Chennai to Salem

koolaruny · 4th August 2008, 20:00

Need some advice on the best possible route from Chennai to Salem from you guys.

I heard from Ajo that the Chennai to Dharmapuri and then to salem is quicker but a bit longer.

If I take the GST route via NH 45, it can get a bit cumbersome after Tindivanam (after the toll road ends) but it is shorter. I just did a quick check and came to understand that route 2 via tindivanam is around 326 kms whilst route 1 is around 372 kms.

Can anyone throw some light on the conditions of the road, route and previous experiences as well please?

P.S: Planning to do it on 15th morning and return by Sunday night with my Wagon R

hvkumar · 4th August 2008, 20:22

You can also do Chennai-Salem via Tindivanam, Tiruvannamalai, Uttangarai, Tirupattur. Good roads all the way, and one of the shortest. One of our members has done itt recently.

hvkumar · 4th August 2008, 20:25

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/911160-post14.html

Check the above thread for the route from Chennai-Salem via Tiruvannamalai.

koolaruny · 4th August 2008, 20:38

Thanks kumar. Would you also have any idea about the distance? Are you suggesti take the route via Sengi fort to Thiruvannamalai and also, from there, towards tirupattur, how long does it take?

Can you give me a distance break-up by route if possible please?

hvkumar · 4th August 2008, 22:36

Chennai-Tindivanam 120 kms-Tiruvannamalai 70-Uttangarai 70-Harur 30-Salem 60, totalling to approximately 350 kms. This route would be first on NH45 from Chennai-Tindivanam, then on NH66 via Gingee (Sengi Fort) to Uttangarai.

If you go via Tirupatttur, that means taking NH4/ NH46 via Sriperembudur, Kanchipuram, Vellore to Vaniyambadi, then going via Tirupattur to Uttangarai, and going on to Salem via Harur. Distance is almost the same.

pypkmsrikanth · 5th August 2008, 09:50

I would suggest going via Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri as a better option, as the road conditions upto Thoppur from Krishnagiri has improved a lot. If my memory serves correct the total distance via Krishnagiri should be around 355 kms. I am fairly sure this would be the quickest as well.

The road from Tirupathur and Tiruvannamalai join at Uttangarai which in turns joins the Ulundurpet - Salem road at Ayodhyapatnam.

I had done upto Tiruvannamalai last weekend the roads are great until Tiruvannamalai, csenthil had done Bangalore - Panruti a couple of weeks back where he has confirmed the roads are good from Uttangarai to Tiruvannamalai, the post mentioned by HVKumar confirms the roads are good from Uttangarai - Salem.

akroy · 5th August 2008, 12:18

I think NH46 till Vaniyambadi, take left for Yelagiri (directions for Salem / yelagiri clearly mentioned) - Tirupattur - Salem should be the fastest.

Roads are good throughout.

Abhi

csentil · 5th August 2008, 16:14

Depends also on which side of town you are and what time you are leaving. If you are leaving early morning any of these routes should be ok.

I would personally suggest Guindy - Porur - Poonamallee Bypass - Kancipuram bridge - Vellore bypass - Ambur - Vaniyambadi - Tirupattur - Salem.

You can do Guindy - Vaniyambadi in 2.30 - 3 hrs if you leave early. Thats 200 kms in 3 hrs or lesser. You could do the rest in another 3 hrs max.

koolaruny · 8th August 2008, 19:43

Thanks all for the suggestion. Will update you all after the trip with the road conditions, if they have changed and my travelogue.

jraj · 13th August 2008, 10:02

Does anyone have the latest updates on this route.
Last month I used the Coimbatore-Salem-Tirupattur-Vaniyambaadi-Chennai route.
Howz the road condition if I opt to use the Krishnagiri route?
Leaving from Chennai on Friday morning around 5-6am.
-Jey

pypkmsrikanth · 13th August 2008, 14:32

You can try any of these
1. Chennai - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Thoppur - Mettur - Ammapettai (right for Anthiyur) - Gobi - Nambiyur - Avinashi - Coimbatore
2. Or alternativley go upto Sathyamangalam from Andhiyur via Athani then onto Coimbatore via Annur. I did upto Sathyamangalam three weeks back and the road is good all the way. Chennai to Sathyamangalam was around 440 kms. I reached Sathyamangalam in about 8 1/2 hours including a leisurely 45 minute food break apart from driving in a sedate manner.

