[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by ddis_dude

Thanks a ton Srikanth - you have hit a sixer just like your namesake used to do on the cricket field :-)

This is exactly what google maps also suggests and this is what I plan on doing. Thanks once again for confirming the nice 2 lane road facts.

I would second Srikanth's suggestion of going to M'gudi first and then ooty for the following reasons:

1.It would prevent the boredom of driving through the same roads up & down.

2.Distance-wise there really is no notable difference.

The route would be:

Chennai-Hosur-Electronics City-NICE Road-Kengeri-Mysore-Bandipur-Masinagudi-Kalhatty(36 Hairpin curves)-Ooty

Ooty-Coonoor-Mettupalayam-(Annur or Sathy,depending on if you want to hit NH47 @ Avinashi or @ Chithode)Salem-Krishnagiri-Chennai.

This way you do not traverse the same route twice and plus you would get to see a diverse topography and would make the drive more interesting.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

The route would be:
Chennai-Hosur-Electronics City-NICE Road-Kengeri-Mysore-Bandipur-Masinagudi-Kalhatty(36 Hairpin curves)-Ooty

Ooty-Coonoor-Mettupalayam-(Annur or Sathy,depending on if you want to hit NH47 @ Avinashi or @ Chithode)Salem-Krishnagiri-Chennai.

This way you do not traverse the same route twice and plus you would get to see a diverse topography and would make the drive more interesting.

Good route.

You should take about 5-6 hours (Chennai to BLR) and and other 5-6 hours from Blr - Ooty.
Plus an hour to easily cross from NH4 - NICE - SH17 (Mysore road).

Plan out well so that you don't end up driving up the last mile in the dark.
If you start really early, then it would be helpful.

[ddis_dude]

Thanks all of you for the inputs. Was really helpful. My trip is done and dusted - was a great trip! Following are some thoughts:

All details as of 10-Apr-2010 to 18-Apr-12010.

0. Stopped by the company operated BP petrol pump at Anna Nagar and got myself 1000 bucks of diesel for the trip - a little over 26 liters for the money. Next stop was Odyssey in Anna Nagar. Got an all-India map on a deal - Eicher maps costing abt 370 was on sale for 290 or so. The map is fairly good and fairly accurate.

1. Left Chennai on 10-Apr-2010 around 5:40AM. Took NH4 and then NH46 all the way to Vellore for breakfast at Saravana Bhavan. All of us (incl the 3yr old) had a heavy breakfast as we were not too sure of the lunch quality. This really helped. Was at Vellore by about 7:35AM. Waking the kid up, brushing teeth etc are all heavy time consumers and it was almost 8:30AM by the time we departed from there.

2. The next drive is the most enjoyable. NH46 all the way to the Krishnagiri junction is pure pleasure. Wonderful drive, but just be prepared to cough up almost 200 bucks on toll's (still totally worth it IMHO).

3. Since the suggestion to visit Masinagudi first came far too late for me to change my program - I had already made reservations at Hotel Lakeview in Ooty - decided to stick with the original plan of going to Ooty first.

4. Next stop was at Salem for some stretching and some coke. I did not expect that we would actually be getting (almost) inside Salem - thought there may be a bypass or so, but that was not the case and getting across Salem takes a good 15-20 mins. Do watch out for the 7 speed breakers though - they are a lot of fun ;-)

5. Latched onto NH47 from there on as it was too early for lunch and no one was hungry as well on account of the heavy breakfast in Vellore.

6. Took NH47 all the way past Bhavani to Chitode where I wanted to take SH-15. NH47 is fairly narrow but the speed are very good and the road quality is excellent. On NH-47, I could clearly see the sign for NH-15 for a right-turn - but no turn! Bummer!

7. We went probably 0.5 to 1KM on and since there was still no sign of a right turn anywhere, stopped by to ask some locals. Looked like we had driven right past it! So he said, just go back and take a left. So, off we returned and we were again right back where we started - at the board, but no turn!

8. In the end it looks like the connection is not properly made and we actually need to get off the road and travel on some "gravelly" road (just a few meters though) to get onto SH15 and no problems after that.

9. SH-15 is a pretty good road - single lane, but in pretty good condition. Speeds drop drastically though - so no more 120's etc.

10. I was surprised to see speed limit markings of 60 and 45 kmph at several points along the way on NH7 and NH47. No one really travels at anything below 3 digits at those points - I'm not saying what I was doing ;-)

11. SH-15 eventually joins NH-67 that leads right to Ooty. Stop mid-way at Gobi for lunch. There was only 1 AC restaurant there and they had a very simple menu (like the one you see in the movie "My Cousin Vinny") - "Lunch". Food quality was pretty decent though. In particular - ghee and yogurt in those areas is worth the stop I must say.

12. Rest of the drive all the way to Ooty (with a few sight-seeing/stretching) stops was generally uneventful. Speed are very low on NH67 and the climb up is quite tiresome not only for the vehicle, but the driver as well. I must say - swifty handled everything I (and other travelers there) threw her way with aplomb.

