[Boomerang]

I took the Bargur - Singarapettai route too. Till Chengam its still undone but drive-able even at night. Just watch your speed. From Chengam to Thiruvannamalai is 98% done. I completed this stretch in 2 Hours.

Note: The roads are unmarked without side barrier; and some of these go beside lakes so be cautious.

Would I take this route again? Definitely!

Safe driving guys.

[nkrishnap]

Took this route to Thiruvannamalai last week.

Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Bargur - Thirupattur - Singarapettai - Chengam - Thiruvannamalai.

Stuck to the same route on the way back too.

Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Bargur: Excellent 6 lane roads.

Bargur - Thirupattur: Good 2 lane roads, keep a watch for humps

Thirupattur - Singarapettai: 2-3 kms from Thirupattur towards Singarapettai is broken and dug up with road work going on. A few kms near Singarapettai too has bad patches.

Singarapettai - Chengam - Thiruvannamalai: Singarapettai to Chengam with huge potholes every now and then. Very much doable but takes more time. Saw quite a few vehicles with punctured/damaged tyres. Chengam to Thiruvannamalai, freshly laid unmarked road, but bumpy at a few places.

Did the return journey at night, not much of an issue apart from the bad patches mentioned.

[gopikb]

Would like to give you an update on the Bangalore - Tiruvannamalai route as of 1-April-2018. Took the below route both onward and return.

Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Mathur - Uthangarai - Singarapettai - Chengam - Thiruvannamalai.

There was a pleasant surprise this time. Out of the entire 110km stretch, here is the situation I see

1. Krishnagiri to Singarapettai - Hardly 15% of this stretch is widened. Balance remains the same 2 lane as before. However, it looks like the road have been patched up recently and hence very much drivable. There are occasional bad patches still which are very minimal and are manageable. No monster potholes in this stretch now.

2. Singarapettai to Tiruvannamalai - Almost fully widened with paved shoulders. Hence no issues on this stretch.

It took be just about two hours to cover this 110km stretch from Tiruvannamalai to Krishnagiri on my Punto which I believe cannot be imagined a couple of years back. One point to take note is that the road can narrow down to 2L road suddenly from a widened road and hence care should be taken when driving.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by gopikb

Would like to give you an update on the Bangalore - Tiruvannamalai route as of 1-April-2018. Took the below route both onward and return.

The better option will be via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Bargur, Tirupattur, Singarapettai and Chengam to Tiruvannamalai and beyond.

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

The better option will be via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Bargur, Tirupattur, Singarapettai and Chengam to Tiruvannamalai and beyond.

Hi Suresh, The point I was trying to make is that we dont need to travel that ~30km extra just to avoid the direct route because the roads were very bad. Now with the recent patch up work carried on the 2L road between Krishnagiri and Singarapettai, the direct route is drivable as of last week with very few bad sections compared to before.

The situation might change with a single spell of rain. But atleast until monsoon in October, the roads are expected to hold up.

[vharihar]

Originally Posted by EPMV

...
Route taken while going to tiruvannamalai (5 hours)
Bangalore -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Mathur -> Uthangarai -> Chengam - Tiruvannamalai

I agree. I did the same (almost) last weekend, when I drove from Blore to TVMalai and back..

Went (onward) via Krishnagiri, Mathur, Uthangarai, Chengam. This route has bad roads. Well, not bad enough to totally avoid, like underbelly scrapes, etc. But bad nevertheless in large patches. Looks like the entire south has been neglected, the roads are quite bad and hardly any progress, unlike in rest of India that's located north of KA (if you visit Roads forums in skyscrapercity (SSC), almost all the posts are about road projects/improvements in the north of KA, and I can understand why after seeing first hand on several routes in the south over the past 5 years).

Returned via Teerthamalai, Harur, Morappur, then Salem-Blore Hwy.

The return was 40 kms longer, but better roads, much more scenic, lovely farms/village atmosphere, and far lesser traffic. So less stressful by a huge margin. From TVMalai to Harur and a bit beyond, I was able to cruise (literally) at 75 kmph, occasionally cruising at 65 kmph, and occasionally slowing down and disengaging cruise control when near habitation.

Time-wise, the return was only 30 mins more, but worth it. Onward took me 4 hours non-stop. Return took me 4.5 hours non-stop.

I don't know whats with the Mathur-Uthangarai-Chengam-TVMlai route. I saw it under construction 5 years ago (by a Russian company Tolstroy or something), and it is still largely unfinished. Wherever finished, it is not at all smooth (per NHAI standards), and hardly feels like a NH or SH.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by vharihar

I agree. I did the same (almost) last weekend, when I drove from Blore to TVMalai and back.

I don't know whats with the Mathur-Uthangarai-Chengam-TVMlai route. I saw it under construction 5 years ago (by a Russian company Tolstroy or something), and it is still largely unfinished. Wherever finished, it is not at all smooth (per NHAI standards), and hardly feels like a NH or SH.

