Kodaikanal travel, road conditions

floyd · 15th November 2009, 17:14

Hi guys,
Seeing the thread on landslides on Ooty-Conoor-Mettupalyam, I thought is would be prudent to ask this.
I am planning a trip to Kodaikanal in this weekend (20-Nov). How would the roads along this route be? I was planning Bangalore->Hosur->K'giri->Salem->Dindigul->Kodai. I know it's all plains till Salem, but I am not aware of the stretch from Salem to Kodaikanal. Would someone please advise on the conditions, and also if there's a better route? Trip involves 4 people in a Ford Ikon, so please, no off-roading!!

ranjitp1 · 15th November 2009, 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by floyd

Hi guys,
Seeing the thread on landslides on Ooty-Conoor-Mettupalyam, I thought is would be prudent to ask this.
I am planning a trip to Kodaikanal in this weekend (20-Nov). How would the roads along this route be? I was planning Bangalore->Hosur->K'giri->Salem->Dindigul->Kodai. I know it's all plains till Salem, but I am not aware of the stretch from Salem to Kodaikanal. Would someone please advise on the conditions, and also if there's a better route? Trip involves 4 people in a Ford Ikon, so please, no off-roading!!

The Dindigul route would be a longer one and plus you would have to negotiate the 4laning mess at Salem.The recco route would be BLR-HOSUR-THOPPUR-METTUR-BHAVANI-PERUNDURAI(Turn left off NH47)-Chennimalai-Kangeyam-Dharapuram-Palani Kodai.Would be a distance of around 540-550kms with the ghat section of around 80kms between Palani & Kodai.

balajeshi · 16th November 2009, 08:48

Hi Ranjit ,

As for the four laning till Dindigul it is complete except for couple of diversion to one side of the fourlane between namakkal to Karur ,the NH7 is beauty to drive went on it just 10 days back.

But as you mentioned it is a longer route

floyd · 16th November 2009, 13:54

Quote:

The recco route would be BLR-HOSUR-THOPPUR-METTUR-BHAVANI-PERUNDURAI(Turn left off NH47)-Chennimalai-Kangeyam-Dharapuram-Palani Koda

I was not aware of this route at all! How do I get to the Thoppur road from Hosur? I guess there must be proper signs, as Hosur is on the golden quad routes?

BTW, this means I dont need to go down to Salem at all. I found Salem roads quite confusing, the last time I drove there, on-route to Yercaud. Language problems is another issue, so asking for directions was quite a nightmare!

funda2max · 16th November 2009, 14:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by floyd

I was not aware of this route at all! How do I get to the Thoppur road from Hosur? I guess there must be proper signs, as Hosur is on the golden quad routes?

BTW, this means I dont need to go down to Salem at all. I found Salem roads quite confusing, the last time I drove there, on-route to Yercaud. Language problems is another issue, so asking for directions was quite a nightmare!

Straight down the NH7 till Thoppur, there you will see sign boards to Mettur (Right hand side). It is pretty easy and straight forward. Yes, You can skip Salem in this route.

Dadi Bhote · 16th November 2009, 15:17

The road from Dindigul via Batalagundulu to Kodai is a very nice road and good surface.

floyd · 24th November 2009, 14:36

Hi guys,
Just returned yesterday. Man, it was a long and tiring drive! Reached Bangalore yesterday evening just in time for mind-numbing traffic on e-city->Hosur rd->ORR

The route I took was as suggested, Hosur->Krishnagiri->Thoppur->Leave NH-7, join SH-20->Mettur->Bhavani->NH-47 to Perundurai->Leave NH-47 to enter Perundurai, take SH-96->Kangeyam->Dharapuram->Palani->Kodai.

The drive was great till Thoppur, as expected, but was tiresome on the SH roads. The route between Mettur and Palani takes you through all these towns on the route, so you have to constantly deal with slow moving buses, which stop to load people, and of course, the village-idiots on lunas riding on the middle of the road, and not giving you pass even if you blast your horn at them! This stretch really tries your patience, but after Palani, there is less traffic, and it's a ghat road. The ghat section is long (50kms approx.), but not as steep as the Masinagidi->Ooty route.
On the way to Kodai, I took SH-153 from Dharapuram to Palani, but on the way back I took another route (SH-83 I think), which was much better. A small problem I faced on the way back... there was no decent place to stop for lunch after Palani. I had to make it all the way to Thoppur and stop at A2B at around 4:00PM for a very late lunch.

gopikb · 24th November 2009, 15:46

Hi Floyd, Even though the drive was tiring, I hope you had a great time in Kodai. Can you also post the total time that you took to drive from Bangalore to Kodai and then from Kodai to Bangalore? When using state highways, the village traffic is expected. But how is the road condition? Is it good enough to drive at 80km/hr or is it riddled with potholes?

klassics45 · 25th November 2009, 17:41

how was the climate in kodaikanal? is it raining over there? we are starting tonight so it would good to know.

ravibhat · 25th November 2009, 18:52

I travelled in same route in March 2009, I remember eating food in dharapuram where there is very good restaurant side of road, it was neat and clean too.

