[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

There are two other alternatives you can think of.

Chennai - Perambalur - Veeraganur - Namagiripettai - Kolli Hills.

Chennai Veppur - Attur - Namagiripettai - Kolli Hills

I am not aware of the current road conditions though in both the cases.

Option 1 is good but I am worried about the road condition from Perambalur-Veeraganur-Namagiripettai.

Option 2 is not worth as of now since the NH68 widening is still in progress (Salem-Attur-Kallakurichi-Ulundurpettai).

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Option 1 is good but I am worried about the road condition from Perambalur-Veeraganur-Namagiripettai.

Option 2 is not worth as of now since the NH68 widening is still in progress (Salem-Attur-Kallakurichi-Ulundurpettai).

With regard to the first one you are right with regard to the road conditions though I think you can take the risk. With regard to the second one I consciously suggested Veppur because you would skip the entire Ulundurpettai - Kallakurichi - Chinnasalem stretch. From Veppur to Attur it is only about 50 odd kms with only about 20 kms on NH68. Worth taking a risk in my opinion.

[manavdotcom]

What is the update on these routes ? Which one to take from Chennai ?

[arun_josie]

Kolli Hills drive from Bangalore:
After two months of a dry spell,I decided to hit the road for a long drive and the destination was Kolli Hills. I had a couple of my friends for company. This trip was made just for the driving pleasure and nothing else. The only reason behind the destination was that its a new location to me. Thanks to team bhpian speedsatya for his suggestion.

I took the Namakkal route because I had to pick one of my friend for the drive and then drop him back as well.

Started from bangalore by 4:00 AM and returned to bangalore by 9:00 PM

Total KMs: 649.9(Bangalore - Salem - Namakal - Kolli Hills - Namakal - Salem(+10Km city drive) - Bangalore

• Normal route would be through Rasipuram(from bangalore).
• The road condition was excellent throughout except couple of KMs.
• Total 70 harpin bends(one way).
• The roads on the hill are narrow.
• Less traffic and not a crowded place.
• Two wheelers are more and they just turnoff the engine while coming down. Hence we need to be careful.
• The climate was awesome.
• Options for food is very less, better to pack if you want to stay there till evening.
• Couldn't find any ATM.
• There was one fuel station, India Oil.

Few pics from dash cam,







Pics from my mobile cam,







Some more pics and information related to fuel efficiency are updated here,
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3496344

[ampere]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

I took the Namakkal route because I had to pick one of my friend for the drive and then drop him back as well.

Normal route would be through Rasipuram(from bangalore).
The road condition was excellent throughout except couple of KMs.

I think after tasting the Thuraiyur route to Trichy, I would say it would be worth checking out the Budhansanthai/Santhamangalam route to Kolli Malai.

Route Link


I am sure this would turn out to be much faster than getting into Rasipuram.

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by ampere

I think after tasting the Thuraiyur route to Trichy, I would say it would be worth checking out the Budhansanthai/Santhamangalam route to Kolli Malai.

I am sure this would turn out to be much faster than getting into Rasipuram.

Good option though longer by 8-9 KMs. Advantage would be 4 lane roads for a longer distance than the conventional route.

But I guess it depends on the time on which we are taking this route.
During day time, the lorry traffic will be more from Budhan Santhai-Senthamangalam stretch (guess from 8 AM till 9 PM) as it is used as namakkal bypass by lorries.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Kolli Hills drive from Bangalore:..

Thanks Arun!
Can you share some pictures/information of what is there at Kolli Hills from a visitors perspective - A waterfall, what else ? Did you go there ?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks Arun!
Can you share some pictures/information of what is there at Kolli Hills from a visitors perspective - A waterfall, what else ? Did you go there ?

There is not much to see as I understand. Its just a nice place on the hills, pretty much like Yelagiri. But at least Yelagiri has some places to stay. Here there are next to none.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks Arun!
Can you share some pictures/information of what is there at Kolli Hills from a visitors perspective - A waterfall, what else ? Did you go there ?

As mentioned by ampere there is not much to see.

Apart from the hilltop,
- There is a waterfalls but you will have to go down a stairway for around 1000+ steps.(We didn't go)
- Arappulishwarar Temple, which is supposedly famous.It is another 12-15Kms after reaching the top.
- You get fruits like Jack fruit, Pineapple etc at good price. While returning 500L boot was filled with Jack fruit and Pineapple.
- You also get good quality spices there, but we didn't buy any.

