[ampere]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I will be visiting tirukoilur sometime soon. Am planning to take Bangalore->Krishnagiri->Tiruvanamalai->Tirukoilur . Can some one update on the road conditions. This wil be my first venture into TN by car , so dont want to screw it up by taking bad roads or non-descript ones since i will be with my family!
Thanks

Originally Posted by mazda4life

I think Ampere would be the right person to answer , but what I heard from my relative who recently went for the aradhane is that the road from T'malai to Tirukoilur is still bad and its worth going via Vellore...

slightly off topic, you should definitely visit Srimushnam which is near Tirukoilur.

Originally Posted by polopm

Travel via vellore and polur -the route is longer but good roads mostly.

The other route is thru Karimangalam Morappur Harur Thaanipadi and Thiruvannamalai. However roads near Thaanippadi arent in great condition and you will have to work thru gears to avoid the potholes. I did this route two weeks back.

As @polopm answered, the road till Harur from Karimangalam via Morappur is very decent. Harur has a bypass. Also in spite of 4-lane work, the road via Karishnagiri-Vellore is swift.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by mazda4life

I think Ampere would be the right person to answer , but what I heard from my relative who recently went for the aradhane is that the road from T'malai to Tirukoilur is still bad and its worth going via Vellore...

slightly off topic, you should definitely visit Srimushnam which is near Tirukoilur.

Srimushnam is near Vridachalam and would take more than a couple of hours to reach from Tirukovilur. One can always club both these places along with one another Divyadesam, Thiruvahindapuram near Cuddalore and do it in a day.

http://goo.gl/maps/SwDqJ

[vharihar]

Traveled Bangalore - TVmalai last weekend. After reading the various posts in this thread, I decided not to self-drive, and instead went by KSRTC Sarige bus. Very convenient. Takes same time as KSRTC Airavat Volvo (why? Bcoz of bad roads, I'll come to that later), but at one-third the fare! Bus was almost empty. Besides, in this weather, AC is not really needed. So I strongly recommend KSRTC Sarige for this stretch anytime.

The road from Bangalore to Hosur is not great. Hosur esp has very bad stretches. Hosur to Krishnagiri is ok, quite good in some parts where 6 laning is finished (but note: lane marking is not done yet).

The worst is Krishnagiri - TVmalai stretch. Horrible road. Very very bad. Some company called Transtroy is working on this, and there is very slow progress, hardly any working machinery or people. Also garbage is littered in many places in the various small towns on the Krishnagiri - TVmalai stretch.

TVmalai town itself has nice temples, but the town is very dirty, with open (and sometimes overflowing) sewage drains. And Jayalalitha's poster was plastered on every square inch of every available wall-space! And the only high-end vehicles (Pajero, Fortuner) I saw had rival DMK's red/black flag. So it was a disgusting reminder on how much the in-power and out-of-power politicians rule in TN, with absolute disregard to the local populace (many of who seemed to be just about making ends meet) or the state of facilities in the pilgrimage town.

Anyway, I returned by TNSTC Express bus. Badly maintained. Bad/uncomfortable seats when compared to KSRTC Sarige. Also, KSRTC Sarige doesnt halt in as many places as the TNSTC bus.

So if I were to do this leg again, I'd do KSRTC Sarige for onward and return trip.


In the onward leg, I was boarding the Sarige bus at a mid-way point. I had booked online. I was pleasantly surprised to note that after the bus's departure from the origin point, the system sent me an SMS with the conductor's mobile# and the bus's licence plate#, thereby making it easy for me to spot the bus in the mid-way stop where I was waiting for the bus to arrive. Thats very helpful and comforting. Awesome service!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by vharihar

The worst is Krishnagiri - TVmalai stretch. Horrible road. Very very bad. Some company called Transtroy is working on this, and there is very slow progress, hardly any working machinery or people. Also garbage is littered in many places in the various small towns on the Krishnagiri - TVmalai stretch.

TVmalai town itself has nice temples, but the town is very dirty, with open (and sometimes overflowing) sewage drains. And Jayalalitha's poster was plastered on every square inch of every available wall-space! And the only high-end vehicles (Pajero, Fortuner) I saw had rival DMK's red/black flag. So it was a disgusting reminder on how much the in-power and out-of-power politicians rule in TN, with absolute disregard to the local populace (many of who seemed to be just about making ends meet) or the state of facilities in the pilgrimage town.

Anyway, I returned by TNSTC Express bus. Badly maintained. Bad/uncomfortable seats when compared to KSRTC Sarige. Also, KSRTC Sarige doesnt halt in as many places as the TNSTC bus.

So if I were to do this leg again, I'd do KSRTC Sarige for onward and return trip.


In the onward leg, I was boarding the Sarige bus at a mid-way point. I had booked online. I was pleasantly surprised to note that after the bus's departure from the origin point, the system sent me an SMS with the conductor's mobile# and the bus's licence plate#, thereby making it easy for me to spot the bus in the mid-way stop where I was waiting for the bus to arrive. Thats very helpful and comforting. Awesome service!

You should try this option in a car. I am very sure, it would be enjoyable. End to End 2-lane SH with trees lined on both sides!
While discussing in the other thread about bypassing Hosur-Krishnagiri, we hit upon an alternative option of taking the Attebele-Rayakottai road.