13. Reached the hotel around 5:00PM freshened up a bit, hogged a little and went into the city to get some fruits, cold-clothing (mild ones) for the kid and wifey etc. Back in time for IPL :-)

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ddis_dude

6. Took NH47 all the way past Bhavani to Chitode where I wanted to take SH-15. NH47 is fairly narrow but the speed are very good and the road quality is excellent. On NH-47, I could clearly see the sign for NH-15 for a right-turn - but no turn! Bummer!

7. We went probably 0.5 to 1KM on and since there was still no sign of a right turn anywhere, stopped by to ask some locals. Looked like we had driven right past it! So he said, just go back and take a left. So, off we returned and we were again right back where we started - at the board, but no turn!

11. SH-15 eventually joins NH-67 that leads right to Ooty. Stop mid-way at Gobi for lunch. There was only 1 AC restaurant there and they had a very simple menu (like the one you see in the movie "My Cousin Vinny") - "Lunch". Food quality was pretty decent though. In particular - ghee and yogurt in those areas is worth the stop I must say.

There is an easier route instead of Gobi. Drive all the way till Avinashi. At Avinashi take the SH80 and drive to Annur and there onwards to Mettupalayam. You dont need to go to Satyamangalam.

Till Avinashi, you would get 4L.

[robimahanta]

Just wanted to know the shortest route from Salem to Chennai?

I know the Salem-Dharmapuri-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Chennai route but thats around 370KMs.
How about the Salem-Attur-kallakurichi(NH68)-NH45-tinivandam route or the one along NH66 via tiruvanmalai? Does anybody know about the road conditions?

Please note that I need to go to somewhere near Tidel Park, chennai.

[aargee]

About 2 months ago, I was warned against taking any route other than Chennai-Krishnagiri-Salem route. Looks like even the Vaniyambadi route that bye-passes Krishnagiri state highway is also not in great shape.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Just wanted to know the shortest route from Salem to Chennai?

I know the Salem-Dharmapuri-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Chennai route but thats around 370KMs.
How about the Salem-Attur-kallakurichi(NH68)-NH45-tinivandam route or the one along NH66 via tiruvanmalai? Does anybody know about the road conditions?

Please note that I need to go to somewhere near Tidel Park, chennai.

The NH68 was being widened and not in good shape, but no current updates. Given the fantastic NH7/NH46/NH4 via Krishnagiri, I think that would be the fastest way to go.

[ampere]

@Robin,

You get 4L all the way. So why bother? Just take the GQ as what HVK says.

[robimahanta]

Thanks guys for all the inputs. I guess I'll stick to the tried and tested Krishnagiri-Vellore route. The only problem is the horrible traffic from the outskirts of chennai till thiruvanmiyur.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Thanks guys for all the inputs. I guess I'll stick to the tried and tested Krishnagiri-Vellore route. The only problem is the horrible traffic from the outskirts of chennai till thiruvanmiyur.

If you can get to Ponamallee junction before the traffic hits, you should be OK.

[navan49]

I traveled through Ulundurpet route twice and once through Krishnagiri-Dharmapuri Route. The lateral one is really fantastic drive within 70-80Kms speed which consumed 13 liters of diesel for 369kms. from the Full tank from Medavakkam to the full tank n4ear the HP petrol pump near 5 road.

[pacman2881]

Can anyone tell me what is the current status of Krishnagiri route to Salem as I hear that 6 lane conversion has started. If the roads aren't great via Krishnagiri I am planning to take Ulundurpet route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pacman2881

Can anyone tell me what is the current status of Krishnagiri route to Salem as I hear that 6 lane conversion has started. If the roads aren't great via Krishnagiri I am planning to take Ulundurpet route.

Its not that bad. Quite many deviations in Vellore. But still its not stressful. The painful stretch is Krishnagiri-Hosur-Bangalore.
So to summarise, you need to decide based on how close you are to NH4 or GST and which is the road that access faster without getting lost in Chennai traffic.

[pacman2881]

Originally Posted by ampere

Its not that bad. Quite many deviations in Vellore. But still its not stressful. The painful stretch is Krishnagiri-Hosur-Bangalore.
So to summarise, you need to decide based on how close you are to NH4 or GST and which is the road that access faster without getting lost in Chennai traffic.

Thanks for the quick reply . I am near Tambaram and so GST is nearer. I wanted to avoid the two lane stretch from ulundurpet (based on my experience many years back) and hence considered Krishnagiri route. I hope ulundurpet route is fine now?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pacman2881

Thanks for the quick reply . I am near Tambaram and so GST is nearer. I wanted to avoid the two lane stretch from ulundurpet (based on my experience many years back) and hence considered Krishnagiri route. I hope ulundurpet route is fine now?

Oh... its way better than that! By all means you should get on to GST and go via Ulundurpet. Only when you near Salem, there are some diversions as the 4-lane is not complete yet.
But otherwise its smooth.

PS : By the way, your handle tells your were a gamer ages back? That was the last I played!