Bangalore to Munnar - Which Route?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by vinay_tw

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?

The route is definitely longer, but it is a safer route into KL without touching the troubled routes via TN. The last 10 km to Munnar from Adimali are patchy but driveable. Club Mahindra is another 22 km from Munnar on Devikulam-Bodimettu route.

[jaganm]

Originally Posted by 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.



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?

@vinay_tw I wanted to send you my number by PM, but it looks like its blocked. Please send me a PM and I'll respond to you.

I am leaving for Munnar on Saturday early morning. I spoke to the travel desk at the resort, they said that it is best to avoid Theni and instead come via Udumalpetai-Marayur. That is the route that I am planning to take. In any case, I'll call them tomorrow and if the situation is bad, I may decide to go via Mysore-Kerala or drop the trip altogether.

I'll update on my trip on this thread, so that you get an idea before you start on Sunday.

[vinay_tw]

@jaganm - Thanks for your update. I would be closely watching your travel post to Munnar. Based on your feedback, I am seriously considering the Mysore-Gundlupet-Kozhikode bypass-Thrissur-Munnar route. I traced the path on Google maps and found that the route is a clear 150 kms more (total 637 kms + 20 to reach CMLV) than the normal Perundurai-Udumalaipet route. I don't mind this additional distance as long as the roads are reasonably good and the route is safe in these troubled times.

However, based on your feedback today, I will consider the Udamalaipet route as well. In any case, I'll wait for your update. If I decide on the Mysore route, I would like to go to Mysore a day in advance, stay overnight and proceed the next morning to Munnar.

Regarding PM, I don't know how to do it and I am not sure why PMing to me is blocked.

[parashakthi]

Regarding PM, I don't know how to do it and I am not sure why PMing to me is blocked.

Hi,

As per the policies of our forum - How do I use the private messaging (PM) feature?The PM facility is very simple to use:
1. Receiving PM's : Whenever someone sends a PM to you, you will receive a prompt in a pop-up window. Alternatively, you can click on the "Private Messages" link which is displayed on the top right-hand side of every forum page.
2. Sending PM's : If you wish to send a PM to another member, first click on the "Private Messages" link. On the resultant page, click on the "Send new message" link which can be found on the left-hand side of the page. Enter the relevant details and click on the "submit message" button to deliver the PM.
NOTE : The Private Messaging facility is only available to BHPian membership level (and above).

Cheers,
Rashith

[jaganm]

That's probably why you don't have the PM facility as you just joined. Unfortunately, there's no way to reach as I can't publish any contact information on the forum.

If you have a friend who has the PM facility, let me know, I'll PM my number to them

[neo45007]

Folks,

Going from BNG - Via Mysore - Thrissur - to Munnar looks a bad idea to me. I had driven Thrissur to Munnar few months ago and it takes around 4 hours. Then, going to Club Mahindra from Munnar town - add another one hour.

If you are taking a break at Mysore, it should be okay. Though I would stick to normal route (i.e.directly to Munnar either via Udumalaipeth or via Theni).

Frankly I haven't heard of major Chaos across TN-Kerala border, so it might be good to stick to the normal route and check about the latest conditions on TV/news a night before.

[vinay_tw]

I just completed a trip to Munnar. Thanks jaganm, neo45007, narayans80, ampere, srikanth and hvkumar for your suggestions on the route to Munnar. I took the Bangalore-Salem-Perundurai-Kangayam-Dharapuram-Udumalpet-Marayoor-Munnar route and it worked out very well for me. On my return journey, I took a deviation at Udumalpet to Palani and reached Dharapuram from Palani directly and continued on the Dharapuram-Kangayam-Perundurai-Salem route to Bangalore. I added about 40 kms more on my return journey due to the deviation I took to Palani.

Some facts:

Total distance travelled: Bangalore (Yelahanka New Town) to Munnar (Club Mahindra Resort) - 499.6 kms (12 hrs).
Munnar (Club Mahindra) to Bangalore (Yelahanka New Town) via Palani - 544.4 kms - 15 hrs (including deviation to Palani and darshan that took about 4 hrs)

Some more facts:

Bangalore to Salem - NH 7 - 200 kms (+20 for me from Yelahanka New Town) - Beautiful road - Can easily drive at 100-140 kms/hr. Need to be careful about people/bikes crossing near small towns on the way

Salem to Perundurai bypass - NH 47 - 72 kms - Excellent road - Can drive at 100-120 kms/hr - Need to look for the signboard 'Perundurai bypass begins' and slowdown. Take a deviation into the service road just before the road bridge after the signboard, to get into Perundurai town and proceed towards Kangayam.

Perundurai bypass - Udumalpet - SH - 102 kms
Good roads - Can drive at 80-100 kms/hr. When you reach Kangayam, you need to take a few turns to get into the Dharapuram road. Good to ask around to ensure that you get into the right road without too many roundabouts. At Dharapuram again ask around to take the road to Udumalpet. At Udumalpet Nalaraams hotel is a good vegetarian restuarant if you are planning to have a meal break.

