[suresh_gs]

Folks

At the outset let me wish each and every one of you a HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2016.
During the last week of December 2015, I had been to Kanyakumari and Rameswaram by car. My travelogue goes like this

28th Dec

The previous day, I filled Nitrogen as against air in my car's tyres. This was done at Blue Hyundai, Koramangala.
My primary destination was Kanyakumari. I booked room at HOTEL TRISEA after making an advance payment of Rs 2000.
My Team BHP signature is TOLL FREE SURESH. This time though considering the long distance to be covered, i dropped the idea of trying out alternate routes. Instead I decided to stick to NH7 all the way.
So only for this trip TOLL FREE SURESH became TOLL FOR SURESH.
I left my home at 6 30 AM joined by my wife and 2 kids. Stopped at Hotel Sree Saravana bhavan after the Krishnagiri toll for breakfast for about 20 min.
Some snaps from the drive along NH7





Traffic was comparatively less at Salem by pass. I stopped for lunch at Hotel Nellai Saravana Bhava just near the Tirumangalam toll plaza. The hotel does have a play area for kids and the ambiance is also very good. I got the best mileage travelling on NH7. I covered 497.8 kms with 23.84 L of petrol. From Bangalore to Salem, I did not use AC while for the remaining journey, I used AC. This mileage that I got was a combination of both non AC and AC. My maximum speed was restricted to around 90 kmph.





Quality of NH7 post Madurai by pass is not that good. We do have small broken sections of the road and the drive is also slightly bumpy.
Finally I reached the hotel by 4 45 PM. The room gave us a very good view of the Vivekananda rock and Tiruvalluvar statue.

Once we checked in, we decided to go to the sunset point. Here are some of the snaps from the sunset point






Next we decided to go for local shopping and visit Bhagavathi Amman temple. As per rules, males have to enter the temple premises bare chested. We had a good darshan of the goddess.
After this we retired to the comforts of the hotel room.

[suresh_gs]

29 Dec

We began the day by visiting the Vivekananda rock by boat. The trip to Tiruvalluvar statue was called off due to tides.







After the boating ride, we came back to the hotel, refreshed. had lunch and proceeded to our next destination: Tirupatappu falls and Mathur Thottipalam. This time we decided not to visit the Padmanabhpuram palace due to time constraints.

We got the directions from the hotel staff and proceeded along NH47. Traffic was high on this stretch and by the time we reached the venue it was close to 3 30 PM. Nevertheless all of us had a wonderful time there. We also enjoyed a boat ride out there in Tiruparappu falls.






We then left for Mathur Thottipalam by around 5 PM. A truly magnificent sight to behold.





We then called it a day by visiting the famous Hanuman temple in Suchindram



More details to follow....

[suresh_gs]

30th Dec

We started the day by visiting the Triveni Sangamam wherein both my kids enjoyed the horse ride as well. Here are some of the snaps








Later in the day we checked out from the hotel and visited the wax museum. The 3D paintings and the was models are an absolute treat to watch.







We then started the 2nd leg of our trip to Rameswaram. We retraced the road route via NH7 till Nanguneri toll plaza after which I entered Tirunelveli city to break for lunch.

After crossing the tuticorin by pass we then entered the ECR that took us till ECR Ramnad by pass junction. The road is in a pretty good condition with some occasional bad patches. No potholes though.






After crossing the Ramnad by pass we then entered NH49 that leads all the way to Rameswaram. The road has been relaid newly but without lane marking. I found it quite tough to drive in the night especially with vehicles coming in the opposite direction with high beams on. We then reached Hotel Pearl Residency Rameswaram by 8 PM.

[suresh_gs]

31st Dec

We started the day by visiting the famous Ramanathaswamy temple. We first took a dip in Agnitheertham and then proceeded to take dip in the holy waters of the 22 wells. The story behind this goes like this
Lord Rama was a Kshatriya while Ravana was a Brahman. Since a kshatriya killed a Brahman, Lord Rama acquired the Brahmahatti dosham. To absolve himself of the sins, he took bath in the sacred waters from the 22 wells.
After this we then stood in the queue to have the darshna of the main deity. The entire process took us close to 2.5 hrs after which we came back to the hotel to refresh our self.
Do note that photography is not allowed inside the temple premises.

