[ampere]

Originally Posted by Gokrish

Hi Rajesh! If you are heading straight to Ooty, then you consider an alternative route which is kanchi-vellore-vaniyambadi-krishnagiri-dharmapuri-thoppur-mettur-adani-sathy-mettupalayam-conoor-Ooty. You would be taking poonamalee-Bangalore route till krishnagiri and then take left at krishnagiri. If you are starting at 4 am, then breakfast at around 9 am at thoppur A2B and lunch at Ooty around 1 pm. By the way, which car would you be taking?

Vellore-Krishnagiri is a pain nowadays thanks to all the diversions because of 6-lane. It makes a good sense to go via NH45 (GST). If he stays very close to Ponamalle side, may be its good to consider. Else I would suggest Ulunderpet Salem option.

Then comes the Mettur part. Again very high on truck traffic. Driving till Bhavani makes more sense before taking the exit.

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by ampere

Vellore-Krishnagiri is a pain nowadays thanks to all the diversions because of 6-lane. It makes a good sense to go via NH45 (GST). If he stays very close to Ponamalle side, may be its good to consider. Else I would suggest Ulunderpet Salem option.

Then comes the Mettur part. Again very high on truck traffic. Driving till Bhavani makes more sense before taking the exit.

Starting from vaniambadi toll plaza till krishnagitlri junction, there are frequent diversions. But they are not real speed breakers.

The stretch between mecheri and mettur will only have mild truck traffic when he would be crossing this stretch at around 11-ish or so. After mettur, it is actually a breeze and I take this route at least once in two months now to go to Coimbatore.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Gokrish

Starting from vaniambadi toll plaza till krishnagitlri junction, there are frequent diversions. But they are not real speed breakers.

The stretch between mecheri and mettur will only have mild truck traffic when he would be crossing this stretch at around 11-ish or so. After mettur, it is actually a breeze and I take this route at least once in two months now to go to Coimbatore.

The problem is not speed. Its the constant hassle of changing lanes, which puts one of. And on top of it, during holiday seasons, Vellore-Krishnagiri adds up to Bangalore traffic as well.

About Mettur road from Thoppur, some how I was not very convinced. I would any day prefer the 4-lane till Bhavani or Avinashi and divert to Annur/Mettupalayam. I think that would be much faster thanks to a longer access to 4-lane. The Mettur option was very good till the time 4-lane from Thoppur-CBE was under construction.

And the route Anthiyur/Athani is very good option for CBE if one is heading towards North part of the town.

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by ampere

The problem is not speed. Its the constant hassle of changing lanes, which puts one of. And on top of it, during holiday seasons, Vellore-Krishnagiri adds up to Bangalore traffic as well.

About Mettur road from Thoppur, some how I was not very convinced. I would any day prefer the 4-lane till Bhavani or Avinashi and divert to Annur/Mettupalayam. I think that would be much faster thanks to a longer access to 4-lane. The Mettur option was very good till the time 4-lane from Thoppur-CBE was under construction.

And the route Anthiyur/Athani is very good option for CBE if one is heading towards North part of the town.

Yes. You are right in saying that Bangalore bound traffic may add to our woes on this route. But, this is equally true of GST too as we find too much of traffic due to south bound vehicles: (those going to Trichy, Madurai, Tirunelveli, etc) and this is the case till Ulundurpet. The other issue with this route is that after the toll road is over, this road is without the divider with busses and trucks not following any rules and worst of all, NH road with flyovers with SPEED-BREAKERS! Since it is not about speed, alternative is still a better one. However, going up to avinashi and then taking a right there is also a good option to save time.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Gokrish

Yes. You are right in saying that Bangalore bound traffic may add to our woes on this route. But, this is equally true of GST too as we find too much of traffic due to south bound vehicles: (those going to Trichy, Madurai, Tirunelveli, etc) and this is the case till Ulundurpet. The other issue with this route is that after the toll road is over, this road is without the divider with busses and trucks not following any rules and worst of all, NH road with flyovers with SPEED-BREAKERS! Since it is not about speed, alternative is still a better one. However, going up to avinashi and then taking a right there is also a good option to save time.

True. Thats why I used to maintain, if some one stays near NH4, he should go by that route and if close to Tambaram or that side of town, GST of the route is better.

