[srvm]

Went to Tiruvannamalai on 13-14 August.

Onward journey was: Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Bargur - Tirupathur - Singarapettai - Chengam - TVmalai

Starting time was 3pm from C V Raman Nagar. Took 2 hours to reach Hosur itself. Reached TVmalai around 9.30pm. Total distance was 235km. Passed Bargur around dusk. Afterwards driving in the 2-laned roads in dark. Only 2-3 sections of around 50m each where roads are not good. Otherwise smooth, good roads overall. Had to take small gullies inside Tirupathur town instead of my usual road which was closed for repairs (near BSNL Staff Quarters). Not sure if Chengam bypass is open for traffic. Found a board near bypass starting point that road is closed. Hence took the route via town. It was fairly traffic-free at that time.

Return journey was: TVMalai - Thanipadi - Harur - Morappur - Kariamangalam - Krishnagiri - Bangalore
Started from TVMalai at 4.15pm. Reach C V Raman Nagar at 11pm. Total distance of 265km. Crossed Harur around dusk time. This was my first time on this route. I have done Harur-Morappur-Kariamangalam section early this year when coming back to Bangalore from Yercaud. This route is longer, scenic but the surface is quite rough compared to the onward route. The constant tyre noise and rough ride made the passengers and me very tired (compounded by the fact that we were returning after Girivalam and darsan).

On the whole, I would recommend doing the Harur route while going to TVMalai. And the Chengam route on the way back.

[AudiFan]

Bangalore to Pondicherry Via Tiruvanamalai.
I was searching for options to visit during the 15th August weekend, our favourite destinations, Sakleshpur-Chikmagalur-Mangalore belt were all under heavy rain spells, so my search for a dry weather destination led me to Pondicherry. I had been their few times before but the missus always wanted to explore Pondicherry. So Pondy it was.
Stated my online search for hotel / resort booking on 23rd July 2022. My search for stay options were already looking narrow as many early birds had already blocked my dates (13 to 15 August)!!
Finally, I zeroed on Villa Shanti, for 2 reasons, its located at White Town, nearer to Promenade Beach, and Café’s, and for positive reviews from fellow travelers.

On the D-day, we left our home at HSR Layout, Bangalore by 5-40 AM, 10 mins behind our schedule, surprisingly lean traffic up to Krishnagiri, but our breakfast halt at Murugan Idli Shop gave us an clear indication of what to expect during this sojourn. At morning 7 am there was a waiting list to enter the restaurant, but it was for just 10 mins as promised and we were shown to our table by the hostess.
It was my first visit, but I had heard a lot of good things about their idlis, Pongal and accompanying chutnies. Unfortunately, none of them tasted and looked any delicious, the idlis were sticky, not fluffy, and Pongal was just as good as in any Tamil Nādu style restaurants. Service was quick, used their decent bathrooms and left quickly.
Another dilemma for people driving to from Bangalore was the bad road stretch somewhere between Krishnagiri and Tiruvanamalai, I searched many forums to find out the exact location of the bad stretch, hoping to avoid that segment, but none I found with specific location. I had searched Google maps and had identified 3 potential routes. a) Krishnagiri-Tirupattur-Chengam- TVM, b) Krishnagiri-Paiyur-Uthangarai-TVM, and c) Krishnagiri-Mathur- Uthangarai-TVM. I decided to take the Paiyur route, it’s a deviation from NH-44 after Kaveripattinam town. The road is very narrow and passes through dozens of villages, but being an MDR, the roads were well paved and almost devoid of traffic. Enjoyed the drive through hamlets, lakes and village panchayat offices, the road eventually connects to NH 77 that links Krishnagiri to Tindivanam.
This route had well paved and smooth roads for almost 90% of the distance but for a few under development stretches of NH-77. Reached TVM by 10 AM, the main Arunchaleshawara Temple was crowded, managed to have a good Darshan of Lord Arunachaleshwara, considered as Agni element of Lord Shiva. The temple itself is vast and covers about 25 acres of land, has 4 gateway towers on all 4 directions. We had some refreshments and access to clean toilets at Hotel Arunachala near the East Tower, food at Rudraksha restaurant that is a part of Hotel Arunachala was good and the environment was neat and clean.
This is my First Post, i shall post a Travelogue of my onward Journey from TVM to Pondy on some other day. Wish me well.

