Bangalore to Munnar - Which Route?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by sada

Visiting Munnar on Nov 25th and a few clarifications required. Leaving bangalore (K. R. Puram) on 25th morning, Friday, around 7 am. I drive at very moderate speeds - 80 km/hr would be the max speed on excellent roads - car is 1.5-year-old Alto LXI - 9500 kms on odo.

1. By what time would i reach Munnar and where can i plan my lunch?
2. I have bookings at Forest Haven Resorts - a) How is this place and food here? b) Should i cross Munnar town to reach this place if I take the Udumalpetai route (always prefer good roads-love my car)?
3. Good VEG hotels in Munnar?
4. IMPORTANT: I have just 1 day (26th Saturday) for sightseeing - a) Is it better to go sightseeing in my car itself OR are there sightseeing packages in mini buses (as in Kodai) from Munnar town - if yes, any idea about the rates?
5. IMPORTANT: Must see places in Munnar and those that can be skipped.
6. Finally, update on road conditions from Kollegal (roads are good until Kollegal) onwards via Sathyamangalam>Annur>Avanashi>Udumalpet>Munnar. Advantage/disadvantage of taking this route.

Additional information/suggestions are most welcome. Thanku.

Basically, 2 routes to reach Munnar that I know of are:
1. via Theni-Bodi-Poopara-Chinnakanal. This will be ideal for resorts/hotels like Sterling, Club Mahindra,etc and the place is about 20 Km/1 hr drive from Munnar town
2. via Udumalaipet - Chinnar - Marayoor - Munnar town. This way you reach Munnar town first and then turning left near Kanan Devan office in the town will take you towards Matupetty.
Since your resort Forest Haven seems to be close to Matupetty I would suggest route #2.
Also, since you need to get to Udumalaipet, may not be a great idea to go to Coimbatore via NH 209. Instead you can consider NH 7 from Bangalore to Salem, then take NH 47 and turn off NH47 near Perundurai, again 2 options here:a)Kangeyam-Palladam-Udumalaipet or b)Tirupur-Palladam-Udumalaipet. If I remember correctly, a) may be longer but better since I've read about bad roads near Tirupur. Others can help here.
Veg restaurants in Munnar - Saravana Bhavan in Munnar town opposite Taxi stand, there is also a Gujrathi restaurant opposite S N Tourist home.
For places to visit it depends on what you like, some options are Ervikulam national park for the Nilgiri Tahr, Matupetty Dam, Kundala Dam, Tata Tea Museum, Top Station.
There are several threads for Munnar, please do search, here's mine from earlier this year.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...re-4-days.html (Bangalore-Munnar-Bangalore in 4 days)
Hope this helps.
EDIT:as HVK sir has rightly mentioned, after Perundurai turn off, another option would be c)Kangeyam-Dharapuram-Udumalaipet

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Connecting via Annur-Avinashi-Udumalaipet means using state and district roads with poor or no English signage. Besides, they are narrower and have more miscellaneous traffic.

I did that mistake in my recent trip. Came back by Udumalaipet, and after that got lost atleast thrice because of my Tamil illiteracy. Had some funny moments as well, that I tried to judge the direction based on the length of the word

[sada]

Thanks for your reply Mr. Scorpiobharath - I have made up my mind to drive myself for sightseeing after seeing your reply. I simply hate long ques - so, no crowded places for me. Also, i would prefer to avoid those places that are too far from Munnar.

Thanks Mr. hvkumar - I have ruled out Kollegal route based on your suggestion! A small clarification with regard to the route suggested by you (Salem-Perunthurai-Gangeyam-Dharapuram-Udumalipet). About 4 years back, during my trip to Kodai, I think I took Salem-Namakkal-Karur-Dharapuram-Palani -- so, is the route suggested by you and the route that I had taken for Kodai are same until Dharapuram?

Thanks Mr. NPV - went thru your Munnar trip post - very detailed and is going to be very helpful to me.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by sada

Thanks Mr. hvkumar - I have ruled out Kollegal route based on your suggestion! A small clarification with regard to the route suggested by you (Salem-Perunthurai-Gangeyam-Dharapuram-Udumalipet). About 4 years back, during my trip to Kodai, I think I took Salem-Namakkal-Karur-Dharapuram-Palani -- so, is the route suggested by you and the route that I had taken for Kodai are same until Dharapuram?

NO, this is a different route to Dharapuram.
In Salem bypass, turn off NH47 and go towards Coimbatore, but turn off at Perunthurai.

[sada]

Thanku for the info. I am back from my Munnar trip and this is the route I took based on your suggestion.

Bangalore>Hosur>Krishnagiri>Dharmapuri>Salem>Perun durai>Kangeyam>
Dharapuram>Udumalaipet>Marayoor>Munnar.

