[mpksuhas]

With current road conditions is Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Harur - Thiruvannamali the best route.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

planning onward journey on the tried and tested route :
BLR->karimangalam->morappur->harur->thanipadi->tvmalai

because I am bored of the above route, considering alternates for the return.

just did this today, chickened out at the last minute and took the same route for return as well. the 2L had extremely sparse traffic (sunday?republic day?). Exactly 4hrs running time in both directions (2 X 240), did not cross 90 on the 4L and did not cross 80 on the 2L -> overall petrol mileage = 22.5

Road update :
b/w harur and tvmalai, after the smooth forest ghats, it is not so good as it used to be : from the ghat finish, through thanipadi, all the way till tvmalai, the roads have deteriorated considerably, lots of potholes. I dont remember a continous 5km stretch without potholes. There have been attempts to "fill up" in many places, but looks like a gorilla did the job. Because there was hardly any traffic, I managed to 'dance around' and save my wheels and suspension to some extent.
Still, if you want to avoid the dreaded chengam stretch (NH66) - this is still better I presume, but not sure for how long.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Still, if you want to avoid the dreaded chengam stretch (NH66) - this is still better I presume, but not sure for how long.

Thanks for sharing. Quite sometime (some years) back I had driven down to Sathanur dam from Tiruvannamalai. The road taken is the same Harur road. The main stretch seemed to be OK then. And then from the dam on the way back drove to Chengam and came back to Bangalore. Since these were interior roads, I did not expect them to go bad. But looks like the horrible state of NH66 is showing on these routes as well.

[figo_gpb]

Just did a Blr-Thiruvannamalai last Sunday & Monday.
Route: Blr-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur-Tiruvannamalai (traced the same route on the way back also)
Roads are good all through except a few stretches between Harur & Tiruvannamalai.

On the return on Monday, started at 6pm in the evening and the roads are very deserted almost till we reached Krishnagiri. There is thick growth of grass also on both sides of the road giving you a feeling that you are mostly in the middle of a forest (which is anyway the case from Thanipadi to Harur).

Stayed at Siva Sannidhi Guest House. Very close to Ramana Maharshi Ashram. About 2 km from main temple.

Was surprised to see so many foreigners in this place living the Indian way of life.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by figo_gpb

Blr-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur-Tiruvannamalai (traced the same route on the way back also)

Figo_gpb, could you please let know how long did it take for you to cover the route.
Also does any one have details about trekking to top of hill near Tiruvanamalai, the hill were lamp is lit during festival. I have read that the climb is bit steep but is a guide required for helping with route, also is there any permits required?

[figo_gpb]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Figo_gpb, could you please let know how long did it take for you to cover the route.
Also does any one have details about trekking to top of hill near Tiruvanamalai, the hill were lamp is lit during festival. I have read that the climb is bit steep but is a guide required for helping with route, also is there any permits required?

Took me about 5.5 hours with about 30 mins of breaks (both ways).

Not sure about the specific trek you are talking about. We just did a small trek (about an hour trek) up the hill to Ramanamaharshi ashram on the top. The views of the temple are also very good enroute this place.

[ak916]

Went to TVM on Sunday. While going, I took the regular Krishnagiri - Chengam - TVM route. Just as everyone else mentioned, this is bone jarring. It is doable in a bigger vehicle but I would be very apprehensive on taking sedans or hatches here.

While coming back, we went in search of the a2b in TVM and had lunch there. I dint feel like turning back and heading towards Harur. Since we were already on the Vellore road, I just continued straight towards Vellore. Turned out it was a great decision. The roads are supersmooth but without a divider. Just before Vellore, turned off towards Pallikonda and joined the BLR-Chennai highway. I added about 20 minutes on this route and roughly 50 kms extra. However it was absolutely worth it. We were doing a steady 80-90 kmph in the SH.

Two problems - The minor one is that the final 10-15 kms before you get onto the BLR - Chennai NH is a little bad. However it is not as bad as the regular route. Second one is that there are 3 railway crossings on this route. Luckily, we dint get stuck a single crossing.

Oh and as soon as you get onto the Chennai - BLR NH, you hit the tollgate so that's a bit of a "loss". But I recommend this route for anyone who doesn't want to do sharp turns or go over bad rods. I know I will do this route again when I want to go to TVM again.

