Ad

31 July 2013

Temples of south india: Bangalore-Vellore- kanchipuram- tirupati- Bangalore. Part 1.

Finally it happened, and i hope you were reading or checking on my blog.
as i wrote earlier, this was interesting because we were planning to cover some interesting places on the way. secondly i was planning  to do some live blogging while being on the road.
live blogging started but i couldn't do it post second day, for multiple reasons.
1. the blogger app sucks.
2. the trip timings were tight. i was driving around and very little except nights where we would stop and have some time.

Anyways, it was still a good experience trying out those things. Hopefully things will be better for my next trip. maybe there is a better app for blogger, or may be i should integrate twitter with blogger to keep all the updates on the blog.
Here is how i am going to write about the three places i covered- Vellore, Kanchipuram and tirupati.
For each of the places, i would cover, Road recommendation and details, tips for the travel, places to visit, and lots of photos.
hence keep glued here.

Route Traveled: Bangalore- Vellore-kanchipuram-tirupati- Bangalore
Day/Leg 1: Bangalore - Vellore.
Road recommendation and details:
  • Route: the route is simple. take the electronic city elevated highway towards Hosur and this road takes you towards Tamil Nadu. at Krishnagiri, watch out since you don't want to continue down to Salem, but instead take a left turn towards Chennai. once on Chennai road, there is no stopping until Vellore.
  • Road condition: the condition is brilliant. until krishnagiri, the road is great with few patches where construction work is underway. after Krishnagiri, the road gets even better, but with much more diversions. the best part is the labeling of diversion is so well done that driving becomes easier.
  • Stop overs: the distance isn't much but if you want to stop, there are lot of good places on the way. A2Bs, macdonalds, hoards of Cafe coffee days throng the sidelines. i recommend the Vadas, tea and breakfast at A2B.
  • Travel time: from Bangalore to Vellore, the distance of 212 can be easily done in around 3 hours or a little more than that based on your stops on the way.
  • Fuel: on this road, you don't have to worry about fuel availability since there are plenty of fuel stations. although finding a shell may need 'Google maps'.
  • Options to eat: At Vellore, there are all types of options available for food. from A2B, sarvana bhawans, to all sorts of Bengali restaurants(due to huge number of Bengalis in Vellore #CMC) and all types of uptown places like pizza huts, etc are available. we had food at the GRT Sameera and the buffet was impressive, in terms of spread of food. our breakfast buffet was equally good there.
  • Options to stay: we stayed at GRT Sameera, which is exactly on the national highway. i saw other hotels too lined up near by, like river view, etc. the major benefit is to be able to drive out of hotel and hit the highway in 2 mins. the downside was that in the rooms there was still a bit of noise coming from the road, which could be bothersome. the hotel was very contemporary and very good in all guest comforts. the staff helpful except couple of instances.
  • Misc Tips:


  1. There are multiple tolls on the way. in-fact you shell-out a lot of money in toll taking these roads. be ready with the change and cash while traveling.
  2. I have always tried to start earlier in the day, since it helps dodge lot of unwanted traffic during the day. this tip should influence your travel time.
  3. the temples close by 12:30 and normally open by 3 pm. plan accordingly if visiting a temple.
  4. Photography at temples is a huge confusion.  at temples like Tirupati, or golden temple, the devices are not allowed to enter the complex, but everywhere else it is different. Most of the temples, they don't let you click if they see you but everyone takes pictures. so, take a call accordingly.
  5. The golden temple is closely 7-8 kms from the main Vellore city. Pls plan your conveyance accordingly. 
  6. also, at the golden temple, the Shorts/Barmuda are not allowed. though also to note is the fact that you can buy/rent dhotis at the spot. planning is useful.

  • Places visited: we had planned to visit the fort, Jalakandeswar temple and the golden temple. 


  1. At the fort, there is nothing much to do. there are outer walls of the fort with nothing much inside the fort happening. there are police quarters and the famous jalakandeswar temple, hence i would recommend not really taking time for the fort. for photos, you could do a quick walk through, but nothing to be excited about.
  2. The jalakandeshwar temple was a beauty. all the temples of this trip were beautiful and timeless. some great architecture at work and fine art works on display.

            Road near krishnagiri. beautiful weather and long views of roads. intermittently, you get obstructions as well, like a truck crosses the road here.

            But over a very peaceful stretch on NH7. mountainous beauty surrounds you.

            One more from the road.

            Lunch at GRT Sameera was a treat. the buffet i guess had costed around 550 but had elaborate menu on offering. It was a mouthful. Also, may be in my imagination, i was expecting this kind of option at a city like vellore, but surely it changed my mind about vellore. my VIT friends who passed out from here 8 years ago, may have missed such a nice place to eat at :-)

            The rooms were beautifully done, and the complete design of the hotel was very contemporary. the staff was pleasant, and except couple of instance it was nice experience. the resturant 'gingee' is tastefully done, and the overall feel of the hotel is very spacious.

            A wall decoration on the theme of local art work and fort theme.

            vellore fort. gave it a sepia treatment, since to my eyes it went very well with the feel of ancient temples and forts. brings that timeless feel to the photos.

            Someone really toiled to have their love life recorded on the stone walls of the vellore fort. :-)

            Outer walls of the fort.

            Jalakandeshwar temple in its full glory, as seen from the fort wall.





            © SAURABH MITTAL
            ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
            If you would like to buy this photograph for commercial use or would like to buy rights to this photography, contact me at quitefar@gmail.com for further details.
            Use without permission is illegal

            19 comments:

            1. Swagat1:31 PM

              Beautiful Pictures and travelogue!!

              ReplyDelete
            2. This comment has been removed by the author.

              ReplyDelete
            3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

              ReplyDelete
            4. Thanks for your marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you are a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back from now on. I want to encourage that you continue your great job, have a nice day.

              Kanchipuram Real Estate

              ReplyDelete
            5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

              ReplyDelete
            6. Very creative work you have done, i like your post very much. Thanks for sharing !!
              Trip in South India

              ReplyDelete
            7. Nice blog thanks for sharing such a great post. Incredible work is done by the author of this post. Also we can find all other famous temples in South India here:-- www.indiatemples.co.in

              ReplyDelete
            8. visit www.tamiltour.com for good pictures taken in kanchipuram.

              ReplyDelete
            9. Its really very nice blog..Thanks for sharing this article..


              Places to See in Bangalore

              ReplyDelete
              Replies
              1. thank you christina! appreciate it.

                Delete
            10. Hi,I gone through your blog.Nice information and thanks for sharing information about car rentals

              ReplyDelete
              Replies
              1. Thx a ton for liking it. keep coming back.

                Delete
            11. Beautiful collections,, Thanks for sharing this.... and nice to see this
              package tours from Bangalore
              kerala Honeymoon Packages

              ReplyDelete
            12. Beautiful images!!! you must had a great time by visiting these temples. As per my calculation, there are around 1589 places to visit in Bangalore that you can spend your whole month with them.

              ReplyDelete
              Replies
              1. thx Dimpy. Yes, it was a pleasure to visit these temples. barring the hot weather which wasnt fun for my daughter rest was awesome.

                Delete
            13. Great post. can be now easily booked with seegarh dharsan via many car rentals.

              ReplyDelete
              Replies
              1. You are right ShriHari. There are umpteen number of travel options available. do share any reliable links here which could help others. i can include those in the blog too, if you share them here.

                Delete
            14. thx Jenny! Keep visiting.

              ReplyDelete

            Speak your mind!
            While i take time to write, i love to read what readers think about it. Did the content help you? Do Leave a comment on what you think about this article?

            Ad