If you dont want to try alternate routes you can always opt for going to Bhavani from Mettur then onto Perundurai via the regular NH 47.

Cheers.

Srikanth

jraj · 17th August 2008, 18:45

Did Chennai to Coimbatore on 15th morning.
Took Chennai - Vaaniyambaai - Tirupattur - Harur - Salem - Chithode - Gopi - Sathy-Coimbatore route.
Started at 5:30 from Chennai and reached Vaaniyambaadi at 8:15.The roads upto Tirupattur have gone bad a bit.Too much traffic too.But once I crossed Tirupattur town,the roads were very good again.Reached Salem at 10:45.The roads from Salem to Chithode on NH47 were a terrible nightmare.With roadwork going all the way,this stretch was easily the most tiring of the trip.Once we took the right turn to Gopi,the travel was a breeze again.

Leaving to Chennai tomorrow early morning and want to avoid Salem stretch at any cost.
As of now I am planning to do Coimbatore - Sathy - Gopi - Chithode - Bhavani - Mettur - Mechery - Thoppur - Dharmapuri - Krishnagiri-Chennai.Any updates from anyone on the stretch between Bhavani - Mettur and Mettur - Krishnagiri?

Planning to leave t'mow morning around 5.

csentil · 18th August 2008, 00:23

Bhavani - Mettur road should be ok. Roads nearing Mettur were a little bit bad with potholes. Mettur - Krishnagiri shouldn't be a problem. Expect roadwork between Thoppur - Krishnagiri.

You can alternatively try Gopi - Athani - Andiyur - Ammapettai - Mettur. This is a shorter route and goes through some fantastic countryside. The road conditions should be decent/good and would help you avoid driving through Bhavani town.

Bad option of doing Salem - Chithode as roads are being 4 laned.

Mission_Safari · 18th August 2008, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by jraj

Did Chennai to Coimbatore on 15th morning.
Took Chennai - Vaaniyambaai - Tirupattur - Harur - Salem - Chithode - Gopi - Sathy-Coimbatore route.
Started at 5:30 from Chennai and reached Vaaniyambaadi at 8:15.The roads upto Tirupattur have gone bad a bit.Too much traffic too.But once I crossed Tirupattur town,the roads were very good again.Reached Salem at 10:45.The roads from Salem to Chithode on NH47 were a terrible nightmare.With roadwork going all the way,this stretch was easily the most tiring of the trip.Once we took the right turn to Gopi,the travel was a breeze again.

I did the same stretch on Friday leaving at 5:00AM from here but we went through mettur-bhavani-avinashi route.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jraj

Leaving to Chennai tomorrow early morning and want to avoid Salem stretch at any cost.
As of now I am planning to do Coimbatore - Sathy - Gopi - Chithode - Bhavani - Mettur - Mechery - Thoppur - Dharmapuri - Krishnagiri-Chennai.Any updates from anyone on the stretch between Bhavani - Mettur and Mettur - Krishnagiri?

Planning to leave t'mow morning around 5.

I am just back from a Chennai - Thrissur trip. Bhavani- mettur stretch is perfectly alright and will be a driver's delight. Mettur - Krishnagiri is decent to drive during the day. But watch out for the road work going on between thoppur and Krishanagiri. You will see new road patches with a difference of even 3 inches from the old roads in this strectch so look out of this too.

jraj · 18th August 2008, 20:18

Did Coimbatore chennai today morning.
Took Coimbatore-Sathy-Gopi-Chithode-Bhavani-Mettur-Mecheri-Dharmapuri-Palakodu-Kaveripattnam-Krishnagiri-Chennai.
Started at 5:30AM and reached Velachery at 1:40PM.
Bhavani-Mettur stretch was very good.It was really nice driving along a very picturesque country side in the morning.
While nearing Dharmapuri,I took the bypass to avoid entering Dharmapuri town.However this detour took me to Palakodu and from there I took a right turn to join Krishnagiri road at Kaveripatnam.To go to Krishnagiri is it mandatory that we have to drive thru Dharmapuri town?
But I guess this detour was in a way good for me.The roads were good along this entire stretch.