Slightly OT - but Tamil nadu temples are maintained very badly and people have no civic sense. They do not allow shorts but they will allow people to defecate and urinate on the temple walls. The stench is unbearable. I wrote emails to the district collector and the temple endowment dept and few others. I am not sure if anyone who is reading this can support me in getting that area cleaned and enforcing discipline in the same way as they do not allow people with shorts etc.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ak916

I added about 20 minutes on this route and roughly 50 kms extra. However it was absolutely worth it. We were doing a steady 80-90 kmph in the SH.

Is it 50 km extra ? I think its about 90km more.


Route Via Pallikonda


Conventional NH66

For a total of 200km between Bangalore-Tiruvannamalai, 90km extra is quite high.

Meanwhile the Harur option is about 40km more.

Route Via Harur

Of course I agree you travel on very good roads all the way when you go via Vellore.

[ak916]

Originally Posted by ampere

Is it 50 km extra ? I think its about 90km more.

I meant 50kms more than the Harur route. I dint explain that clearly in my post, I agree.

[suresh_gs]

Dear friends

I wish to share my experience of visiting Thirukkoilur (Ulagalandha Perumal temple) and Manalurpet (Adhi Thiruvarangam) on 5th October 2013. I took the following route

For the onward journey, went via Hosur, Rayakottai, Karimangalam, Kambainallur, Morappur, Harur, Theerthamalai and Thanipadi. To sum it up, i would say overall pretty good roads. Till Naripalli (on Harur - TV Malai SH), the roads are very good. In some stretches i would say EXCELLENT.
From Naripalli onwards till you reach TV Malai GH (approx 50 kms), the road surface has been eroded (broken tarmac) at many places. There are no major potholes as such. This stretch is very much driveable but the drive is bumpy due to poor quality of patch work. Of these 50 kms, around 20 kms stretch has very good tarmac. For the balance stretch speeds above 60 kmph makes the drive bumpy.

Even the Rayakottai road has been eroded at quite a number of places but very much driveable. The quality of patch work leaves a lot to be desired. Approx 10 kms before Palacode, you will reach a village called VELLICHANDAI. From this junction, proceeding straight takes you to Palacode. Turning left, takes you to Karimangalam. Road leading to karimangalam was surprisingly good.

From Karimangalam to Naripalli via Kambainallur, Morappur , Harur and Theerthamalai, excellent roads. Trust me you can constantly go at 85-90 kmph speed.

The winding roads post harur pass through ghat section . What a sight!!

One must not miss this experience. We do have govt buses plying on this route but frequency is less.

Once you reach TV Malai GH, you have 2 options to go to Thirukkoilur. One via Manalurpet and the other Thirukkoilur by pass road. I took the latter as i wanted to reach the temple fast.

The best part of my onward journey was going on the Thirukkoilur by pass road. Boy, excellent road. There are some humps enroute that can take you off guard. Otherwise superb tarmac. Infact at one point of time, my speedo indicated 110 kmph.
Once you cross Thirukkoilur by pass road, the road leading to thirukkoilur town is awful to say the least. Broken tarmac all the way.
Infact if anybody wants to proceed further say towards panruti/cuddalore/pondy, i would caution them.

Departure from Bangalore - 6:23 AM
Reached Temple - 11:35 AM (inclusive of a number of breaks to take photos of road)

TOLL PAID = ZERO

ONWARD JOURNEY ROUTE MAP


Adhithiruvarangam is about 20 kms from Thirukkoilur via Manalurpet. The idol of Lord Ranganathar is much bigger than the idol at Srirangam. This temple is much older than the Srirangam temple. One must visit this temple for sure. Not many are aware of the existence of this temple.

After completing darshan of Lord Ranganathar, i took the Manalurpet- TV Malai SH. I would use just one word to describe this SH

SUPER

Consistently i was able to go at 85-90 kmph speed. One has to be watchful of speedbreakers enroute though they are not big.
Proceeding on this road takes you to TV Malai GH .

I then followed the onward journey route for the return leg.

