Kochi-Ooty- Mysore

[Rameshdude]

Guys,
I am planning a four day trip
Kochi-Ooty-Mysore-Sathyamangalam-Coimbatore and Kochi.
How are the roads?
I shall be staying over night in Ooty and Mysore.But on return,where do i take a break,any good place to stay overnight?
Or is there any alternate route.
I was told that Wyanad roads are bad.
I am leaving on 8th early Morning and back on the 11th.
Looking forward to your replies.
Thanks

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Rameshdude

Guys,
I am planning a four day trip
Kochi-Ooty-Mysore-Sathyamangalam-Coimbatore and Kochi.
How are the roads?
I shall be staying over night in Ooty and Mysore.But on return,where do i take a break,any good place to stay overnight?
Or is there any alternate route.
I was told that Wyanad roads are bad.
I am leaving on 8th early Morning and back on the 11th.
Looking forward to your replies.
Thanks

Kochin-Ooty:

Ernakulam-Angamaly-Trichur-Kecheri-Kottakal-Malapuram-Manjeri-Edvanna-Nilambur-Gudalur-Ooty.

Ernakulam, Kerala to Ooty, Tamil Nadu - Google Maps

Some how Google maps does not route for NH47 till Trichur. But take the 4L to Trichur and Kecheri.

- Is CBE a visiting stop?
- Mysore-Nanjangud-Chamrajanagar-CBE roads are decent.

[revintup]

Plan the trip in such a way that you travel through satyamangalam during daytime,there are a lot of deserted stretches.If possible early morning will be best.

Once we had a breakdown there at 11pm in the middle of nowhere (pre mobile phone era ) and a tempo driver who was transporting flowers repaired our vehicle working for one full hour and yet did not accept a single rupee for the work he had done.

That was after waiting for two hours for some help.Not a lot of good samaritans like that.

Till now that incident is etched in my mind,God bless that man.

And Happy onam,am going to kodaikanal via kumily.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by ampere

Some how Google maps does not route for NH47 till Trichur. But take the 4L to Trichur and Kecheri.

Why not Paraur > Kodungallur > Kunnamkulam > Kottakkal?

Or, if going via Trichur, > Shornur > Ottapalam > Nilambur? ( I am not sure of the route here).

[ampere]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Why not Paraur > Kodungallur > Kunnamkulam > Kottakkal?

Or, if going via Trichur, > Shornur > Ottapalam > Nilambur? ( I am not sure of the route here).

- I thought NH47 would be faster compared to NH17. (Correct me if I am wrong here)
- Based on what I heard read (thanks to Ajitbr), its good to avoid Kunnamkulam via Kecheri.
- From Trichur there are 2-3 ways to Nilambur. One via Manjeri. The other one via Pattambi/Perinthalmanna. The third one is via Shornur. I heard that of the three, the route via Manjeri is in best condition of all. Others can confirm.

[kala]

Originally Posted by ampere

Kochin-Ooty:

Ernakulam-Angamaly-Trichur-Kecheri-Kottakal-Malapuram-Manjeri-Edvanna-Nilambur-Gudalur-Ooty.

Ernakulam, Kerala to Ooty, Tamil Nadu - Google Maps

Some how Google maps does not route for NH47 till Trichur. But take the 4L to Trichur and Kecheri.

- Is CBE a visiting stop?
- Mysore-Nanjangud-Chamrajanagar-CBE roads are decent.

Is the Nadugani ghats (Nilambur-Gudalur) stretch OK now ? I thought I read some recent reports about some landslides / cracks in the road and some traffic being diverted ??

Also remember seeing some recent recommendations which seemed to suggest that the Mysore-T.Narsipur-Chamarajanagar road is in better shape than the Nanjangud-Chamarajnagar route. No firsthand information though.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by kala

Is the Nadugani ghats (Nilambur-Gudalur) stretch OK now ? I thought I read some recent reports about some landslides / cracks in the road and some traffic being diverted ??