[venkyhere]

Krishnagiri-Karimangalam-kambainallur-morappur-harur-theerthamalai-thanipadi-tvmalai

used to be my defacto route for many years, because I simply avoided the krishnagiri-mathur-uthangarai-chengam like plague, since I've always read about how terrible that route was, where even buses and trucks struggled.

After 3-4 years, this time, based on updates in this thread, decided to try a new route for the first time :

Krishnagiri-6Lhighway-Natrampalli-Tiruppathur-Sh18A-Singarapettai-Chengam-tvmalai

There are only a few sore points :
(1) there is one 'terrible' railway cross between natrampalli and tirupattur, terribleness = very narrow opening, barely two vehicles can fit side by side, plus there are two 'flyover pillars' half built , smack bang in the middle of the road, either side of the track, surrounded by gargantuan potholes. Needs patience and careful maneuvering, but can be done in low ground clearance cars.
(2) between singarapettai and chengam, smooth finished sections and still-under-construction culverts (not sure whether they are for small bridges or whether they are simply blobs left unfinished) appear on and off, quite suddenly. So though the finished sections tempt speed, better to be cautious.
(3) tiruppatur town has some small bottlenecks and some terrible under-construction jolt-to-your-spine points, but only over a small stretch.

Other than that, the route is blissful. Very less traffic on a sunday, and door-to-door it took me only 3h30m one-way for ~210 kms, of which only half distance is on 6Lane highway.

[rajwheelz]

A quick 1 day trip happened yesterday. Bangalore North to Tiruvannamalai.

Onward : Bargur-Tiruppatur-Singarapettai-Chengam. Start 4:30AM, Reached: 8:30AM non-stop.

Return: Chengam-Tiruppatur-Pudupettai-NH48-Krishnagiri-Bangalore North. Start 3:15AM, Reached: 7:15AM non-stop

Excellent roads barring a few rough patches and nothing compared to Bangalore pot holes.

But, Between the above, I would suggest Bargur-Tirupattur for onward and return instead of Pudupettai due to narrower roads and yesterday skies poured out in the evening and the damage was visible near pudupettai.

For the benefit of fellow travelers, I use the below way points to ensure my onward and return journeys are properly navigated via google maps.
Please correct me if these are wrong.

https://goo.gl/maps/E2spzWZ8QfYNPvEX7 ( Hotel Agni, Bargur. Onward journey right side )
https://goo.gl/maps/ULxYry6zXFuwaFTU7 ( Essar Petrol Station Singarapettai. Onward Journey right side )

[adnaps]

Drove to Thiru from BLR last week. The shortest and direct route via Uthangarai & Chengam has been repaired except for a couple of small stretches. Did not count the number of bad patches but estimate there were about 8-10 of about 50 meters each and the bad patches are comfortably doable at a speed of 30 Kmph.

This route saves more than 45 min and interestingly GMaps is showing this route as a default option which was not the case a few weeks back.

[rajwheelz]

Originally Posted by adnaps

Drove to Thiru from BLR last week. The shortest and direct route via Uthangarai & Chengam has been repaired except for a couple of small stretches. Did not count the number of bad patches but estimate there were about 8-10 of about 50 meters each and the bad patches are comfortably doable at a speed of 30 Kmph.

This route saves more than 45 min and interestingly GMaps is showing this route as a default option which was not the case a few weeks back.

Fantastic news. Thanks for this update ! I am a regular to TVM. Will venture on this road again. The last was in 2013. Good news after 9 years

[vandemanw]

Drove this morning from Bangalore central to Pondicherry via Tiruvannamalai. Started from home at 5:40 am, crossed Madiwala at 6:00 am, krishnagiri toll at 7:05, Mathur at 7:30, Chengam at 8:15 am, Tiruvannamalai at 9:10 am. This was non stop, since I was travelling with my baby, and we don’t stop when she’s asleep. Kept the speed below 100 throughout.
Vehicle: Honda city

Points to note:
1. The 2 lane sections are fantastic except for the short sub 50 m patches (maybe 5-6 of these between krishnagiri to chengam). In between this sections can keep up 80 kmph with normal driving.
2. There are new bypasses being constructed for most of the towns in these routes. They seem to be almost completed. Travel time will be shortened further once the work is over
3. For those proceeding towards Pondicherry, this is still an excellent route. I covered Madiwala to Pondicherry Auroville bakery in 5 h 15 mins (including a 15 min break)
4. Possible places to stop: Reliance and nayara energy petrol pumps around TVM are pretty good. Chola hotel and resorts is a decent option too (ksrtc Bangalore Volvos stop here for break)

[rajwheelz]

A whirlwind one day trip happened yesterday to TVM. Happy to report the standard route via Mathur-Uthangarai is fantastic. Covered Bangalore North to TVM in 3h45m.
As reported by others, a few bad patches do exist but very short patches and can be navigated easy. Drove my friend's Vento and dropped them there. Returned by KSRTC Airavat. Vento didn't scrape the bottom at all.