Its always good start early esp for NH4 as traffic till Sriperumdur/Kanchi is unbearable once those buses start to ply. Add to it the truck near the factories.

I still think traffic on NH45 to be easier to bear compared to NH4. (Add to it the local traffic to Kanchi). Are there heavy trucks on GST ?

[camon]

Originally Posted by ampere

True. Thats why I used to maintain, if some one stays near NH4, he should go by that route and if close to Tambaram or that side of town, GST of the route is better.

Its always good start early esp for NH4 as traffic till Sriperumdur/Kanchi is unbearable once those buses start to ply. Add to it the truck near the factories.

I still think traffic on NH45 to be easier to bear compared to NH4. (Add to it the local traffic to Kanchi). Are there heavy trucks on GST ?

Guys, literally confused again

Im staying in Kodambakkam. Almost both Ponamallee and Pallavaram are almost same distance to me.

Which might be the best route?
FYI.. Im starting on oct 1st week sunday early morning around 4 AM in i10

For me, distance is not an issue. Just road needs to good/perfect atmost so that I can maintain a avg.speed of 80km/hr.

Regards,
Rajesh

[ampere]

Originally Posted by camon

Guys, literally confused again

Im staying in Kodambakkam. Almost both Ponamallee and Pallavaram are almost same distance to me.

If both are same distance, then take the GST Ulundurpet option. Its much better now a days compared to Vellore-Krisghnagiri. And add to it potholes.

Though once you near Salem, 4-lane becomes 2-lane for some distance on the Vazhapadi-Salem stretch, but I think its still worth it.


So its :

Chengulpet-Ulundurpet-Salem-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalam-Ooty

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by camon

Guys, literally confused again

Im staying in Kodambakkam. Almost both Ponamallee and Pallavaram are almost same distance to me.

Which might be the best route?
FYI.. Im starting on oct 1st week sunday early morning around 4 AM in i10

For me, distance is not an issue. Just road needs to good/perfect atmost so that I can maintain a avg.speed of 80km/hr.

Regards,
Rajesh

Hi camon! Please take the route suggested by ampere. As you would be starting at 4 am, you may not find much traffic on GST road and it will be relatively easy. Take Arcot Road till Porur junction and take 200 feet thereafter which will lead to NH 45 at Perunkalathur junction. Don't miss Annur turn at Avinashi as you may have to deviate from this under construction NH 45 to take SH 19 and then SH 80.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by camon

Guys, literally confused again

Im staying in Kodambakkam. Almost both Ponamallee and Pallavaram are almost same distance to me.

Which might be the best route?
FYI.. Im starting on oct 1st week sunday early morning around 4 AM in i10

For me, distance is not an issue. Just road needs to good/perfect atmost so that I can maintain a avg.speed of 80km/hr.

Regards,
Rajesh

Rajesh, this is no brainer. Come down to Tambaram via IRR, take the NH45. If you are starting around 4 AM, the stretch between Chennai - Ulundurpet would be super empty with all the traffic on the opposite lane. Have your breakfast before Ulundurpet either at A2B or Aryas on the left hand side near the toll booth. You have very little facilities between Ulundurpet & Salem.

If you can stretch your breakfast time to about 9 AM you could as well have it on Salem bypass.


The road upto Salem is more or less done except for one diversion which is easy to handle. No worries about this stretch, please note that since the traffic volumes are not very high on this stretch the bypass for all towns are 2 lane, again well marked in advance.

From Salem it is pretty much straight forward via Avanashi, Annur & Mettupalayam

[camon]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

Rajesh, this is no brainer. Come down to Tambaram via IRR, take the NH45. If you are starting around 4 AM, the stretch between Chennai - Ulundurpet would be super empty with all the traffic on the opposite lane. Have your breakfast before Ulundurpet either at A2B or Aryas on the left hand side near the toll booth. You have very little facilities between Ulundurpet & Salem.

From Salem it is pretty much straight forward via Avanashi, Annur & Mettupalayam

Hi' as planned leaving next day to ooty. From map, got to know A2B BP petrol bunk present Ulunthurpet. So want to know other refill station between ulundurpet and metupalayam stretch .

Rajesh

[saadat1992]

Woah! Quite an old thread that dates back to 2009!

