Chennai - Trivandrum : Route Queries

nairrk · 29th November 2010, 18:17

I think GM is giving a wrong route !!
After Tirunelveli, why should one take that kind of diversion instead coming straight to Nagercoil (good road) and then drive through Thuckalay, Marthandam, Kaliakkavilai, Parassala, Neyyattinkara, TVm (all these are small town).
The route proposed by GM especially pechiparai, keeriparai, Thiruvarambu all small places and nobody know how the roads will be..? (unless you want to see pechiparai dam?). Suggest maintain the major highway instead of taking such diversions....

vishnurp99 · 29th November 2010, 19:18

For the drive from Chennai to TVM what is the best place to cut from nh45 to NH7. The way i understand is i can stay on NH45 B till i get close to madurai and then i have to get to NH7. I have driven this route once but there was friend with me and i was able to do this easily. I passed through a route which was single lane and had lots of toll bridges. However when i drove back from tvm to chennai i missed the route and finally ended going thru dindigul to chennai and this was quite a pain. Folks who take this route often. Please help out.

ampere · 29th November 2010, 19:45

Yes you need to stick to 45B till Madurai and then change to NH7 till Nagarcoil. (well the road breaks into 47 in between. NH7 goes all the way to KK).

pypkmsrikanth · 30th November 2010, 10:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by vishnurp99

For the drive from Chennai to TVM what is the best place to cut from nh45 to NH7. The way i understand is i can stay on NH45 B till i get close to madurai and then i have to get to NH7. I have driven this route once but there was friend with me and i was able to do this easily. I passed through a route which was single lane and had lots of toll bridges. However when i drove back from tvm to chennai i missed the route and finally ended going thru dindigul to chennai and this was quite a pain. Folks who take this route often. Please help out.

The single lane road you are referring is the Madurai Byepass from the NH45B side. To get onto this road while you are coming from Trivandrum watch out for the sign board which says "Trichirapalli, Rameswaram & Madurai Airport" take a right here and you are onto the byepass. To know if you are on right track or not the point at which you take a right you cross over the railway track. I am marking in Google Maps for your reference. It is not so difficult to find out.

Chennai - Trivandrum : Route Queries-madurai-byepass.jpg

hvkumar · 30th November 2010, 13:39

Very easy to locate this turn off point. When you are coming from south side (Tirunelveli), you will first see the turn off to Tirumangalam town. 2 kms from this point you will reach the T Junction, where you turn off right to take the old Madurai bypass to reach Trichy.

shapath · 30th November 2010, 15:43

Mr Hvk . 2 questions.
1)Do you suggest this route as the better one from TVM to chennai Via Trichy.
2) In case if someone wants to touch Madurai ..then what would be your suggestion. kindly provide detail . Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Very easy to locate this turn off point. When you are coming from south side (Tirunelveli), you will first see the turn off to Tirumangalam town. 2 kms from this point you will reach the T Junction, where you turn off right to take the old Madurai bypass to reach Trichy.

hvkumar · 30th November 2010, 15:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by shapath

Mr Hvk . 2 questions.
1)Do you suggest this route as the better one from TVM to chennai Via Trichy.
2) In case if someone wants to touch Madurai ..then what would be your suggestion. kindly provide detail . Thanks.

Shapath, yes, if you are going to Chennai from TVM< it is best to take the old bypass from the junction after Tirumangalam and take NH45B via Viralimalai to Trichy and then join NH45 from there.

If you want to go into Madurai city, keep going straight after Tirumangalam. Some 3-4 kms after that junction, the new Madurai bypass (on NH7) will veer off to the right, and you keep going down, you will enter Madurai city. If you want to go to the Madurai temple, you can go all the way till the NH49 junction (identified by the Best Western Germanus hotel to the right), turn right there and easily reach the temple.

Leaving Madurai, you can go through the city and reach NH45B.

SafeDrive · 30th November 2010, 16:02

Hi, I did this route in July. It's ane asy go now - the route is pretty well marked with sign boards. All you need to do is know the names of the major towns on this route and you've got it made.
Word of caution though - avoid Nagercoil to TVM during peak time. It is really bad.

vishnurp99 · 2nd December 2010, 17:20

@pypkmsrikanth,hvkumar,ampere Thanks for the information regarding the turnoff point. When i come from Chennai is there a landmark for the turnoff point into the madurai byepass?

Approximately how many kms is this turnoff point from chennai?

vishnurp99 · 10th December 2010, 14:03

Is it a good idea to take the NH208 to travel from madurai to tvm. I am planning to drive from chennai to TVM and am considering taking this instead of the nagercoil route. Any inputs would be appreciated. Is the NH 208 a ghat road or single lane etc?

hvkumar · 10th December 2010, 14:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by vishnurp99

Is it a good idea to take the NH208 to travel from madurai to tvm. I am planning to drive from chennai to TVM and am considering taking this instead of the nagercoil route. Any inputs would be appreciated. Is the NH 208 a ghat road or single lane etc?