I did Perinthalmanna - Bathery - Perinthalmanna yesterday. The stretch was just fine. But then, yes, it was closed for almost 5 days due to landslides. Now its fine, and road is good (Comparing to other parts of kerala).

Just a note to someone passing tru the stretch: It sometimes gets terribly foggy. So, try crossing the ghats during the day, if you feel uncomfortable with fog. Or else, you will enjoy it.

[ajithbr]

Originally Posted by ampere

- I thought NH47 would be faster compared to NH17. (Correct me if I am wrong here)
- Based on what I heard read (thanks to Ajitbr), its good to avoid Kunnamkulam via Kecheri.
- From Trichur there are 2-3 ways to Nilambur. One via Manjeri. The other one via Pattambi/Perinthalmanna. The third one is via Shornur. I heard that of the three, the route via Manjeri is in best condition of all. Others can confirm.

NH-47 is definitely faster than NH-17 these days. Actually, you can tune your mind to a starting point of Trichur bye-pass south-end (just over 1 hour from Edapally these days) if you are travelling through NH-47.

It is recommended to avoid Kunnamkulam town during daytime or traffic-heavy timings. During night, better go through the SH inside Kunnamkulam town. There is only one major 5-way junction near bus-stand where there is absolutely no discipline or control by both local and long-distance drivers. Coupled with the fact is the presence of an official and another unofficial bus-stops at this junction where roads to Trichur/Guruvayur/Calicut/Wadakkanchery/Chavakkad fork 5-ways !
There was a news in yesterday's Mathrubhumi that an ambulance got stuck in this junction for more than 1 hour and one kiss between an auto and bike is enough to cause a long and huge traffic jam here.

Distance-wise, it could be Shoranur-Perinthalmanna-Nilambur that is the shortest. But no other route can beat the timings that can be achieved in Ernakulam-Trichur-Kecheri-Akkikkavu-Kottakkal-Malappuram-Manjeri-Nilambur route. It is an open secret that Malappuram district has the best roads in Kerala (NH-17, NH-213, Nilambur ghats, Nilambur-Areekode route etc.) and by choosing this route, you cover the maximum stretch in Malappuram district.

[gops2009]

Hi I'm planning to drive to Ooty from Kochi on the 24th and return via Calicut to Bangalore on the 27th, could BHPians who have recently taken this route please advice on the best route, searched around for a recent update but found none. ( of course one below by kala is not too old) however, I thought going via coimbatore would be quicker and better traffic wise ( please correct if otherwise) the Also how much time should I budget for Kochi Ooty stretch as we are travelling with kids info on food stops would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by gops2009

Hi I'm planning to drive to Ooty from Kochi on the 24th and return via Calicut to Bangalore on the 27th, could BHPians who have recently taken this route please advice on the best route, searched around for a recent update but found none. ( of course one below by kala is not too old) however, I thought going via coimbatore would be quicker and better traffic wise ( please correct if otherwise) the Also how much time should I budget for Kochi Ooty stretch as we are travelling with kids info on food stops would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Kochi-Thrissur-Wadakancheri-Shoranur-Palakkad-Walayar-Coimbatore-Mettupalayam-Ooty should be the route(as the NH47 is under widening and between Kuthiran and Vadakkencheri is very bad).Can be covered in about 6hours.

Plenty of places to stop for food enroute.

[motorhead1981]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Kochi-Thrissur-Wadakancheri-Shoranur-Palakkad-Walayar-Coimbatore-Mettupalayam-Ooty should be the route(as the NH47 is under widening and between Kuthiran and Vadakkencheri is very bad).Can be covered in about 6hours.

Plenty of places to stop for food enroute.

Palakad-walayar-Coimbatore road is Ok, should take around 45 minutes to cover the same. Road from Coimbatore to mettupalayam has been recently laid and is in good condition over most of the way and that stretch should take around one hour. The Ghat section road is in good condition but expect to take around 3 hours for the climb as the road is cluttered with buses and trucks.

Cheers