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Our original plan was to explore/stay at one of the chettinad heritage area. Hence I took the karaikudi route. Visited couple of heritage hotels at Kadayaptti and Kanadukathan. Just had lunch and proceed to rameshwaram due to change of plans. It was amazing to see those magnificent houses built almost 100 years back. There are many excellent travelogues in the travelogues section that will give you lot more information about this area.

My itinerary was exactly same and in the same order. Evening I went to the temple (generally the crowd is less in the evening I heard) and next day morning we went to Dhanushkodi (left the hotel at 6 am and we had wait at the check point @ 9.199091, 79.382013 for 30 minutes) and visited the memorial on the way back home. HTH.

Guys, driving to Rameswaram this Friday, which route to take?

Route 1: Chennai - Trichy - Pudukottai - Karaikudi - Devipatnam - Rameswaram

Or

Route 2: Chennai - Trichy - Melur - Sivagangai - Paramakudi - Rameswaram


I've been taking Route 2 for several years now, has Route 1 gotten better nowadays?

I've completed the trip last week. We went to our relatives house in Manamadurai and started to Rameshwaram & Dhanushkodi trip from there. The route was paramakudi (bypass), Ramanathapuram (bypass) and Rameshwaram. Roads are excellent all the way to Rameshwaram and very less traffic.

Please note that there is an RT-PCR test will be conducted while entering into Rameswaram, be prepared for that. If not vaccinated, they'll redirect you to the vaccination camp setup nearby check-post.

The below route is excellent , less traffic and saves time and fuel,

Chennai-Trichy-Pudukottai-Manamadurai-Paramakudi-Rameswaram. Proper sign boards all the way.

If any of you planning this trip, stick to route 2, route 1 is not in good shape and is detoriating, has a lot of people movement as well.

Is there any RT PCR test taken for visitors. Planning Rameswaram and Danuskodi Christmas weekend

No. However, Temple was closed for devotees on Saturdays and Sundays. Not sure if the restrictions have been lifted now.

All TN temples are open from 1st November onwards. The 22 wells are closed since Covid started, which stays put.

Is this the same situation even now ? Planning a trip to Rameswaram from Chennai and the second route shows about 40KM and 45 minutes extra compared to the first route

Route 1: Chennai - Trichy - Pudukottai - Karaikudi - Devipatnam - Rameswaram

Or

Route 2: Chennai - Trichy - Melur - Sivagangai - Paramakudi - Rameswaram

Stick to route 2 for a pleasurable driving and travel experience. I would not recommend route 1 at all for both up and down journey.

Just completed my Chennai-Rameswaram trip and below are the updates.
Since we had to meet someone at Karaikudi, decided to take that route onward and it turned out to be a wise decision. Karaikudi -Rameswaram stretch is completely re-laid with no pot holes. There is bridge construction happening in couple of places but that did not make any significant impact and the traffic also was minimal (probably being a holiday). Trichy to Karaikudi also had decent roads though the entire stretch has only 2 lanes. I am not sure if the Melur-Sivagangai route is 4 lanes but I think it would not have saved me any time or fuel because of the extra distance (about 40KMs). So decided to take the same route for return and it was a smooth journey which took about 3 hours (including a tea break) from Rameswaram to Trichy. Sharing some dashcam footages for those interested :)
https://youtu.be/OBzsWQX6ZCY
https://youtu.be/LFVw_A3dQxE
https://youtu.be/wshCKoEmmXY
https://youtu.be/CO2y8mZycVw

Beautiful! So the CK Mangalam-Devipattinam road expansion is completed too. I went in Vijayadasami of 2018, back then this section was still being expanded. Took 3:45 hrs back then.

This entire stretch is a far cry from what it used to be in the early part of millennium (Jan 2003), when the Trichy-Rameswaram journey took 7 hours rl:

Hello Friends,

I'm planning a Chennai to Rameswaram trip this month and would like to get some insights on the current road conditions and route options.

Chennai to Rameshwaram
We have to make a pit stop at Trichy, so the options are:

Chennai - Trichy - Pudukkottai - Karaikudi - Rameswaram.



Rameshwaram - Tharangambadi
On our return journey, we're planning a day's stay at Tharangambadi, and I'm confused between two options suggested by Google Maps:

Option 1:

Karaikudi - Pudukkottai - Thanjavur - Aduthurai - Tharangambadi



The default route suggested by Google Maps via Aduthurai - Porayar Rd seems very narrow.So, I was considering an alternative route through NH 136B.

Default route from Aduthurai to Thrangambadi:


The alternate considered from Aduthurai to Thrangambadi:


I Would appreciate any suggestions for better routes here.

Option 2:

Rameswaram - Tharangambadi via ECR



I’d love to take this route, but I’m unsure about the road conditions and whether the entire stretch being a single carriageway might cause issues. Would love to hear your inputs here! 😊

Tharangambadi to Chennai

Option 1

Tharangambadi - Tindivanam - Chengalpattu - Chennai



Option 2

Tharangambadi - Chennai via ECR



I'm more inclined towards ECR just to see if I can enjoy the scenic route, but again not sure of the road conditions.

Also, if there are any tips or recommendations for this trip, especially regarding the routes, I'd love to hear them.

Looking forward to your suggestions. Thanks in advance!

This is the best route. Beyond Trichy it is wide 2-lane. Roads ease up after Trichy Civil. I can confirm roads are in excellent shape till Karaikudi. The wide 2-lane goes all the way till Devipattinam, I've not travelled after Karaikudi recently.

ECR used to be good years back. Am not sure on the maintenance recent times.

Karaikal-Tarangambadi-Thirukadaiyur is pretty average. Thirukadaiyur-Vaitheeswaran Koil is undergoing 4-lane, so it pretty bad for a few kms.

Pudukottai-Thanjavur is good 2-lane road. Thanjavur onwards can't be guaranteed, you'll have some narrow roads to deal with.

For the return, you are better off either getting out at Chidambaram bypass and follow Chidambaram-Bhuvanagiri-Vriddachalam-Ulundurpet or Pondy-Tindivanam.

I can't figure what is scenic about ECR. Barring that one spot near Thiruvidandhai, there is no place else you'll see the sea from the ECR. Even that place is always crowded that you'll only see parked cars than the sea.