no point in me driving the extra 50km in the onward direction.

Had been to TV Malai couple of weeks ago and took the 4-5-6 option onward and return. Took about 4-4:30 hours one way. Good roads all the way, except a few patches in the section between TV Malai and Thanipadi.

[ravib]

Drove from Bangalore to Pondy via Krishnagiri-Karimangalam-Kambainallur-Harur-Thirukovilur-Villupuram-Pondy.

I would say 99.5% roads are in good condition.

Nothing new to talk about Bangalore-Krishnagiri-till NH7 exit to Kariamangalam.
Karimangalam-Kambainallur-Harur-Thirukovilur => Roads are very good all throughout. Only thing as my wife aptly described is that, you feel the roads are kind of like a "mild" roller coaster ride. The countless twists and turns combined with ups & downs in certain places feels like you are in roller coaster. Need to be careful while passing through several villages as well. Indeed more driving effort and have to be cautious !

@Thirukovilur finished the temple darshan just in time before they close at noon. After that, drove to "Adhi Thiruvarangam" temple about 22kms near Mannalurpet.
I must thank Suresh for recommending this temple. What a gigantic Vishnu statue ! Great place. Must see for those who travel around Thirukovilur and the good part is the temple doesn't close at noon and is open throughout the day.

Returned back to Thirukovilur for lunch. Didn't find any great place and ended up eating at Hotel Aryaas. Average food, just sufficient enough to fill stomach and nothing great.

Post lunch drove from Thirukovilur to Pondy via Villupuram. The roads are good here too, but the traffic is very high particularly between Villupuram to Pondy

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ravib

I must thank Suresh for recommending this temple. What a gigantic Vishnu statue ! Great place. Must see for those who travel around Thirukovilur and the good part is the temple doesn't close at noon and is open throughout the day.

Was the river dry or it had water? I remember reading quite some time back, the river backdrop to this temple was picture perfect. But I think it should be a dry sand bed as of today.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

guys,
planning a quick trip to tiruvannamalai tomorrow. Early morning start.

Onwards :
1) bangalore - krishnagiri - turn left - take the 6-lane till pallikonda toll booth
2) take right, stay on SH 207 and hit NH234
3) travel south on NH234 and hit tiruvannamalai

Return :
4) tiruvannamalai - harur
5) harur - karimangalam
6) karimangalam - bangalore on 4L

did this trip yesterday, here is the update :

onward : 3:30 am start
1) road : 6L all the way - hard on pocket though, the 2 tolls after krishnagiri (vaniyambadi & pallikonda) are 75/- each.
duration : 2 hrs , 190 km
2) road : narrow, but surprisingly good surface, there are construction deviations in 2 places. Watch out for horrendous hump+ruble strips for a railway crossing. The scenery is too good, roll down the windows and enjoy some fresh air.
duration : 45 mins, 23 km
3) standard 2L TN state highway. Smooth surface, with occasional poorly-finished concrete joints whenever there is a small stream that flows underneath the road. Near polur, the road forks into two. Always take the left fork and be on the polur bypass
duration : 1 hr 20 mins , 72 km

since it was still sufficiently early in the morning, had a good, crowdless darshan at the temple and also spent some time at ramana ashram.

return : 11 am start.
4.1) bad until thanipadi. You will get some 2-3 km runs where you can stretch your legs a bit, but otherwise this is still the same
(or even worse) as I had experienced almost a yr ago. The initial portions near tiruvannamalai are really bad, no surface (a bit like the chengam route) , later there are patchworks, but badly done - your car is constantly bouncing "dab-dab" even if you are trying to soak it in, at 40-45 kmph. This stretch will feel "ok fine" only if you are in a duster or XUV or safari (vehicles with good ride comfort) , if you are in a hatch/sedan, it is bad.
duration : 1 hr , 34 km
4.2) from thanipadi to harur, the road surface is good. Still there are bad patches here and there, but no complaints. There is construction deviation in 1 or 2 locations. There is a small ghat section near harur, watch out for maniacal driving by pvt buses here.
duration : 55 mins, 50 km
5) good all the way
duration : 45 mins, 45 km
6) 4L+6L
duration : 1 hr 20 mins, 110 km

On the whole, it takes the same time (~4hrs) on both routes, although 1-2-3 is around 45km and Rs.150/- more, when compared to 4-5-6. The former is less stressful though.
I did not cross 110 on the 4L/6L and 90 on 2L, and I managed 22kmpl on my diesel rapid.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

Was the river dry or it had water? I remember reading quite some time back, the river backdrop to this temple was picture perfect. But I think it should be a dry sand bed as of today.

