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Old 22nd March 2018, 12:24   #241
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

Dear Team,

I will be driving to Kumbakonam next week. I would require some guidance as to what route is best for relaxed driving. The car is a small hatchback (Brio) and hence properly laid roads are a must. I plan on starting after midnight on Wednesday (28 March) and intend to visit the Swami Malai temple.

Google says to take Salem - Attur - Vriddachalam route and then through Jayamkondam.

The above post puts the route in positive light. Anyone who can confirm if this still holds true?

Thank you!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ravib View Post
Yes, the above route is still good and best among available options. Roads are good throughout. Ensure you exit to V.Koot Road towards Vridhachalam after crossing Thalaivasal.

-Ravi
Thank you very much The map says to exit at the same spot you mentioned. Looks like it comes after a toll gate. So there's a marker I can look up to.

Last edited by SchumiFan : 22nd March 2018 at 12:43.
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Old 22nd March 2018, 12:37   #242
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by SchumiFan View Post
The above post puts the route in positive light. Anyone who can confirm if this still holds true?
Yes, the above route is still good and best among available options. Roads are good throughout. Ensure you exit to V.Koot Road towards Vridhachalam after crossing Thalaivasal.

-Ravi

Last edited by ampere : 22nd March 2018 at 15:11. Reason: trimmed quoted post
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Old 22nd March 2018, 17:54   #243
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by SchumiFan View Post
Google says to take Salem - Attur - Vriddachalam route and then through Jayamkondam.
This is the best route. I did this route in December 2016. You need to exercise caution on two things. Between Thalaivasal and Viruthachalam bypass you will find farmers drying the hays in the middle of the road. Also there are lot of monkeys in one stretch, running around and crossing the road.

Last edited by ampere : 22nd March 2018 at 18:47. Reason: Trimmed quoted post
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Old 22nd March 2018, 18:03   #244
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by iamnarayang View Post
This is the best route. I did this route in December 2016. You need to exercise caution on two things. Between Thalaivasal and Viruthachalam bypass you will find farmers drying the hays in the middle of the road. Also there are lot of monkeys in one stretch, running around and crossing the road.
+1. This is true. Please watch out for it.
Also, from break options, beyond Attur Rama's hotel on left side and A2B on right side, there are no good stop over options till you reach Kumbakonam. So if you are planning for a break, the last best option is A2B around Attur. Please plan accordingly.

-Ravi
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Old 22nd March 2018, 18:50   #245
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by SchumiFan View Post
I plan on starting after midnight on Wednesday (28 March) and intend to visit the Swami Malai temple.
Though its not a problem, but watchout on bypasses of towns post Salem. Because at many places they become 2-lane from 4-lane. Start by about 3:30/4 and you can easily be there by 9-10.

Another way to spot the exit for Vridhachalam is to look for a board to Chidambaram. Because thats where the highway (#532) leads you too.
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Old 22nd March 2018, 19:41   #246
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by iamnarayang View Post
This is the best route. I did this route in December 2016. You need to exercise caution on two things. Between Thalaivasal and Viruthachalam bypass you will find farmers drying the hays in the middle of the road. Also there are lot of monkeys in one stretch, running around and crossing the road.
I tried this route in Dec 2017 and its the best route.
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Old 22nd March 2018, 22:35   #247
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by SchumiFan View Post
The car is a small hatchback (Brio) and hence properly laid roads are a must.
The Veppur-Vriddachalam bypass is smooth sailing, some small rough sections in VRI bypass. Beyond that, its again great roads all the way till T. Palur

You have to take the last 10 km change (beyond T. Palur ) cautiously. There are some broken sections between T. Palur - Neerathanallur - KMU bypass.

For Kumbakonam, there is no better route.

This update is from 3rd week Feb.
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Old 23rd March 2018, 15:28   #248
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

Quote:
Originally Posted by ravib View Post
+1. This is true. Please watch out for it.
Also, from break options, beyond Attur Rama's hotel on left side and A2B on right side, there are no good stop over options till you reach Kumbakonam. So if you are planning for a break, the last best option is A2B around Attur. Please plan accordingly.
Could you please let me know if these places are open 24/7 or do they shut off by midnight? I am hoping there are at least some tea stalls to stop and get some refreshment before continuing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ampere View Post
Though its not a problem, but watchout on bypasses of towns post Salem. Because at many places they become 2-lane from 4-lane. Start by about 3:30/4 and you can easily be there by 9-10.