I agree about one need to cross lot of town/village but I found not too much of traffic may be my driver negotiated the traffic very well. We left Bangalore around 6:30am and reached Palani around 3PM and Kodai by 6PM. We took lot of stops. We travelled in Alto. Best driving style and excellant road and Michellin tyres all the way made us feel so comfortable. Same 450+km in Karnataka would have made us tired!

Ravi.

floyd · 25th November 2009, 19:25

@ gopikb: I started at 6:00AM, reached Palani at around lunchtime. Stopped in Palani to visit the temple, and then continued to Kodai at around 3:00PM. We finally reached the hotel (Villa Retreat) by around 5:00PM I think. On the way back, it was 9:30AM from Kodai, reached Hosur by 5:30PM. After that... another 2 hours to my house near OMR due to traffic!

@ klassics45: It's a little chilly, and raining. Do take a light jacket, or something warmer if you have a tendency to catch a cold.

I should post a complete travelogue with pics... just busy with work in office, so could not do it yet.

@ ravibhat: Well, I guess I must be getting old, and losing patience then

But seriously, I think the problem was that I did not take too many stops, especially on the way back, when it was Kodia to Thoppur non-stop! Roads are not pot-holed, but some of the SH-20 stretches are rough and uneven. So you could still drive at 60~80, but there would be lot of vibrations. But nothing to worry too much about... my car has endured much worse roads on the Ooty route, for instance.

klassics45 · 29th November 2009, 18:05

@floyd, Thanks, i just returned from there. The climate was great. sunny but chill when the wind blows. thankfully no rain for all three days. roads have the usual damage due to rain but no issues to reach any where in and around kodai.

neeraj_125 · 4th December 2009, 13:19

Floyd how is this place Villa retreat, read some good reviews of the hotel, what are its off season tarrifs? I don't trust the printed rates of any hotel.
Do they have discounts for larger group of 3 couples?

gopikb · 4th December 2009, 16:36

Hi floyd / klassiccs45

The Team BHP recommended route since the last three years from Bangalore to Kodai is the route that you both had traveled recently.

Hosur->Krishnagiri->Thoppur->Leave NH-7, join SH-20->Mettur->Bhavani->NH-47 to Perundurai->Leave NH-47 to enter Perundurai, take SH-96->Kangeyam->Dharapuram->Palani->Kodai

But as of today, it seems that the route from Bangalore to Kodai Road through Salem - Karur -Namakkal - Dindugal - Batlagundu is fully 4 - laned and completed. Given this, now the easier to drive and safer route from Bangalore to Kodai should be through Salem -Karur - Namakkal - Dindugal. Do you agree to this?

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the drive through the state highways are more scenic compared to National highway.

klassics45 · 4th December 2009, 20:01

@gopikb, I went from chennai. so the route was chennai > trichy > dindugul

15th November 2009, 17:14	#1
floyd BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 182 Thanked: 90 Times	Kodaikanal travel, road conditions Hi guys, Seeing the thread on landslides on Ooty-Conoor-Mettupalyam, I thought is would be prudent to ask this. I am planning a trip to Kodaikanal in this weekend (20-Nov). How would the roads along this route be? I was planning Bangalore->Hosur->K'giri->Salem->Dindigul->Kodai. I know it's all plains till Salem, but I am not aware of the stretch from Salem to Kodaikanal. Would someone please advise on the conditions, and also if there's a better route? Trip involves 4 people in a Ford Ikon, so please, no off-roading!!
	() Thanks

16th November 2009, 08:48	#3
balajeshi BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 65 Thanked: 3 Times	Hi Ranjit , As for the four laning till Dindigul it is complete except for couple of diversion to one side of the fourlane between namakkal to Karur ,the NH7 is beauty to drive went on it just 10 days back. But as you mentioned it is a longer route
	() Thanks

16th November 2009, 15:17	#6
Dadi Bhote BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Secunderabad , AP. Posts: 37 Thanked: 2 Times	The road from Dindigul via Batalagundulu to Kodai is a very nice road and good surface.
	() Thanks