No water in this season of the year. The place is very good and yes i hope it must be scenic and picturesque location, when water flows post monsoon.

-Ravi

[gearbox]

Hey Guys,
I am planning a trip from Bangalore to Thiruvanamalai this saturday, I had been there ages ago and the route was Bangalore, Krishnagiri, and from a junction there took a left and went into a road that was terrible. It would be great if one who has been there recently could share some info on which is the best route to take please as on today?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by gearbox

Hey Guys,
I am planning a trip from Bangalore to Thiruvanamalai this saturday, I had been there ages ago and the route was Bangalore, Krishnagiri, and from a junction there took a left and went into a road that was terrible. It would be great if one who has been there recently could share some info on which is the best route to take please as on today?

- Continue towards Salem from Krishnagiri
- About 21 km from the Chennai exit at Krishnagiri, you will see a place called Karimangalam.
- Here you will see an exit with a signboard for Morappur/Harur
- Take this road via Morappur, Harur, Thanipadi Tiruvannamalai
- Again the last stretch is rough, but its still better compared to the conventional NH66.
- Please note, if you ask for Tiruvannamalai road at Morappur or Harur, chances are folks will divert your to Chengam. (Which the bad NH66)
- Hence ask for Thanipadi at Harur. That will lead you to the correct route
- The last section is a bit desolate too

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by gearbox

Hey Guys,
I am planning a trip from Bangalore to Thiruvanamalai this saturday,

Second the route mentioned by Ampere above.

We had taken route via Thiruvannamalai on way back from Pondi this Feb, you can see the map details here.

Road condition is good.

Link

[gearbox]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Second the route mentioned by Ampere above.

We had taken route via Thiruvannamalai on way back from Pondi this Feb, you can see the map details here.

Road condition is good.

Link

Hey, Thank You So Much Bro. I shall take the route Ampere mentioned, I was just doing a search on the route to save on my phone. Since I am going with my family, mother, wife, my toddler daughter, sister. I wanted to be sure that these routes are safe to come back through by evening.

Originally Posted by ampere

- Continue towards Salem from Krishnagiri
- About 21 km from the Chennai exit at Krishnagiri, you will see a place called Karimangalam.
- Here you will see an exit with a signboard for Morappur/Harur
- Take this road via Morappur, Harur, Thanipadi Tiruvannamalai
- Again the last stretch is rough, but its still better compared to the conventional NH66.
- Please note, if you ask for Tiruvannamalai road at Morappur or Harur, chances are folks will divert your to Chengam. (Which the bad NH66)
- Hence ask for Thanipadi at Harur. That will lead you to the correct route
- The last section is a bit desolate too

Thank You So much for the route details ampere, really appreciate it, I shall take this route this Saturday

Is the last section risky to travel with family during the evening? I hope the desolate stretch is not a very long one!!

Thanks again!!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by gearbox

Is the last section risky to travel with family during the evening? I hope the desolate stretch is not a very long one!!

Would prefer if you can make it before evening. Its much better that way.

Here the Google route for your reference: Route Link

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by gearbox

Is the last section risky to travel with family during the evening? I hope the desolate stretch is not a very long one

Yes few stretches are desolate in evening. Our travel was after sunset and we were bit concerned since it was our first drive through that route and we were not sure how safe the route was.

One thing in our advantage was that we were a convoy of 2 cars.

My suggestion -
Make an early morning start, which will help you in reaching early.
Try starting back by atleast 04:00 PM, hence you will be able to reach NH 7 before its is too late.