[rex_varghese]

We're planning to drive down to Kodaikkanal during first week of Dec/07. Any information on road conditions, distance, driving time would be appreciated.

Regards
Rex

[hvkumar]

As has been discussed widely in this forum, the Bangalore-Salem road has some bad stretches now (should be repaired by Dec), especially in Krishnagiri-Dharamapuri and the ghat section before Toppur.

Turn off NH7 at Toppur and proceed via Mettur Dam to Bhavani where you join NH47. At Perunthurai, turn off NH47 and go via Chennimalai, Gangayam to Dharapuram (alternative is to go on NH47 till AVinashi and take ther road bypassing Tiruppur).

From Dharapuram, go to Palani and Kodaikanal.

The roads from Toppur are in good condition.

Allow for a day's travel, assuming you are a moderately fast driver and with halts for breakfast/lunch.

[rex_varghese]

Thanks Kumar !
I returned to Bangalore from Cochin via CBE-Salem-Hosur, in late October. So, I'm kinda aware of this route and it's condition.

It would be nice if you can provide more detailed directions and road conditions from Salem (via NH-7) or through Perundurai-Gangyam. (I'm not sure whehter I'm asking for more :-) )

Did you travel this route recently?

How is the drive between Palani and Kodai?

Is this route better than Salem-Namakkal-Dindigul-Kodai?

[sada]

My recent Kodai trip experience may be of some help.

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

[ranarula]

I am planning a drive to Kodaikanal from Bangalore next week around 24th Dec. Though I have gone through a few useful posts regarding the road condition & route I am a bit confused about the same. I have never traveled towards Hosur from Bangalore and so have no idea about the cities/town in between.

I collected the following info regarding route from various place including travelogues here. Want to find out if these routes are different or same.

Route 1 :Bangalore - Hosur – Krishnagiri – Dharamapuri – Toppur – Selam – Nammakal – Karur – Aravakkurichchi – Dindigul – Vattalkundi – Kodaikanal

Route 2: Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Toppur - Mettur - Bhavani - Perunthurai - Chennimalai -Gangayam -Dharapuram -Palani- Kodaikanal

Route 3: Bangalore - Hosur - Dharmapuri - Salem - Sembatti, Vattakundu, Pannikadu - Kodaikanal

If these routes are different which once is the better route in terms of road condition, scenic beauty and distance.

Anyother thing I wanna find out is if I wanna break my journey to Kodaikanal since I am a single driver and wanna take rest. Which one is a better place to stay in between & even visit some religious temple on the way. ( I have got some info regarding this on Sada nice travelogue, but wanna find out any other option.)

Please help me clarify my doubts regarding the route and also any help on tips from our expert friends here regarding long trips would be helpful.

I have till date only done 1 long trip Bangalore - Wayanad & it was a great trip. If anyone is interested to read about my Bangalore-wayanad trip you can visit Wayanad - A travelogue « Freedom

[rex_varghese]

We did a Kodai trip last weekend (I'll be posting a report shortly). We took Route 1 mentioned in your mail. Looks like Route 3 is same as Route 1 (except that few places are missing between Salem and Sembatti )

Regarding Route 1: Roads are decent overall except some bad patches. Four-laning is in progress during many stretches. Roads are wider and not much of traffic. We could cover this in 9.30 hrs with a 5.30am start from Bangalore.

Regarding Route 2: This could be a more scenic route, especially the Palani-Kodai leg. We wanted to cover this route during our return but had to change the plans due to heavy fog and impossible driving conditions. Roads on this leg are single lane and with good number of hair-pins. So, driving in poor visibility conditions is not adviceable. But, I hear from many folks that this is more scenic than the Dindigul route (Route 1).

If you need more info, please ask.

Regards
Rex

Originally Posted by ranarula

Route 1 :Bangalore - Hosur – Krishnagiri – Dharamapuri – Toppur – Selam – Nammakal – Karur – Aravakkurichchi – Dindigul – Vattalkundi – Kodaikanal

Route 2: Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Toppur - Mettur - Bhavani - Perunthurai - Chennimalai -Gangayam -Dharapuram -Palani- Kodaikanal

Route 3: Bangalore - Hosur - Dharmapuri - Salem - Sembatti, Vattakundu, Pannikadu - Kodaikanal

[ranarula]

Ya Rex,

You are correct a detailed look at the Wikimapia proved that Route 1 & Route 3 are nearly the same.
Somehow I am preferring Route 2 because of the scenic beauty and maybe if the road is not that bad I was planning to taking SH 20 after Thoppur all the way to Bhavani & then taking NH47 till Perundurai following SH96 to Kangayam - Dharampuram - Palani -Kodai.

