Kongu Nadu · Deccan Inland Plateau
How to reach
By air
- Coimbatore International Airport (CJB) — The region's gateway, with Gulf and South-East Asian connections; about 12 km east of the city.
- Salem Airport (SXV) — A small domestic field serving the eastern half of the region, with limited schedules.
By rail
- Coimbatore Junction (CBE) — On the main line through the gap, with direct services from Chennai, Bengaluru and Kerala.
- Erode Junction (ED) — A major junction and the rail point for the turmeric and handloom belt.
- Salem Junction (SA) — The eastern hub, and the interchange for the Bengaluru and Chennai directions.
- Tiruppur (TUP) — On the Coimbatore–Erode line, in the middle of the knitwear cluster.
- Karur Junction (KRR) — For the Amaravathi confluence and the home-textile cluster.
- Mettupalayam (MTP) — The foot of the rack railway; the morning train to Coonoor and Udhagamandalam starts here.
By road
NH 544 through the Palakkad Gap — Salem, Coimbatore and on through the mountain wall, the region's spineNH 44, the north–south trunk, entering at Krishnagiri and running through Salem, Namakkal and KarurThe Sathyamangalam ghat road north across the Cauvery, with hairpins and a night-driving advisory through the reserveThe Mettupalayam–Coonoor ghat road up the escarpment, with numbered hairpin bendsThe Pollachi–Valparai road onto the southern slope, with forty numbered bends
By water
Coracles on the Cauvery at Hogenakkal, worked by boatmen who spin them in the currentRiver crossings at Bhavani and Karur; there is no navigable water in the region
Getting around
Town buses are good and cheap in Coimbatore, Erode and Salem, and the intercity bus network is the densest in the Tamil country. Coimbatore has a city bus system built around Gandhipuram; autos negotiate rather than meter. The hill blocks and the forest edge need a car, and the ghat roads are best driven before dusk.
How to reach Kongu Nadu by air, rail, road and water, and how to get around once there. (8)