In the afternoon, we then proceeded to Dhanushkodi. For this we hired a 4X4 jeep directly from the hotel itself. For this I paid Rs 1600 that includes visit to Kodanda Ramar temple enroute to Dhanushkodi.

I must say we thoroughly enjoyed the drive through the sand and waters as the jeep made it's way through. Also the govt is constructing a new road from Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi. Once it is completed, public can drive their own vehicles all the way to Dhanushkodi.











While coming back from Dhanushkodi, we visited the Kodanada Ramar temple.






We came back to the hotel by 5 PM and then myself and my 1st kid decided to board the train to get a feel of the drive through the Pamban bridge. Since the railway station is a stone's throw from the hotel, we purchased tickets from Rameswaram to Mandapam by the Madurai-Rameswaram Passenger. This train leaves Rameswaram by 6 PM. We then got down at Mandapam and took a bus to come back to Rameswaram.

[suresh_gs]

1st Jan

We checked out from the hotel and proceeded to visit Dr Abdul Kalam's house which is about 400m from the hotel. In the I floor of the house, life history of Dr Kalam is depicted in the form of photos while in the II floor,we have the Kalam arcade that sells artifacts, sea shells etc..

Do note that photography is not allowed inside Dr Kalam's house. I purchased a book based on Dr Kalam for my I kid.

After this we proceeded to visit Ramar padam. Again here photography is not allowed. From here we proceeded to Ramar theertham, Lakshmana theertham, Seetha theertham, Floating stones and Panchamukha hanuman temple. We infact purchased a floating stone. In Ramar theertham lot of fish was to be seen in the temple pond




We then proceeded to visit Thirupullani near Ramnad as 1st jan being new year, I decided to visit a divya desam. We reached the temple by 12 PM.



From Thirupullani we came back to the ECR Ramnad junction to break for lunch. Then I decided to go via Karaikudi, Pudukottai and Trichy to Bangalore instead of going via Madurai.
The NH 210 is in a pretty good condition. In some portions of the road , we do have small broken sections but very much drive-able. Infact for a major portion of my drive on this NH210, I was able to maintain speeds of 80 kmph on a consistent basis.





While approaching Pudukottai, I suddenly remembered that there is one more divya desam by name Thirumayam enroute. We decided to stop here to have darshan of the lord. We reached the temple premises by 3 25 PM and waited till 4 PM for the temple to open.
As the name suggets, Thirumayam is a marvelous feat of architecture. Inside a big stone the temple has been carved out. Normally the temple sannidhi is small but in this case it is a huge sannidhi wherein one can behold the majestic pose of Lord Satyagirinathan in a reclining posture surrounded by Garuda, Markandeya and Brahma.

This turned out to be a double bonus for us.




From here we then proceeded to Trichy where we took a snacks break near the bus stand. We left Trichy by 7 PM and took the Musiri, Namakkal route before touching NH7.
Musiri Namakkal road has been relaid at many places but one has to be watchful for the lorry traffic that seems to increase as the night progresses.

We finally reached home in Bangalore by 1 AM marking the end of an unforgettable and fabulous trip.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

So only for this trip TOLL FREE SURESH became TOLL FOR SURESH.

How did that happen!

Since the time I have seen your posts, if you had your way, there would be no 4-lane roads in India!

Jokes apart, nice drive and places. Thirupullani is an awesome temple with grand view of "Darba Sayanam". A pose which we mostly associate with Lord Vishnu.

Also did you visit Sethu Karai and went into the sea?

As regards to NH210, I have see people posting about from being outright pathetic to being a dream road to drive !

Have always been toying with the idea of Rameshwaram-Pudukottai-Tanjore route for some time. Lets see when it materializes. That region south of Trichy has its own share of places to visit.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by ampere

How did that happen!

Since the time I have seen your posts, if you had your way, there would be no 4-lane roads in India!

Jokes apart, nice drive and places. Thirupullani is an awesome temple with grand view of "Darba Sayanam". A pose which we mostly associate with Lord Vishnu.

Also did you visit Sethu Karai and went into the sea?

As regards to NH210, I have see people posting about from being outright pathetic to being a dream road to drive !

