[ampere]

Originally Posted by smsrini

- Lepakshi near Hindupur.

- Kumbhakarana statue near Penukonda. rest stop off the highway. good fun for kids..

- Belum caves off Ananthapur - Stalacite and Stalagmite / limestone caves.

- Timbaktu ( serious, there's a place with this name, not sure what's there )

- Puttaparthi

- beechupalle during /after monsoons - to bathe in the Krishna river.

cheers!
Srini

Srini,

Belum looks like an amazing place. Just checked out the same in wikipedia. Are there places nearby that can be covered over the weekend?
Can you suggest a plan.

Please note, Puttaparthi not possible, as the wait time is too high.

It will be too hot though !

Thanks in advance.

[smsrini]

Originally Posted by ampere

Srini,

Belum looks like an amazing place. Just checked out the same in wikipedia. Are there places nearby that can be covered over the weekend?
Can you suggest a plan.

Please note, Puttaparthi not possible, as the wait time is too high.

It will be too hot though !

Thanks in advance.

Nothing you can club with Belum. It will take a good part of the day to do Belum itself, including the travel to/from Blr Road from Ananthapur is not that good, and will slow you down. You can spend 2-3 hrs exploring the caves.

cheers!

[carZest]

guys did this last week. road is good for most part, and many more open four-lane stretches.

=============
B'lore-Hyderabad
=============
4.45 am: Marathahalli
Chikballapur bypass a boon
4-lane stretches around Penukonda nearly ready
Anantpur flyover not yet ready
Anantpur-Kurnool stretch much better now
Overtaking has been 90% from the right, passing with flashing light/single honk
Tank up at company owned BP bunk, Gooty
10.00 am: Jadcherla.
Half an hour catnap at a rustic dhaba
Switch on my AP brain - overtaking now will mostly be from the left. No one watches mirrors and in any case expects you to pass from the left
Last few kms close to Shamshabad not yet ready
PVNR expressway continues to prove a boon
12.45: Punjagutta

=============
Hyderabad-B'lore
=============
3.15 am: Ameerpet
3.30 am: Gachibowli
Uneventful to Kurnool
Night driving has actually become 'irritating' on these 4-lane stretches! Skill ain't needed anymore, junta stick to the shoulder and pedal to metal. Then panic braking.
Kurnool-Anantpur will take 3-4 months to get completed
Late breakfast at a hotel next to the same BP bunk in Gooty. The bunk only for the fuel - avoid the food there as the hotel next door is better
Watch out for the diversion(s) near Penukonda coming from the Hyderabad side. A miss and then you are left with an abyss.
12.45: Marathahalli

[carZest]

To add to my previous post, 9tMax has mentioned the name of the dhaba near the Gooty bunk (Hotel Ravi Teja)

Sorry mods for the 2 simultaneous posts

[adityarao]

Yusufguda - 6:00 AM
Gachibowli - 6:20 AM
Jadcherla - 7:30 AM
Kurnool - 9:15 AM
Ananthapur - 11:45 AM
Devanahalli - 2:30 PM
Kengeri - 3:45 PM
Mysore - 5:10 PM

Door to Door was exactly 730 kms.

I took the Tumkur road just below the flyover near Hebbal at Bangalore which took me via Yeshwantpur and then to Kengeri which allowed me to skip major part of Bangalore traffic albeit it took me an hour to reach Kengeri, which I believe is good time indeed.

As mentioned by others the road conditions are excellent between Hyderabad - Kurnool & Penukonda to Devanahalli - construction between Kurnool - Penukonda is in full force, but you can maintain 90-100kms.

[gajadonga]

How was the Bypass from Hebbal flyover to Kengeri I heard that there are lot of diversions and traffic.One hour to reach Kengeri is really a good time.

[kittigadu]

Iam driving alone to Bangalore from Hyderabad on Sunday, 23rd-May on a Hyundai Elantra.

If interested, you can join me. Just send me a Text message on
98862-98962 or a PM. Right now i cant take calls and also i am in a place with low mobile signals. So, a text message or a PM would be the right thing to do. I will be coming to Hyderabad on Friday (21st may). So, i shall call and fix up the schedule.