4th August 2008, 20:00	#1
koolaruny BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 26 Thanked: 0 Times	Chennai to Salem Need some advice on the best possible route from Chennai to Salem from you guys. I heard from Ajo that the Chennai to Dharmapuri and then to salem is quicker but a bit longer. If I take the GST route via NH 45, it can get a bit cumbersome after Tindivanam (after the toll road ends) but it is shorter. I just did a quick check and came to understand that route 2 via tindivanam is around 326 kms whilst route 1 is around 372 kms. Can anyone throw some light on the conditions of the road, route and previous experiences as well please? P.S: Planning to do it on 15th morning and return by Sunday night with my Wagon R Last edited by koolaruny : 4th August 2008 at 20:16. Reason: Typo error
	() Thanks

4th August 2008, 20:22	#2
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	You can also do Chennai-Salem via Tindivanam, Tiruvannamalai, Uttangarai, Tirupattur. Good roads all the way, and one of the shortest. One of our members has done itt recently.
	() Thanks

4th August 2008, 20:25	#3
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/911160-post14.html Check the above thread for the route from Chennai-Salem via Tiruvannamalai.
	() Thanks

4th August 2008, 20:38	#4
koolaruny BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 26 Thanked: 0 Times	Thanks kumar. Would you also have any idea about the distance? Are you suggesti take the route via Sengi fort to Thiruvannamalai and also, from there, towards tirupattur, how long does it take? Can you give me a distance break-up by route if possible please?
	() Thanks

4th August 2008, 22:36	#5
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Chennai-Tindivanam 120 kms-Tiruvannamalai 70-Uttangarai 70-Harur 30-Salem 60, totalling to approximately 350 kms. This route would be first on NH45 from Chennai-Tindivanam, then on NH66 via Gingee (Sengi Fort) to Uttangarai. If you go via Tirupatttur, that means taking NH4/ NH46 via Sriperembudur, Kanchipuram, Vellore to Vaniyambadi, then going via Tirupattur to Uttangarai, and going on to Salem via Harur. Distance is almost the same.
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 09:50	#6
pypkmsrikanth Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,124 Thanked: 283 Times View My Garage	I would suggest going via Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri as a better option, as the road conditions upto Thoppur from Krishnagiri has improved a lot. If my memory serves correct the total distance via Krishnagiri should be around 355 kms. I am fairly sure this would be the quickest as well. The road from Tirupathur and Tiruvannamalai join at Uttangarai which in turns joins the Ulundurpet - Salem road at Ayodhyapatnam. I had done upto Tiruvannamalai last weekend the roads are great until Tiruvannamalai, csenthil had done Bangalore - Panruti a couple of weeks back where he has confirmed the roads are good from Uttangarai to Tiruvannamalai, the post mentioned by HVKumar confirms the roads are good from Uttangarai - Salem.
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 12:18	#7
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,423 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	I think NH46 till Vaniyambadi, take left for Yelagiri (directions for Salem / yelagiri clearly mentioned) - Tirupattur - Salem should be the fastest. Roads are good throughout. Abhi
	() Thanks

5th August 2008, 16:14	#8
csentil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,349 Thanked: 38 Times View My Garage	Depends also on which side of town you are and what time you are leaving. If you are leaving early morning any of these routes should be ok. I would personally suggest Guindy - Porur - Poonamallee Bypass - Kancipuram bridge - Vellore bypass - Ambur - Vaniyambadi - Tirupattur - Salem. You can do Guindy - Vaniyambadi in 2.30 - 3 hrs if you leave early. Thats 200 kms in 3 hrs or lesser. You could do the rest in another 3 hrs max.
	() Thanks

