[dadu]

Thanks hellstar apart from this one I tracked the second route just before Sriperumbudur:

a) After Hyundai plant, Sriperumbudur at the right on the NH4 highway, you will see sipcot Chennai on the left afterwards and an ICO pump on the right. Take the first right onto Kundrathur Road, adjoining Katchipedu town. There's also one road before, leading to the JJ Govt High school (dont take this one). If you have reached Rajiv Gandhi Memorial you have driven further.

b) After crossing Katchipedu, you will immediately see a road deviating to the right leading to manimangalam- tambaram, driving straight on this road you will pass trough small villages before hitting a Manimangalam and a T-Point after you cross the town , take a right from here, you will see Darmeshwarar Temple on the left, keep driving adjacent to the lake till you hit a wider road in front of you, a T-point again.

c) Take a Left on this road, keep driving straight till you hit the Valdalur Railway crossing, you have reached GST road NH45 after the railway crossing, take a left onto GST road.

d) You will reach Vandalur Zoo on the left.Take the left turn on the road after the Vandalur Zoo and between Crecent School and University campus, go straight on this road.

e) You will cross Super forge and Sri ramanujar Engineering college on the right and then Tagore Engineering college on the left. You will see Krisp IT park after some distance on your left and then cross Texx One (P) Ltd, there is a 4-way crossing, just keep going straight till you reach a T-point, take a right into Kelambakkam and then first left , you will cross a canal and reach the ECR, right towards Mahabalipuram and left towards chennai.

This route dives 45 deg touching the Vandalur Zoo therefore will save time, provided road conditions are suitable. Though, the first route is much simpler to follow.

btw, how Mamalla resort, currently exploring all options suggested and found before finalizing

[DWind]

Originally Posted by dadu

c) Take a Left on this road, keep driving straight till you hit the Valdalur Railway crossing, you have reached GST road NH45 after the railway crossing, take a left onto GST road.

A small correction here! You need to take a right on GST Road to reach Otteri (Vandalur Zoo) from this railway crossing as you come from Mannivakkam/ Manimangalam junction.

But would not suggest this road as it is narrow and would slow you down. Also, not recommended when it is dark as you might get lost if you do not know the language. The Chennai Bye-pass route is faster as almost all roads are four-laned except the last connection from kelambakkam to ECR.

[nitrous]

Dadu, don't take the smart route.
Use the four/six lane all the way to ECR as recommended.
Get on the chennai-bypass at maduravoyal and turn left at the crescent college junction in vandalur.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Dadu, don't take the smart route.
Use the four/six lane all the way to ECR as recommended.
Get on the chennai-bypass at maduravoyal and turn left at the crescent college junction in vandalur.

Agreed, was just exploring

[dadu]

Anyone experienced Camp Gloria , hellstar ??
Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!

[swiftrazak]

Hi All,

I am coming to india after a gap of nearly 6 months from UK this weekend. So planning a trip with my wife in next week as she has some exam in chennai on 24th. Could you please suggest some good resorts for 2 or 3 days vaccation. I am looking at 4 star resorts.

Thanks
Abdul

[nitrous]

GRT Temple bay is very good. - GRT Temple Bay
Chariot Beach Resort is also pretty nice. - Welcome to Chariot Beach Resorts, Mahabalipuram [Mamallapuram]

[rajushank84]

@esteem_lover and @hellstar, do you have any idea what actually happened to SilverSands? I remember back in 1993 or so, my Dad was working there and he took us there several times. It was the first beach resort in India, and they were very, very good at that time with facilities like sea-front restaurant, sauna bath, swimming pool, handicraft shops, etc. Sea-front restaurant at that time was literally sitting in front of the sea with the water almost touching your feet, and all kinds of sea-foods which were very exotic at that time (like lobsters etc) were available. The place used to be full of foreigners. The cottages used to feel super-luxurious too. I remember, my dad came up with the idea of par-boiling potatoes in rasam instead of water, before making them as French Fries - these Fries were a hit with the foreigners. They used to come up with all kinds of innovative stuff like this.

What I heard from my dad (a long time back, before he died) is that the owner of SilverSands Mr.Yashwanth was also the owner of Saffire theatre on Mount Road. When a leading politician forcefully took over Saffire Theatre and it went to the dogs, Mr.Yashwanth fell ill and eventually died. His son was not able to take such good care of SilverSands after that. He also didn't treat the veteran senior employees well, so most of them quit.

But what happened after that?? It looks completely different now. When and why in the world did it become vegetarian and non-alcoholic?! All the property and cottages seem to have disappeared. Has it changed hands? Someone was saying that Mayajaal bought the place and sold it off, is that true?

I feel sad every time I cross SilverSands, remembering the days of its full glory and how hard my dad used to work to set up computers and networks in the resort back in 1992-1993 itself, with stuff like Novell Netware and DOS-based accounting and inventory programs created in FORTRAN and Assembly Language with that 640k RAM limitation.

[Vik0728]

hey Guys, hope everyone's doing well.