Overall, the roads are good with trees both sides and the weather was awesome when we went.
I will try to add more pics from my dash cam later.

For staying options, I saw couple of them but not sure how good they are,
- P.A Holiday Inn
- Nallathambi Residency

[ampere]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

There is not much to see.

Thats the other reason why I never planned a visit to this place. Its too far from Bangalore just for a day's drive. Or may be the other option is, to visit the place, drive back to Salem, stay put for the night and drive back home the next day. Gives you the feeling of a weekend well spent! But not worth just for a day's drive from Bangalore.

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Another option could be, on a 3 day weekend go to Kolli Hills first and then Yercaud where you get some good places to stay. Again, you need to have some patience to take that 70 harpin bends to and fro.

Thats also a good one. Only if there had been some good places to stay. Because driving 70 hairpins up and then again down, on the same day, without staying at the place, is good for the drive no doubt, but the guys in the back seat would revolt!

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by ampere

Thats the other reason why I never planned a visit to this place. Its too far from Bangalore just for a day's drive. Or may be the other option is, to visit the place, drive back to Salem, stay put for the night and drive back home the next day. Gives you feeling weekend well spent! But not worth just for a day's drive from Bangalore.

Another option could be, on a 3 day weekend go to Kolli Hills first and then Yercaud where you get some good places to stay. Again, you need to have some patience to take that 70 harpin bends to and fro.

[Landkruzer]

Went to Kolli Hills on Sunday from my native home near thiruchengode . On my previous short, unplanned visits from my native home, I had taken the regular route (Karavalli-Solakkadu 70 hair pin bend road). So wanted to try to the Mullukurichi route as it has less hair-pin bends and ascends gradually. My BIL checked with his sources and confirmed that the route is ok, so decided to take it.

Reached Mullukurichi from home around 11.30 am. With some breaks and taking a wrong route, we finally reached Arappaleshwar temple at 2 pm. This is the route we should have taken https://goo.gl/maps/EzZRTdRXJur, instead we took this by mistake. https://goo.gl/maps/oxroGFs8xeK2. It took more than 2 hrs for us to go down to falls and climb back. (1000 steps). After spending some time at boat house, we returned through the regular Solakkadu-Karavalli route.

Road Conditions:
Andalore Gate(NH7)-Rasipuram bypass-Mullukurichi: Good to excellent.
Mullukurichi- Arappaleshwar temple: Mostly in good condition except for about 4 kms of average roads with potholes, but manageable. (not talking about the route I took by mistake).
Solakkadu-Karavalli(70 hairpin bends) is in excellent condition.
Karavalli-Belukurichi-Rasipuram bypass-Andalore gate is also in good condition.

Though the Mullukurichi route is slightly longer and has bad patches , I would prefer this route to go up as the traffic is less and fewer hairpin bends. (great relief for my knee )

[concorde24]

I had visited Kolli-hills from Chennai couple of months back with my friends and we took the Ulundurpet, Attur, Belukurichi, karavalli, Solakkad route. The road condition for the entire-trip including that of Hair-pin bends was good.

I was travelling in my friends' car - Verito Petrol for the trip and we had a strange incident. After about 50 hair-pin bends in the ghat section, the car just stalled, and we were unable to continue further. Later it started, but could not move at all, even when we stood on accelerator. Luckily it did not stall on a intersection and we had a clearing where we could park the car off the road and allow it to cool. After 30 min it was OK and we moved on. We did not have any problem on the way down.

We had stayed in Silverline resorts in Kolli hills and service was pretty good and I would recommend this for stay & food. We also got lot of spices (thinai, varagu, pepper & masala stuff) from Kolli hills and quality was very good with approx 50% cheaper than Chennai prices.

[ramanan.skr]

Originally Posted by Landkruzer

Went to Kolli Hills on Sunday from my native home near thiruchengode .

How is the weather now? I am planning for a trip to Kollimalai next week..

[Landkruzer]

Originally Posted by ramanan.skr

How is the weather now? I am planning for a trip to Kollimalai next week..

The weather was pleasant during day time. The breeze was chilly in the evening. We left the hill by 7. I guess it can get colder in the night.