[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Prancing Horse

Ok sir,but i'm also skeptical about the naxal problem around Nandyal & Kadapa. Again after Kadapa do you advice to go ahead via Rajampet or via Rayachoti?
Comparatively how do you rate the facilities in this route to the route via Anantpur via Kadiri?

As far as Naxal problems go, I have been stopped by Naxals on the Kadiri-Penukonda road, and travelled in convoy between Panyam and Nadyal at night, with a cop sitting in my car's front seat.

Avoid Rayachoti route, take the Rajampet route instead, that is more well-travelled and definitely safe.

Facilities on the Kadapa route may be better because it has been a very popular route for trucks, buses and cars travelling from Hyderabad side to Tirupati/Madras for many years.

[Prancing Horse]

Dear Bhpians,

Thank you all for the overwhelming support i received, i was able to complete this trip safely.
Special thanks to all who gave me the info about the trip & special thanks to HVKumar sir & Ampere bhai for giving instance feedback.

I took the following route to tirupati from hyderabad
Hyderabad - Kurnool - Anantpur - Kadiri - Madanapalle - Tirupati.

The complete stretch except the Madanapalle - Tirupati trip was fabulous. I would write a travelogue & would share the details.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Prancing Horse

I took the following route to tirupati from hyderabad
Hyderabad - Kurnool - Anantpur - Kadiri - Madanapalle - Tirupati.

The complete stretch except the Madanapalle - Tirupati trip was fabulous. I would write a travelogue & would share the details.

Great that you had wonderful drive.

See how relative is the drive condition:

You said all sections except Madanapalle - Tirupati was fabulous. But that here we compare against a great 4L of NH7.

Another friend covered Bangalore-Tirupathi via the same route (Madanapalle - Tirupati). He writes that it was awesome (He compares it against the overcrowded NH4 via Chitoor, which is part 4Laned and part 2Laned) !

[hvkumar]

Prancing Horse, what was the problem on the Madanapalle-Tirupati route?
How long did you take after turning off NH7 at Anantapur?
How do you rate the facilities on the Anantapur-Tirupati route?

[Prancing Horse]

Originally Posted by ampere

Great that you had wonderful drive.

See how relative is the drive condition:

You said all sections except Madanapalle - Tirupati was fabulous. But that here we compare against a great 4L of NH7.

Another friend covered Bangalore-Tirupathi via the same route (Madanapalle - Tirupati). He writes that it was awesome (He compares it against the overcrowded NH4 via Chitoor, which is part 4Laned and part 2Laned) !

Madanapalle to Tirupati route was not crowded, i would say so because i entered Madanapalle bypass around 6 AM.So the traffic was sparse.The road condition was strictly poor,it had small craters all along,it was twisting & turning,loads of joy walkers (since it was early in the morning). In that stretch i crossed a town around 20km from Madanapalle where concrete road was being laid on one side so the road was not even single lane.I could imagine how chaotic it would be to cross that stretch by day.
So all these added to the time,so i would suggest Madanapalle - Chittoor - Tirupati. Even though it is 50 odd km extra but wouldn't cost you the time.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Prancing Horse, what was the problem on the Madanapalle-Tirupati route?
How long did you take after turning off NH7 at Anantapur?
How do you rate the facilities on the Anantapur-Tirupati route?

As i mentioned above,the road was filled with craters & very narrow.The road condition gradually comes back to normal when we reach the west of tirupati ghats.
I started from HYD (Kondapur) by 10.40PM and reached Anantpur by pass (around 5 KM before the flyover,there is a board which says Chennai,Tirupati) by 3.10AM.Then was on Kadiri highway by 3.20AM (this section is poorly lite and no sign boards).
Anantpur - Kadiri route info:
starts with bad road stretch for about 1 - 2 kms initially and then it was really good. Even though it was only two lane road, the condition was equally good as NH 7.This particular stretch was absolutely desolate & absolutely no facilities like fuel stations or hotels or even puncture shops.There was continuous traffic but not that dense,like you could see vehicles every 20 odd minutes.It had around 4 - 5 narrow bridges & 2 - 3 very very narrow bridges (there would be room for only one person to stand when a car passes by),there where 3 places where the road itself goes down - it was life canal or spill channel so i think would be flooded during monsoon.So i wouldn't recommend this route during monsoon,because it was very steep descend & climb.
From Anantpur it took 5 hrs 10 mins for me to reach Tirupati town.
Kadiri - Madanapalle route info:
Once we cross Kadiri there would be more villages with very close proximity to road compared to Anantpur - Kadiri route.The road quality is bit bad when you cross those villages.Then the road gradually goes bad when we reach Horsley hills section.Horsely hills to Madanapalle bypass was around 15 odd Kms which was also relatively bad.Madnapalle to tirupati route as mentioned above was the worst part of the trip.I would recommend Madnapalle - Chittoor - Tirupati, it could save 30 - 45 mins.
When i traveled from Tirupati - Coimbatore i took Tirupati - chittoor route, even though it was two lane road it was wide & the traffic was not that mad (i crossed this section by 4pm)

[himavanth_m]

I remember doing Anantapur kadiri route long long back. That was pretty bad then. Thanks for the info for this route.