8th August 2008, 19:43	#9
koolaruny BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 26 Thanked: 0 Times	Thanks all for the suggestion. Will update you all after the trip with the road conditions, if they have changed and my travelogue.
	() Thanks

13th August 2008, 10:02	#10
jraj BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Michigan,USA Posts: 487 Thanked: 173 Times View My Garage	Chennai - Coimbatore - Chennai Does anyone have the latest updates on this route. Last month I used the Coimbatore-Salem-Tirupattur-Vaniyambaadi-Chennai route. Howz the road condition if I opt to use the Krishnagiri route? Leaving from Chennai on Friday morning around 5-6am. -Jey
	() Thanks

13th August 2008, 14:32	#11
pypkmsrikanth Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,124 Thanked: 283 Times View My Garage	You can try any of these 1. Chennai - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Thoppur - Mettur - Ammapettai (right for Anthiyur) - Gobi - Nambiyur - Avinashi - Coimbatore 2. Or alternativley go upto Sathyamangalam from Andhiyur via Athani then onto Coimbatore via Annur. I did upto Sathyamangalam three weeks back and the road is good all the way. Chennai to Sathyamangalam was around 440 kms. I reached Sathyamangalam in about 8 1/2 hours including a leisurely 45 minute food break apart from driving in a sedate manner. If you dont want to try alternate routes you can always opt for going to Bhavani from Mettur then onto Perundurai via the regular NH 47. Cheers. Srikanth
	() Thanks

17th August 2008, 18:45	#12
jraj BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Michigan,USA Posts: 487 Thanked: 173 Times View My Garage	Did Chennai to Coimbatore on 15th morning. Took Chennai - Vaaniyambaai - Tirupattur - Harur - Salem - Chithode - Gopi - Sathy-Coimbatore route. Started at 5:30 from Chennai and reached Vaaniyambaadi at 8:15.The roads upto Tirupattur have gone bad a bit.Too much traffic too.But once I crossed Tirupattur town,the roads were very good again.Reached Salem at 10:45.The roads from Salem to Chithode on NH47 were a terrible nightmare.With roadwork going all the way,this stretch was easily the most tiring of the trip.Once we took the right turn to Gopi,the travel was a breeze again. Leaving to Chennai tomorrow early morning and want to avoid Salem stretch at any cost. As of now I am planning to do Coimbatore - Sathy - Gopi - Chithode - Bhavani - Mettur - Mechery - Thoppur - Dharmapuri - Krishnagiri-Chennai.Any updates from anyone on the stretch between Bhavani - Mettur and Mettur - Krishnagiri? Planning to leave t'mow morning around 5.
	() Thanks

18th August 2008, 00:23	#13
csentil Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,349 Thanked: 38 Times View My Garage	Bhavani - Mettur road should be ok. Roads nearing Mettur were a little bit bad with potholes. Mettur - Krishnagiri shouldn't be a problem. Expect roadwork between Thoppur - Krishnagiri. You can alternatively try Gopi - Athani - Andiyur - Ammapettai - Mettur. This is a shorter route and goes through some fantastic countryside. The road conditions should be decent/good and would help you avoid driving through Bhavani town. Bad option of doing Salem - Chithode as roads are being 4 laned.
	() Thanks

18th August 2008, 20:18	#15
jraj BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Michigan,USA Posts: 487 Thanked: 173 Times View My Garage	Coimbatore - Chennai Did Coimbatore chennai today morning. Took Coimbatore-Sathy-Gopi-Chithode-Bhavani-Mettur-Mecheri-Dharmapuri-Palakodu-Kaveripattnam-Krishnagiri-Chennai. Started at 5:30AM and reached Velachery at 1:40PM. Bhavani-Mettur stretch was very good.It was really nice driving along a very picturesque country side in the morning. While nearing Dharmapuri,I took the bypass to avoid entering Dharmapuri town.However this detour took me to Palakodu and from there I took a right turn to join Krishnagiri road at Kaveripatnam.To go to Krishnagiri is it mandatory that we have to drive thru Dharmapuri town? But I guess this detour was in a way good for me.The roads were good along this entire stretch.
	() Thanks