Another way to spot the exit for Vridhachalam is to look for a board to Chidambaram. Because thats where the highway (#532) leads you too.
I have to travel to Chennai post completion of my darshan. So I thought that starting post midnight will make the roads free of traffic leading to a relaxed drive. I plan to use Google maps all the way through but it is good to know these pointers instead of blindly following the maps.

I'll consider your plan as well in the coming days to find out which will work best.

Quote:
Originally Posted by narayans80 View Post
The Veppur-Vriddachalam bypass is smooth sailing, some small rough sections in VRI bypass. Beyond that, its again great roads all the way till T. Palur

You have to take the last 10 km change (beyond T. Palur ) cautiously. There are some broken sections between T. Palur - Neerathanallur - KMU bypass.
For Kumbakonam, there is no better route. This update is from 3rd week Feb.
Thank you for giving me the latest update on the route. I generally don't do triple digits (100 kmph) on roads unknown to me. I'll further reduce my speeds in this route just to be safe.

Quote:
Originally Posted by iamnarayang View Post
You need to exercise caution on two things. Between Thalaivasal and Viruthachalam bypass you will find farmers drying the hays in the middle of the road. Also there are lot of monkeys in one stretch, running around and crossing the road.
Had my experience with monkeys near Gingee Unpredictable lot. Hay will pose problems for me especially with the low GC and small wheels. Will look out for them.

Thank you for letting me know these information as well. I can't thank you guys enough. I will update the page post my travel so that it is of use to other members as well.
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Old 23rd March 2018, 17:56   #249
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

Quote:
Originally Posted by SchumiFan View Post
Could you please let me know if these places are open 24/7 or do they shut off by midnight? I am hoping there are at least some tea stalls to stop and get some refreshment before continuing.

I have to travel to Chennai post completion of my darshan.
No, none of these are open 24/7. Usually they close around 9 pm or 9.30 pm IIRC. The only very basic tea stalls that will be open throughout are just adjacent to two toll plazas between Salem to Thalaivasal.

Regarding your return Journey to Madras, suggest to take Kumbakonam-T.Palur-Vridhachalam (need to go inside town)-Ulundurpet(need to go inside town to reach other side) and then join NH45 to go via Villupuram, Dindivanam-Madras.

Alternatively, if you don't want to go inside Vridhachalam/Ulundurpet towns, you can return Veppur and join NH45 but this will be longer by about 20+ kms. (This is same road that you travel between V.Koot road towards Vridhachalam by pass in your onward journey).

Don't take the standard route via Anaikarai-Sethiathope-Vadalur-Panruti-Vikravandi as suggested by maps. They are bad.

-Ravi
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Old 2nd April 2018, 14:28   #250
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

Completed the trip in a relaxed manner. Thank you guys for the guidance. The route is awesome till 20~30 Km from Kumbakonam. I started by 2 AM and reached the temple at 8:30 AM in the morning. Had a break at Ammapettai for tea at around 4. Great place with a good selection of bakery items.

The monkeys were on the road as mentioned but thankfully it was daytime and I was able to see them a long way before I encountered them. That is a wonderful stretch of two laned highway and with the sun rising just in front of us, it was a nice experience driving in it.

There is a unmanned toll post and I would advise caution when negotiating the speed breaker in there. It is a very tall speed bump and I landed harshly when I went over it. Scraped the underbody. Thankfully no damage was inflicted.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ravib View Post
Regarding your return Journey to Madras, suggest to take Kumbakonam-T.Palur-Vridhachalam (need to go inside town)-Ulundurpet(need to go inside town to reach other side) and then join NH45 to go via Villupuram, Dindivanam-Madras.

Alternatively, if you don't want to go inside Vridhachalam/Ulundurpet towns, you can return Veppur and join NH45 but this will be longer by about 20+ kms. (This is same road that you travel between V.Koot road towards Vridhachalam by pass in your onward journey).
-Ravi
I think I followed the exact route you mentioned for Madras. Had to go through Vriddachalam town. The other route was shown as slow by an hour. Hence trusted Google and went with it. Quite a bit of run through towns and finally ending up on the GST. But roads were good compared to what Kumbakonam served me.

