Bangalore - Yercaud Travelogue

Yercaud was one of the location which we wanted to visit for a long time. One reason was our desire to stay in Sky Rocca since we heard a lot of positive reviews about this property. But sadly Sky Rocca was completely sold out due to the long weekend. After hearing good feedback from one if my cousins, we decided to settle for Sterling Holidays Rock Perch. The booking was done on makemytrip and we started counting the days for our trip.


First phase - Hebbal - Srikrishna Restaurant/Mc Donanld/CCD
Total Distance from Bangalore - 73 KM
We started on a Saturday morning around 8 AM. The traffic was less and  the drive was uneventful.  But after crossing Hosur, we had to slow down on multiple places due to the ongoing road expansion work. No complaints- considering the fact that this will improve the road condition between Hosur and Krishnagiri. If NHAI has waited any more for starting the expansion work, Hosur - Krishnagiri stretch would have become like a Hosur road in Bangalore few years back. We stopped at Srikrishna Restaurant for the breakfast. This was deviation from earlier trip where we used to only stop at A2B.


Second Phase  - Srikrishna Restaurant/Mc Donanld/CCD   - Salem
Total Diatance from Banaglore - 209 KM
This stretch was a breeze. The road is in an excellent condition. But we started having problems once we reached Salem. We took the road toward city and kept on going straight in the hope of finding any signs showing us the direction to Yearcaud. It was a mistake and soon we realized that we are going in a wrong way. Switched on GPS on my Galaxy and started following the direction. It was taking us through small bylines, but we kept our faith in Google. Soon we hit the main road towards Yercaud. Salem Collectorate is also on the same road.

Third Phase - Salem - Yercaud Sterling
Total Distance from Bangalore to Yearcaud - ~240 KM.

The road from Salem to Yercaud is single line, but it's in a good condition. The ghat road started immediately after we crossed Salem. The Ghat road up to Yearcaud is a single line, but it's maintained very well. Except for some trucks which is coming down to steel plant in Salem, the traffic was  less. Considering the long weekend, I was really scared of the traffic. There are totally 20 hairpin bends  to Yercaud. By around 2 we reached Yercaud. That day we spent our time exploring the facilities in resort.

      Hainpin road starts to Yearcud


      After the 18th Hairpin bend


    Madhav before Sterling RockPerch

       Sterling RockPerch reception, Yercaud
Second day
Second day we booked a cab for sightseeing.

                      Yercaud Lake


      Rose Garden near the Lady's seat


               A view from Pagoda point



            Evening - A view from Sterling resorts, Yercaud


              A view of Sterling resorts, Yercaud

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   A view of Sterling resorts, Yercaud
Third day
We started back after having our breakfast.
-Manoj

Bangalore to Kerala through Nilambur

We took the route through Nilambur when we traveled back to Bangalore. We were looking for a more scenic route and decided to explore this route. Even though it doesn't save you time, it definitely saves you Rs 300+ toll and petrol by driving 80 KM less.

The major points on the route are Pattambi, Perithalmanna, Nilambur, Gudulur, Muthumala, GundalPet, NanjinGod, Mysore, Bangalore.

The road condition to Bangalore through Nilambur is pretty good except for some patches in between.. I will suggest this route if you are in picnic mood and not worried about the time.

Hotel Tamirand by KTDC. The hotel is just after Nilambur town and close to the teak garden

Landmark for Hotel Tamirnad

Nadukani Churam, Kerala

Gudalur, Tamil Nadu

Muthumala, Tamil nadu

Bandipur, Karnataka

bangalore Kerala Driving Travelogue part 1 - Bangalore to Trichur

Even though we have been travelling to Kerala almost on every month by road, this is the first time I tried to create the route log. We planned our vacation for 7 days and this is the first part of the vacation.

Route-
Day 1 -
Starting point -Bangalore
Destination - Trichur.   
Via - Salem, Palghat, Shornur

Route condition
1. Road from palghat to thrissur is in worse condition especially once you enter thrissur district. Best to avoid this. There are two alternatives

1. Enter Palghat town and take the road towards ottapalam. After you cross Ottapalam, the next major point is Shornur and then wadakanchery. This road many be approximately 20 km more compared the NH. Watchful about taking left turn towards Shornur at Vaniyakulam . The straight road goes to Pattambi and Guruvayur.
2. You can avoid palghat town and continue in NH-47. Take a right turn at alathur junction towards alathur town. Continue towards pazhayannur, chellakara and then wadakanchery.

The road widening work is going on between Avinashi and Coimbatore and between Hosur and Krishnagiri.

Travel log
Day 1
5:30 Am
Hebbal, Bangalore O km.
Hosur - 42 km.  - high traffic except on early morning hours
Krishnagiri toll booth -98km - moderate to high traffic. The road work is going on and this can slow down the progress.
Dhramapuri toll booth -166 km. - moderate traffic
Salem toll booth - 203 km - moderate traffic till you reach near Salem. That session initially after you cross dharmapuri. Scenic road compared to remaining stretch.
Perumdurai toll booth - 303 km - moderate traffic.
Coimbatore bypass toll booth - 358 km - road work is going bad. Bad roads till this point.
Paghat - road gets worse
Wadakanchery - cross ottpalam, shornur on the way - 470 km - good roads',  Med to high traffic



A2B restaurant near Dharmapuri - Approximately 160 km from Bangalore


The road from Krishnagiri to Salem




Ottupura - Restaurant after you cross valayar check post to Kerala.



Road from Palghat to Thrissur through Shornur



Hebbal, Bangalore - Morning 5:30 AM