[ampere]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Among all the routes talked upon which will be the most scenic and which one is the fastest, bear in mind that I'll be travelling from Salem

Route 1:
Salem-Chitode-Gobi-Satya-Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty
Route 2
Salem-Mettur-Athani-Satya-Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty
Route 3
Salem-Chithode-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty

I know that if I take the Mettupalayam-Kotagiri-Ooty route it will be scenic though a tad longer and steeper. But what about the route upto Mettupalayam?

Route 3 is the fasted as it goes on GQ and by-passes CBE. Ruote 2 is going backwards and coming forward. You may want to do only if you want to visit Mettur. Gobi route is also roundabout as you will need to go all the way till Satyamangalam. But yes its a scenic route and goes through villages. Road condition OK with few potholes.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Among all the routes talked upon which will be the most scenic and which one is the fastest, bear in mind that I'll be travelling from Salem

Route 1:
Salem-Chitode-Gobi-Satya-Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty
Route 2
Salem-Mettur-Athani-Satya-Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty
Route 3
Salem-Chithode-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty

I know that if I take the Mettupalayam-Kotagiri-Ooty route it will be scenic though a tad longer and steeper. But what about the route upto Mettupalayam?

Route 3
Salem-Chithode-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty

This is better imho.

I dont think the Kothagiri route is steeper than the Coonoor route, I think Coonoor route is steeper. But, Kothagiri route is slightly narrower and the sheer falls are more visible - this is scenic for some, but for others like me it is bad because of fear of heights. I would stick with Coonoor route any day despite it being steeper and more traffic because the road is wider and there are white stones at the edge of the road making me more confident.

[robimahanta]

Thanks a lot ampere and Raju. I will take the Avinashi route but still have to decide whether to go via Coonoor or Kotagiri. Still have to figure out a decent place for accommodation though.

Do you have any idea as to the driving time to Ooty from Salem? I believe its around 3 and half hours but I think it depends on how much traffic I encounter after Mettupalayam

[ampere]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Thanks a lot ampere and Raju. I will take the Avinashi route but still have to decide whether to go via Coonoor or Kotagiri. Still have to figure out a decent place for accommodation though.

Do you have any idea as to the driving time to Ooty from Salem? I believe its around 3 and half hours but I think it depends on how much traffic I encounter after Mettupalayam

You should be able to do Salem to Avinashi in about 2 hour (120 Km). Give yourself another 2 to 2.5 to Ooty.
One is because of ghats and other is because you will find lots of traffic on this route.
On the whole 4-5 hours with breaks, if you drive at leisure.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Do you have any idea as to the driving time to Ooty from Salem? I believe its around 3 and half hours but I think it depends on how much traffic I encounter after Mettupalayam

On the Mettupalayam-Kotagiri-Ooty/Conoor route, you will have less traffic compared with the Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty route.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Still have to figure out a decent place for accommodation though.

Recently I stayed in Lake View with my family. It was quite good with reasonable rates, nice cottage, you can park your car in front of the cottage. The cottage has one small room with a sofa & TV, a bedroom and a bathroom. Room service is ok, they take around half an hour to serve. Food is ok not great, but not bad either. I think I paid around Rs.1800 including taxes & charges per night for this cottage. Only downside is that you have to book in advance, so I suggest you do it as soon as possible if you are going to stay in Lakeview.

Two other cost-effective options (haven't tried them though) are YWCA and TTDC (TN Tourist Development Corp). Very very reasonable rates. I went for Lakeview because both these were full by the time I booked.

I suggest avoid Sterling. I had a horrible experience with their leaky rooms, horrible food and indifferent attitude.

[RajaTaurus]

For the benefit of all, I give below the link to my recent travelogue Chennai_Coimbatore-Ooty and back.
Hope you will find it useful.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...s-flowers.html

[SafeDrive]

Hi,
I'm planning on a trip to Ooty from Chennai towards the end of November. Could someone please help me on the following:

1. What is the condition of the roads on this route? [COLOR=black][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Chennai - Krishnagiri - Dharmappuri - Thoppur - Mettur - Ammapettai - Athani - Sathyamangalam - Sirumugai - Mettupalayam - Kotagiri - [/FONT][/COLOR][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Ooty[/FONT]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']2. If I do not want to go to Mettur but continue down on NH7, what would be the route?[/FONT]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']3. Is Banglore-Mysore-Ooty a good option in comparism?[/FONT]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']My prioritiy is lesser time and good roads.[/FONT]

[ranjitp1]

Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore-Ooty should be ok,considering that you can take the NICE road from E-City and exit NICE Road directly onto the 4 lane Mysore road and then onwards to Mysore & Ooty.Roads are excellent all the way till Ooty.If you are keen on the ghat experience,you can go through the 36hair pin Kalhatty road,with steep hair pins or take the less adventeruous Gudalur route to Ooty.

