Bangalore - Kodaikanal - Munnar : Route Queries

Maibaa · 6th January 2010, 22:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by subhorahul

Hi all,

I am planning to drive from Blore to Kodaikanal during Jan 10. I am aware of a couple of routes from this thread.

I wanted to know the road conditions in case someone has travelled recently.

Take NH7 from Bangalore till Dindigul. I just came back from Thekkady via Theni - Dindigul - Salem - Hosur - bangalore.

Roads are excellent all the way.

bijuks · 6th January 2010, 23:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by subhorahul

Hi all,

I am planning to drive from Blore to Kodaikanal during Jan 10. I am aware of a couple of routes from this thread.

I wanted to know the road conditions in case someone has travelled recently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maibaa

Take NH7 from Bangalore till Dindigul. I just came back from Thekkady via Theni - Dindigul - Salem - Hosur - bangalore.

Roads are excellent all the way.

I took the same Dindigul route on 25th and return on 30th Dec. Started from Marathahalli at 8:30am and reached Vattalgundu (1.5 Hrs away from Kodai) at 2:45pm. There were two small breaks (15 mins each) and slow traffic (15 mins each) at Krishnagiri and Thoppur toll booths. On return, reached Vattalgundu by 10:30am and Marathahalli by 5:00pm (with 45 mins break in between).

The six lane road is too good. Worth paying the Rs 180/- toll (total between BLR and Dindigul).

And for the scenic road, you have a very good stretch between Vattalgundu and Kodai - That is around 65Kms and can do in 1.5 to 2 Hrs.

ampere · 8th January 2010, 07:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by bijuks

I took the same Dindigul route on 25th and return on 30th Dec. Started from Marathahalli at 8:30am and reached Vattalgundu (1.5 Hrs away from Kodai) at 2:45pm. There were two small breaks (15 mins each) and slow traffic (15 mins each) at Krishnagiri and Thoppur toll booths. On return, reached Vattalgundu by 10:30am and Marathahalli by 5:00pm (with 45 mins break in between).

The six lane road is too good. Worth paying the Rs 180/- toll (total between BLR and Dindigul).

And for the scenic road, you have a very good stretch between Vattalgundu and Kodai - That is around 65Kms and can do in 1.5 to 2 Hrs.

Looks like worth a try. Feels like going there, but for the leaves! I have never gone beyond Salem on the NH7 on my own. Looks like, need to try

.

ash_blore · 8th January 2010, 19:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

Looks like worth a try. Feels like going there, but for the leaves! I have never gone beyond Salem on the NH7 on my own. Looks like, need to try

.

when i went earlier this year, salem onwards to batlagundu was not ready. good to know that both lanes are ready for use.

subhorahul · 13th January 2010, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by bijuks

I took the same Dindigul route on 25th and return on 30th Dec. Started from Marathahalli at 8:30am and reached Vattalgundu (1.5 Hrs away from Kodai) at 2:45pm. There were two small breaks (15 mins each) and slow traffic (15 mins each) at Krishnagiri and Thoppur toll booths. On return, reached Vattalgundu by 10:30am and Marathahalli by 5:00pm (with 45 mins break in between).

The six lane road is too good. Worth paying the Rs 180/- toll (total between BLR and Dindigul).

And for the scenic road, you have a very good stretch between Vattalgundu and Kodai - That is around 65Kms and can do in 1.5 to 2 Hrs.

Regarding the stretch between Vattalgundu and Kodai - 65 Kms, hows the road condition in terms of steepness and number of hair pin bends ?

hvkumar · 13th January 2010, 11:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by subhorahul

Regarding the stretch between Vattalgundu and Kodai - 65 Kms, hows the road condition in terms of steepness and number of hair pin bends ?

Good roads, moderate inclines, parapeted against the valley, mild curves.

Lightening-Fast · 3rd August 2010, 12:56

I am planning to do Bangalore-Kodai in 2 weeks time. Wanted to know if Blr-Dindigul-Kodai still remains to be the fastest. I am not looking for a scenic route and i guess the one over Mettur is scenic as suggested by fellow mates earlier. I want to reach there in quick time. Guys, F1 F1 F1

Lightening-Fast · 3rd August 2010, 17:04

Any updates guys? Would you still recommend Blr-Dindigul-Kodai as the fastest route?

ampere · 3rd August 2010, 17:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightening-Fast

Any updates guys? Would you still recommend Blr-Dindigul-Kodai as the fastest route?

