[suresh_gs]

Folks
I will be visiting Garbharakshambikai temple and other shrines in the vicinity of Kumbakonam during the last week of december. I have planned the following route by car



I need the following inputs

1. From Jayankondam, which is the best route i should follow, Via T Palur or Via Anaikarai bridge.
2. Recommendations on which hotel to stay in Kumbakonam. I am not looking at an expensive one . At the same time it should be a decent place to stay.

I will be accompanied by my wife, 2 sons (7 yrs and 10 months)

[ravib]

Folks,

Any recent updates on road conditions for below routes to Kumbakonam from Bangalore?

Route - 1 : Bangalore-Salem-Attur-Perambalur-Ariyalur-Reddipalayam-T.Palur-Kumbakonam

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...ra=ls&t=m&z=10

In this route, interested to know the road condition between Attur-Perambalur-Ariyalur-Reddipalayam-T.Palur section.

-------------------------------------------------

Route - 2 : Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Kariamangalam-Harur-Kallakurichi-Ulundurpet-Vridhachalam-Kumbakonam

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...&t=m&z=8&via=1

In this route, I am more interested to know the conditions between Kariamangalam-Harur-Kallakurichi-Ulundurpet section.


Thanks
-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ravib

In this route, I am more interested to know the conditions between Kariamangalam-Harur-Kallakurichi-Ulundurpet section

Harur Kallakurichi is via Theerthamalai Sankaran Koil. As per what I read last this section is to be avoided. But if it's a small section might be worth a try. But don't know if you really gain anything by not taking the Salem route.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ampere

Harur Kallakurichi is via Theerthamalai Sankaran Koil. As per what I read last this section is to be avoided. But if it's a small section might be worth a try. But don't know if you really gain anything by not taking the Salem route.

Amp, It is not Sankaran koil but Sankarapuram. From Thanipadi one can go via sankarapuram to kallakurichi. My office colleague's wife's home town is Kallakurichi. He said that the road leading to Sankarapuram was bad. Infact when i went on this stretch twice before, the locals cautioned me not to take this route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Amp, It is not Sankaran koil but Sankarapuram. From Thanipadi one can go via sankarapuram to kallakurichi. My office colleague's wife's home town is Kallakurichi. He said that the road leading to Sankarapuram was bad. Infact when i went on this stretch twice before, the locals cautioned me not to take this route.

Sorry I did mean Sankarapuram. Thanks to my posting from mobile, I inadvertently typed Sankaran Kovil instead of Sankarapuram.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

Sorry I did mean Sankarapuram. Thanks to my posting from mobile, I inadvertently typed Sankaran Kovil instead of Sankarapuram.

Looks like i have to avoid Harur-Sankarapuram-Kallakurichi route based on above inputs.

May be i will give a try in Route 1 via Attur-Perambalur-Ariyalur-T.Palur if things go well.

-Ravi

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ravib

Looks like i have to avoid Harur-Sankarapuram-Kallakurichi route based on above inputs.

May be i will give a try in Route 1 via Attur-Perambalur-Ariyalur-T.Palur if things go well.

-Ravi

Ravi, Not sure if anyone has tried the Attur-Perambalur-Ariyalur-T.Palur route. I would suggest not to try everything in one shot.

If you are particular about not paying any toll, then you can try this route

Via Attibele, Hosur by pass, Rayakottai, Vellichandai, Karimangalam, Kambainallur, Morappur, Harur, Thanipadi, T V Malai GH, Thirukkoilur by pass, Elavasanur, Ulundurpet, Vridhhachalam , Jayamkondan and Anailkarai.

Post Harur till T V Malai GH via Thanipadi, the drive becomes bumpy if you exceed 60 kmph due to combination of bad roads (but drivable) and improper patchwork.
Recently my office colleague went to T V Malai by the above route. He took 2 hrs from Harur to T V Malai.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ravib

Looks like i have to avoid Harur-Sankarapuram-Kallakurichi route based on above inputs.

May be i will give a try in Route 1 via Attur-Perambalur-Ariyalur-T.Palur if things go well.

-Ravi

Ravi, Good news

Some one has tried the Ariyalur-Perambalur-Thalaivasal route in Aug 2014. He has mentioned roads from Ariyalur to Thalaivasal are good without potholes. But they are quite bumpy (uneven) and hence one cannot do good speeds.
Here is the link

http://pabdulmajeed.blogspot.in/2014...vur-route.html

[ravib]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Ravi, Good news

Some one has tried the Ariyalur-Perambalur-Thalaivasal route in Aug 2014. He has mentioned roads from Ariyalur to Thalaivasal are good without potholes. But they are quite bumpy (uneven) and hence one cannot do good speeds.
Here is the link

http://pabdulmajeed.blogspot.in/2014...vur-route.html

Wow. Thank you so much for finding and sharing this Suresh. Very kind of you.

Wondering where and how did you find this post

I will then try this route next week and update this thread.

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ravib

Wow. Thank you so much for finding and sharing this Suresh. Very kind of you.

Wondering where and how did you find this post
I will then try this route next week and update this thread.
-Ravi

Ravi, Few notes:

- Dont get into Attur town straight. I was looking at Google.
- I think it makes sense to go past the town and come back. This way you escape a lot of town traffic.
- Here is what I meant : Route Link

For the rest:
- I expect the SH till Perambalur to be very good (just a hunch!)
- I hope Reddipalayam to T Palur is via Jayamkondam. The alternate route looks very bad.
- Also I am not very hopeful about Perumbalur-Jayamkondam road to be very good.
- Do carry food with you. A flask of hot water, cup and tea bags help a lot!

