[neerajku]

Hi All
Planning a road trip from Bangalore to Trichy, Kumbhakonam, Thanjavur, Karaikal, Rameshwaram, Madurai and back to Bangalore. Here is what I had in mind
[SIZE=2]Bangalore to Trichy 340 km (Day 1)
Start at 7 am from Bangalore reach Trichy at 2 pm.
See Trichy in the afternoon
Halt at Trichy, evening
Day 2
Trichy to Thanjavur, Full day at Thanjavur and back to Trichy
Day 3
Check out from Trichy leave for Kumbhakonam
Full day at Kumbhakonam.
Evening proceed to Karaikal. Stay at Karaikal
Day 4
Karaikal full day. evening stay at Karaikal
Day 5
Start from Karaikal, leave for Rameshwaram
Stay at Rameshwaram
Day 6 see Rameshwaram,
at lunch leave for Madurai
Stay at Madurai
Day 7
see madurai
stay at Madurai
Day 8
depart for Bangalore.
Request advice on the itinerary, route, road condition, decent hotels the works. :-)
[/SIZE]

[pramodpk]

I am thinking of a trip to Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and Chidambaram during the August 15th long weekend. I have 4 days and can start at 5:00 AM from Bangalore. Is this plan feasible? Could you please help me plan an itinerary. I do not want to visit all temples but only the must see ones. Is there any other place to be added to the list?

Thanks in advance.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I am thinking of a trip to Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and Chidambaram during the August 15th long weekend. I have 4 days and can start at 5:00 AM from Bangalore. Is this plan feasible? Could you please help me plan an itinerary. I do not want to visit all temples but only the must see ones. Is there any other place to be added to the list?

Very much possible.

5AM start, should take you Trichy by 10/11 AM. Finish Srirangam and Rockfort Temple the same day. Stay for the night.

Next day drive to Tanjore. Its a 40 minute drive on a 4-lane. Visit the big temple and drive to Kumbakonam. If you plan to visit the Navagraha temples, you can split it for 2-days. Do one set on D2 Noon session. Stay for the night at Kumbakonam. Do the next set on D3 morning. After completing you can drive to Chidambaram on D3 via Mayavaram (Mayiladuthurai)/Sirkazi. Visit the temple and drive back on D4.

Chidambaram-Vridhachalam-Ulundurpet.

And from there you have multiple options :
- Ulundurpet / Salem / Bangalore
- Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Bangalore
- Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

Very much possible.

5AM start, should take you Trichy by 10/11 AM. Finish Srirangam and Rockfort Temple the same day. Stay for the night.

Next day drive to Tanjore. Its a 40 minute drive on a 4-lane. Visit the big temple and drive to Kumbakonam. If you plan to visit the Navagraha temples, you can split it for 2-days. Do one set on D2 Noon session. Stay for the night at Kumbakonam. Do the next set on D3 morning. After completing you can drive to Chidambaram on D3 via Mayavaram (Mayiladuthurai)/Sirkazi. Visit the temple and drive back on D4.

Chidambaram-Vridhachalam-Ulundurpet.

And from there you have multiple options :
- Ulundurpet / Salem / Bangalore
- Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Bangalore
- Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore.

+1.

Just to add to what ampere mentioned, on Day1 @ Trichy, if you have energy & time, you can visit Thiruvanaikoil which is closer to Srirangam.

Doing Navagraha temples in 2 half days is pretty tight, considering the temple closing timings & also the long weekend rush. So think about it, if you really want to cover all navagraha temples or its okay to do selectively.

If it is on your wish list, On Day2, after you finish Big temple at Tanjore, drive via Thiruvaiyaru->Thingalur->Kumbakonam, so that you can cover Moon temple which is one of navagraha temple and in opposite direction compared to all other temples. Similarly, on Day3 when you drive towards Chidambaram from Kumbakonam, you can visit Vaitheeswaran Koil which is another navagraha temple.

Kumbakonam & surroundings has numerous temples. If you have no idea on what temples are there, i can suggest a few. But, if you are aware and have some wishlist, we can opine on it.

Sirkazhi is also an excellent temple to visit on the way to Chidambaram, but it depends on your time availability and the time you cross the place.

-Ravi

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by ampere

Very much possible.

5AM start, should take you Trichy by 10/11 AM.

Chidambaram-Vridhachalam-Ulundurpet.

And from there you have multiple options :
- Ulundurpet / Salem / Bangalore
- Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Bangalore
- Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore.

Originally Posted by ravib

+1.

Just to add to what ampere mentioned, on Day1 @ Trichy, if you have energy & time, you can visit Thiruvanaikoil which is closer to Srirangam.

