Team-BHP - Dizzy Drive ®:Bangalore-Madurai-Kanyakumari-Rameshwaram-Bangalore in 5 days

Quote:

Originally Posted by anujmishra (Post 2661175)

Nice Travelogue NPV. Even, I was at KK during this period from 24th Dec to 27th December. From there we proceeded towards Kochi our next destination.

During End of December Kanyakumari was full of crowds. We had to stand in queue for 1.5 hours for just to board ferry to Vivekanand Rocks.

Our stay at Vivekananda Kendra was very comfortable, cheap and relaxing. They have their private beach as well on east side of KK. Next time when we visit we will again stay in Vivekanand Kendra.

Thanks Anuj. Yes, there was a serpentine queue for the ferry, it took more than an hour just to reach the ticket counter. Also, Tiruvalluvar statue was not open for tourists to visit on Dec 26.
Vivekananda Kendra is a nice place to stay and value for money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by motomaverick (Post 2662239)

but after the latest incident on the highway i am quite vary of the speeds to carry on such long drives. What were u averaging mainly on these quite good roads?

Not sure what latest incident you're talking about ?
Almost entire stretch of NH7 in Bangalore-Madurai and Madurai-Kanyakumari are in great condition and I tried to maintain a good steady average of around 80 km/hr, works well on the time, safety and fuel efficiency fronts. On the NH47 stretch from Kanyakumari when going to Padmanabhapuram Palace and Suchindram temple, average speed was just about 40 km/hr due to road and traffic conditions. Similarly on the Tiruchendur and Thoothukudi stretches where road conditions are not great speeds drop drastically. ECR from Thoothukudi to Ramanathapuram and then NH49 from Ramanthapuram to Rameshwaram are also in great condition allowing for better speeds like NH7.

Thanks for Dhanushkodi photos. Interesting info for other people who are not aware of Dhanushkodi.

Dhanushkodi used to be a small town which had trains that connects to Thalaimannar, Srilanka (only 18 kms from here). Imports and Exports were also done from here.

It was in 1964, when a cyclonic storm hit the town and the train from Madras that was comming towards Dhanushkodi was washed with high tidal waves. 115 people were killed in that incident. Now only ruins remain.

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Originally Posted by NPV (Post 2974468)

Is Tuticorin-Tiruchendur road in good condition ? It was not very good during my trip in Dec last year, alternative maybe Tirunelveli-Tuticorin ?

Very good. I was on the Tuticorin-Tiruchendur road last month.
Tirunelveli-Tuticorin road is being widened, but the Tiruchendur-Shahupuram-Tirunelveli road is good.
The best of the lot is the super-fast 4-laned Madurai-Tuticorin expressway, you will be simply blown away, it is fantastic.

Hi NPV,

We did the same circuit pretty much the same dates as you did , except we left B'lore on boxing day, so we were always behind you by 2 days at every destination.

Plus we added Karaikudi & Thanjavur after seeing Rameshwaram, great trip really enjoyed it. Brought back memories seeing your travelogue.

We did trip along with my friend's family. I have known him for donkey's years and basically you can't convince him while having a conversation, you know what i mean ehh.

I kept saying, we'll take the ECR route from KK to Rameshwaram, he was like, nah mate, i have had a word the taxi guys, they have given me the best route and thats back to Kovilpatti and then get off NH7 and proceed to Rameshwaram. ( horrible road after getting of NH7 )

But when we went to Karaikudi from Rameshwaram, briefly touched ECR and then he admitted the ECR was a cracking road.

The advice i gave him was - you should visit T-BHP matey :D

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Originally Posted by NPV (Post 2628295)

We take a quick 10 minute break after Dindigul to have a cup of coffee at a roadside stall and by 11am we're near the 2 laned turn off towards Madurai city near Samayanallur. I missed this turn and drove straight before realising it on seeing a small sign for Tirunelveli. I stop 1 Km ahead and call the hotel. They tell me to take the next left turn after the Vaigai bridge on NH7. Just about 2-3 Km later I see the signage for Madurai and turn left.

What is the best way to get in to Madurai city from NH7 (while going to Madurai from Bangalore). We have a accommodation in TTDC Madurai.

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Originally Posted by NPV (Post 2639791)

At Tiruchendur we followed a sign to Thoothukudi (SH176) and headed to the left past the bus stand. A few Km from here just after a railway crossing the road became really bad with large potholes all over. We passed through some towns like South Authoor, Sahupuram, etc (just remembering some names that stuck to mind). We also drove on a narrow old bridge across the Tamirabarani river (a new bridge is also being constructed beside it). After negotiating this bad stretch of road we were nearing Thoothukudi town where the road was much wider but still pothole ridden

@NPV - For how many kms is this bad stretch. We are going to take the same route, as we would want to visit Tiruchendur. I hope there is some imrpovement to this road in the past few months. Any feedback on the current state.

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Originally Posted by redballons (Post 2980195)

Thanks. We're lucky to get current updates on road conditions from people who've themselves traveled (nothing like first hand information & hearing from the horse's mouth :D).

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Originally Posted by daisyb (Post 2981666)

What is the best way to get in to Madurai city from NH7 (while going to Madurai from Bangalore). We have a accommodation in TTDC Madurai.

I'm not very familar with Madurai city, driven just once last year :D, but here's what I know:
1. The first junction on the NH7 is at Samayanallur - here a lot of vehicles going to Madurai city will turn left, in fact if you're not on the right lane you may end up getting into this road since it's a very slight deviation to left. Here, the NH7 road is quite narrow since a railway overbridge is partially complete.
2. After about 2-3 Km (once you cross a bridge over the Vaigai river) you will find a turn to left. This also goes into the Maduai city and this is what I took. This is a 2 lane undivided road but I think this is much better to get into the city. You will reach a large junction where 4/5 roads meet.

I think taking the Samayanallur entry (1) you may encounter lot of city traffic and junctions/signals compared to (2).

Also, there are 2 TTDC hotels in Madurai - one on West Veli street which is close to Railway station and other on Alagar Koil Road which is further away to the north east. Where are you staying ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by daisyb (Post 2981791)

When I traveled last year, this road was bad for almost 30-40 Km and was being repaired. But now, HVK confirmed that road is good now - see HVK's post here on 27 Nov, so no worries.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NPV (Post 2982119)

I'm not very familar with Madurai city, driven just once last year , but here's what I know:
1. The first junction on the NH7 is at Samayanallur - here a lot of vehicles going to Madurai city will turn left, in fact if you're not on the right lane you may end up getting into this road since it's a very slight deviation to left. Here, the NH7 road is quite narrow since a railway overbridge is partially complete.
2. After about 2-3 Km (once you cross a bridge over the Vaigai river) you will find a turn to left. This also goes into the Maduai city and this is what I took. This is a 2 lane undivided road but I think this is much better to get into the city. You will reach a large junction where 4/5 roads meet.

I think taking the Samayanallur entry (1) you may encounter lot of city traffic and junctions/signals compared to (2).

Also, there are 2 TTDC hotels in Madurai - one on West Veli street which is close to Railway station and other on Alagar Koil Road which is further away to the north east. Where are you staying ?

Thanks NPV. We are going to stay in the TTDC hotel on West Veli street. Was told that this is relatively closer to the temple compared to the other one on Alagar Koli road. Will take the 2nd route (the one you have taken) unless the first deviation from Samayanallur is closer to the hotel.