[ampere]

Senthil,

I explicitly mentioned about NH7 by-passes only. I remember HVK mentioning all the NH7-bypasses in Madurai are complete.
But since I am not sure, I let the master himself comment.

[omatunto]

It will be the first time, I drive down to Madurai from Bangalore sometime next week. Could you help me with the following

1. From this thread, I understand the route as follows

Bannerghatta Road(NICE)->Hosur->Krishnagiri->Dharmapuri-Toppur->Omalur->Salem->Rasampalayam->Namakkal->Karur->Velanchettiyur->Karur->Dindigul->Kodai Road->Dindigul->Madurai

Correct me if I am wrong here.

2. Can I also assume the above route is a four-lane just like the Bangalore->Hosur->Chennai route and it is all fully complete without any deviations?

3. I will have to reach Thirunagar at the outskirts of Madurai. I guess it is near by Thirumangalam and the bye-pass. Considering I don't have to get into the city, can I estimate to complete the route under 6 hours non-stop? I do the Bangalore->Hosur->Chennai route under 5 hours.

4. I also plan to visit Kodaikanal and Thanjavur. Suggest the good hotels here.

5. Keeping Madurai as base, I need suggestions to visit places and later Thanjavur/Kumbakonam as base as well.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by omatunto

It will be the first time, I drive down to Madurai from Bangalore sometime next week. Could you help me with the following

1. From this thread, I understand the route as follows

Bannerghatta Road(NICE)->Hosur->Krishnagiri->Dharmapuri-Toppur->Omalur->Salem->Rasampalayam->Namakkal->Karur->Velanchettiyur->Karur->Dindigul->Kodai Road->Dindigul->Madurai

Correct me if I am wrong here.

Yes, This is the correct route, from Hosur. I am not sure of the Bannerghatta road. I guess it depends on the part of the city you live in.
I take the elevated highway from Madiwala all the way upto Electronic City and continue from there on.

Originally Posted by omatunto

2. Can I also assume the above route is a four-lane just like the Bangalore->Hosur->Chennai route and it is all fully complete without any deviations?

This is in fact much better than the chennai route due to much lesser traffic from salem onwards (from my experience in the past couple of months). No deviations required at any place. Just keep to NH-7, 4-lane road.

Originally Posted by omatunto

3. I will have to reach Thirunagar at the outskirts of Madurai. I guess it is near by Thirumangalam and the bye-pass. Considering I don't have to get into the city, can I estimate to complete the route under 6 hours non-stop? I do the Bangalore->Hosur->Chennai route under 5 hours.

I think you can do it based on how long it takes to reach Thirunagar from the bye-pass. Not sure about this section. Keeping it around 100 km for most part of the travel, I have done this in 6.5 hrs including couple of short breaks.

Originally Posted by omatunto

5. Keeping Madurai as base, I need suggestions to visit places and later Thanjavur/Kumbakonam as base as well.

Depends on what kind of places you are interested in. Lots of temples in and around these places..

[ampere]

You can do Madurai and Kodai in one leg.

From Kodai drive to Trichy and with Trichy as base you can do Trichy/Tanjore.
Good hotel in Trichy: Royal Southern.

There are plenty in Madurai. You just need to pick one.

No reason to come back to Madurai from Kodai (Unless you have some reasons of your own)

[csentil]

Ok.. Here's the lowdown. Just came back from a trip to Madurai and Rameswaram. Will do a Travelogue if I get some fotos done.

Bangalore to Madurai - 430kms+

The road to Madurai is a beauty. NH7 all the way. The only town you will ever need to go inside is Hosur. All other towns are bypassed really well. Salem bypass is the old one. But with some flyover construction its that much better.

Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem -Namakkal - Karur - Dindigul - Samayanallur - Madurai.

Actually I shouldn't even mention Namakkal, Karur, Dindigul because you don't even see those towns. Just the exit roads!!