The general routes I take to Tirupati are either Hyd - Kurnool -Cuddapah - Tpt or
Hyd - Suryapet - Addanki - Ongole - Nellore - Tpt.

The first route option is preferred by many.
Anantapur Kadiri was not safe to travel at night. So was the Cuddapah route. It was not just naxal problem.

The areas around Kurnool was famous for Dacoits. We never dared to travel at night in those areas. But the 4 laned highways completely changed the status. Now its very safe.

As far as I know, the Naxals generally do not stop the private vehicles. It is quite Ok to travel in those areas. However, dacoit infected areas are very unsafe as their main target is general public.

[Fordmanchau]

Need help on the route to Tiurpati from Hyderabad. As inferred from the discussion in this and other threads and by looking through google maps. I have found out the following routes.

1. Hyd(0) - Kurnool(+214km) -Kadapa(+198km) - Tirupati(+146km)
Total = 560 km

2. Hyd(0) - Gooty(+305km) - Kadapa(+155km) - Tirupati(+146km)
Total = 606 km

3. Hyd(0)-Anantapur(+359km)-Madanpalle(+174km)-Tirupati(+119kms)
Total = 652 km

Other routes as found on the forum are:

4. Hyd - Suryapet - Addanki - Ongole - Nellore - Tpt.
Total = 646 km

Not leaning towards route 4 as it involves driving on NH9 , which would have heavy traffic, plus 4 laning is in progress. Therefore, it might take more time.

Route 1 seems to be preferred by majority, but wanted to know condition of roads kurnool-nandyal-kadapa- Tirupati.

I and leaning towards route 2 as there will be more driving on NH7, plus it looks like perfect bargain between good road, speed and additional distance over route 1. I also wanted to know of the road conditions between Gooty and Kadapa.

Route 3 is gets a little longer for comfort, though if there's no other choice , I would not hesitate to take it, but read on the forum that Madanpalle to Tirupati is not so good.

Need urgent attention, as I am planning to leave this saturday morning on 2nd April.

[srimath]

I am a regular on the HYD-TPTY strech and sould suggest route 1 as the best option.

HYD-KURNOOL-KADAPA-RAJAMPET-TPTY.

There are a few streches of bad roads between Kurnool and Nandyal, but that would not be a problem. There is a lot of truck traffic on this road.

Kadapa-TPTY via Rajampet-Kodur is a breeze, excellent surface. You should be able to reach tirupaty in 8.5-9 hours.

For Pitstops

1. Before Kurnool, BP Ghar Dhaba on your right
2. After Kurnool at Orvakal, AP tourism Rock Garden
3. AP Tourism Rest just before Kadapa at the circle where you take left to goto Rajampet.

Route 2 is also a good option, but I am not sure about the condition of the route Gooty-Rayalcheruvu-Kadapa

[Fordmanchau]

Completed the trip as planned. Left Hyderabad on 2nd April at 5:37 a.m and checked in at Bhimas Residency in Tirupati at 3:30 p.m. Took Route 1 while going.
Here are my comments for route 1.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

1. Hyd(0) - Kurnool(+214km) -Kadapa(+198km) - Tirupati(+146km)
Total = 560 km

Comments :
1. Most preferred route by the tourist buses and private cars.
2. Route is busy with lots of oncoming traffic mostly.
3. Four laning work is in progress all through from Kurnool till kadapa, which affects the speed and slows you down.
4.Road is a narrow 2 lane with no shoulder at all at some place. So, sometimes very difficult to give way and to make room for overtaking and oncoming vehicles. Therfore drive carefully and defensively.
5. Surface is mostly good, but bad patches at Orvakal, Nandyal. These bad patches are for a very small distance but are terrible. But no fuss, guiding my Ikon over those surface.
6.This is the shortest route to Tirupati from hyderabad, but is riddled with small villages on both sides of the highway, therefore slows you down a little due to traffic and population.
7. From Kadapa till Renigunta and Tirupati, road surface is good. It's a two lane road but again riddled with lots of humps. There are humps before and after the small villages across the route. Be careful while driving, some humps would take you by surprise and you will fail to notice if you are not too careful, though all the humps are mostly marked with signages.
Here is the statistics of the route

and here is the link of route on google maps, that I created.
2011-04-02 05:37 - Google Maps

[hvkumar]

I suppose from Kadapa you took the Rajampet route?
On NH7, at Kurnool, I remember that you can take the left turn at the rail overbridge to get onto NH18 without getting into Kurnool town - is that right?
Is there a Kadapa town bypass to get onto the Rajampeta road?
How do you rate facilities en route?

