[Dieseldunk]

The Tada route to tirupati from chennai has some eery silent stretches. Same with pillayarpati to tiruchy route was with family no roadsign or human habitation for nearly 25 to 30km stretch and as night time was all the more petrified.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by Dieseldunk

The Tada route to tirupati from chennai has some eery silent stretches. Same with pillayarpati to tiruchy route was with family no roadsign or human habitation for nearly 25 to 30km stretch and as night time was all the more petrified.

Is this road from Sree Kalahasti to Tada, running roughly parallel to the highway? I had taken the road from Sree Kalahasti to Tada late in the night, and it did send creeps up the spine. Moreover having my wife along and a dead phone(since I was using the GPS, the battery ran out) made the situation really tensed. The road was desolate, no light, and seemed never ending.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Dieseldunk

Same with pillayarpati to tiruchy route was with family no roadsign or human habitation for nearly 25 to 30km stretch and as night time was all the more petrified.

Are you referring to the route via Pudukotai? Because I thought 210 was heavy on traffic. Or were you referring a different interior road to get to the 4-lane (On the Madurai side)

[Ravijai]

The Tada route to tirupati from chennai has some eery silent stretches. Same with pillayarpati to tiruchy route was with family no roadsign or human habitation for nearly 25 to 30km stretch and as night time was all the more petrified.

I traveled to Chennai on this route from Kalahasthi, but on day light. On any day this one is better than other highway routes. You can see a nice greenery, paddy fields and villages en route. I traveled from Chennai to Tirupathi through Avadi-Thiruvallur-Tirutani route and came back after visiting Kalahasthi temple through Tada route!!

[Dieseldunk]

Originally Posted by ampere

Are you referring to the route via Pudukotai? Because I thought 210 was heavy on traffic. Or were you referring a different interior road to get to the 4-lane (On the Madurai side)

There was a deviation due to bridge work and this was an interior road from kotampati to pudukotai. Right as pointed by you.

[Dieseldunk]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

Is this road from Sree Kalahasti to Tada, running roughly parallel to the highway? I had taken the road from Sree Kalahasti to Tada late in the night, and it did send creeps up the spine. Moreover having my wife along and a dead phone(since I was using the GPS, the battery ran out) made the situation really tensed. The road was desolate, no light, and seemed never ending.

Sorry mods could not multi quote on android.
I surely agree with you buddy

[OneToughRider]

I vouch for Mallavali - Kanakpura - Bangalore road as the loneliest route in South India, based on my travel experiences.

Last month I came from Munnar via Pollachi - Palladam - Tirrupur - Sathy - Chamrajanagar route towards Bannerghatta road to avoid tolls. After crossing Mallavali I felt very tired and sleepy, so just before Kanakpura somewhere near to 3 a.m. I parked my car on a road side for a quick nag.

It was not safe and I will not recommend to do this unless there is an emergency.

My wife was awake most of time and she can't drive in night.

On an avg, one vehicle passed from either side in 30 minutes.

[anand.shankar]

Kicking up an old thread. I reached here while searching for Achankovil.

Another lonely road that deserves a mention is the Neriamangalam - Painavu road, which is one of the many alternate routes between Cochin and Kattapana. The road runs parallel to Periyar River, and at many points the river can be viewed in all its might you can reach the water as well, though it looks pretty scary and dangerous. The lower Periyar Hydel project is also along the road on this stretch and is accessible.

The road is a perpetual loop of S-Curves, and will tire out your shoulder whether in car or bike.

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by anand.shankar

Another lonely road that deserves a mention is the Neriamangalam - Painavu road, which is one of the many alternate routes between Cochin and Kattapana.

The road is a perpetual loop of S-Curves, and will tire out your shoulder whether in car or bike.

Interesting info. I need to take this to get to Rameswaram.Is the road condition good? Is it a safe stretch? Should we be concerned about wild life? How long is this stretch? We will be a family on a sedan, mostly doing this in daylight. Thanks.

[anand.shankar]

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

Interesting info. I need to take this to get to Rameswaram.Is the road condition good? Is it a safe stretch? Should we be concerned about wild life? How long is this stretch? We will be a family on a sedan, mostly doing this in daylight. Thanks.

The road condition is Odecent, partly new tar topping is done, some stretches have rough patchwork with few potholes. It's not completely isolated, but yes, by Kerala standards you'd hardly have very few vehicles on this road. But safe to go with family during day time, I have not taken this road at night. I dont think there is any possibility of wildlife encounters, however during very heavy monsoons, I would avoid this route since the Periyar river runs along one side of the road. The total stretch is about 24Kms IIRC, not many eateries, there is one at the start from the Neriamangalam side, and then nothing.

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by anand.shankar

The road condition is Odecent, partly new tar topping is done, some stretches have rough patchwork with few potholes. It's not completely isolated, but yes, by Kerala standards you'd hardly have very few vehicles on this road.

Thanks for the useful details, anand.shankar.

We took this route on Wednesday morning and it was an amazing drive.
Started from Neriamangalam turn off at around 7:45am. There were quite a few vehicles en route. Road surface is great all through the stretch, narrow at times. Local drivers and buses drive very dangerously and it's better to be very careful, especially on the curves. We turned off at Panamkutty towards Rajakkad. Did not stop for views since we were on a time bound trip. I saw many places by the side of Periyar providing great views.

One stretch warranting special mention is Poopara/Kavumbhagam-Bodimett stretch. What an amazing road surface and enchanting drive. Worth every mile.

Beyond Bodimett road quality deteriorates through most of the ghat section of 17 hair pins, though pretty drivable. Probably, we were under the hangover of the Kerala side of the road ('makhan jaise' as I heard somebody referring to to an ultra smooth road :-) )

On the plains roads were mostly 2-lane and decent, except for the umpteen number small and medium size towns those would wear you out with all kinds of crazy traffic/road situations.

Pamban bridge was clogged with all kinds of vehicles, including buses, stopping on both sides for people to view and take pictures.

Rameswaram was damp and dirty after the rains and huge traffic pile ups in the evening. To add to the misery, we followed a Google short-cut, got lost and landed opposite a one-way street wide enough just to fit a tempo traveler. A good samaritan auto driver asked us to follow him against the traffic and was kind enough to take us all the way to our hotel. I was very uncomfortable doing that, but considering the situations and the labyrinthine narrow streets, I had a no other option.

Next day morning we planned to drive to Arichal Munai for sun rise. While we were getting ready at 5:30am it started pouring and dampened our spirits. So, we set out after breakfast and had a decent drive. Vehicles are not allowed to the roundabout now, except for few govt and 'VIP' vehicles. The whole place was crowded owing to the holiday week.

[bharanidharang]

Originally Posted by anand.shankar

The road condition is Odecent, partly new tar topping is done, some stretches have rough patchwork with few potholes. It's not completely isolated, but yes, by Kerala standards you'd hardly have very few vehicles on this road. But safe to go with family during day time, I have not taken this road at night. I dont think there is any possibility of wildlife encounters, however during very heavy monsoons, I would avoid this route since the Periyar river runs along one side of the road. The total stretch is about 24Kms IIRC, not many eateries, there is one at the start from the Neriamangalam side, and then nothing.

I did this stretch in Sep 2023. The road and the overall route is amazing with very little settlements / shops on the way. Nostalgic in a way !. The road is a two way only with no divider. Everyone tends to overspeed, so be careful. I drove early morning 5.30 AM for a sunrise view.