While further checking it out in google maps, I see that Rayakottai-Dharmapuri SH cuts the Karimangalam-Denkanikotai SH at a village Vellichandai. We can use this to hit Karimangalam and drive down to Tiruvannamalai via Morappur/Harur. These are typical TN state highways and mostly maintained in very good conditions. The only down side is no decent break points for food. However you dont take any hit from a distance point of view. Its about 200-220 km from Attebele.

Here is the link for reference:
Ruote Link

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by ampere

You should try this option in a car. I am very sure, it would be enjoyable.
Here is the link for reference:
Ruote Link

Planning for a Whitefield, Bangalore - Thiruvannamalai trip (Civic) on 11th April. Which is the best route as on date? Thanks in advance

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Planning for a Whitefield, Bangalore - Thiruvannamalai trip (Civic) on 11th April. Which is the best route as on date? Thanks in advance

I think you should try:

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

I can vouch for the roads till Harur. Decent and good roads. Some times they are narrow. But I dont know how is it beyond. I think they should be definitely good. Check with @polopm.

[ramanak]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Planning for a Whitefield, Bangalore - Thiruvannamalai trip (Civic) on 11th April. Which is the best route as on date? Thanks in advance

Take a Bus mate.I comtemplated doing the same (taking my Civic) last weekend but happy that I took the bus instead.Krishnagiri-TVMalai is just hopelessly bad with 4 Laning work going on.

[polopm]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Planning for a Whitefield, Bangalore - Thiruvannamalai trip (Civic) on 11th April. Which is the best route as on date? Thanks in advance

Originally Posted by ampere

I think you should try:

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

I can vouch for the roads till Harur. Decent and good roads. Some times they are narrow. But I dont know how is it beyond. I think they should be definitely good. Check with @polopm.

The Harur TVM road is not great for about 30 Kms before TVMalai. Bad patch starts around Naripalli.
Definitely better than NH66 but not super smooth roads.

Since you have a Civic, I think you can try the Vellore-Polur(bypass)-TVM option. Road is much better. The distance is however more. Take your pick

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ramanak

Take a Bus mate.I comtemplated doing the same (taking my Civic) last weekend but happy that I took the bus instead.Krishnagiri-TVMalai is just hopelessly bad with 4 Laning work going on.

Did the bus take Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai route via NH66 ? That was in real bad condition from what most of us know (we don't even dare try it ), in fact there is a whole thread here dedicated for the Bangalore-Pondicherry route with various alternatives to avoid NH66 route.

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by ramanak

Take a Bus mate.

Oh, yes, as long as I'm allowed to drive the bus

I like driving; also, my timings and bus will not match.

Thanks any way.

Originally Posted by polopm

Since you have a Civic, I think you can try the Vellore-Polur(bypass)-TVM option. Road is much better. The distance is however more. Take your pick

Do you mean this route?

http://goo.gl/maps/DCyYx

[vharihar]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

...my timings and bus will not match ...

Seriously man, take the bus. They are very, very frequent. I havent seen a worse inter-city road. Avoid your car for this stretch. And the Vellore route is too much of a detour.

Book online at KSRTC or TNSTC (SETC Ultra Deluxe buses are pretty good), and simply take a bus.

If you are just worried about frequency, then dont worry. TNSTC Express buses (low grade, not so good, but hey, it gets you there) are every 20-30 minutes or so. I live near Hosur Road area, and I see TNSTC/SETC/KSRTC buses heading that way every 20 mins or so.

I had taken the cheapest option, KSRTC Sarige buses in early Mar/late Feb. I would rate that the best option over car or other bus variants. See my review earlier on this page or the previous page. But now in April, you may want an AC bus since its become hotter now.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by polopm

The Harur TVM road is not great for about 30 Kms before TVMalai. Bad patch starts around Naripalli.
Definitely better than NH66 but not super smooth roads.

I remember taking the route to Sathanur from Tiruvannamalai, which is the part of the same route. The SH (same Harur road) till the time, I needed to get off it, was very good and wide. I was thought it would be almost be similar till Harur. Hence had good hopes on this.

Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur is pretty good and one can easily do 70-80.

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by ampere

I remember taking the route to Sathanur from Tiruvannamalai, which is the part of the same route. The SH (same Harur road) till the time, I needed to get off it, was very good and wide. I was thought it would be almost be similar till Harur. Hence had good hopes on this.

Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur is pretty good and one can easily do 70-80.

How safe is the Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur-TVM road during day time?

Thanks for the info.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

How safe is the Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur-TVM road during day time?

Thanks for the info.

Perfectly safe! I drove till Harur and it was amazing amidst greenery.
Beyond Harur I have not driven. So no idea on road conditions. But I think it should be safe.

[Tempelhof]

Last weekend I had been to Thiruvannamalai:

Onward: ITPL - Krishnagiri - Vellore - TVM (I had to pick-up a friend in Vellore).

Return: TVM - Harur - Morappur - Karimangalam - Krishnagiri - ITPL

Onward - 330 kms - took 5 hours 30 mins.

Return - 255 kms took 4 hours 30 mins.

Recommended route is TVM - Harur - Morappur - Karimangalam - Krishnagiri - Bangalore - this route is safe, scenic and the roads are good enough to allow you a constant 80 kmph.

Route Map: http://goo.gl/maps/utW7j