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I suppose from Kadapa you took the Rajampet route?
On NH7, at Kurnool, I remember that you can take the left turn at the rail overbridge to get onto NH18 without getting into Kurnool town - is that right?
Is there a Kadapa town bypass to get onto the Rajampeta road?
How do you rate facilities en route?

Yes HVK sir, took the Rajampeta route from Kadapa to Tirupati.
There's a bypass for Kadapa, you don't need to enter Kadapa town.
Facilities enroute are fine. There are many new dhaba's and restaurant that have come up recently on NH7, which was not there before. Plus you can stop in Kurnool town too.
Between Kurnool till Kadapa, there's Rock Garden at Orvakal, where you can stop and then there are many other small restaurants and Dhaba enroute, so not a worry. At kadapa bypass too, there's a Haritha Restaurant at the corner, there also facilities are good.
We stopped thrice on way to Tirupati
First at Garden Restaurant at Kurnool for breakfast
Then at a small restaurant for cold drinks and Tea and then at Haritha restaurant at Kadapa bypass again for icecream and cold drinks.
I took the Gooty route on return will just update the conditions.

[Fordmanchau]

While returning back from Tirupati to Hyderabad, I decided to take route 2, as I was starting late at around 1:30 p.m and the idea was to join NH7 at Gooty as soon as possible(before the light fades).

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

2. Hyd(0) - Gooty(+305km) - Kadapa(+155km) - Tirupati(+146km)
Total = 606 km

Comments:
1. Fairly wide for a two lane road. Enough shoulder room available. Three vehicles can pass each other simultaneiously on this road.
2. Traffic is fairly thin except near Chikamlur and Tadipatri, but you cross these bottlenecks quickly, hence not much time loss.
3.Roads are decent. No potholes as such, only loss of surface in patches.
4.Roads are rough in patches, even the patchwork has been done in patches but still a decent road to easily maintain 70-80kmph. You can do more depending upon vehicle and driver's ability.
5.Again careful of the hump at each start and end of population.
6.Recommended that you do this road in daylight.No lighting on the entire highway stretch. And if you get stranded, it could be alittle difficult to get help, but you will get it.
Statistics below of the return trip.

Route link on google maps : 2011-04-03 13:32 - Google Maps

My Conclusion:
1. Route 2 is around 45 kms longer than route 1 as per the GPS record, but this extra distance is compensated as you will be driving extra 91 km on NH7, thus saving some time.
2.Gooty-Kadapa is shorter than Kurnool-Kadapa and I would rate the road conditions equally for both route. Plus traffic is less between Gooty-Kadapa.
3.If you notice, I took around 51minutes extra for additional 45kms. But I drove in dark from Tadipatri till Hyderabad,so my speeds were slower. I think 20minutes can easily be saved if you drive in daylight( I slowed down till 60-70kmph in night for around 140kms).
4. I would prefer route 2 for Tirupati/Chennai till the time 4 laning gets complete between Kurnool-Kadapa, after that route 1 anyday .

[vnabhi]

Good feedback, Fordmanchau! Great for guys driving to Tirupati from Hyd.

So the road from Kadapa to Gooty is the one that branches out from the Kadapa bypass, near Haritha, right? If that is the one, I remember seeing it in brand new condition in May, 2009. We'd planned to use that on the return trip in order to see Belum caves, but abandoned the plan as we had to rush back.

[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Good feedback, Fordmanchau! Great for guys driving to Tirupati from Hyd.
So the road from Kadapa to Gooty is the one that branches out from the Kadapa bypass, near Haritha, right?

Thank you Venu sir,
You are right. I have zoomed into "My Tracks" and marked the Haritha Restaurant on the map. That is where I stopped both time while going and coming back.
You can see the red marks, that shows my presence there

[ranjitp1]

Hey FM,thanx for these updates,a real help for the Hyd-Tirupati goers.Could you please mention where are the new restaurants/dhabas open on NH7 between Hyd & Kurnool.I did see one Hill View Drive In at Shadnagar/Jadcherla with a car perched on top of a pole,anything else?