24th November 2009, 14:36	#7
floyd BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 182 Thanked: 90 Times	Hi guys, Just returned yesterday. Man, it was a long and tiring drive! Reached Bangalore yesterday evening just in time for mind-numbing traffic on e-city->Hosur rd->ORR The route I took was as suggested, Hosur->Krishnagiri->Thoppur->Leave NH-7, join SH-20->Mettur->Bhavani->NH-47 to Perundurai->Leave NH-47 to enter Perundurai, take SH-96->Kangeyam->Dharapuram->Palani->Kodai. The drive was great till Thoppur, as expected, but was tiresome on the SH roads. The route between Mettur and Palani takes you through all these towns on the route, so you have to constantly deal with slow moving buses, which stop to load people, and of course, the village-idiots on lunas riding on the middle of the road, and not giving you pass even if you blast your horn at them! This stretch really tries your patience, but after Palani, there is less traffic, and it's a ghat road. The ghat section is long (50kms approx.), but not as steep as the Masinagidi->Ooty route. On the way to Kodai, I took SH-153 from Dharapuram to Palani, but on the way back I took another route (SH-83 I think), which was much better. A small problem I faced on the way back... there was no decent place to stop for lunch after Palani. I had to make it all the way to Thoppur and stop at A2B at around 4:00PM for a very late lunch.
	() Thanks

24th November 2009, 15:46	#8
gopikb BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 554 Thanked: 390 Times	Hi Floyd, Even though the drive was tiring, I hope you had a great time in Kodai. Can you also post the total time that you took to drive from Bangalore to Kodai and then from Kodai to Bangalore? When using state highways, the village traffic is expected. But how is the road condition? Is it good enough to drive at 80km/hr or is it riddled with potholes?
	() Thanks

25th November 2009, 17:41	#9
klassics45 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 305 Thanked: 277 Times View My Garage	how was the climate in kodaikanal? is it raining over there? we are starting tonight so it would good to know.
	() Thanks

25th November 2009, 18:52	#10
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	I travelled in same route in March 2009, I remember eating food in dharapuram where there is very good restaurant side of road, it was neat and clean too. I agree about one need to cross lot of town/village but I found not too much of traffic may be my driver negotiated the traffic very well. We left Bangalore around 6:30am and reached Palani around 3PM and Kodai by 6PM. We took lot of stops. We travelled in Alto. Best driving style and excellant road and Michellin tyres all the way made us feel so comfortable. Same 450+km in Karnataka would have made us tired! Ravi.
	() Thanks

25th November 2009, 19:25	#11
floyd BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 182 Thanked: 90 Times	@ gopikb: I started at 6:00AM, reached Palani at around lunchtime. Stopped in Palani to visit the temple, and then continued to Kodai at around 3:00PM. We finally reached the hotel (Villa Retreat) by around 5:00PM I think. On the way back, it was 9:30AM from Kodai, reached Hosur by 5:30PM. After that... another 2 hours to my house near OMR due to traffic! @ klassics45: It's a little chilly, and raining. Do take a light jacket, or something warmer if you have a tendency to catch a cold. I should post a complete travelogue with pics... just busy with work in office, so could not do it yet. @ ravibhat: Well, I guess I must be getting old, and losing patience then But seriously, I think the problem was that I did not take too many stops, especially on the way back, when it was Kodia to Thoppur non-stop! Roads are not pot-holed, but some of the SH-20 stretches are rough and uneven. So you could still drive at 60~80, but there would be lot of vibrations. But nothing to worry too much about... my car has endured much worse roads on the Ooty route, for instance.
	() Thanks

29th November 2009, 18:05	#12
klassics45 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 305 Thanked: 277 Times View My Garage	@floyd, Thanks, i just returned from there. The climate was great. sunny but chill when the wind blows. thankfully no rain for all three days. roads have the usual damage due to rain but no issues to reach any where in and around kodai.
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 13:19	#13
neeraj_125 Newbie Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17 Thanked: 0 Times	Floyd how is this place Villa retreat, read some good reviews of the hotel, what are its off season tarrifs? I don't trust the printed rates of any hotel. Do they have discounts for larger group of 3 couples?
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 16:36	#14
gopikb BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 554 Thanked: 390 Times	Hi floyd / klassiccs45 The Team BHP recommended route since the last three years from Bangalore to Kodai is the route that you both had traveled recently. Hosur->Krishnagiri->Thoppur->Leave NH-7, join SH-20->Mettur->Bhavani->NH-47 to Perundurai->Leave NH-47 to enter Perundurai, take SH-96->Kangeyam->Dharapuram->Palani->Kodai But as of today, it seems that the route from Bangalore to Kodai Road through Salem - Karur -Namakkal - Dindugal - Batlagundu is fully 4 - laned and completed. Given this, now the easier to drive and safer route from Bangalore to Kodai should be through Salem -Karur - Namakkal - Dindugal. Do you agree to this? Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the drive through the state highways are more scenic compared to National highway.
	() Thanks

4th December 2009, 20:01	#15
klassics45 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 305 Thanked: 277 Times View My Garage	@gopikb, I went from chennai. so the route was chennai > trichy > dindugul
	() Thanks