Have always been toying with the idea of Rameshwaram-Pudukottai-Tanjore route for some time. Lets see when it materializes. That region south of Trichy has its own share of places to visit.

Thanks Amp, Considering the long drive I decided not to experiment with routes. This time though we did not visit sethu karai due to time constraints.

NH210 is definitely not pathetic to drive. Yes, there are few portions of the road that are damaged but there are no major potholes as such. I was able to maintain speeds of 80 kmph on a consistent basis.

Infact my very purpose of coming via this route as against the Madurai route to bangalore was to visit one more divya desam called Thirumayam which comes before Pudukottai while driving from Karaikudi.
I would recommend visiting this marvelous temple. One should visit the temple to view the majestic pose of the Lord something that cannot be described in words.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

NH210 is definitely not pathetic to drive. Yes, there are few portions of the road that are damaged but there are no major potholes as such. I was able to maintain speeds of 80 kmph on a consistent basis.

I meant over the course of time from 2009-2015. The road was bad in the earlier times before it was re-laid I think around 2013 (not sure). And this was one of the main arterial road used by buses (Pudukottai-Karaikudi-Devipatnam) for Rameshwaram. Earlier, it was recommended to use the Trichy-Madurai 4-lane till Malur and then the Malur-Sivagangai-Illayangudi-Paramkudi-Ramad option.

Check out some of the old posts

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ri-trichy.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...d-chennai.html

[adi_gt]

Wonderful thread.I relived all my memories of traversing the exact same route as yours albeit on a bike ( Pulsar 150 DTSi) in 2009 ( 1st Jan to 4th Jan) The route beyond Salem till kanyakumari was under construction. After the return my back and my face were really tired but was real fun.Still remember that dusty road from Trichy to Musiri and road running parallel to sea shore around Thondi ( ramnad- Trichy ) route. We ( yess I had a pillion too) had only paper google maps ( old days )and lost our way to Trichy and ended up on this sleepy little coastal town Thondi. I have been to Rameshwaram four times after that in a car but nothing matches that first time on bike.Wow.

[NPV]

Suresh - Nice Travelogue and pictures. Very good choice of places to visit, thanks for sharing

You reverted back to "toll free Suresh" on the return journey or least part of it ?

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by NPV

You reverted back to "toll free Suresh" on the return journey or least part of it ?

To some extent Yes. Plus I was tempted to visit Thirumayam having come this far and knowing that it is on the Trichy-Pudukottai route. All temples open by 4-4:30 PM. So even if I reached the temple venue by 3:30 PM, I was ready to wait 1/2 an hour or so till the temple opens.
Definitely for my next trip, experimentation with alternate routes to continue

[hamster]

Nice travelogue and Very happy to see that you had been to Mathur Thottil Palam. Its one of the channels built during the period of Kamarajar to supply water between two hillocks.

In fact have been waiting to see this in our forum for quiet some time.

Not to scare , but just a word of caution for people going there in the future, the rocks near the Triveni Sangamam were very notorious and has taken a lot of lives due to its slippery nature. Glad that you are safe.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by hamster

Not to scare , but just a word of caution for people going there in the future, the rocks near the Triveni Sangamam were very notorious and has taken a lot of lives due to its slippery nature. Glad that you are safe.

Thanx for the pointer. The rocks were indeed slippery and I had to be ultra cautious while climbing them. To add to the troubles, wind force was so much that I found it difficult to stand at is.

[KALSANKRPAI]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Folks
At the outset let me wish each and every one of you a HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2016.

I am planning to visit Kanyakumari next week Please guide me about the route, road conditions and a good hotel/lodge in Kanyakumari

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by KALSANKRPAI

I am planning to visit Kanyakumari next week Please guide me about the route, road conditions and a good hotel/lodge in Kanyakumari

I stayed in Hotel Trisea in Kanyakumari. My travel plan went like this

Day1: Drive from Bangalore to Kanyakumari. Visited sunset point and Bhagavathi Amman temple + local shopping
Day2: Visit to Vivekananda rock by boat. In the noon visited Tiruparappu falls, Mathur Thottipalam and Suchindram Temple
Day3: Triveni Sangamam and Wax Museum. Then left for Rameswaram

In your case depending on the number of days you plan to stay in Kanyakumari, you can also visit Padmanabhapuram Palace.