Chennai - Kodaikanal : Route Queries

hvkumar · 8th April 2010, 09:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

I think his route "I" says to go through Dindigul via Trichy. Thats why I thought depending on the status of NH45 versus NH7, he can choose.

But ampere, he is coming from Chennai, he has to take NH45 till Dindigul where he intersects NH7, and continues on NH45 till Theni. He has no other choice.

ampere · 8th April 2010, 10:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

But ampere, he is coming from Chennai, he has to take NH45 till Dindigul where he intersects NH7, and continues on NH45 till Theni. He has no other choice.

Logically even I was confused. My initial google map analysis showed that NH4/NH46/NH7 was almost same distance as NH45. Thats why the confusion.

There some loading issue in my browser. That I got corrected and now it shows about a difference of 80Km. Previously it was showing only a 30Km difference. Thats when I thought why not take the better NH4/NH46/NH7 route all the way till Dindigul instead of NH45 if 4L was not complete.

!

joshguy · 3rd August 2010, 08:12

Hi All,

I am planning to do a weekend trip (this week) to Yearcaud or kodai.

Please suggest me a route that is comfortable.Also let me know the distance and route

Thanks

ampere · 3rd August 2010, 09:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshguy

Hi All,

I am planning to do a weekend trip (this week) to Yearcaud or kodai.

Please suggest me a route that is comfortable.Also let me know the distance and route

Thanks

If its Yercaud: NH4/NH46/NH7 (Vellore-Krishnagiri/Salem)
If its Kodai: NH45 (Trichy/Dindigul/Kodai)

joshguy · 4th August 2010, 08:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

If its Yercaud: NH4/NH46/NH7 (Vellore-Krishnagiri/Salem)
If its Kodai: NH45 (Trichy/Dindigul/Kodai)

Thanks Buddy,any idea how long it will take to reach kodai/yearcaud from chennai

ampere · 4th August 2010, 09:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshguy

Thanks Buddy,any idea how long it will take to reach kodai/yearcaud from chennai

Chennai-Yercaud is 400Km 4L pretty much all the way except Salem-Yercaud, which is ghats for about 40 minutes.
Total distance you should be able to do in 6-7 hours with breaks.

Kodai about 500. Depending on your leaving early Chennai-Trichy should fast. Not sure of Trichy-bypass status to Dindigul.
Give it about 10-12 hours with breaks with easy driving.

aargee · 4th August 2010, 09:18

@Ampere - Volvo does Chennai-Trichy in about 5-6 hours, not sure on Dindigul; but Chennai-Madurai can be done in 8 hours or less under sane driving conditions. I mean to say, roads are excellent. This is from my experience on Chennai-Trichy-Madurai-Tirunelveli-Nagercoil-Trivandrum route.

You're spot on Chennai-Yercaud distance.

pypkmsrikanth · 4th August 2010, 09:28

Chennai - Trichy can be done in about four and a half hours if you plan your departure well, I have done that comfortably both ways. Trichy - Dindigul road work is still happening but it should not take you more than 2 hours in the worst case scenario from there Vathalagundu is about 30 / 35 minutes. Post Vathalagundu the ghat section could take you about 2 hours depending on the time you spend at the various scenic points / views. So in about 10 hours you should be able to reach Kodai comfortably.

With regard to Yercaud - Salem should take you about five and a half hours from Chennai add another hour for Yercaud from there.

aargee · 4th August 2010, 09:35

Quote:

another hour for Yercaud from there

Err...Srikanth, I'm confident on your experience, but our latest trip during July took more than half hour from Salem, say about an hour or so. Took about 30-45 minutes only to ascend/descend the hills & that too on motorcycle when we were overtaking all possible vehicles.

pypkmsrikanth · 4th August 2010, 09:50

Am sure we are giving an estimate for the plan to be made, I don't think anyone would put a gun on you and say that it took me one hour and 10 minutes while you said one hour. Especially with scenic Ghat roads the time taken would always depend on individual situations as one does not know how many times we would stop to take pictures etc.

narayan · 14th October 2010, 10:38

I did the Chennai - Kodai stretch last week and hence updating this thread.

started Chennai ( Thiruvanmiyur ) by 5 am sharp and reached Kodai International Hotel at 230pm. This was with an overall stop time of 1-115hrs and very very sane driving ( what more can you do with a i10 fully loaded with luggage and a family that feels over 80kmph is extremely fast driving

)

stopped at a very very good drive in Hotel just before Tindivanam ( stupid enough not to note down the name ) but its on the left side when you are coming from Chennai. Extremely well maintained with a nice indoor and outdoor play area for kids..and lots of trees and greenery.

Food was good ( we just had idlis and vada but that was well made )
Trichy I suppose does not have a bypass so you end up going through a small part of the town.

Trichy - Dindigul stretch is still under construction so at many points 2 way traffic is on the same side. watch out for diversions and ALSO MANY TRUCKS involved in the construction work and these guys have NO SENSE OF highway driving. so be very careful. Had a near miss and came out of it pleasantly surprised with the i10's composure under braking ( this model has no ABS )

Lakshman1645 · 20th October 2010, 10:08

Narayan, I'm going to Kodaikanal tomorrow on the same route you mentioned. Though the Trichy - Dindigul stretch is still under construction, what's the road surface like? Bad or manageable? Also, please tell me how the state highway is between Dindigul and Kodai. Thanks

himavanth_m · 20th October 2010, 12:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakshman1645

Narayan, I'm going to Kodaikanal tomorrow on the same route you mentioned. Though the Trichy - Dindigul stretch is still under construction, what's the road surface like? Bad or manageable? Also, please tell me how the state highway is between Dindigul and Kodai. Thanks

Road surface is very good almost through out. But there are many diversions and only near the diversions, the road surface is really bad. Though the road surface is good, only two lanes (out of 4 lanes) on one side are operational in most parts. So there will be oncoming traffic in the same lane that you need to be aware of.

