[venkyhere]

Has anyone tried the Karimangalam route recently ?
Krishnagiri-karimangalam-kambainallur-morappur-harur-theerthamalai-thanipadi-TVMALAI

Except once, I have always travelled only this route, and it has never disappointed with any bad patches. Yes, here and there there are small patchworks and occasional potholes (avoidable in day), but this route has remained extremely consistent, in terms of traffic density and surface quality. About 4 hrs journey from bangalore (at worst, 4.5 hrs).

[ampere]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Has anyone tried the Karimangalam route recently ?
Krishnagiri-karimangalam-kambainallur-morappur-harur-theerthamalai-thanipadi-TVMALAI

Even I was wondering what happened to this option? As per me it is more peaceful an option to drive.

[rajwheelz]

I did this route yesterday ( 22-Sep-2019 ). (Start 5:30 AM ) T.V.Malai->Theerthamalai->Harur->Morappur->Karimangalam->Bangalore North (End 11 AM ), with a 30 minute breakfast stop.

As always scenic and fantastic roads, a little rough here and there but nothing to complain about at all.

Onward, this is my usual route but for this time we went to Kanchipuram and then to TVmalai via Arani/Polur road.

[adnaps]

This is another scenic route to Thiru via Jawada hills.

Road surface is good, the jawada hill bit is forested.

An interesting way point is the Astronomical observatory at Kavalur which is open to public on Saturdays after 6 pm.

https://goo.gl/maps/LgzoV2JubfNiozy6A

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by adnaps

This is another scenic route to Thiru via Jawada hills.

Road surface is good, the jawada hill bit is forested.

An interesting way point is the Astronomical observatory at Kavalur which is open to public on Saturdays after 6 pm.

https://goo.gl/maps/LgzoV2JubfNiozy6A

I guess you have to take the Alangayam route till you reach Jamunamarathur. From here a right turn will take you to Polur via Indian institute of Astrophysics Kavalur
Good to know the road conditions are good but I believe the stretch is heavily infested with elephants. Can you confirm on this

While going to Chennai long back, I took the Alangayam route and proceeded further till Abdullapuram. By this I avoided paying toll at Pallikonda

[adnaps]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Good to know the road conditions are good but I believe the stretch is heavily infested with elephants. Can you confirm on this

Did not see any elephants . There is traffic on this road , not much though.

Can't confirm the presence or absence of elephants.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by adnaps

This is another scenic route to Thiru via Jawada hills.

Road surface is good, the jawada hill bit is forested.

An interesting way point is the Astronomical observatory at Kavalur which is open to public on Saturdays after 6 pm.

https://goo.gl/maps/LgzoV2JubfNiozy6A

How are the road conditions from T V Malai to Polur and Polur to Alangayam. Is it safe to drive to Alangayam post 6 PM in the forest. Is the road surface good for the entire stretch ?

[balenoed_]

Folks - Travelling tomorow:

Is this the prefered route:
Hosur - Krishnagiri - Mathur - Singarapettai - Chengam Bypass - Thiruvannamalai.

(This is what gmap shows)

Good to go?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Folks - Travelling tomorow:
Is this the prefered route:
Hosur - Krishnagiri - Mathur - Singarapettai - Chengam Bypass - Thiruvannamalai.

Nope!

You do either : Krishnagiri-Bargur-Tirupattur-Singarapettai-Chengam-Tiruvannamalai

or

Krishnagiri-Karimnagalam-Morappur-Harur-Theerthamalai-Thiruvannamalai

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by ampere

Nope!

You do either : Krishnagiri-Bargur-Tirupattur-Singarapettai-Chengam-Tiruvannamalai

or

Krishnagiri-Karimnagalam-Morappur-Harur-Theerthamalai-Thiruvannamalai

Why is Krishnagiri - Mathur - Singarapettai not advised? Is that not that good a route as gmap suggests? Via Thiruppattur seems like a long detour. No?

From Bargur to Tiruppattur, there are two routes looks like. The one via Kandili?

From Thiruppattur, there are two routes to Singarapettai. Via Uthangarai or directly Singarapettai?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Why is Krishnagiri - Mathur - Singarapettai not advised? Is that not that good a route as gmap suggests? Via Thiruppattur seems like a long detour. No?

The idea is to avoid the NH77 (or the old NH66) as much as possible since its going through re-work.

From Thiruppattur, there are two routes to Singarapettai. Via Uthangarai or directly Singarapettai?

With the same prior logic try to hit Singarapettai. Interior roads are far better than the main highway for now. Byond Chengam its better. Read through the last few pages you will get updates from folks who drove through these stretches.

Earlier for some years people always used Morappur/Harur as a detour. I think it is still good !

Hope that helps!

[balenoed_]

Did B'lore - T'Malai this weekend.

While going, took the Bargur - Tiruppattur - Singarapettai - Chengam route. As advised by many, that is the smoothest route at the moment.

While return, I went ahead and tried the NH77 - Via Chengam - Uthangarai - Mathur - Krishnagiri in-spite of the several warnings seen here. The reason was that I was in no hurry and was driving sedately at 50-60km with sleepy eyed post lunch session. With that speed, navigating via bad stretches was not a matter. Yes - The road is bad, but, not that bad to completely avoid this and go via other detours. Infact I liked this route, it is a straight forward one and keeps you within the speed limits and in focus. The bad stretches are mainly between Singarapettai and Uthangarai. Majority of the rest of the road is very good except a few instances (3-4) of bad stretches of few meters. There looks to be no plan to fix this road looks like.

[lifeinpune]

Did Bangalore -Tiruvannamalai yesterday. Google Maps suggested the Uthangarai route. But instead took the Tirupattur route while going. Not through Bargur though. Went 8 KMs further towards Chennai and then some narrow but good road that Google suggested. After Tirupattur, few stretches were gravel laden. Probably under construction. But otherwise pretty smooth road until Singarapettai. After Singarapettai road gets bad for 5-6 KMs. Then its fine. While returning took the Uthangarai road. The road was horrible till Uthangarai. Even after Uthangarai there were frequent stretches of potholes. Bargur -> Tirupattur -> Singarapettai -> Chengam -> Tiruvvanamalai is the best route. Stick to this.

[ampere]

Any recent updates on how Harur-Thanipadi-Thiruvannamalai is? Very low on traffic and easy to drive if the roads are good.

[TheHelix0202]

If anyone from Bangalore or any place else decides to use the NH-46 highway, please be careful in the stretches between Ambur and Vellore. Quite a lot of crazy folks out there; everything from trucks coming down the wrong lane to drunk people walking across the road. Maintain speeds < 120 kmph.