Silk Board 7.30 AM.
A2B - 8.30 AM
Departure from A2B - 9.00 AM.
Salem - 10.25 AM.
Samayanallur - 12.40 PM
Madurai Railway station - 1.00 PM.

Upto Salem the road is really good. Some amount of traffic, being a friday morning. After Salem the road is bloody brilliant. We did Salem to Madurai, a distance of 245 kms+ in around 150 minutes. Some stretches we were able to maintain average cruising speeds of 130 kmph for long periods of time. So our average speeds were very high.

Lorry traffic is very less. Two wheeler traffic is high as you near the big towns.

To get into Madurai Town
Samayanallur flyover is not yet open fully. Samayanallur to Madurai city is irritating. You have to get onto a side road and then take the old road into Madurai town via Fatima college and the old bypass, turn left after Arrapalayam bus stand and go straight on till you hit the Madurai Railway station. This is the old 2 laned road with patched up conditions.

For Thirunagar, please continue onward on the highway till you hit the next junction. You will see a board mentioning Thirunagar. I would suggest that you slow down after the Samayanallur junction so that you can watch the boards. In case you miss it, you will hit Thirumangalam and then you can always double back. Do not go via Madurai city as you will lose a lot of time.

Madurai to Rameshwaram. Distance - 170kms

Bypassing Madurai is an option, if you are driving straight ahead from Bangalore. To bypass Madurai, one has to go all the way to Thirumangalam and then double back on the Thirumangalam - Mattuthavani road (which most buses from Mattuthavani bus stand use to go to Thirunelveli and beyond). You will hit the NH49 junction and then you need to take a right here towards Rameswaram. This is 40kms+ as compared to going inside the Madurai.

The catch is you can spend easily the same amount of time wading through Madurai traffic.

So depending on the time of day, you can decide whether to go inside the city or take the bypass. I would suggest taking the roundabout route if you don't have anything to do in Madurai!

Madurai - Paramakudi - Ramanathapuram - Mandapam - Pamban - Rameswaram.

Madurai - 11.05 AM
Rameswaram - 2.10 PM. 10 minute stop on Pamban Bridge.

Two lane all the way. Bad sand lorry traffic between Madurai and Paramakudi. Watch out! Road condition is ok to good. Be careful on the curves. You will have lorries sometimes overtake each other.

Paramakudi - Rameswaram was a breeze. Good roads almost throughout. Some stretches are empty. Again lot of 2 wheelers as you near the towns.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by omatunto

4. I also plan to visit Kodaikanal and Thanjavur. Suggest the good hotels here.

5. Keeping Madurai as base, I need suggestions to visit places and later Thanjavur/Kumbakonam as base as well.

Keeping Madurai as base, you can visit Thiruparankundram, Azhagar Koil, Pazhamudhircholai, Thirumoghur (near Melur) for temples. You can also see Athisayam theme park which is on the way from samayanallur to madurai.

I guess for reaching Kumbakonam, you can take either of these routes.

Madurai->Melur->Thirupathur (on the way to Karaikudi)->Pudukkottai->Thanjavur->Kumbakonam
OR
Madurai->Trichy->Thanjavur->Kumbakonam

The second option is longer route. The first one is the bus route.

For temples near Tanjore/Kumbakonam, i would suggest you to keep Kumbakonam as base, because you can visit temples in both the east (towards Mayiladuthurai/Karaikal) and west (Thanjavur) directions. Otherwise, if you keep Thanjavur as base, you may have to cross Kumbakonam and travel additional 40 kms+ to see temples around Mayiladuthurai/Karaikal side. There are hundreds of temples around kumbakonam. You can get many posts from team-bhp and from other sites toos.