The highway between Dindigul and Kodai is good. In the Ghat section however, has pot holes scattered in some places.

luvurride · 24th October 2010, 23:52

This may not help Lakshman as he'll be on his trip by now. But maybe for the sake of future travelers- The Trichy by-pass is complete and had no problem going through it all the way as I had been there last weekend.

RoadTripper · 6th December 2010, 15:42

I understand that the road till Trichy is good (from Madras), but how're the roads from Trichy until Batlagundu, via Dindigul? What are the alternative routes from Trichy to Batlagundu? I drove down about 3 years back to Kodai via Dindigul and the roads were bad right through. I took the Palani-Salem-Thirupattur-Vaniyambadi-Vellore route on the way back and this was much better. Also, how're the ghat roads now?

I'm planning on driving it down next week subject to the weather conditions that look bad now.

3rd August 2010, 08:12	#63
joshguy BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,379 Thanked: 109 Times	Hi All, I am planning to do a weekend trip (this week) to Yearcaud or kodai. Please suggest me a route that is comfortable.Also let me know the distance and route Thanks
	() Thanks

4th August 2010, 09:18	#67
aargee Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TSTN Posts: 6,236 Thanked: 9,643 Times	@Ampere - Volvo does Chennai-Trichy in about 5-6 hours, not sure on Dindigul; but Chennai-Madurai can be done in 8 hours or less under sane driving conditions. I mean to say, roads are excellent. This is from my experience on Chennai-Trichy-Madurai-Tirunelveli-Nagercoil-Trivandrum route. You're spot on Chennai-Yercaud distance.
	() Thanks

4th August 2010, 09:28	#68
pypkmsrikanth Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,124 Thanked: 283 Times View My Garage	Chennai - Trichy can be done in about four and a half hours if you plan your departure well, I have done that comfortably both ways. Trichy - Dindigul road work is still happening but it should not take you more than 2 hours in the worst case scenario from there Vathalagundu is about 30 / 35 minutes. Post Vathalagundu the ghat section could take you about 2 hours depending on the time you spend at the various scenic points / views. So in about 10 hours you should be able to reach Kodai comfortably. With regard to Yercaud - Salem should take you about five and a half hours from Chennai add another hour for Yercaud from there.
	() Thanks

4th August 2010, 09:50	#70
pypkmsrikanth Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,124 Thanked: 283 Times View My Garage	Am sure we are giving an estimate for the plan to be made, I don't think anyone would put a gun on you and say that it took me one hour and 10 minutes while you said one hour. Especially with scenic Ghat roads the time taken would always depend on individual situations as one does not know how many times we would stop to take pictures etc.
	() Thanks

14th October 2010, 10:38	#71
narayan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 3,114 Thanked: 2,372 Times View My Garage	I did the Chennai - Kodai stretch last week and hence updating this thread. started Chennai ( Thiruvanmiyur ) by 5 am sharp and reached Kodai International Hotel at 230pm. This was with an overall stop time of 1-115hrs and very very sane driving ( what more can you do with a i10 fully loaded with luggage and a family that feels over 80kmph is extremely fast driving ) stopped at a very very good drive in Hotel just before Tindivanam ( stupid enough not to note down the name ) but its on the left side when you are coming from Chennai. Extremely well maintained with a nice indoor and outdoor play area for kids..and lots of trees and greenery. Food was good ( we just had idlis and vada but that was well made ) Trichy I suppose does not have a bypass so you end up going through a small part of the town. Trichy - Dindigul stretch is still under construction so at many points 2 way traffic is on the same side. watch out for diversions and ALSO MANY TRUCKS involved in the construction work and these guys have NO SENSE OF highway driving. so be very careful. Had a near miss and came out of it pleasantly surprised with the i10's composure under braking ( this model has no ABS ) Last edited by narayan : 14th October 2010 at 10:39.
	() Thanks

20th October 2010, 10:08	#72
Lakshman1645 BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chennai Posts: 51 Thanked: 126 Times	Narayan, I'm going to Kodaikanal tomorrow on the same route you mentioned. Though the Trichy - Dindigul stretch is still under construction, what's the road surface like? Bad or manageable? Also, please tell me how the state highway is between Dindigul and Kodai. Thanks
	() Thanks

24th October 2010, 23:52	#74
luvurride BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 661 Thanked: 577 Times View My Garage	This may not help Lakshman as he'll be on his trip by now. But maybe for the sake of future travelers- The Trichy by-pass is complete and had no problem going through it all the way as I had been there last weekend.
	() Thanks

6th December 2010, 15:42	#75
RoadTripper BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 47 Thanked: 7 Times	I understand that the road till Trichy is good (from Madras), but how're the roads from Trichy until Batlagundu, via Dindigul? What are the alternative routes from Trichy to Batlagundu? I drove down about 3 years back to Kodai via Dindigul and the roads were bad right through. I took the Palani-Salem-Thirupattur-Vaniyambadi-Vellore route on the way back and this was much better. Also, how're the ghat roads now? I'm planning on driving it down next week subject to the weather conditions that look bad now.
	() Thanks