[ampere]

Originally Posted by rkg

had been to tirupati on saturday i.e 10th. return on 12 th july. took the NH4 only. onward journey 5 hours . return journey took 4.5 Hours
started @ 1 Pm. Kolar 2.30 PM and tirupati 5 PM. in between had brief speels of rain at bangarupalyam and palamer. but last 30 km in sever rain
return
started @ 2.50PM , chittoor 4.20 Pm and Bata at Nagavarapalya 7.30PM.

Road is good till kolar ( with some divesrions here and there ) from there till mubagal one side of the 4 lane stretch is opened. no diversions. could maintain around 90.

Thanks for that update. While going I plan to Skip Bangalore-Kolar via Malur.

[ampere]

Just came back from Tirupati. Guys I must say its heaven bypassing BLR-Kolar.
In doing so, I discovered one of the best state-highways which I have seen.
Malur-Kolar is a beautiful state highway and its a belter.

Baglur to Malur has rough patches where you run on gravel and stones for about 200-300m.
The other problem is bypassing Sarjapur, which is again an ordeal as you almost do an 4X4 !
But overall, if you are in South Bangalore and are planning to go to Tirupati, its very-very good bypass option to Bangalore-Kolar.

Chitoor by-pass is very good but for a km or so, you go on tarred road but pot-holed road (not a smooth surface).
NH205 (from Chitoor) is full of trucks till one deviates to Tirupathi. Over-all good bypasses at Chitoor, Kolar and Mulbagal.
Another thing I noticed that the moment one enters the AP side of NH4 road quality goes up two notches above!
4 Laning is happening only till Mulbagal. I did not see any work beyond.


Coming to hotels on the way, I found at least 3 CCDs (One in Kolar, one in Mulbagal and one in Chandragiri; very close fort).
Bans was a very good hotel to take a break just before Tirupathi (about 70 km before) on the Chitoor bypass.
Then there is Woodys at Kolar which is a good place for food.
Good for stopping on the way back, as going towards Tirupathi, one does not want to stop so soon.

Finally Thanks to sbraj and roaming rao for the updates. Your details helped me quite a bit.

[prabhusati]

Originally Posted by ampere

Just came back from Tirupati.

Hi,
How was the crowd at Tirumala? How much time did it take for darshan? Did you opt for Sheegra Darshan or any of the sevas? Request you to provide info on these queries.

[roamingrao]

Originally Posted by ampere

NH205 (from Chitoor) is full of trucks till one deviates to Tirupathi.

some confusions here :

Chittoor to Rangampeta cross ( near puthalapattu village ) - 18 kms - is NH 18 ( Chittoor to Kurnool ). We need to take a right turn at this junction to go towards Chandragiri / Tirupati.

Milestones on the Rangampeta cross to Renigunta road reads as SH 5. The same road is also mentioned as NH205 ( Anantpur to Chennai ) in NH list.
Some old boards along the highway also mentions SH61. which is right ?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by prabhusati

Hi,
How was the crowd at Tirumala? How much time did it take for darshan? Did you opt for Sheegra Darshan or any of the sevas? Request you to provide info on these queries.

Crowd was OK. We went for the Sheegra Darshan and completed darshan in 2.5 hours (11Am in and 1330 out). This was on a weekday. As I was warned, I did not take the risk of a weekend. Best according to me is to take a room in Tirupati, where you can park your car and take a bus ride to Tirumala. During week days, you will finish Tirumala by the day.

(As against the risk which was earlier, that one may not be able to get the darshan). We could finish this including a tonsure!

Started at 7:30 morning from the hotel, and were back by 4:30 in the evening. Delay more due to the slow pace, as there was a baby involved.

Originally Posted by roamingrao

some confusions here :

Chittoor to Rangampeta cross ( near puthalapattu village ) - 18 kms - is NH 18 ( Chittoor to Kurnool ). We need to take a right turn at this junction to go towards Chandragiri / Tirupati.