-Ravi

[perseus]

May be little OT but I am visiting Rameshwaram in last week of dec and would like to visit Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. (Kurusadai Island). I read on wikipedia that public access to park is prohibited. Any pointers please ? I will be driving from Bangalore. [FONT=Arial][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/FONT]

[Rajesh K R]

one basic doubt regarding the NH-7 :

I read in some post that some two wheelers will be coming in the wrong lane, ie driving into your direction in your side of the median and one needs to be very careful when driving in NH-7.

I want to understand, NH-7 being a tolled road, how does these two wheelers access the GQ road so easily.

a) Don't they pay any toll ?
b) Is there no Highway patrol or any such policing agency?
c) Do the villages on the side of the hightway have easy access to the
NH-7?

I have so far not been on NH-7, so trying to understand, and when i think of a tolled road, NICE corridor comes into my mind, hence the comparison & doubt.

Can the regular users of NH-7 may please throw some light on this ?

[asdon]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

one basic doubt regarding the NH-7 :

I read in some post that some two wheelers will be coming in the wrong lane, ie driving into your direction in your side of the median and one needs to be very careful when driving in NH-7.

I want to understand, NH-7 being a tolled road, how does these two wheelers access the GQ road so easily.

a) Don't they pay any toll ?
b) Is there no Highway patrol or any such policing agency?
c) Do the villages on the side of the hightway have easy access to the
NH-7?

I have so far not been on NH-7, so trying to understand, and when i think of a tolled road, NICE corridor comes into my mind, hence the comparison & doubt.

Can the regular users of NH-7 may please throw some light on this ?

Your doubts are justified, but there is a small difference in toll road and access controlled highway(Mumbai - Pune Expressway/ Elevated Road on Hosur Road/NICE). So you will find local traffic in between NHs which are toll road as well, highway petrol is very less on NH 7, and limited to +/- 5 km from the toll booths.

And the local traffic using the toll roads in between two toll booths do pay toll

[NPV]

Folks - need your valuable suggestions.
Planning to drive down from Bangalore to Poovar, Kanyakumari, Rameswaram during Dec 24-28.

Dec 24: Bangalore - Madurai - Poovar - stay at Poovar Island
Dec 25: Poovar Island
Dec 26: Start from Poovar at 6am - Nedumangad (Attend a function there and start after lunch).
Nedumangad - Kanyakumari - stay at Kanyakumari
Dec 27: Kanyakumari - Rameswaram - Kanyakumari
Dec 28: Kanyakumari - Bangalore

Questions:
1. Based on Route/road conditions is this achievable in the above timeframe ?
2. Not sure about availablity at Poovar Island resort, if not available any alternative options for stay at Poovar or nearby ?
3. What is the route for Madurai - Poovar and distance/time ?
4. What is the route for Poovar - Nedumangad and distance/time ?
5. Can I comfortably do the Kanyakumari - Bangalore drive in a day if I start by 9am ?

Thanks in advance.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by NPV

Folks - need your valuable suggestions.
Planning to drive down from Bangalore to Poovar, Kanyakumari, Rameswaram during Dec 24-28.

Dec 24: Bangalore - Madurai - Poovar - stay at Poovar Island
Dec 25: Poovar Island
Dec 26: Start from Poovar at 6am - Nedumangad (Attend a function there and start after lunch).
Nedumangad - Kanyakumari - stay at Kanyakumari
Dec 27: Kanyakumari - Rameswaram - Kanyakumari
Dec 28: Kanyakumari - Bangalore

Questions:
1. Based on Route/road conditions is this achievable in the above timeframe ?
2. Not sure about availablity at Poovar Island resort, if not available any alternative options for stay at Poovar or nearby ?
3. What is the route for Madurai - Poovar and distance/time ?
4. What is the route for Poovar - Nedumangad and distance/time ?
5. Can I comfortably do the Kanyakumari - Bangalore drive in a day if I start by 9am ?

Thanks in advance.