Doing Navagraha temples in 2 half days is pretty tight, considering the temple closing timings & also the long weekend rush. So think about it, if you really want to cover all navagraha temples or its okay to do selectively.

If it is on your wish list, On Day2, after you finish Big temple at Tanjore, drive via Thiruvaiyaru->Thingalur->Kumbakonam, so that you can cover Moon temple which is one of navagraha temple and in opposite direction compared to all other temples. Similarly, on Day3 when you drive towards Chidambaram from Kumbakonam, you can visit Vaitheeswaran Koil which is another navagraha temple.

Kumbakonam & surroundings has numerous temples. If you have no idea on what temples are there, i can suggest a few. But, if you are aware and have some wishlist, we can opine on it.

Sirkazhi is also an excellent temple to visit on the way to Chidambaram, but it depends on your time availability and the time you cross the place.

-Ravi

Many thanks Ampere and Ravi for the inputs. I have few queries.

1. Bangalore -Salem - Namakkal -Trichy - Is this the best route to Trichy?

2. I have no idea about the temples in Kumbhakonam/Tanjore or Trichy but the idea is to visit all the big/special ones only. Pilgrimage is not the main idea here. Could you please suggest only the must see ones?

3. The journey (the drive) is also as important as the destination. So if there are scenic alternatives with good surface to the regular routes, please suggest. I like to drive on 2 lane roads with less traffic (typical TN state highways).

4. For the return from Chidambaram, I would like to take Chidambaram-Vridhachalam-Ulundurpet - Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore. How is the road condition?

5. Any suggestions for good hotels to stay?

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Ulundurpet - Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore. How is the road condition?

The road conditions of Ulundurpet>Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore are good. From Ulundurpet, continue on NH 45; after Tindivanam bypass, take the College Road bypass to get on to SH 5 towards Vandavasi>Cheyyar>Arcot. All the towns have bypasses. From Arcot, go on NH 46 towards Wallajah; from there 2 lane NH 4 starts all the way to Mulabagilu bypass. Road works are in progress from AP border to Mulabagilu. From Mulabagilu bypass to Bangalore, it is excellent 4 lane NH 4. Toll was not collected last month at Mulabagilu and Hosakote toll plazas.

Any suggestions for good hotels to stay?

Hotel Aanand, Trichy, near railway junction and Central Bus Stand. Don't miss the next door Sangeetha's for delicious food. You can have fuel for your car at nearby TVS BP pump below the flyover on the bypass near the junction.

Hotel Gnanam, Thanjavur.

Hotel Rayas, Kumbakonam.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

1. Bangalore -Salem - Namakkal -Trichy - Is this the best route to Trichy?

- Yes. Namakkal (get of 4-lane into town).
- Namakkal-Thuraiyur-Trichi.

2. I have no idea about the temples in Kumbhakonam/Tanjore or Trichy but the idea is to visit all the big/special ones only. Pilgrimage is not the main idea here. Could you please suggest only the must see ones?

- Would suggest Rockfort and Srirangam in Trichy
- Big Temple in Tanjore
- Kumbakonam is a temple deluge! So cant say which one to visit !
- Natraja temple in Chidambaram
- If Kumbakonam is you can also try Tanjore-Velankanni and visit the church. Or you can chose to see few temples in Kumbakonam. Check with Ravib for more details. He is the resident expert!

3. The journey (the drive) is also as important as the destination. So if there are scenic alternatives with good surface to the regular routes, please suggest. I like to drive on 2 lane roads with less traffic (typical TN state highways).

Thuraiyur stretch is nice.

4. For the return from Chidambaram, I would like to take Chidambaram-Vridhachalam-Ulundurpet - Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore. How is the road condition?

- Its pretty good.
- Chitoor has a bypass
- Post Chitoor till Mulbagal its a 2-Lane NH4.
- Beyond Mulbagal its 4-lane all the way.
- Once you enter Bangalore get of the OMR at Varthur road exit.

5. Any suggestions for good hotels to stay?

Trichy : SRM : Royal Southern. Awesome place. Had been there some 3-4 years back.

[pramodpk]

Many thanks for the inputs ampere, ravib & J.Ravi. I would like to add Velankanni also to the list. Here is a map for the round trip that I prepared based on your inputs.

http://goo.gl/maps/enQOM

Here is what I have in mind

Day 1

Bangalore - Trichy - Stay at Trichy

Start at 5:00 AM. Reach Trichy. Visit Srirangam & Rock Fort

Day 2

Tanjavur Big temple & Some selected temples in Kumbakonam. Halt at Kumbakonam

Day 3

1 -2 temples in Kumbakon & Drive to Velankanni. Visit Church and drive to Chidambaram. Some

Airavetiswara Temple in Dharasuram
Vaitheeswaran Koil

Vist Sirkazhi ?