Also since you visited very recently, how bad was the fog & what time is it worst. I can plan accordingly to avoid driving during that time but surely wanna cover Palani -Kodai route.

Since I would be the sole driver I am planning to take a break around Palani & then head to Kodai the other day morning. Any other info that you can provide will be useful

[rex_varghese]

Taking a break at Palani is a good idea. You can start around 8am from Palani to Kodai. Distance is around 60+ kms, but it will take approx. 3 hours for you to hit Kodai.

Fog descends by late afternoon. Since you're breaking at Palani and starting to Kodai next day morning, fog will not be an issue for you.

[There are many folks out here who've taken the Palani route. There are quite a few postings on Palani route too. Please do a search.]

Have a fun-filled and safe trip. Weather is pretty cold out there. So pack up the woollens.

Regards
Rex

[pjay_in]

Doesn't this thread belong to the Route/Travel Queries section rather than Travelogues?

[akroy]

Originally Posted by pjay_in

Doesn't this thread belong to the Route/Travel Queries section rather than Travelogues?

Yes it is !! Mods kindly do the needful

Abhi

[rex_varghese]

Dates: Dec/8 to Dec/12
Route: Bangalore-Salem-Dindigul-Kodaikkanal (up and down).

Onward Journey:
Starting Time: 5.30am Bangalore
Breakfast: 10.30am, before Namakkal
Kodai Lake: 3.00pm
Distance: 476 kms

Return Journey:
Starting Time: 7.30am Kodaikkanal (delayed due to heavy fog and poor visibility)
Breakfast: 9.30am, Batlakundu
Lunch: 1.30pm, Salem
Hosur: 4.45pm
Bangalore: 6.45pm
Distance: 477 kms

Road conditions:

Bangalore-Hosur: Elevated highway work in progress. Bad traffic during day times. Early morning exit from Bangalore and late night entry into Bangalore preferred. Afternoons are better than other times of the day.

Hosur-Krishnagiri: Excellent surface. Less traffic.

Krishnagiri-Kaveripatnam: Four-laning in progress. Expect delays. Road conditions are average. Patching done recently for potholes.

Kaveripatnam-Karimangalam: Four-laning in progress. Road conditions worsen in this stretch.

Karimangalam-Dharmapuri: Four-laning in progress. Road conditions improve. Patching done most of the places.

Dharmapuri-Salem: Overall road is good most of the leg. Few patches are still bad and four-laning work in progress all over the leg.

Thoppur section: Watch out for uneven road surfaces and sudden dips and mounts on the road.

Salem-Namakkal: Bad roads all through the leg, especially till Rasipuram. Heavy bus and truck traffic.

Namakkal-Dindigul: Road conditions improve. There are many stretches which have excellent surface with recently done layers. Namakkal and Karur bypasses are a pleasure to cruise.

Dindigul-Kodai ghat entrance: This road is a beauty. Recently laid. Great grip and amazing feel to zip through. Watch out for cattle, two-wheelers and folks entering from side roads.

Ghat section: Good roads. Work in progress in small pockets where traffic is in single lane. Plan to reach Kodai before 4pm to keep you away from the Kodai fog/mist.

Kodai city: Roads are pretty good in the city.

Around Kodai: Road work in progress on many of the roads leading out of Kodai city. Many roads have traffic restrictions and single lane traffic. So, watch out when you climb up or go down or take a turn, chance of you finding a vehicle stare right in front of you is pretty high.

[pjay_in]

Sorry for deviating a bit: Is the road to Munnar (from Kodai) open to traffic these days? It was closed when I visited Kodai 2 years back. They say it's an awesome route (scenery, not the surface).

[csentil]

Originally Posted by pjay_in

Sorry for deviating a bit: Is the road to Munnar (from Kodai) open to traffic these days? It was closed when I visited Kodai 2 years back. They say it's an awesome route (scenery, not the surface).

Last heard, road laying and clearing of road was under progress. I think there was a post about this as well by someone in another thread.

[ranarula]

Thanks Rex for the wonderful breakdown of the road conditon. I think I will follow the route you took while going & maybe route 1 via Pilani on my return journey.

I am also planning to leave Bangalore around 5 AM so that am able to reach Kodai before fog takes over.

[s0uljah]

Any updates

kodai20