The even better route will be via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Bargur, Tirupattur, Singarapettai and Chengam to T V Malai from Bangalore

[venkyhere]

How do these two compare purely from road surface perspective ?
1) krishnagiri - bargur - tiruppattur - singarapettai - chengam - tvmalai
2) krishnagiri - karimangalam - morappur - harur - theerthamalai - thanipadi - tvmalai

Dont care about extra km's at all. Also would prefer if bad stretch is concentrated at one place rather than distributed all over. I have done 2 years ago, never done 1. Hence asking. Also, Im guessing 2 is largely traffic free compared to 1

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

How do these two compare purely from road surface perspective ?
1) krishnagiri - bargur - tiruppattur - singarapettai - chengam - tvmalai
2) krishnagiri - karimangalam - morappur - harur - theerthamalai - thanipadi - tvmalai

1 has good roads throughout except Tirupatur-Singarapettai stretch. And that is also manageable for most part except few potholes. This is the current preferred route for TVmalai.

I used to do 2 earlier(2 years ago) and roads were good as well. Not sure of the conditions as on date though.

[rajwheelz]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

How do these two compare purely from road surface perspective ?
1) krishnagiri - bargur - tiruppattur - singarapettai - chengam - tvmalai
2) krishnagiri - karimangalam - morappur - harur - theerthamalai - thanipadi - tvmalai

Dont care about extra km's at all. Also would prefer if bad stretch is concentrated at one place rather than distributed all over. I have done 2 years ago, never done 1. Hence asking. Also, Im guessing 2 is largely traffic free compared to 1

Latest Update on Morappur-Harur route ( June 2nd , 2018 ):

I have just returned from TVMalai using route 2. That has been my staple route for the past 5 years. The road is superb, little traffic and scenic.


Since it passes through a lot of villages, speed breakers are to be expected. But unlike previous trips I have now seen the number reduce and many un-marked speed breakers are now painted. That's a big


Both onwards and return took me 5 hours with a 15 min coffee break.


Note: Around 1 or 2 kms pass through a forest range and expect hoard of monkeys crossing the roads. Watch out for the little ones especially. Reduce speed and give them right of way

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rajwheelz

I have just returned from TVMalai using route 2. That has been my staple route for the past 5 years. The road is superb, little traffic and scenic.

Good to note that this route is still holding up. Now with more options around Chengam/Thirupattur/Singarapettai, I hope this route will get some breather.

Otherwise I used read earlier that roads around Thanipadi/Theerthamalai were opening up.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by rajwheelz

I have just returned from TVMalai using route 2. That has been my staple route for the past 5 years. The road is superb, little traffic and scenic.

The preferred route IMO would be via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Bargur, Tirupattur, Singarapettai and Chengam to Tiruvannamalai. Bargur - Tirupattur stretch is a treat to drive as well.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

The preferred route IMO would be via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Bargur, Tirupattur, Singarapettai and Chengam to Tiruvannamalai. Bargur - Tirupattur stretch is a treat to drive as well.

Thank you suresh_gs . I see that you have suggested this route many times in this thread.
Yesterday, we decided at the last moment to go to Tiruvannamalai. This was my first trip by car. Also family wanted to be back at home by night, whatever the time maybe.
Due to other commitments, we could leave home (C V Raman nagar) only by 12.30pm. I knew my return journey would be entirely after dusk, so I decided to take route suggested by you during onward journey as well to get familiar with potholes, speed breakers etc. Due to traffic (Saturday afternoon) we took 2 hours to cross Hosur. After which we reached TV Malai by 6pm. (Fastag lane in Krishnagiri ate 15 minutes due to clueless staff where the boom refused to open)

Singarapettai-Chengam-TV Malai is good and wide except for 2-3 places where there are very bad patches and big potholes.


After darsan at temple and dinner, we started back around 10.30pm. Took the same route on the return. I was able to spot potholes and bad patches by following buses and trucks who are regular on this route. Else it would have been tricky to spot those on time in dark. The section between Singarapettai - Tirupattur - Bargur was desolate in the night but fantastic smooth roads, some section even had well-placed cats-eyes. I'm a very cautious driver, but even I could do consistently 65-75kmph on this section. Some speed-breakers are there but signs are placed well before to warn drivers.

Reached Bargur and hit NH by around 1am. Reached home at 3am.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by srvm

Thank you suresh_gs . I see that you have suggested this route many times in this thread.

Nice to know that you had a good darshan and safe journey back home, courtesy the very good stretch between Singarapettai and Bargur.
I would suggest not to travel on the SH highways in the night however good the roads are. This is not to scare you about any robbery attempt. Just in case (God Forbid) your car breaks down, no one will be around at that time on the SH highways to assist you. That is the only concern.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Nice to know that you had a good darshan and safe journey back home, courtesy the very good stretch between Singarapettai and Bargur.
I would suggest not to travel on the SH highways in the night however good the roads are. This is not to scare you about any robbery attempt. Just in case (God Forbid) your car breaks down, no one will be around at that time on the SH highways to assist you. That is the only concern.

Yes, you are absolutely right. The Singarapettai-Tirupattur-Bargur section was desolate at night. Encountered very few vehicles on the opposite direction. None in the same direction. I noticed that all buses and trucks continued from Singarapettai towards Mathur (onwards to Krishnagiri I suppose). As I mentioned, I wanted to stay in Tiruvannamalai overnight but family members absolutely wanted to be back home by night, whatever may be the time.
Even Tiruppatur town was totally desolate since it was around midnight. Only odd thing was, there were few Amman temples on the SH-18A, and few hundred people were present in those temples even around midnight - thanks to Aadi Amavasya festival.