Last edited by SchumiFan : 2nd April 2018 at 14:33.
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Old 2nd April 2018, 14:55   #251
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

Quote:
Originally Posted by SchumiFan View Post
I think I followed the exact route you mentioned for Madras. Had to go through Vriddachalam town. The other route was shown as slow by an hour. Hence trusted Google and went with it. Quite a bit of run through towns and finally ending up on the GST. But roads were good compared to what Kumbakonam served me.
From Vridhachalam by pass you could have gone back to Veppur and joined the 4-lane. That saves you the hassle of getting into both the towns.

EDIT : When you said, you followed the exact route, I hope you did mean the Veppur route. If thats the case, please ignore my post.

Last edited by ampere : 2nd April 2018 at 15:16.
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Old 2nd April 2018, 15:45   #252
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ampere View Post
From Vridhachalam by pass you could have gone back to Veppur and joined the 4-lane. That saves you the hassle of getting into both the towns.

EDIT : When you said, you followed the exact route, I hope you did mean the Veppur route. If thats the case, please ignore my post.
I went through the towns is what I wanted to say. The other route was shown as delayed by an hour. Hence decided to follow what Google said was best for the moment. I saw the Veppur by-pass when coming from Bangalore and when I hit the road, I thought it was showing me the right way. But it asked me to take a right and go through the town as soon as I was on the road leading to Veppur.

The screenshot should give more information.
Attached Thumbnails
Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries-1522664030614.jpg  


Last edited by SchumiFan : 2nd April 2018 at 15:48.
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Old 2nd April 2018, 18:36   #253
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

Quote:
Originally Posted by SchumiFan View Post
I went through the towns is what I wanted to say. The other route was shown as delayed by an hour. Hence decided to follow what Google said was best for the moment. I saw the Veppur by-pass when coming from Bangalore and when I hit the road, I thought it was showing me the right way. But it asked me to take a right and go through the town as soon as I was on the road leading to Veppur.
.
Looks like you were routed through Vridachalam town and Managalampettai which is the shortest route but a bit tiresome due to traffic and road conditions. Route via Veppur is longer but not 1 hour longer.

Probably there was some accident or incident of some kind which made Google Maps report 1hr longer in the Veppur route.
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Old 2nd April 2018, 18:55   #254
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

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Originally Posted by Yieldway17 View Post
Looks like you were routed through Vridachalam town and Managalampettai which is the shortest route but a bit tiresome due to traffic and road conditions. Route via Veppur is longer but not 1 hour longer.

Probably there was some accident or incident of some kind which made Google Maps report 1hr longer in the Veppur route.
Could be. I just wasn't ready to take any more time than what was required since I was driving for a long time in the day already. As you said, the route at that point could have been delayed by an hour but it makes sense to use that route since the road is in awesome condition in that stretch.

Thankfully the traffic wasn't much at that point and being in town I limited my speed as much as possible to look out for people who jump in at the last moment.
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Old 23rd April 2018, 14:02   #255
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Re: Bangalore to Kumbakonam : Route Queries

All,

Did a Bangalore - Kumbakonam trip last weekend.

Started at 7 AM from Silk Board and Reached Kumbakonam bypass by 2 PM

A few observations:

1. The Bangalore - Salem - Attur - Veppur - Vriddachalam (bypass) stretch is is pristine condition

2. There is a half completed flyover on Salem bypass (topping has not been done) - better avoided

3. Vriddachalam bypass to T.Palur: Roads are in good condition but traffic is on the higher side

4. T.Palur to Kumbakonam bypass: A couple of broken sections just before the bridge over Coleroon at Madanathur. The up ramp of the bridge also appears to have been broken. However the road relaying work appeared to be on

5. Beyond the A2B at Thulukanur (after Attur bypass) there does not seem to be any good place to have food till Kumbakonam (save a couple of average restaurants in Jayamkondam town)

Edit:Every single toll plaza till Salem was allowing other vehicles in Fastag lanes due to the higher than normal rush. Catching sight of these fastag lanes and manoeuvring towards them is impossible when there's a line longer than 100-200 metres

Last edited by ns94 : 23rd April 2018 at 14:13.
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