Driving from Trichy to Bengaluru: I accidentally discovered a new route

It has excellent traffic-free roads for most of the part and has pleasing views too.

BHPian vigsom recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Introduction

The intent behind this post is to explain with pictures Route no.4 that bhpian @JacksonStorm had mentioned in his post and introduce a small variant of this route for the benefit of road users.

Background

I'd experimented with the Namakkal - Karur - Trichy route on a recent Bengaluru - Trichy drive; experiences documented here. For my return leg, I had set the Trichy - Karur - Namakkal route on my map and was almost going to turn left just ahead of the Kaveri bridge, when I decided to pull over and just mark Route no.4 that bhpian @JacksonStorm had mentioned in his post.

I set Kannanur as a waypoint and just confirmed that the route was taking me via Pulivalam. However, I didn't bother to check the route past Kannanur as I'd assumed that the route would follow the road to Namakkal. Only later did I discover that I had gone on a variant of route no.4, which I will fondly call Route 4.1. The benefit of Route 4.1 is that it bypasses Namakkal and takes one straight to the NH at Budansanthai.

Route 4.1

What I liked about Route 4.1

• Excellent traffic-free roads for the most part; zero stress
• Eye-pleasing views of surroundings - farms, coconut trees, hills, trees lining up both sides of the road
• A rural drive experience worth the time

What one needs to watch out for

• Monkeys that dart across the roads
• Speed breakers at every village entry and exit
• The odd motorcyclist who is keen to show off his stunts
• Three right-angle bends at Thathiengarpettai (T.Pettai) where one can see private inter-town buses just swerve in - these bends can cause potential traffic and people snarls.

My experiences

• Nochiyam to Pagalavadi

The best road to drive on was after crossing the Uthamarkoil railway overbridge and turning right at Nochiyam onto the road to Thuraiyur - an absolutely fantastic surface where one feels like just cruising at 60-70kmph.

Manachanallur Bypass

Pulivalam

Trichy - Thuraiyur Road

Typical village entry

Typical speed breakers at entry-exit at any of the villages en route

• Pagalavadi to Kannanur

Again beautiful road - immediately after turning left at Pagalavadi, the farms look all dull, but suddenly, one sees lush green patches, coconut trees and bovines

Not so green

Turning into green

Bovines at Kaliyampatty

Chinnasalempatti

• Brief stretch of the Thuraiyur - Musiri road from Kannanur till the right turn off this road:

Very average road surface, but happy that it wasn't too far (just approx. 2km)

• Right turn off Thuraiyur - Musiri Road onto Thuraiyur - Namakkal Road all the way till Thathiengarpettai (T.Pettai)

Good road with little to no traffic, as seen in the pic below.

• Three right-angle turns at Thathiengarpettai (T.Pettai)

One has to keep as left as possible and navigate both bends carefully as this is the main road through the village - watch out for the town buses that swerve in with a little warning.

The three right-angle bends at T.Pettai

• T.Pettai till Alanganatham

Nice roads with a lake around Pavithiram

• Alanganatham to Senthamangalam to Budansanthai

This is the sector bypassing Namakkal and that's why I've christened this Route 4.1; the road is good except for road relaying work around the Palapalayam lakes and a little ahead, which can throw up a lot of dust.

Palapalayam lake road - WIP

Nainamalai

• Budansanthai to Bengaluru

The NH till Salem, post which one has to turn left onto the highway to Omalur. My most favourite sight on this road is the up-and-down section between Krishnagiri and Hosur.

Krishnagiri to Hosur

Key takeaways

Route Comparison - No.3 vs No. 4.1

• Route 3 - 394kms 6hrs 50mins, Toll INR 555
• Route 4.1 - 355kms 6hrs 55mins Toll INR 390 via E-City toll and INR 410 via NICE Road.

Toll roads eg. Karur to Trichy need not be better than non-toll roads (Nochiyam to Thuraiyur); toll roads also have barriers at intersections and speed breakers at certain points.

Thoppur toll - definitely not worth the INR 120

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.