Overall it was a very good experience visiting these 2 famous temples.
The only drawback of the route i followed is lack of hotels to break for food. In such cases, one can come via krishnagiri instead of Rayakottai.

RETURN JOURNEY ROUTE MAP

[ampere]

With regards to Rayakkottai option, I presume you took the Attibele-Hosur TVS back toad to join Rayakottai via Kelamangalam. I thought there were quite many culvert works in progress (thanks to a member who had mentioned earlier) till Rayakottai. I assume you took this route, because, if not you will have to pay toll at Attibele.

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

From Karimangalam to Naripalli via Kambainallur, Morappur , Harur and Theerthamalai, excellent roads. Trust me you can constantly go at 85-90 kmph speed. The winding roads post harur pass through ghat section . What a sight

This is good to note. Its been always a good road to take. Try the Harur-Salem road via Kalrayan forests. Even better. But quite some traffic thanks to state transport buses, who take the Tirupathur-Harur-Salem road.

Once you reach TV Malai GH, you have 2 options to go to Thirukkoilur. One via Manalurpet and the other Thirukkoilur by pass road. I took the latter as i wanted to reach the temple fast.

Any reasons for Tiruvannamalai? Because if idea is not to go there, you can also try Thanipadi-Sankarapuram-Thirukkoilur. This bypasses TV Malai totally.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ampere

With regards to Rayakkottai option, I presume you took the Attibele-Hosur TVS back toad to join Rayakottai via Kelamangalam. I thought there were quite many culvert works in progress (thanks to a member who had mentioned earlier) till Rayakottai. I assume you took this route, because, if not you will have to pay toll at Attibele.



This is good to note. Its been always a good road to rake. Try the Harur-Salem road via Kalrayan forests. Even better. But quite some traffic thanks to state transport buses, who take the Tirupathur-Harur-Salem road.



Any reasons for Tiruvannamalai? Because if idea is not to go there, you can also try Thanipadi-Sankarapuram-Thirukkoilur. This bypasses TV Malai totally.

Yes sir, I avoided paying toll at attibele by taking a right turn towards TVS Factory. Trust me , the Attibele -Rayakottai road is average with broken tarmac at many places. It can be a bone jarring ride. After crossing TVS Plant III, once you reach the check post, do not turn left as it will take you to Hosur town.
Instead proceed straight till you meet another 4 road junction. From here, if you turn right, it takes you to Denkanaikottai, Anchetty and Hogennakal. I have been on this route before.
If you proceed staright from the 4 road junction, it leads to Rayakottai via kelamangalam.
If you turn left from the 4 road junction, it takes you to Hosur Railway station. From here , one has to navigate through the town (not a long way though) till you reach the hosur rayakottai road.

It's a bit of circus work just to avoid Rs 25 at attibele toll.


To go to Yercaud, one can follow this route till Harur. From Harur, one has to take the Salem-Tirupattur SH 18 till you reach Kuppanur. From here one can proceed to Yercaud without touching Salem.

As regards why go as far as T V Malai to go to Tirukkoliur is due to the fact that the Thanipadi-Sankarapuram road is bad. Infact the locals at Thanpadi cautioned me from taking this road.

I would say go to T V Malai (General hospital) and ask for Gorimettu road. From here one can easily hop on to the Tirukkoilur by pass road. This stretch is a beauty but beware of humps!!!!.

Infact to go to kumbakonam, one can do so by going via Tirukkoilur by pass road, Ulundurpet, Vriddhachalam, Mangalampettai and T Polur/Anaikarai.

[suresh_gs]

Folks
Here are the photos of the road conditions between Bangalore to Tirukkoilur from by trip on 5th Oct 2013

TVS - ATTIBELE ROAD



HOSUR BY PASS ROAD



HOSUR - RAYAKOTTAI ROAD




RAYAKOTTAI - PALACODE ROAD



VELLICHANDAI - KARIMANGALAM ROAD

[suresh_gs]

karimangalam - Kambainallur Road




kambainallur - Morappur Road




morappur - Harur Road




harur - Theerthamalai Road




theerthamalai - Thanipadi Road

[suresh_gs]

thanipadi - T V Malai Road






tirukkoilur By Pass Road



tirukkoilur - Manalurpet Road



manalurpet - T V Malai Road