A few things to point

1. I am planning to leave early morning at around 6:00 am on Sunday.
2. Since it is not my car, i would prefer to drive all the way. So, i don't mind picking up someone who doesn't know how to drive.
3. You don't have to pay me for fuel etc or anything else except for paying up for your own food. So the cost of travel is almost FREE.
4. Absolutely no drinking in the car. Smoking OK.
5. No problem even if you want to travel with family but make sure you have less luggage since i have a large suitcase occupying 70% of the boot.
6. Place for 3 people only.
7. 100% AC throughout the journey.
8. Safe driving.
9. T-BHPians/jeep thrillers preferred. Please refer your immediate family or friends and no friend of a friend or cousin of a cousin business plz.
10. Offer closes on Saturday 12:00 Noon.


Regards,
Krishna.

[kittigadu]

came back from Hyderabad on sunday.
Nothing to write home about.
Right now, the traffic is diverted thru small towns in AP. That eats away most of the time. Un marked Speed breakers are removed all along the highway.

Be aware of oncoming traffic on either side of the road esp after kurnool till chikaballapur. In my opinion, its better to do this route in daylight rather than in the dark.

Refurbished Reliance A1 on the left hand side before Dhone town is better amongst the lot. Food is OK and toilets need a lot of maintenance. After this, its better to stop at hotel RaviTeja just after Gooty town.

Ananthapur over-bridges might take a little longer to complete.
Overall, 90% of the highway is great. Journey gets a little boring after some time.

Being sunday i guess, there was very light lorry traffic.
I was not tired after this 600Kms long trip but definitely bored.

Regards,
Krishna.

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by kittigadu

Right now, the traffic is diverted thru small towns in AP. That eats away most of the time. Un marked Speed breakers are removed all along the highway.

Which stretches is this?
is it part of the old highway, or something new?
I am planning to drive on 5th to Hyd.

thanks for your update.

[kittigadu]

The first diversion is just after kurnool town.
i don't remember any towns here but it goes thru 2 railway crossings.

The second diversion is thru Gooty town and the third one is thru Penukonda.

You will be diverted from the 4 lane highway to a 2 lane divider less road. i think this is the old NH. The road surface is good but is a little bumpy at speeds.

Regards,
Krishna.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by sriturl

Which stretches is this?
is it part of the old highway, or something new?
I am planning to drive on 5th to Hyd.

thanks for your update.

Nothing to be unduly worried about,excellent roads throughout,diversions between Kurnool & Anantpur,bit you wouldnt lose out on any speed,you should be able to cover Hebbal-Shamshabad in 8 hours.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by kittigadu

came back from Hyderabad on sunday.
Nothing to write home about.

Ananthapur over-bridges might take a little longer to complete.
Overall, 90% of the highway is great. Journey gets a little boring after some time.

Being sunday i guess, there was very light lorry traffic.
I was not tired after this 600Kms long trip but definitely bored.

Regards,
Krishna.

I guess that is what happens on most 4 or 6-lane highways. I was terribly bored during the many trips I'd made to New York from Washington DC on the Interstate. I guess driving at a constant speed and seeing the same darn vehicles in front of you adds to the boredom.

But driving through state highways were quite exciting, and had better scenery unfolding over the journey.

I've also read reports on this forum that driving to Bangalore from Chennai via the old route is far more exciting that on the GQ stretch.

The only thing you save tremendously is time and effort on the widened highways.

[Ravveendrra]

I drove the stretch between Hyderabad and Gooty in the last week of April. Leaving Hyderabad at 5.30 the traffic was sparse and the journey was fast and driving was not tiring, in fact I was tempted to continue till Anantapur and turn left there in order to get to Tirupati.

Like others have said it is boring. Another thing I noticed is that the widened road (like other widened roads eg. GD) has no trees. I sorely missed the trees and had to drive for close to an hour to find a tree (off the new road on an old bit that passed through a town) so that I could stop for breakfast. The trees were great friends of the traveller - they cut the glare, kept the road cool, cut down cross winds and provided great spots to stop and unpack the food.

Cheers,

[ampere]

Originally Posted by smsrini

Nothing you can club with Belum. It will take a good part of the day to do Belum itself, including the travel to/from Blr Road from Ananthapur is not that good, and will slow you down. You can spend 2-3 hrs exploring the caves.

cheers!

Srini,

How good are the stay options then?

[smsrini]

Originally Posted by ampere

Srini,

How good are the stay options then?

None. Ananthapur is the closest you can stay.