[suresh_gs]

Hello all,

I had been to 3 Perumal temples in an around Salem yesterday (20.04.2014). It was a day trip.
The temples I visited were

1. Karuvalli Chinna Tirupati near Omalur
2. Erode Kasthuri Ranganathar
3. Ayodhiyapattinam Ramar in Salem

It was a completely satisfying trip both from the darshan and road travelling point of view.
As usual i experimented with alternate routes and i would give THUMBS UP for the road conditions.

ONWARD JOURNEY ROUTE MAP

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...3,5,7&t=m&z=12

RETURN JOURNEY ROUTE MAP

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...,4,5,6&t=m&z=9

More details to follow..

[suresh_gs]

Folks,

Here are the travel details. I left home at 5:45 AM only to find myself in a 10 min traffic waiting time at Attibele toll both. Proceeded along the NH and took a deviation towards the Hosur Rayakottai road.

HOSUR ROAD



The Rayakottai road is a real treat to drive. The road has been relaid at many sections and one can find hardly any pot holes. Guess the effect of elections is evident on the road condition. The same holds good for the Rayakottai-Palacode road and the palacode bypass road. My instantaneous top speed on these roads was 85 kmph. The traffic was also sparse.

HOSUR RAYAKOTTAI ROAD




RAYAKOTTAI-PALACODE ROAD





PALACODE BY PASS ROAD




I then proceeded along the NH till the Thoppur toll plaza. The NH has been patched up on the stretch leading to the toll plaza. I would rate the SH better than the NH.

My first destination was the KARUVALLI CHINNA TIRUPATI. Please note that there is one more temple by the same name in Salem.. Of these 2 , the temple at Karuvalli is more famous.

As per Google maps, i was supposed to take the Jodukuli road after the Mettur-Bhavani cross. But i failed to notice this road. May be GPS would have helped me here. I then stopped at a road side shop to find out the deviation to CHINNA TIRUPATI. The shop keeper asked me to proceed further till i see a board on the left indicating KARAVALLI. I was to take the immediate right after this sign board.

This road is called the Mookanur road and is basically a single lane road but surprisingly well maintained.

MOOKANUR ROAD



One has to be cautious while going on these roads. Finally i reached the Temple

KARUVALLI CHINNA TIRUPATI




The temple is very well maintained and fairly good crowd considering it was a Saturday.
After completing darshan of the Lord, i then proceeded to my next destination KASTHURI RANGANATHAR TEMPE at Erode. I decided to go via Mecheri, Nangavalli, Jalakandapuram, Idappadi (Pronounced as Yedappadi) and Sankagiri as i had not tried this route before.

From Karuvalli, one has to reach kamaneri first and then proceed to Mecheri. In the karuvalli market, i noticed an old FARGO van in pristine condition. I was not able to take a photo of the van. Here is the sample image of the one i saw



The road leading to Kamaneri was also surprisingly well maintained.

KAMANERI ROAD



I then took SH 222 that leads to Mecheri. All that i can say is SUPERB ROAD. Cars were vying with each other as to who is going to win the race. That was the road condition.

MECHERI ROAD




Once you reach Mecheri, the road leading to the Mecheri Road Railway station is a mud road. This slows you down. From here onwards till you reach Erode , very good road.

NANGAVALLI ROAD



JALAKANDAPURAM ROAD



IDAPPADI ROAD




SANKAGIRI ROAD




ROAD TO ERODE



Finally reached the temple by 11:15 AM as it closes by 12 PM. The temple sanctorium is very well maintained. Apart from the preceding deity, Lord Ranaganathar, we also have sannidhis of Lord Hayagriva, Lord Anjaneya, Lord Dhanavantri and Chakrathalwar.

[suresh_gs]

KASTHURI RANGANATHAR TEMPLE AT ERODE




Had lunch at Erode and since the temple at Ayodhiapattinam opens by 5 PM only, i had to kill time.
I then retraced the onward journey path till Pallipalayam. From her I took SH79 to Tiruchengode. Excellent 2 lane road

TIRUCHENGODE ROAD




From Tiruchengode , i then proceeded to Ayodhiapattinam via SH 86A. I observed a number of Mahendra educational institutions enroute to Salem.



SALEM ROAD





Before reaching Ayodhiapattinam, we have to proceed along NH47, NH7 and then the Ulundurpet highway. I stopped at many places to inquire about where to take diversion to reach Ayodhiapattinam.

Along the Ulundurpet highway, one has to ask for Udayapatti to make sure we go to Ayodhiapattinam else we might find ourselves in Attur.

In Ayodhaiapattinam, we have the famous RAMAR TEMPLE. I reached the temple premises by 3:00 PM. I then realized that i have to wait for another 2 hrs before the temple opens. That would mean reaching bangalore at around 10 PM or so.
At the same time having come this far, i did not want to leave without having darshan of Lord Rama.

I then requested the helpers at the temple to request the priest to come by 4 PM. Fortunately along with me there were other devotees too. Finally the temple priest came by 4 PM sharp.

I am extremely thankful to Lord Rama for having answered my prayers. The temple is very well maintained and the specialty of the deity is that one can find Lord Rama in a sitting posture (Pattabishekam style) flanked by his consort Sita, brothers Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugana, Vibeshana.

I would have loved to visit the temple when it is in full flow with lot of devotees. Anyways this temple is on my re visit chart.

AYODHIAPATTINAM RAMAR TEMPLE




After completing darshan of Lord Rama, i then started my journey back to Bangalore. I took the Harur-Ayodhiapattinam SH 18. The ghat section was a treat to drive. I would rate this section even better and steeper than the one at Krishnagiri. The truckers had a tough time negotiating the gradient and at one point of time the trucks coming downhill on the other direction stopped to give way to 2 trucks battling out as to who is going to win the WWF.

HARUR ROAD





From Harur, it was the usual route via Morappur and Kambainallur till i reached the NH.

MORAPPUR ROAD



KAMBAINALLUR ROAD




From here, i went via Karimangalam till i reached a village junction called VELLICHANDAI. From this jn, one has to take a right to Rayakottai. After reaching Rayakottai, i took the Attibele-Kelamangalam-Rayakottai road as against the Hosur Rayakottai road.
The Kelamangalam route is to be avoided for another 6 months or so. The reason being the road has been repaired at many places and these areas have been patched up with mud and stones only. At one point of time, i was completely enveloped by a combination of white and black smoke courtesy a truck coming in the opposite direction.
At some sections the road has been relaid newly.

Unfortunately my mobile ran out of battery charge or else i would have taken snaps of this section.

Finally reached home by around 8 PM.

On the whole it was a thoroughly enjoyed trip courtesy both the darshan and road condition.

[ampere]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[adisan]

Thanks for the pics and details.

It reminded me of a weekend trip about 8 years back (how time flies!), covering temples in Salem as well as in nearby towns, including:
Sri Thanthondri Eswarar, Belur
Sri Kailasanathar, Tharamangalam
Sri Prasanna Venkataramanar, Karuvalli
Sri Karpuranathar, Uthamasolapuram
Oothumalai Balasubrahmanyar
Ayodhyapattinam Sri Ramar

A few photos (pardon the poor quality, they were clicked using my then mobile phone):

Sri Prasanna Venkataramanar temple, Karuvalli


Sri Thanthondri Eswarar temple, Belur


Oothumalai steps


Views at dusk from Oothumalai