Yes thats the best. Earlier people did BLR-SALEM-Perindurai-Kangeyam-Dharapuram-Palani-Kodai.

That was primarily because: Either they wanted to visit Palani and/or NH7 4L work was a pain.
Now that this pain is gone, and if you dont want to visit Palani, just take the NH7 route. Its the fastest.

Lightening-Fast · 3rd August 2010, 19:20

Thanks Ampere for the confirmation. I guess i will have to take the Dindigul bye pass on NH7 and then left onto NH45 till Batlangadu.From there on,take the Kodai Ghat roads.This is what google suggests.

ampere · 3rd August 2010, 19:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lightening-Fast

Thanks Ampere for the confirmation. I guess i will have to take the Dindigul bye pass on NH7 and then left onto NH45 till Batlangadu.From there on,take the Kodai Ghat roads.This is what google suggests.

Once you are done, also let us know the status of Dindigul-Batlangadu state of NH45.

Lightening-Fast · 3rd August 2010, 19:42

Absolutely Ampere. Will capture those details in my travelogue. Cheers!!

Lightening-Fast · 16th August 2010, 15:30

Guys, all set for Kodai this weekend. Any ideas where can i refuel in Dindigul? This looks like the tentative plan. Start between 4 and 4.30AM and drive till Dharmapuri. Have breakfast at A2B and drive till Dindigul. Here i can stop for lunch or push further and have a late lunch at Kodai. Do you think i can make it by 2 to Kodai. I am not a Schumacher on road and more caution this time as my parents are travelling with me

vartakavi · 16th August 2010, 22:30

I have driven between Hyderabad and Kodaikanal via Bangalore three times in the past six months. The latest trip was a month ago. I started from Kodaikanal at 12 noon and reached Hosur at 8pm with a break of about an hour for lunch and tea. Kodai to Dindigul via Batlagundu takes two hours - a few patches of broken road here but by and large the road surface is good. Not much traffic on this route if it is not a weekend. Once we got on to NH7 at Dindigul, the 4.5 hour drive upto Krishnagiri is very comfortable on the four laned highway which byepasses all towns enroute. The Salem byepass does not really bypass the city and once I got caught in heavy traffic around 7 pm. From Krishnagiri, you will get on to the GQ and nothwithstanding heavy traffic, the drive is still easy. The best part of this route is that you do not have to go through any large towns and there is no need to ask for directions.

As this is off season, the hotel tariffs should be much lower now at Kodai. I'm not sure about your Budget, but I can tell you about three Hotels that we have used. I would recommend Hotel Hill Top Towers (off-season double room rate less than 1000 a day). Rooms have been refurbished recently and has wooden flooring (gets quite cold in Kodai at night). Hilltop has a non-veg restaurant and there is one more 50 feet away inside the Spencers compound. Hilltop is in the centre of town and literally a stone's throw from Kodai lake. You can can park your car at the hotel and walk around if you wish to enjoy the cool mountain air. Hilltop has parking space on both sides of the hotel. Phone: 0454 2240413.

Hotel Sivapriya is large multi-storeyed hotel about a Km from the Kodai lake. It is one of the older hotels and rooms are not as nice as Hilltop. Tariff should be around the same. Has marble flooring which gets very cold. Has only a veg restaurant, but there are non-veg restaurants nearby.

We also stayed at a very quiet hotel with lots of parking - Hotel Stonycroft in Naidupuram. The hotel is a little further down the road after Sivapriya. Rooms are bigger than Hilltop, but not as posh - this tariff is less than Hilltop. I would rate the room maintenance as OK rather than good. The reason I suggested Stonycroft is that it has family suites - these have two double rooms with attached baths with a large sitting room in the middle. Because you said there are four of you, this may be more convenient. We had one such room last year for about 1500 per day (for four of us). Beware though, the service at this hotel is rather slow and we generally preferred to have our meals outside. They make food to order and I am not sure whether they serve non-veg. But it is a five minute drive to town (and to the lake) where there are a number of restaurants - both veg and non-veg. This hotel is does not get many guests during off season, so you will have a lot more privacy and you may even have the entire hotel to yourself.

ampere · 17th August 2010, 07:20

Used to walk down to Sivapriya for breakfast. Never stayed there though.