Milestones on the Rangampeta cross to Renigunta road reads as SH 5. The same road is also mentioned as NH205 ( Anantpur to Chennai ) in NH list.
Some old boards along the highway also mentions SH61. which is right ?

Sorry that was a typo. My mistake. Yes that is NH18, which I guess is the main heartline through AP for truck traffic to link to NH7 somewhere near Kurnool. As you rightly said NH205 is the Chennai-Tirupati-Anantpur NH running as a transversal. On the whole BLR-Tirupati section one has to be on NH205 only for a small stretch.

Here is wikipedia link for NH205.
National Highway 205 (India) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by ampere

Started at 7:30 morning from the hotel

Where did you stay? How was the hotel?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sbraj

Where did you stay? How was the hotel?

Stayed at Bhimas Residency. Tarrif : 1800 per day. Good room and service. Very well located.
Getting onto the highway was very easy. I have been having food at this place during my visits right through
the last decade, but never stayed. This was first time, and it was a good experience.

Note: There are three Bhimas in Tirupati. Bhimas Deluxe (Oldest ~20 years or more, for which you have the website).
The other two are Residency and Paradise (~10 years.)

[djay99]

We are planning to visit tirupati this weekend. Will start on Saturday (24) early morning.
Still confused about route? - via kolar or via krishnagiri-palamar route.

[roamingrao]

Originally Posted by djay99

We are planning to visit tirupati this weekend. Will start on Saturday (24) early morning.
Still confused about route? - via kolar or via krishnagiri-palamar route.

Hi djay99,

drive to tirupati is simple : Bangalore - Kolar ( byepass ) - Mulbagal ( byepass ) - Palamner - Chittoor ( byepass ) - Puthalapattu - Chandragiri - Tirupati.

4 laning work is on between Bangalore and Mulbagal - many diversions, Mulbagal to Chittoor - old highway, turn left onto chittoor byepass 5 km before town, turn left onto NH18 5 km later and right turn towards tirupati at puthlapattu. total 275 kms can be done in 6 hours excluding breaks.

Hope this helps..

[ampere]

Krishnagiri is too round about. If you stay in South Bangalore, you can also try the Sarjapur/Baglur/Malur/Kolar route. I found it to extremely good apart from a couple of very rough patches. But it saves lots of traffic issue at Whitefiled and Old Madras Road.

Here is the route link:

Outer Ring Rd to NH 4/SH 99 - Google Maps

[djay99]

roamingrao and ampere,
Thank you very much. I will take following route as per your suggestion:
Rajaji Nagar > Kolar > Mulbagal > Palamer > chittoor > tirupati.

Can you guys suggest route from rajajinagar to KR puram road? (to reach kolar)

[ampere]

Come down to MG Road, Ulsoor and go via Old Madras road. The standard route.
Early morning there should be no traffic.

[djay99]

ampere,

Thanks for the info. Is it safe to drive from tirupati to tirumala? during monsoon.
And can we get some reservation to stay overnight in tirumala?

This will be my first trip with my wife after our marriage

[challa]

Originally Posted by djay99

ampere,

Thanks for the info. Is it safe to drive from tirupati to tirumala? during monsoon.
And can we get some reservation to stay overnight in tirumala?

This will be my first trip with my wife after our marriage

Hi

Driving is pretty safe from Tirupathi to Tirumala as its almost one way to go and come down. Please make arrangements in advance for room as getting rooms is difficult task if the place is crowded.

If you are planning in advance you can check this link Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to check the status and book the rooms.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by djay99

Is it safe to drive from tirupati to tirumala? during monsoon.

It is very safe. Uphill and downhill roads are different. There are very few hair pins uphill. Downhill has around 54 hair pins; these are manageable.

Originally Posted by djay99

And can we get some reservation to stay overnight in tirumala?

There are guest houses like Ram Bageecha, Vikas, Narayanagiri which can be booked over internet or the TTD extension counters. One would have to get the actual room allocation at the centralized reservation counter (near the bus stand).

Originally Posted by djay99

This will be my first trip

Drive safe. NH4 has maniac lorries and private buses. Have a pleasant drive.