Well, i travel a lot to coimbatore since it's my native! The route i usually use is the NH45! I avoid NH4 since the roads are bad and there is too much of heavy vehicle traffic!
NH45 is any day better for those people who are going down south! Thanks to the superbly maintained roads and lesser heavy vehicle traffic!
Best thing would be to take the Chennai Bypass if you are starting after 6am to beat the airport traffic!
The Vandalur junction and Katankulathur (SRM univ) junctions are bottlenecks! Once you cross the bridge near Chengalpet, the roads open up and you can maintain pretty good triple digit speeds because there are only a few towns and villages unlike the NH4 route!
There are 3 routes from there!

*You can either take the Ulundurpet - Attur - Salem - Avinashi - Coimbatore route but, i believe the 4 lane expansion is going on in this stretch!

*Another route is Trichy - Dindigul - Palani - Udumalpet - Pollachi - Coimbatore route, the Trichy - Dindigul stretch is a pacy one! 4 lane road with zero traffic! Can easily cover the 110km stretch in an hour! But, Palani - Udumalpet is a pain! Thanks to the flyover work that's going on! Also, there are 3 railway crossings in this route! This route will be the best when taken in the afternoon when there is no traffic!

*Another option is the Trichy - Karur - Coimbatore route. In the trichy karur section,the first 16kms the roads are almost inexistent! Once you cross Kulithalai, beautiful 4 lane road welcomes you! The road has been completely laid and the last time i went, the toll plazas were there but were not functional! This route too has zero traffic and you can cover the distance with ease! Karur to coimbatore route is a pacy 2 lane road like the ECR! The Road is wide and good!

[murillo]

Hi bhpians,

I have read through this thread. Since the last post has been made some time back and there may be changes on the ground since, I am raising this query afresh.

I am planning a vacation at Ooty in the last week of March or 1st week of April. I will be driving from Chennai. I would like to know the best route at present.

I live close to Poonamallee high road and can get to Poonamalle in 15 mins. At the same time, it is easy for me to get onto the Inner Ring Road and I can reach GST in 15 mins. I don't like driving on two-way state highways without a median. I also don't like driving in deserted roads because of safety concerns as I will be travelling with my family.

Based on the above, which route will be best at present?
1. Via Vellore, Krishnagiri, Mettur, Sathy, Mettupalayam
or
2. Via Ulundurpet, Salem, Bhavani, Avinasi, Annur, Mettupalayam.

Further, which route is steeper to climb to Ooty - via Kotagiri or Coonor?

Any up-to-date information regarding these is highly appreciated. Thank you.

Regards,
murillo.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by murillo

Based on the above, which route will be best at present?
1. Via Vellore, Krishnagiri, Mettur, Sathy, Mettupalayam
or
2. Via Ulundurpet, Salem, Bhavani, Avinasi, Annur, Mettupalayam.

If you can hit Poonamallee in 15 minutes and you start by 4AM, I think, you can definitely take the Vellore road.
Vellore-Krishnagiri-Salem-Perundurai-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalayam-Ooty

Further, which route is steeper to climb to Ooty - via Kotagiri or Coonor?
Any up-to-date information regarding these is highly appreciated. Thank you.

More than steepness, the Conoor road has more traffic.

[camon]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you can hit Poonamallee in 15 minutes and you start by 4AM, I think, you can definitely take the Vellore road.
Vellore-Krishnagiri-Salem-Perundurai-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalayam-Ooty




More than steepness, the Conoor road has more traffic.

Murillo,
I travelled through ulundherpet mate. Leave yearly by or before 5 am. You wont regret. I do regularly aarani road through ponnamallle , but for god sake i dont know why they collecting toll for that. Its totally pathetic when compared to GST NH road.

Always prefer to go through kotagiri route. Coonor is heavy traffic and overtaking is pain. Which i felt when i returned.

Regards,
Rajesh

[ampere]

Originally Posted by camon

Murillo,
I travelled through ulundherpet mate. Leave yearly by or before 5 am. You wont regret. I do regularly aarani road through ponnamallle , but for god sake i dont know why they collecting toll for that. Its totally pathetic when compared to GST NH road.

Given access to GST and NH4 are equally fast, even I would recommend GST-Ulunderpet-Salem. At least while coming back he is going to hit peak traffic past Kanchi, then definitely GST should be a preferred option.