Day - 4

Visit Nataraja temple and drive to Bangalore


Could you please suggest few must see temples in Kumbakonam?

Does this plan look feasible?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Does this plan look feasible?

Perfectly feasible. If I may add a twist !

Check this out :

Check out Tranquebaar esp : Bungalow on the Beach

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...elankanni.html

[ravib]

Just completed and came back from weekend trip to

Bangalore-Trichy-Pillayarpatti-Kundrakudi-Trichy-Kallanai-Thiruvaiyaru-Kumbakonam-Jayankondam-Vridhachalam-Attur-Salem-Bangalore.


Bangalore-Namakkal-Thuraiyur-Trichy => Road conditions remain same and good. Few patches for first few kms after namkkal, but nothing bad.

Trichy-Kottambatti-Singampunari-Tirupattur-Pillayarpatti => About 75kms from Trichy to Kottambatti is 4L which is good. Though I would expect road surface to be much better for the toll we pay, because i found in many places the surface is uneven.

Kottambatti-Singampunari-Pillayarpatti-Kundrakudi => Road conditions are good. Few places some repair work was going on, but that is negligible distance.

Trichy-Kallanai-Thiruvaiyaru => Road conditions are pretty bad and there are lot of patches throughout the distance. Best is to avoid this route for now.

Thiruvaiyaru-Kabisthalam-Kumbakonam => Road conditions are good. Again few repair work is going on with diversions here & there.

For those who heading to Kumbakonam via Trichy, better take Trichy-Thiruverumbur-Tanjore-Thiruvaiyaru-Kabisthalam-Kumbakonam route which is better option in terms of road and stress free. Though its bit longer by 8 kms or so, still comparing to narrow roads in regular Tanjore-Kumbakonam route, this option is far better with less traffic.

Kumbakonam-Jayankondam-Vridhachalam-Attur-Salem-Bangalore => Road conditions are excellent for more than 95% of the distance. Patches are there between Vridhachalam-Attur, with some bumpy ride, but not a big concern compared to overall drive. Ofcourse, Krishnagiri-Hosur-Attilbelle stretch is discussed enough in other threads, so nothing new to talk about it here.

I started at 5 am from Kumbakonam today morning and reached Attibelle at 10:30 am including 30 mts break at Thoppur A2B, so effectively 5 hours drive ! (KMU - 5 am, Vridhachalam - 6:05 am, Attur - 7 am, Salem-7:30 am, Thoppur A2B - 8:05 am to 8:40 am, Krishnagiri Toll-9:15 am, Hosur-10 am, Attilbelle-10:30 am). Awesome drive and one of the shortest for me between Kumbakonam & Bangalore.

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ravib

Just completed and came back from weekend trip to

Bangalore-Trichy-Pillayarpatti-Kundrakudi-Trichy-Kallanai-Thiruvaiyaru-Kumbakonam-Jayankondam-Vridhachalam-Attur-Salem-Bangalore.

- Looks like SH22 is better than 45C for the Tanjore Kumbakonam stretch
- Also you did not got till Ulundurpet, but took the SH from Vridhachalam to meet Ulundurpet-Salem 4-lane in between. Is that the reason for bumpy ride?
- Does that route help? Is it worth it ?

[ravib]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Many thanks for the inputs ampere, ravib & J.Ravi. I would like to add Velankanni also to the list. Here is a map for the round trip that I prepared based on your inputs.

http://goo.gl/maps/enQOM

Here is what I have in mind

Day 1

Bangalore - Trichy - Stay at Trichy

Start at 5:00 AM. Reach Trichy. Visit Srirangam & Rock Fort

Day 2

Tanjavur Big temple & Some selected temples in Kumbakonam. Halt at Kumbakonam

Day 3

1 -2 temples in Kumbakon & Drive to Velankanni. Visit Church and drive to Chidambaram. Some

Airavetiswara Temple in Dharasuram
Vaitheeswaran Koil

Vist Sirkazhi ?

Day - 4

Visit Nataraja temple and drive to Bangalore


Could you please suggest few must see temples in Kumbakonam?

Does this plan look feasible?

