You set off from Chennai with a definite plan. Arrive at Salem by lunch. Visit the temple at Srirangam before the closure in the afternoon. Drop your kin at the Trichy junction and return. But the road makes some decisions for you. The Chennai to Salem drop taxi counts much more than what is generally appreciated. Six to seven hours of an uncomfortable suspension ride. Frequent stops to enquire about the route direction. The AC system broke down in the middle of the journey near Vellore. All this turns an ordinary journey into an unforgettable one.
Chennai to Salem Drop Taxi
A Chennai to Salem drop taxi basically travels the NH48 route, covering Sriperumbudur, Vellore, Krishnagiri, and then heading towards Salem. The distance covered was approximately 340 kilometres. Journey time is six hours on a clear morning. Seven and a half hours if you travel after 8 am.
The road is in decent condition for most of the stretch. The rough patches sit between Ranipet and Vellore, where work has been on and off for years. Toll plazas at Sriperumbudur, Vaniyambadi, and Krishnagiri.
Most travellers heading to Salem are visiting family, attending a wedding, or going onward to Yercaud. The road continues from Salem to Yercaud through a hill stretch of about 28 km, which adds an hour. Mention this at booking if you plan to go further.
Drop Taxi Chennai to Trichy
The drop taxi Chennai to Trichy route runs on a different highway. NH32 most of the way, through Tindivanam, Villupuram, Ulundurpet, and Perambalur. Roughly 320 km. Five and a half to seven hours.
A fair share of bookings on this route are pilgrimage trips. Srirangam, ten kilometres from Trichy junction, draws families heading to the Ranganathaswamy temple. Samayapuram Mariamman temple sits even closer to the highway. Many travellers ask the driver to stop at Samayapuram on the way in, then continue to Srirangam in the morning.
The driver is familiar with the paths around the temple. He does not need an app on his phone to navigate to the point where he has to take the East Chithirai Veedhi path to reach there. It may seem trivial at first glance, but it’s not when one has driven around the temple at noon under the hot sun with one’s parents seated behind him.
Getting up at 4 am in the morning in Chennai so as to reach Srirangam early enough for the darshan is what many people have done. The trick here lies in leaving Chennai when everyone else is asleep, having breakfast somewhere around Ulundurpet, and reaching the temple.
What to Expect on the Road
Your cab will arrive as scheduled. Two hours before you leave, you get all the information on the driver and the car you will be travelling in, allowing you to communicate any luggage issues that arise with him.
There is ample opportunity to take a meal along both routes. Branches of both A2B and Saravana Bhavan are present on the NH48 corridor in Vellore. However, you have better meals on the Trichy route in the areas of Tindivanam and Perambalur.
The phone signal stays solid on most stretches. There is a short dead zone near the Krishnagiri ghat. The Trichy route holds a signal almost the whole way.
Booking
Call or WhatsApp 9487117000. Confirmation in ten minutes. Free cancellation up to twenty-four hours before pickup. The cab is on its way before you finish packing.
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