3rd August 2010, 12:56	#187
Lightening-Fast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251 Thanked: 11 Times	Fastest Route Query I am planning to do Bangalore-Kodai in 2 weeks time. Wanted to know if Blr-Dindigul-Kodai still remains to be the fastest. I am not looking for a scenic route and i guess the one over Mettur is scenic as suggested by fellow mates earlier. I want to reach there in quick time. Guys, F1 F1 F1
	() Thanks

3rd August 2010, 17:04	#188
Lightening-Fast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251 Thanked: 11 Times	Any updates guys? Would you still recommend Blr-Dindigul-Kodai as the fastest route?
	() Thanks

3rd August 2010, 19:20	#190
Lightening-Fast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251 Thanked: 11 Times	Thanks Ampere for the confirmation. I guess i will have to take the Dindigul bye pass on NH7 and then left onto NH45 till Batlangadu.From there on,take the Kodai Ghat roads.This is what google suggests.
	() Thanks

3rd August 2010, 19:42	#192
Lightening-Fast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251 Thanked: 11 Times	Absolutely Ampere. Will capture those details in my travelogue. Cheers!!
	() Thanks

16th August 2010, 15:30	#193
Lightening-Fast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251 Thanked: 11 Times	Guys, all set for Kodai this weekend. Any ideas where can i refuel in Dindigul? This looks like the tentative plan. Start between 4 and 4.30AM and drive till Dharmapuri. Have breakfast at A2B and drive till Dindigul. Here i can stop for lunch or push further and have a late lunch at Kodai. Do you think i can make it by 2 to Kodai. I am not a Schumacher on road and more caution this time as my parents are travelling with me
	() Thanks

16th August 2010, 22:30	#194
vartakavi BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Mysore Posts: 86 Thanked: 22 Times	Hotels in Kodaikanal I have driven between Hyderabad and Kodaikanal via Bangalore three times in the past six months. The latest trip was a month ago. I started from Kodaikanal at 12 noon and reached Hosur at 8pm with a break of about an hour for lunch and tea. Kodai to Dindigul via Batlagundu takes two hours - a few patches of broken road here but by and large the road surface is good. Not much traffic on this route if it is not a weekend. Once we got on to NH7 at Dindigul, the 4.5 hour drive upto Krishnagiri is very comfortable on the four laned highway which byepasses all towns enroute. The Salem byepass does not really bypass the city and once I got caught in heavy traffic around 7 pm. From Krishnagiri, you will get on to the GQ and nothwithstanding heavy traffic, the drive is still easy. The best part of this route is that you do not have to go through any large towns and there is no need to ask for directions. As this is off season, the hotel tariffs should be much lower now at Kodai. I'm not sure about your Budget, but I can tell you about three Hotels that we have used. I would recommend Hotel Hill Top Towers (off-season double room rate less than 1000 a day). Rooms have been refurbished recently and has wooden flooring (gets quite cold in Kodai at night). Hilltop has a non-veg restaurant and there is one more 50 feet away inside the Spencers compound. Hilltop is in the centre of town and literally a stone's throw from Kodai lake. You can can park your car at the hotel and walk around if you wish to enjoy the cool mountain air. Hilltop has parking space on both sides of the hotel. Phone: 0454 2240413. Hotel Sivapriya is large multi-storeyed hotel about a Km from the Kodai lake. It is one of the older hotels and rooms are not as nice as Hilltop. Tariff should be around the same. Has marble flooring which gets very cold. Has only a veg restaurant, but there are non-veg restaurants nearby. We also stayed at a very quiet hotel with lots of parking - Hotel Stonycroft in Naidupuram. The hotel is a little further down the road after Sivapriya. Rooms are bigger than Hilltop, but not as posh - this tariff is less than Hilltop. I would rate the room maintenance as OK rather than good. The reason I suggested Stonycroft is that it has family suites - these have two double rooms with attached baths with a large sitting room in the middle. Because you said there are four of you, this may be more convenient. We had one such room last year for about 1500 per day (for four of us). Beware though, the service at this hotel is rather slow and we generally preferred to have our meals outside. They make food to order and I am not sure whether they serve non-veg. But it is a five minute drive to town (and to the lake) where there are a number of restaurants - both veg and non-veg. This hotel is does not get many guests during off season, so you will have a lot more privacy and you may even have the entire hotel to yourself.
	() Thanks

17th August 2010, 07:20	#195
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,959 Thanked: 12,949 Times View My Garage	Used to walk down to Sivapriya for breakfast. Never stayed there though.
	() Thanks