Total distance = 476 kms
Bangalore - Salem = 211 kms
Salem - Perundurai = 72 kms
Perundurai - Kangeyam = 32 kms
Kangeyam - Udumalaipet = 51 kms
Udumalaipet-Munnar = 110 kms (got lost in Udumalaipet and had to cover a few extra kms)

Time taken = Exactly 12 hrs including 2 breaks of 45 mins each.
Road condition is good throughout except at a very few places in the ghat section.
Toll - One way = Rs. 247/=

[sourav21]

These are actual GPS logs one can check out:

1. Bangalore - Salem - Perundurai - Kangeyam - Dharapuram - Udumalaipet - Marayoor - Munnar

2. Munnar - Poopara - Bodinayakannur - Theni - Periyakulam - Dindigul - Bangalore

3. Munnar - Mattupatti - Kundala - Top Station

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by sriturl

I tried to judge the direction based on the length of the word

Could have been fatal as some places in tamil are very short as compared to their english equivalents. For instance coimbatore is a short kovai in tamil and ooty in english is a long nilagiri in tamil and a tiruchirappalli is a trichy just some amusing instances thats all

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Only 2 smileys allowed per post.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sriturl

I did that mistake in my recent trip. Came back by Udumalaipet, and after that got lost atleast thrice because of my Tamil illiteracy. Had some funny moments as well, that I tried to judge the direction based on the length of the word

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Could have been fatal as some places in tamil are very short as compared to their english equivalents. For instance coimbatore is a short kovai in tamil and ooty in english is a long nilagiri in tamil and a tiruchirappalli is a trichy just some amusing instances thats all

Best way to solve that problem is, keep a print/penned copy of the route details.
Especially the major towns in order. That helps at least in keeping tab on which is the next town to reach. So if in the current town you get lost, keep asking folks for the road to the next town!

Having a GPS/GPS-enabled phone, may not help, if one does not have a high level view, of where to go next. That is why in spite of having a GPS, route planning is must.

That way even the GPS would know, where it has to lead one to !

[vinay_tw]

Hi TBHPians,

I am planning to drive down to Munnar with my family on Dec 25. Here are the details:

Vehicle: Etios Diesel
Family: Wife and 2 kids (smaller one is 1.5 years old)
Destination: Club Mahindra Resort, Munnar
Date & Time: Dec 25, morning 6 am from Bangalore; Dec 28, morning 6 am from Munnar

Bangalore - Munnar route:
Bangalore -> Salem -> Namakkal -> Karur -> Dindigul -> Theni -> Bodinaykannur ->Pooppara -> Devikulam -> Munnar

Munnar - Bangalore route:
Munnar -> Marayoor -> Udumalpet -> Dharapuram -> Kangeyam -> Perundurai -> Salem -> Dharmapuri -> Bangalore

Breaks:
Onward - breakfast at A2B near Krishnagiri (Starting from Yelahanka New Town in the morning); Lunch at Theni (any suggestions?); Tea on the way. Hope to reach Munnar by 6 pm.

Return - breakfast at Udumalaipet (don't know if there are good restaurants here), Lunch at Salem; Snacks at A2B Knear Krishnagiri and reach Bangalore by 6 pm.

Please let me know if these routes and breaks make sense. Your inputs would be highly appreciated.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by vinay_tw

Please let me know if these routes and breaks make sense. Your inputs would be highly appreciated.

For Club Mahindra, the route via Theni makes sense.
But wont recommend owing to the situation right now.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Access to both Munnar and Kumali from Theni district is closed and I doubt it would be available before Christmas. Better to plan via Udumalaipet with a plan B via Walayar, Trichur.

[vinay_tw]

Thanks ampere and Srikanth. Is travel to Munnar risky at this time? If the routes I've mentioned pass through the epicentre of unrest, which other routes do you suggest, considering that I am going with my family with small kids. Does this agitation also have an impact on my stay in Munnar?

Also, on the way back from Munnar, are there any places of religious interest to visit? I can even extend my stay in Kerala for one more night, if I can stay at a good place and visit a couple of these places. Please suggest.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by vinay_tw

Thanks ampere and Srikanth. Is travel to Munnar risky at this time? If the routes I've mentioned pass through the epicentre of unrest, which other routes do you suggest, considering that I am going with my family with small kids. Does this agitation also have an impact on my stay in Munnar?

Also, on the way back from Munnar, are there any places of religious interest to visit? I can even extend my stay in Kerala for one more night, if I can stay at a good place and visit a couple of these places. Please suggest.

I would avoid Munnar and Kerala in general (from TN side) for the time being till the situation stabilises. Idukki district, MUnnar region, etc is the centre of the conflict. If you do have to go to KL, avoid entry points from TN - unless some miracles happen in the next few days

[jaganm]

@vinay_tw, I too am planning to be at Club Mahindra Munnar between Dec 24 and 28. I had planned to go via Theni, but decided to avoid Tamil Nadu right now due to the situation there. In fact, I wanted to cancel the holiday itself, but unfortunately, Club Mahindra doesn't give back the days if you cancel less than 2 weeks prior to the holiday. So, I am planning to enter Kerala via Karnataka totally avoiding TN.

I had asked the query on the route in another thread and got this reply http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2616343 (Current Condition of Road To kerala)

[vinay_tw]

@Jaganm, great to know that you would be at Club Mahindra during the same time. Let's sync up there. Pass me your contact details.

Even I tried to cancel the booking, but couldn't do so for the reasons you mentioned.

Originally Posted by jaganm

So, I am planning to enter Kerala via Karnataka totally avoiding TN.

Which is the exact route you are taking? Is the route suggested in your other post longer or shorter than the TN route? How are the road conditions? Since the entire route is new to me... can you also suggest the possible breaks that I can take if I decide to take this route?