Road trip to Kodaikanal from Bangalore

Let me interpose another travelogue adding to the list of Bangalore to Kodai trip. The 500Km distance between the garden city and the queen of hills might seem daunting at the first thought, thanks to the GQ initiative by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, making the journey quick and comfortable.

It was not so planned journey to venture Kodai at the peak season (April). However we decided to set out for a trip by car(Maruti Swift). It was raining as we started and we had second thoughts to venture the long trip. However we decided to embark on the visitation.



Distance - A Line map
Bangalore
|
95 Km
|
Krishnagiri (95)
|
55 Km
|
Dharmapuri (150)
|
60 Km
|
Salem (210)
|
55 Km
|
Namakkal (265)
|
55 Km
|
Karur (320)
|
70 Km
|
Dindigul (390)
|
40 Km
|
Vatlakundu (430)
|
55 Km
|
Kodaikanal (485)

We started at around 05:00 hrs and traced the Inner ring road, Madiwala, Electronic city. We had a planned stoppage at Chinnar before Krishnagiri to reach Ghar dhaba to tank up at BP, supposedly COCO - Company Owned Company Operated and finish the breakfast at A2B. We were behind our schedule as heavy rain lashed Bangalore till Hosur.



The Thoppur ghat deserves a mention as the road has marked speed brakers and monkeys greeting the way. The road is poorly managed with unevenly settled lanes primarily being attributed by heavy truck traffic.


With better weather conditions and clear stretch ahead, we sped to mark our planned reach to the destinations.

At Salem we anticipated a heavy truck traffic but however we found the traffic was very lean and we could bypass the city quickly. You need to take a diversion here to follow NH-7 - Madurai or Kanyakumari direction


We had stopped by for tea break at Karur at around 10:30hrs. We were now well ahead of our schedule.

After crossing Dindigul, be glued to the sign boards and you need to take the service lane below the grade separator to take a right turn to touch SH-18, Vatlagundu.











Ascending the hills in the evening is not so good a decision with mist cover obstructing the visibility and hence it is better to reach Vatlagundu in the afternoon.

Chandrachoodeshwarar Temple

Situated on a small hillock near Hosur is the Chandrachoodeshwarar temple. The temple is just as big as any small temple in Tamilnadu. I have reportedly heard and read that this temple was the reason to turn TVS Motor Co.'s fortune northwards. There is also an evidence that TVS donated the refurbished "Nandhi" to the temple.



The presiding deity is Lord Shiva with Moon on the head (Chandra-Moon, choodesh - wear) and hence the name of the temple.



This trip would certainly be an excellent getaway from the hustles and bustles. The temple does not witness big crowd except few festive occasions. The temple is well maintained and offers a pious feeling. The aerial view is one of the best one can get to see the complete town of Hosur.


Here is the view of the pond abutting the temple.


The approach road to the temple at least unto the hillock is by far the best one can experience. The NH7 section between Bangalore to Attibele (33Km) and from Attibele to Hosur (16Km) is 4 laned for one can cruise at the maximum speed limit of 80Kmph and for rushing adrenalins' one can easily maintain 140Kmph.


Adding to this to the electronic city ramp,supposedly the longest elevated highway in India, is yet another treat from motoring enthusiasts.