A dream come true after so many years

[vijey_s]

Hi All,

Went to Tiruvannamalai on a one-day trip for a wedding.

Onward Journey -> Bangalore -> Krishnagiri -> Bargur -> Tirupattur -> Singarapettai -> Chengam -> Tiruvannamalai.

Took the above route mainly to avoid the bad roads in the shortest route recommended by Google(Via Mathur), as many bhpians mentioned in this thread, the route is good, but too many speed breakers and lots of villages in between, which considerably increases your travel time.

Return Journey -> Tiruvannamalai -> Chengam -> Singarapettai -> Mathur -> Krishnagiri -> Bangalore.

Took this route based on the feedback given by my cousin who also came to Tiruvannamalai the same day in another car from Bangalore.

Surprisingly this route was too good, I still remember how bad the entire stretch from Krishnagiri to a little before singarpettai roads were a few years ago, there are only 4 to 5 small bad patches (work is going on), which are totally manageable. almost no speed breakers and the number of villages were also less, making the drive more enjoyable.

As it was a one-day journey, we had no choice except to drive back in night. the roads were newly laid and had good amount reflectors on the road in almost all the curves, making the drive very easy, there was one S shaped curve which had well-built dividers high enough to block the oncoming traffic's headlights, thereby making the dangerous curve a safe one.

In total, saved a solid 30-35mins time by taking the Mathur route. Going forward I will be taking this Mathur route for all my future travels to Tiruvannamalai and beyond.

[ampere]

Have all the bypasses opened up? I mean this one at Chengam, Singarapettai and Uthangarai?

[tiagoatrix]

Tiruvannamalai bypass is functional, there is a flyover close to city entrance nearing completion, Gingee bypass is not open yet, kilpenathur bypass is open.
Current road conditions from tiru to Tindivanam is excellent,, will be travelling to BLR via Chengam route, will update on it soon.

[tiagoatrix]

Originally Posted by ampere

Have all the bypasses opened up? I mean this one at Chengam, Singarapettai and Uthangarai?

Travelled from Chengam to Bengaluru yesterday.

No bypass is open as of yesterday and the entry and exit of the bypass is the only the only bad road in otherwise a smooth ride to Bengaluru.This has got to be the fastest and best BLR to Pondy route. Also the traffic flow is minimum.

I took Chengam - Singarapettai - uthangarai - mathur - Krishnagiri - hosur route.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by tiagoatrix

Travelled from Chengam to Bengaluru yesterday.

No bypass is open as of yesterday and the entry and exit of the bypass is the only the only bad road in otherwise a smooth ride to Bengaluru.This has got to be the fastest and best BLR to Pondy route. Also the traffic flow is minimum.

I took Chengam - Singarapettai - uthangarai - mathur - Krishnagiri - hosur route.

So this would mean the regular Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai route is now good to go. Saw this video a couple of days back

https://youtu.be/MPY-Cz4CkME

the conditions from Uthangarai to Chengam was fairly good so was wondering if it has indeed become better thanks for confirming this stretch is now much better.

[loki]

Took the Thiruvannamalai - Chengam - Uthangarai - Krishnagiri route yesterday.

Smooth 2 lane road for the most part. Bypass still being constructed at some towns but no issues at all. What a difference compared a few years ago when this stretch felt like the crater of the moon. Would recommend this stretch !

[ravib]

Originally Posted by loki

Took the Thiruvannamalai - Chengam - Uthangarai - Krishnagiri route yesterday.

Smooth 2 lane road for the most part. Bypass still being constructed at some towns but no issues at all. What a difference compared a few years ago when this stretch felt like the crater of the moon. Would recommend this stretch !

Yes, heard about it informally from few people, but couldn't believe it. Now getting a confirmation from BHPian reassured what i heard.

This is great for those who drive toward Tiruvannamalai and further to Pondy without taking much deviation.

Finally the cursed road is back to a motorable state. Big relief. Sigh!

-Ravi