Bangalore to Chennai on NH 7
It is a pleasure to drive on India's National Highway 7 (NH 7) connecting two major South Indian cities - Bangalore and Chennai. You can cover the 350 km distance between these two cities in 5 or 5:30 hours. I have been on other major highways, and this certainly is one of the top Indian highways! You can get to top speeds - 120 - 130 kmph very easily. Forget the gear for a while, and just keep pressing the accerlerator pedal.
A one-minute video of the drive ...
As Bangalore is at an altitude of (you_can_find_out_that_number_by_searching_the_net metres) and Chennai is at MSL, there will be a downhill drive of about 150 km. This is the Hosur-Krishnagiri stretch and it is really scenic. As you descend to Vellore, the Sun begins to hit you mercilessly. You just realize you are at sea level! A big change from the cool Bangalore.
Some scenic views from my Pentax digicam
The NHAI charges a nominal fee at 5 toll plazas as you cruise on NH 7. View of a Toll Plaza
Hi Vasanth,
We work together on documentation at times, and I've started perusing the blogs of other Sun writers. Anyways, I just wanted to say that I really like this post. I used to travel around the world before I had children, but now I have to travel by reading blogs. I did make it to India 10 years ago (Delhi, Agra, and Rajasthan), and the scenery here reminds me of Udaipur (which makes sense since that's the furthest south I went). Plus, I love taking buses and trains and just staring out the window at all the little details that make up other people's daily experience. So thank you for this little bit of travel.
Posted by Andy on August 23, 2007 at 07:46 AM IST #
A truly amazing post, video and pictures. Being a civil engineer, I am constantly aggrieved by the amount of attention civil engineering gets in India. I'm glad you actually chose to do a post on roads.
Posted by Vinod Khare on August 26, 2007 at 02:57 PM IST #
This is an excellent post.
Am proud to see the infrastructural change happeing in india.
Posted by Pandian on September 28, 2008 at 02:28 AM IST #