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

Ravi, Few notes:

- Dont get into Attur town straight. I was looking at Google.
- I think it makes sense to go past the town and come back. This way you escape a lot of town traffic.
- Here is what I meant : Route Link

For the rest:
- I expect the SH till Perambalur to be very good (just a hunch!)
- I hope Reddipalayam to T Palur is via Jayamkondam. The alternate route looks very bad.
- Also I am not very hopeful about Perumbalur-Jayamkondam road to be very good.
- Do carry food with you. A flask of hot water, cup and tea bags help a lot!

Thanks ampere.Yea, it makes sense to bypass attur town. I will keep in mind.
I too think upto Perambalur roads should be good, and going by past experience, roads in Ariyalur district are not usually good. Fingers crossed. Lets see.

I don't plan to go upto Jayankondam instead, planning to take the small road as in maps. Because sometimes, these roads are better than the major roads

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ravib

I don't plan to go upto Jayankondam instead, planning to take the small road as in maps. Because sometimes, these roads are better than the major roads

Please do make sure that before you leave the 4-lane at Attur, you are well stocked with water and food. It might be a good idea to carry. Dont expect much on these two-lanes especially once you cross NH45 (GST).

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ravib

Thanks ampere.Yea, it makes sense to bypass attur town. I will keep in mind.
I too think upto Perambalur roads should be good, and going by past experience, roads in Ariyalur district are not usually good. Fingers crossed. Lets see.

I don't plan to go upto Jayankondam instead, planning to take the small road as in maps. Because sometimes, these roads are better than the major roads

-Ravi

Happy and safe journey Ravi. Remember as Ampere pointed out, take sufficient food with you as after Attur, I don think you will find proper places to eat. Infact on NH79 apart from Ramas Veg, i was not able to find any other place to break for food.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Happy and safe journey Ravi. Remember as Ampere pointed out, take sufficient food with you as after Attur, I don think you will find proper places to eat. Infact on NH79 apart from Ramas Veg, i was not able to find any other place to break for food.

Thanks suresh. Oh yea, only decent place between Salem to Ulundurpet to break is Ramas veg.

-Ravi

[ravib]

Folks,

I returned to Bangalore last night. Here is the update on my trip from Bangalore to Kumbakonam on 7-Feb-2015. Left C.V.Raman Nagar home at 6.30 am (i know its late but got delayed due to hectic work in previous days) and reached Kumbakonam at 2 pm which includes a cumulative break time of 1.5 hours. That makes a total driving time of 6 hours.

As mentioned earlier, i took below route

Route - 1 : Bangalore-Salem-Attur-Perambalur-Ariyalur-V.Kaikatti-T.Palur-Kumbakonam

Overall, in the above route, i would say the road condition is 80% very good, 10% excellent and 10% average. When i say average, it doesn't mean the road has potholes. The road surface is rough and patchy/slightly bumpy but manageable to drive in good speeds (read 4th and 5th gears)

Specific details on different sections in the above route:

Nothing special to talk about Bangalore-Salem-Attur.
Attur-Perambalur => The roads are very good and few places excellent.Scenic drive too.
Perambalur-Ariyalur =>The road conditions are very good and few places average.
Ariyalur-T.Palur => The road conditions are good and average.
Road construction is going on in initial few kilometers short stretches which should be completed in another 2 to 3 weeks or so.
T.Palur-Kumbakonam => Very good

So, in short i would say this route is really a good alternative with almost same kms in distance compared to Attur-V.Koot Road-Vridhachalam-Jayankondam-T.Palur route.

Though you won't save much in terms of time, but all you get is decent roads throughout. For me the driving time is almost same in both the routes. The downside is that there are more turns in this route which is not the case via Vridhachalam-Jayankonam route that is pretty straightforward.

If they relay new roads in the V.Koot Road-Vridhachalam section, obviously that will become first choice, but since that is not the case now as it has horrible roads , the next best alternative with same distance is this route via Perambalur and Ariyalur. If you don't mind driving about another 35 to 40 kms longer, going via Attur-Ulundurpet-Vridhachalam-Jayankondam is another choice.

Few more tips:

1) I took the below route and had to go inside Attur town (for tea break) and drove via all the villages till you reach the junction point "Veeraganur" which is waste of time and the roads between Attur town till Veeraganur are extremely narrow.

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...2,3,4&t=m&z=12

Strongly recommend to avoid this as it will waste your time. Instead, drive upto Thalaivasal in NH68 and take the right turn towards perambalur to reach Veeraganur junction as shown in below link. This will help to skip Attur town completely. I hope the small section between Thalaivasal to Veeraganur should be hopefully good, because the remaining stretch between Veeraganur to Perambalur was very good.


2) Though the roads are good, I don't see a point/benefit in taking Perambalur by-pass to join the Ariyalur road after crossing NH45 Madras-Trichy highway. Instead, i think it may be easier to go inside Perambalur town and just directly drive straight towards Ariyalur.

So here is the recommended route

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...a=1,3&t=m&z=12

-Ravi