[BenjiRoss]

Will be leaving tomorrow to Kodaikanal.
Apparently the drive up is taking longer than usual due to high season and lots of traffic.
So need to factor that in during the trip.
I am looking for suggestions for a good fuel stop close to Dindigul. Any pumps that are recommended or best avoided?

[varunanb]

Originally Posted by BenjiRoss

I am looking for suggestions for a good fuel stop close to Dindigul. Any pumps that are recommended or best avoided?

There should be few between Vedasandur and Dindigul in the high way. If you miss those, fill inside Dindigul, you can ask for Ram auto pump or Iyengar pump. After Dindigul you will get off the NH and might find very few options in the bathlagundu Theni route. If taking the Palani route you have few pumps on the way. We might go to Kodaikanal as well in the next few days. Have a great trip.

[BenjiRoss]

There may be a taxi strike with vehicle stopping near the silver cascade toll. They apparently maybppan to start at 6 am. Not sure if this will disrupt or slow traffic.
I left at 5 am as 8 have to go to Madurai to catch a flight. It was clear.

[hemanth.anand]

I visited Kodaikanal during the long weekend in 2 cars. Took the Bengaluru>Hosur>Salem>Dindigul>Sempatty>Batlagundu >Perumal Malai>Kodaikanal route (Maps screenshot below)

In a nutshell, the roads were:
350Kms of Fast 4-lane roads till Dindigul (AH43).
50 Kms of Smooth wide 2-lane roads till the mountain base.
50 Kms of Smooth beautiful roads to the top of the hills.
Slow, broken, patchy roads in the hills

Our itinerary was something like this:
Saturday Day 1: 7AM to 5PM drive with 2 breakfast and lunch stopovers of 1hr each and a 30 minute break for Ice creams. It was hot and we had 4year old kids with us. so breaks were necessary
Sunday Day 2: The usual sightseeing places on the Ten-mile-road. This is where we experienced the bad traffic. avg speed of 2Kmph and an FE of around 4Kmpl. Jostling for parking space and all the usual troubles with bad drivers driving on the wrong lane even in the hills . This took the entire day 9AM to 4PM
Monday Day 3: Leisurely visited Wax museum and Chocolate factory and played in the resort. In the afternoon, there was heavy rain which made sure we relaxed more playing indoor games and sipping coffee watching the rain
Tuesday Day 4: 6:30 AM to 4PM drive back to Bangalore with 2 food breaks of 1hr each. The early departure ensured we didn't experience the horrible toll-traffic.

Food options have improved considerably on this stretch. Although less compared to Bangalore-Pune road, it is better than Bangalore-Hyderabad highway. Krishna Inn, Saravana bhavan, Saisangeet, A2B, CCD, McD, and many others are dotted along the route.

Up on the hills, as expected, there was big tourist traffic (Approximately 60% KA vehicles 30% TN Vehicles and 20% KL vehicles) of which we were also part of.
Weatherwise, Temperatures were down to a cool 14 Celsius in the evening and a pleasant 22 Celsius max. we could see fog even in the afternoon 14:30 time. but once we were down the ghat section, it was really hot.

All in all, a nice break and a memorable trip for the kids in their summer vacations.

[Pacifier]

Hu guys, I'm going to kodaikanal on 22nd of this month from Kanyakumari. Recently my friends visited and said there is no issue due to the ongoing rains. Anyone else been there by road recently?
Thanks

[iamnarayang]

Hello Friends,

I am travelling to Kodaikanal from BTM Bangalore on Feb 9th morning, leaving at around 6 AM. On our return journey, we are planning to go Palani for darshan and return to Bangalore from Palani. Request clarification on the following.

1. Is Krishnagiri, Salem, Karur, Dindigul, Vathalkundu the best route to reach Kodai?
2. What is the route from Palani to Bangalore? The options I have are Palani, Vedachandur, Karur, Salem, Bangalore or Palani, Dharapuram, Kangeyam, Sathyamangalam ? Kindly suggest.

Thanks & Regards,
Narayan

[NPV]

Originally Posted by iamnarayang

1. Is Krishnagiri, Salem, Karur, Dindigul, Vathalkundu the best route to reach Kodai?
2. What is the route from Palani to Bangalore? The options I have are Palani, Vedachandur, Karur, Salem, Bangalore or Palani, Dharapuram, Kangeyam, Sathyamangalam ? Kindly suggest.

For Bangalore-Kodai, #1 is the best route. Turn off after the Dindugal toll towards Vathlagundu (the exit is also shared for the road to Palani from Dindgual, so keep that in mind).

I'm not sure what is the best route currently for Kodai-Palani

For Palani-Bangalore, you have a few options:
1. Palani-Oddanchattiram-NH 7/44 from Vedasandur-Karur-Namakkal-Salem-Bangalore
2. Palani-Udumalaipet-Palladam-Mangalam-Avinashi bypass-Perundurai-Salem-Bangalore
3. Palani-Dharapuram-Kangeyam-Perundurai-Salem-Bangalore

*Avoid Sathyamangalam-Chamarajanagar route since there is some road widening work around Chamarajanagar and Kanakapura route.

[varunanb]

Originally Posted by iamnarayang

Hello Friends,

I am travelling to Kodaikanal from BTM Bangalore on Feb 9th morning, leaving at around 6 AM. On our return journey, we are planning to go Palani for darshan and return to Bangalore from Palani. Request clarification on the following.

1. Is Krishnagiri, Salem, Karur, Dindigul, Vathalkundu the best route to reach Kodai?
2. What is the route from Palani to Bangalore? The options I have are Palani, Vedachandur, Karur, Salem, Bangalore or Palani, Dharapuram, Kangeyam, Sathyamangalam ? Kindly suggest.

Thanks & Regards,
Narayan

Palani - kangeyam - Sathyamangalam is full 2 lanes state highway. Beautiful country roads. You will enjoy if you love driving. Last July, we did this complete route with windows and sunroof open. But don't take this route if you are in a hurry.

There are limited food options in this route. Break for food either in kangeyam or Sathyamangalam.

Sathyamangalam to Bengaluru also took the state highway instead of Mysore - Bengaluru road. Roads were very good. But this was in 2017. Not sure if the conditions now.

[Landkruzer]

Drove to Sirumalai
On sunday (19th May) I drove to Sirumalai hill near dindigul. I had about 4 hours to spend at dindigul. Initially thought of going to kodaikanal, but 4 hours wouldn't be sufficient to go up and return. My sister suggested to try out the sirumalai as it is near to dindigul. Its about 25 kms from dindigul and its at an altitude of 1200 mts. It took about about an hour to go. The road to the hill was fantastic and roads in the hill were in ok condition till sirumalai puthur village and mud/offroad after that. There is nothing to see or do. The hill is still untouched by tourism. There are few stay options in the coffee estates. If you just want to relax or do nature walk, this will be good option.