Chennai-Ecity:6hrs / Ecity-Mysore Rd: 1hr / Kengeri-Mysore:2hours /Mysore-Ooty:3hours

If you do not want to go via Mettur,then continue on the fast 4laned NH7 till Avinashi via Salem and at Avinashi take a right towards Annur-Mettupalayam-Coonor.In fact there was a good samaritan on TBHP who had offered free use of their place for restroom facilities on this route somewhere near Annur.

Chennai-K'giri: 4hrs / Kgiri-Salem:1.5hrs / Salem-Avinashi:2hours / Avinashi-M'palayam:1hr/M'palaya-Ooty:3hours

You could go via Blore and come back via Mettupalayam,that would break the monotony of driving back via the same route!

[ampere]

1. Route 1 is the shortest and OK to take (~550). Till Thoppur it is GQ. Thoppur to Mettur is good two lane road. Beyond that its standard TN SH. (I have personally not driven there, but I know folks who take that option regularly to go to to North CBE. Hence its OK to take.
Caveats: Not sure of good hotels and clean toilets beyond Mettur.

2. If you are on GQ all the way, then you need to go till Avinashi, take a deviation to Annur, continue to Mettupalayam and then on to Ooty. This is about 25Km more.

3. BLR-MYS-Ooty is the longest at about 615, but you get all the good hotels and food options beyond Bangalore as well. And you get to pass through Bandipur forsest and climb through the famous 36 Hairpin bend via Masinagudi. (You can take longer route also, but that would cost you another 2 hours for the extra 30 km through Gudalur).

[SafeDrive]

If I were to start from Chennai around 05:00 a.m., is there a nice place from where I can have breakfast by around 07:30? Also which are the nice petrol stations on the way? I would like to fill up once in between.

[krishnaraja]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

Hi,
I'm planning on a trip to Ooty from Chennai towards the end of November. Could someone please help me on the following:

1. What is the condition of the roads on this route? [COLOR=black][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Chennai - Krishnagiri - Dharmappuri - Thoppur - Mettur - Ammapettai - Athani - Sathyamangalam - Sirumugai - Mettupalayam - Kotagiri - [/FONT][/COLOR][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Ooty[/FONT]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']2. If I do not want to go to Mettur but continue down on NH7, what would be the route?[/FONT]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']3. Is Banglore-Mysore-Ooty a good option in comparism?[/FONT]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']My prioritiy is lesser time and good roads.[/FONT]

If you want to go to Ooty at less time, then it is Chennai -> Krishnagiri -> Salem -> Avinashi -> CBE -> Mettupalayam -> Ooty

Chennai -> Krishnagiri = 3 hours
Krishnagiri -> Salem = 1.5 hours
Salem -> Avinashi = 3 hours
Avinashi -> CBE = 1 hour
CBE -> Mettupalayam = 1 hour
Mettupalayam -> Ooty = 3 hours max

Looks like a 12 hour journey (not real maths, but taking away some time here and there).

Chennai -> Bangalore = 4 hours
Bangalore -> Mysore = 2 hours

I do not know time from Mysore to Ooty

[SafeDrive]

D-day is nearing for my Ooty trip. We're leaving on Saturday and I hear that there is a lot of rain at Ooty. Does anyone have any updates on the ghat roads? The intended route is Chennai - Krishnagiri - Salem - Mettupalaym -Ooty.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

D-day is nearing for my Ooty trip. We're leaving on Saturday and I hear that there is a lot of rain at Ooty. Does anyone have any updates on the ghat roads? The intended route is Chennai - Krishnagiri - Salem - Mettupalaym -Ooty.

Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty was closed for repairs, but Mettupalayam-Kotagiri-Conoor/Ooty road is open. That was the last I heard.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Mettupalayam-Conoor-Ooty was closed for repairs, but Mettupalayam-Kotagiri-Conoor/Ooty road is open. That was the last I heard.

That is correct hvkumar. You are right. All buses are plying through Kotagiri to reach Ooty. Though some taxis take a narrow road which goes behind Madras regimental centre near aravangadu, its difficult to find that route and there is lot of traffic due to narrow roads. Better to go via bus route, provided there are no heavy rains or landslides.

-Ravi