Day1 plan is fine. I too started at 5 am from BLR and reached Trichy at 11:30 including 45 mts break at Thoppur A2B. Watch out for temple timings at srirangam, as darshan is not open all the time throughout the day.
I would suggest you to include Thiruvanaikoil, as it is a beautiful temple to see, because you mentioned pilgrimage is not main purpose. Visit Rockfort at twilight around 6 pm or so, which will be good to see the trichy city from top of the hill, in both day light & after dusk. At Trichy, i prefer to stay near Chatram Bus stand (in Hotel Mayaas to be precise) to avoid the city traffic and one-ways. The restaurant serves good vegetarian food which is also a plus. For your purpose, you don't have to go into the city and spend time in roaming around. For Srirangam/Thiruvanaikoil/RockFort sightseeing, stay at Chatram Bus Stand area makes lot of sense than in Central Bus stand area. Also, it helps to you catch NH45B and join Tanjore exit in hardly 10 minutes time. For visiting Rockfort, park your car in Hotel and better take an auto for 50 bucks, as it is almost impossible to find a parking near the temple in a busy/congested shopping area.

--------------
Day2 plan is also good. Start early by 6 am from Trichy, so that you don't get stuck in Thiruverumbur traffic. There was a bridge work happening there, but don't know whether it is complete or not.
Trichy-Tanjore, you should be able to do in 45 mts to max 1 hour. Tanjore Big Temple takes about 1+ hour to see, so you can actually drive down to Darasuram as well and visit Airavatheeswarar temple before you break for lunch at Kumbakonam. Temples are closed between 12 pm to 4 pm so you can take some rest. Suggest you to stay at Hotel Rayas so that you can roam around easily. After 4 pm, at Kumbakonam, I would suggest you to see following temples which are closer by and within the town. Again in Kumbakonam don't drive your car within the town. Better take an auto as it will save your time.

a) Mahamaham Tank (Just a quick look and near to Hotel Rayas/General Post Office)
b) Sarangapani Temple
c) Kumbeshwarar Temple
d) Ramaswamy Temple

These temples are within the town and i have not listed any temple in surrounding areas of Kumbakonam. Remember, the above list is negligible in terms of numbers , because i am still unable cover and see all temples, though i visited Kumbakonam hundreds & hundreds of times since my childhood If you are interested and particular to see some more, i can suggest you a bigger list !

--------------
On Day3, instead of seeing more temples in Kumbakonam (better reserve it for a separate trip), I suggest you to leave early and better visit Thiruvarur Temple which is big & beautiful and then go further down to Velankanni via Nagapattinam. On the return journey, take the coastal route (ECR) and you can visit Nagore-Tranquebar-Thirukadaiyur-Sirkazhi-Chidambaram. Skip the ones which you are not interested or if you are running out of time.

--------------
Day 4 is fine and i think thats all you can do after tiring 3 previous days travel.

-Ravi

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ampere

- Looks like SH22 is better than 45C for the Tanjore Kumbakonam stretch
- Also you did not got till Ulundurpet, but took the SH from Vridhachalam to meet Ulundurpet-Salem 4-lane in between. Is that the reason for bumpy ride?
- Does that route help? Is it worth it ?

Yes, SH22 is definitely better than 45C. 45C has heavy traffic with narrow roads, and i don't see any sign in they relaying the roads for past few years.

I didn't go till Ulundurpet. This is the route i took today morning. The patches are only between Virudhachalam by-pass till Veppur where the road meets Chennai-Trichy NH45. After that the roads are fine. I wouldn't complain much for this stretch Watch out for lot of monkeys crossing the roads, and of course the villagers do walk across the road very casually without looking either side of the road. So just got to be careful, but yea, we know its a 2L road, so its no different from any 2L passing through villages. Keep honking as much as possible !

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...ra=ls&t=m&z=10

On the Ulundurpet-Salem highway, i would like to caution one important thing. The road is not 100% 4L. Though the road conditions are excellent, it is a mix of 4L and occasional 2L stretches for good number of kms. So you will end up seeing 4L ending then & there and vehicles coming in opposite direction all of sudden. So don't drive with the mindset thinking you have 2 lanes in your own side/direction to overtake comfortably. Bit of risk is there, if your are not observing the reduction in lanes keenly with the speed you normally drive. (Read 100+ kmph)
Work was going on at few places and I hope they make this stretch completely 4L.

-Ravi

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by ampere

Chidambaram-Vridhachalam-Ulundurpet.

And from there you have multiple options :
- Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Bangalore
- Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore.

I was planning to take Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore but want to avoid it beacuse of Telangana agitations. Does Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Bangalore go via Andhra? If not, I would take that route. Is it via Vellore (Bangalore Chennai GQ)?

Thanks.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I was planning to take Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Chitoor/Bangalore but want to avoid it beacuse of Telangana agitations. Does Ulundurpet / Tindivanam/Arcot/Bangalore go via Andhra? If not, I would take that route. Is it via Vellore (Bangalore Chennai GQ)?

Thanks.

It goes via AP at Chitoor/Palamaner region. Not worth it I would say.