About a week back I had posted a query on opting for the best route from BANGALORE to KODAIKANAL.
Now the plans have changed back home due to some obligations and we (me and wifey) have decided to visit Mahaballipuram instead. So guys was wondering if any of you could help me with the following:
1. We plan to head this way during the 2nd week of October. So, is this a good time or would we encounter some Monsoon, Chennai Style ?
2. Which should be the Best route and probably the shortest without going through any of the city traffic?
3. we have planned to stay at Highland Homes in Mahaballipuram. Anyone has tried this resort? Any feedbacks if any?

Appreciate your help guys and awaiting your inputs.

[rajushank84]

@Vik0728, I have been to Mahabs quite a few times and I hope I can answer your questions well:

1. In Chennai, weather is 100% unpredictable. There is no telling when it will rain, so my suggestion is just go for it. If it does rain, it will actually feel good because of the hot weather.

2. Bangalore to Mahabs.. hmmmm. Well first of all you would want to completely avoid Chennai and its associated traffic. So here are a few options:

(Option a) Bangalore -> Krishnagiri -> NH 46 -> Vellore -> Kanchipuram -> get into Kanchipuram town, take road to Chengalpet -> get into Chengalpet town -> Tirukalukundram -> Mahabalipuram
This is the default option Google Maps shows you when you search for "Bangalore to Mahabalipuram", and it is probably the best route with good roads. I did the Mahabs - Chengalpet stretch (through Tirukalukundram) recently, and the road is good. If you have religious interest, you may even want to stop by at the Tirukalukundram hill temple which is good to visit.

(Option b) You can consider this if you would like to stretch some 50 kilometers extra and would like to see Pondicherry on the way!
Bangalore -> Krishnagiri -> Uthangarai -> Tiruvannamalai -> Tindivanam -> Pondicherry -> Mahabalipuram
This route is good too! The Krishnagiri to Tindivanam stretch (thru Tiruvannamalai) is very scenic, passes through villages and has plenty of curves. The road surface is good but your speeds would be on the lower side (60-ish). Very enjoyable route to drive. If you haven't seen Pondicherry, I would suggest this option. Of course, you can also stop at the famous Tiruvannamalai temple and Ramanashram if you have a religious interest.
One thing to take care (since you will be traveling with family), the only place where you will find decent hotels with decent toilets in the entire Krishnagiri - Tindivanam stretch, is at Tiruvannamalai town.

3. I have never stayed at Highland Homes, but their location seems to be quite a distance (some 15 km) away from Mahabs. If that is ok with you then fine.

[ampere]

Pros and Cons:

1. ECR is 2L beautiful road, but with lot of traffic. (Supported by the excellent NH46-GQ).
2. NH66 (TV-Malai) Option has pot holes at many places, though it is very scenic.

[Vik0728]

hey raju thank you for that detailed information bro. Really made my work a lot easy and stopped me from scratching the hell out of my head on directions!!
I will be using your post as my GPS now.

ampere I am pretty good in understanding stuffs but your post kind of caught me off guard buddy!! I could not understand what you actually wanted to convey.

[rjstyles69]

(Option b) You can consider this if you would like to stretch some 50 kilometers extra and would like to see Pondicherry on the way!
Bangalore -> Krishnagiri -> Uthangarai -> Tiruvannamalai -> Tindivanam -> Pondicherry -> Mahabalipuram
This route is good too! The Krishnagiri to Tindivanam stretch (thru Tiruvannamalai) is very scenic, passes through villages and has plenty of curves. The road surface is good but your speeds would be on the lower side (60-ish). Very enjoyable route to drive. If you haven't seen Pondicherry, I would suggest this option. Of course, you can also stop at the famous Tiruvannamalai temple and Ramanashram if you have a religious interest.

And you better watch out for the potholes along this route if you plan to take your Santro. Just did this route about 3 weeks and the scorp' was bouncing all thru. After the Krishnagiri once you take the right towards to Thiruvannamalai the road gets a tad bit bad all the way till Thiruvannamalai.

Beyond the temple town its quite decent roads.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

ampere I am pretty good in understanding stuffs but your post kind of caught me off guard buddy!! I could not understand what you actually wanted to convey.

Sorry if I confused you. All I wanted to mention was if you plan to go via Vellore-Kanchi route, it would good till Kanchi (NH46-GQ) and then you will have to tackle local buses through Kanchi and then ECR (East Coast Road). ECR is a very good 2L but I hear folks pretty rash on that road.

The other option which is NH66 (Via Tiruvannamalai-Gingee) is less crowded and also scenic. But NH66 has quite a lot of potholes!

So either route you decide, you have some good stuff and some bad stuff.

So my take is : You you can drive one way and come back the other.

[Vik0728]

hey rj thank you bro for the info. Just in case you've forgotten, I sold my Santro and Picked up a Getz 1.3 in May. So, I'm sure it wouldn't be very difficult to navigate through those pot holes now!!

Appreciate all the tips Ampere and yes just as you have suggested, will do 2 different trips while heading towards Mahabs or getting back. Thank you bro or the information again.