1. Yes. It is very much possible.

3. Madurai - Tirunelveli-Nagarkovil-TVM-Poovar Total distance would be close to 300 Kms.

4. Should be pretty easy. Less than 50 Kms.

5. Yes. Very much possible.

Now, my question to you.
Why would you want to do Kanyakumari-Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari? You can directly drive down from Rameshwaram-Bangalore.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Now, my question to you.
Why would you want to do Kanyakumari-Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari? You can directly drive down from Rameshwaram-Bangalore.

Thanks Ramesh.
I planned to stay at Kanyakumari since I was told hotels are better than at Rameshwaram, do let me know your thoughts/suggestions.
This plan is based on assumption that we will attend the function at Nedumangad, also thinking of an alternate plan in case we decide to skip it.

Dec 24: Bangalore - Madurai, stay overnight
Dec 25: Madurai - Rameshwaram, stay overnight
Dec 26: Rameshwaram - Kanyakumari, stay overnight
Dec 27: Kanyakumari
Dec 28: Kanyakumari - Bangalore

Please advise on this option:
1. Any changes to the above route/plan ?
2. Will I have enough time to at least visit Meenakshi temple in Madurai and the important places in Rameshwaram & Kanyakumari ? Visit Dhanushkodi/Tranquebar in Rameshwaram ? (Never been to all these places).
3. And most importantly - suggestions for hotels.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Now, my question to you.
Why would you want to do Kanyakumari-Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari? You can directly drive down from Rameshwaram-Bangalore.

Ramesh has a point there. Also Rameshwaram to KK (via Tiruchendur/Tuticorin/Ramnad by ECR) is 5-6 hours.
So anyway it would be next to impossible to start from KK, visit Rameshwaram and come back also!

There are decent lodges/hotels in Rameshwaram where you can stay (dont seem to remember names.)

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks Ramesh.
I planned to stay at Kanyakumari since I was told hotels are better than at Rameshwaram, do let me know your thoughts/suggestions.
This plan is based on assumption that we will attend the function at Nedumangad, also thinking of an alternate plan in case we decide to skip it.

Dec 24: Bangalore - Madurai, stay overnight
Dec 25: Madurai - Rameshwaram, stay overnight
Dec 26: Rameshwaram - Kanyakumari, stay overnight
Dec 27: Kanyakumari
Dec 28: Kanyakumari - Bangalore

Please advise on this option:
1. Any changes to the above route/plan ?
2. Will I have enough time to at least visit Meenakshi temple in Madurai and the important places in Rameshwaram & Kanyakumari ? Visit Dhanushkodi/Tranquebar in Rameshwaram ? (Never been to all these places).
3. And most importantly - suggestions for hotels.

Notes:

- Do you plan to start late from Bangalore? Why overnight stay? Temple visits?
- If not, a start at 4AM from Bangalore will get you to Madurai by 10-11AM.
You can reach Rameshwaram the same day by evening. So as per me Dec 25 should over night stay at Rameshwaram.
Start for KK next day.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by NPV

2. Will I have enough time to at least visit Meenakshi temple in Madurai and the important places in Rameshwaram & Kanyakumari ? Visit Dhanushkodi/Tranquebar in Rameshwaram ? (Never been to all these places). .

Meenakshi Temple closes around midday and opens early evening, so plan accordingly.

Dhanushkodi is near Rameswaram, but Tranquebar (or Tarangambadi), which is between Nagapattinam & Chidambaram, nowhere on your route unless you draw up a new route plan.

[NPV]

Here is my plan now after booking hotels, do not want to make any leg of the journey hectic:
Dec 24: Bangalore - Madurai, Visit temples, stay overnight @Madurai
Dec 25: Madurai - Kanyakumari
Dec 25-26: Stay @Kanyakumari
Dec 27: Kanyakumari - Rameshwaram, stay overnight @Rameshwaram
Dec 28: Rameshwaram - Bangalore

Need help with choosing hotel at Rameshwaram -
Hotel Queen Palace (near bus stand) Or Hotel Royal Park (Ramnad highway) ?