I don't think it is worth it. From Kollam, NH208 also crosses several small towns and then it is a narrow twisty ghat from Punalur onwards. You may as well consider the Trivandrum-Tenmala-Tenkasi route.

vishnurp99 · 10th December 2010, 14:37

Is the nagercoil road the best option then or the tenmala/tenkasi route? I plan to start early morning around 6 by chennai. I will probably reach nagercoil around 5 then which is peak traffic. are there any other alternatives?

hvkumar · 10th December 2010, 14:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by vishnurp99

Is the nagercoil road the best option then or the tenmala/tenkasi route? I plan to start early morning around 6 by chennai. I will probably reach nagercoil around 5 then which is peak traffic. are there any other alternatives?

I think it best to stick to the Nagercoil route. Budget for 2 hours to drive the 80 kms from Thovalai (where the 4-laned NH7 goes away to KK) to Trivandrum via Nagercoil.

sbkumar · 13th December 2010, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I think it best to stick to the Nagercoil route. Budget for 2 hours to drive the 80 kms from Thovalai (where the 4-laned NH7 goes away to KK) to Trivandrum via Nagercoil.

For average drivers it can take up to 3+ hours easily. The traffic on this stretch is increasing with every passing day and over taking is almost impossible. The only saving point was that the roads were good. I am not sure about that too after heavy rains over the past fortnight.

nairrk · 13th December 2010, 11:50

We drove Trivandrum to Kanyakumari on 7th of December and it took about 2.5hours to reach KK and there was light rain in some areas (started 8pm from TVM and reached KK at 11PM with 30minutes break for Dinner).

29th November 2010, 18:17	#76
nairrk Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kannur Posts: 2,441 Thanked: 674 Times View My Garage	I think GM is giving a wrong route !! After Tirunelveli, why should one take that kind of diversion instead coming straight to Nagercoil (good road) and then drive through Thuckalay, Marthandam, Kaliakkavilai, Parassala, Neyyattinkara, TVm (all these are small town). The route proposed by GM especially pechiparai, keeriparai, Thiruvarambu all small places and nobody know how the roads will be..? (unless you want to see pechiparai dam?). Suggest maintain the major highway instead of taking such diversions....
	() Thanks

29th November 2010, 19:18	#77
vishnurp99 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: India Posts: 477 Thanked: 1,029 Times	NH45 to NH7 For the drive from Chennai to TVM what is the best place to cut from nh45 to NH7. The way i understand is i can stay on NH45 B till i get close to madurai and then i have to get to NH7. I have driven this route once but there was friend with me and i was able to do this easily. I passed through a route which was single lane and had lots of toll bridges. However when i drove back from tvm to chennai i missed the route and finally ended going thru dindigul to chennai and this was quite a pain. Folks who take this route often. Please help out.
	() Thanks

29th November 2010, 19:45	#78
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,951 Thanked: 12,939 Times View My Garage	Yes you need to stick to 45B till Madurai and then change to NH7 till Nagarcoil. (well the road breaks into 47 in between. NH7 goes all the way to KK).
	() Thanks

30th November 2010, 13:39	#80
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Very easy to locate this turn off point. When you are coming from south side (Tirunelveli), you will first see the turn off to Tirumangalam town. 2 kms from this point you will reach the T Junction, where you turn off right to take the old Madurai bypass to reach Trichy.
	() Thanks

30th November 2010, 16:02	#83
SafeDrive BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 425 Thanked: 86 Times	Hi, I did this route in July. It's ane asy go now - the route is pretty well marked with sign boards. All you need to do is know the names of the major towns on this route and you've got it made. Word of caution though - avoid Nagercoil to TVM during peak time. It is really bad.
	() Thanks

2nd December 2010, 17:20	#84
vishnurp99 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: India Posts: 477 Thanked: 1,029 Times	@pypkmsrikanth,hvkumar,ampere Thanks for the information regarding the turnoff point. When i come from Chennai is there a landmark for the turnoff point into the madurai byepass? Approximately how many kms is this turnoff point from chennai?
	() Thanks

10th December 2010, 14:03	#85
vishnurp99 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: India Posts: 477 Thanked: 1,029 Times	re: Chennai - Trivandrum : Route Queries Is it a good idea to take the NH208 to travel from madurai to tvm. I am planning to drive from chennai to TVM and am considering taking this instead of the nagercoil route. Any inputs would be appreciated. Is the NH 208 a ghat road or single lane etc? Last edited by vishnurp99 : 10th December 2010 at 14:08.
	() Thanks

10th December 2010, 14:37	#87
vishnurp99 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: India Posts: 477 Thanked: 1,029 Times	re: Chennai - Trivandrum : Route Queries Is the nagercoil road the best option then or the tenmala/tenkasi route? I plan to start early morning around 6 by chennai. I will probably reach nagercoil around 5 then which is peak traffic. are there any other alternatives?
	() Thanks

13th December 2010, 11:50	#90
nairrk Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kannur Posts: 2,441 Thanked: 674 Times View My Garage	re: Chennai - Trivandrum : Route Queries We drove Trivandrum to Kanyakumari on 7th of December and it took about 2.5hours to reach KK and there was light rain in some areas (started 8pm from TVM and reached KK at 11PM with 30minutes break for Dinner).
	() Thanks