Udumalpet to Munnar town - 90 kms - Can drive at 40-50 kms/hr - Takes 2.5-3 hrs - Not so good rods - Ghat section begins 15 kms into the Udumalapet-Munnar route at the Periyar tiger reserve. You need to get off at the checkpost at the beginning of the tiger reserve and provide your details like vehicle number, number of passengers, driver/owner of the vehicle and origin and destination. I was surprised to see the checkpost guard asking for money to let us through the checkpost. I gave Rs. 20 and moved on. There are some breath-taking scenes in the tiger reserve till Chinnar, where you have another checkpost to mark the end of the tiger reserve.

After this checkpost there are four more checkpoints within 100 mts, where checkpost staff take the same details as mentioned above and also check your car boot. Be prepared to get off the vehicle all the six times to give your details. The checkpost guys wouldn't budge from their desks and wouldn't open the gates unless you get off and provide your details and enter in their registers. The 2.5 -3 hrs you take for the Udumalpet to Munnar town includes all these stoppages apart from the ghat section driving.

Munnar town - Club Mahindra - NH 49 - 20 kms - If you are driving towards Club Mahindra or Sterling resorts, be careful about the narrow roads, where only one vehicle can pass. Do horn in curves to avoid getting stuck in narrow stretches where you may have to take reverse. Be ready with your camera all the time to capture the most amazing scenes of Munnar tea estates.

The return journey on the Munnar-Udumalpet was really memorable for us as we could see an elephant bang in the middle of the road (will post some pics). We had to wait for about 15 minutes for the elephant to cross the road and this was followed by another elephant and a cub passing the road.
So, remember to halt when you see an elephant crossing the road in the tiger reserve, even after one elephant has crossed over as there could be more from the herd following. We also saw a wild boar and one more elephant very close to the road taking a mud shower. Do follow the guidelines posted on Team-bhp for how to respond to elephant spotting on the road.

A word about the vehicle that took us safely on this trip. Etios Diesel is an excellent long distance vehicle that makes your travel tireless and gives the stability and safety on all terrains. I got a good 19 kms/l mileage on this trip.

Overall it was an excellent trip and if you are planning a trip to Munnar, do drive.

[vinay_tw]

@jaganm
No news from you after your visit to Munnar. Hope everything went well. Since I could drive to Munnar without any hiccups a day later, I asume you must've had a tension-free drive as well.

Write when you find time, and also write how your vehicle behaved during the course.

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by vinay_tw

I just completed a trip to Munnar. Thanks jaganm, neo45007, narayans80, ampere, srikanth and hvkumar for your suggestions on the route to Munnar. I took the Bangalore-Salem-Perundurai-Kangayam-Dharapuram-Udumalpet-Marayoor-Munnar route and it worked out very well for me.

Nice summation of facts vinay. .
Even, I went to Munnar through the same route last April and the road from Udumalpet till Munnar is absolute bliss. I can say most beautiful roads in India that I have driven. During April, all of the ghats were blooming with blue, purple, burgundy flowers and we had to stop many times to take photo in this stretch. It was beautiful sight.

Where did you spot Elephant in this route? During my travel we were looking for Elephants but unfortunately there were none. Waiting to see your photographs. I would visit again by same route.

[shinthray]

Vinay,
Could you please share the time taken between each point, which would give me a relative idea when I travel the coming April. Another query that I had was, in the event I want to split the journey into two with an overnight halt, did you spot any good hotels to stay in.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shinthray

Vinay,
Could you please share the time taken between each point, which would give me a relative idea when I travel the coming April. Another query that I had was, in the event I want to split the journey into two with an overnight halt, did you spot any good hotels to stay in.

- 3 hours to Salem
- 1 hour Perundurai
- 1/2 hour Kangeyam
- 1.5 hours up to Udumalpet
- 3 hours to Munnar

Total : 9 hours of drive time. Add food and other breaks.

Hotels
1. Salem has GRT (link) and Chenneys (link)
2. Perundurai has Chennis (Yes, the name sounds the same ) (link)

[shinthray]

Thanks Amp. If I were to take the Salem - Dindigul - Theni - Bodi - Munnar route, do you have the rough timings, as I would be heading to Club Mahindra and I gathered from the various posts that this route is better for CM.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by shinthray

Vinay,
Could you please share the time taken between each point, which would give me a relative idea when I travel the coming April

Ampere's information is spot-on. In addition to Salem, Erode also has some decent hotels if you are looking at an overnight stay. Total travel time is around 9-10 hours to Munnar. From my drive experience to Munnar in november, my suggestion is you leave from Bangalore by 4.30am or so, if you are planning to cover the distance in 1 day. You can target Salem for breakfast, Udumalpet for lunch and from there on, Munnar is 3 hours away. The only vegetarian hotel I could find on the highway at Udumalpet was some 'Balaji mess' or something like that. They serve regular south indian meals, but decent place if you are travelling with family.

The last 30km to Munnar are very scenic and you will find yourself stopping at a lot of clearings to take photos or experience the millions of tiny waterfalls on the way. The drive is really that beautiful. The 3 hour drive from Udumalpet to Munnar became a 5 hour one in my case. So total travel time to Munnar was approximately 12 hours

Now, the bad part - watch out for mammoth potholes in the forest reserve. There are tons of these, especially around blind curves. Also, there are some really nasty potholes in the Marayoor - Munnar stretch (this is the steeper part of the climb), and if a cloud is passing through when you're driving, visibility drops drastically. The Udumalpet - Munnar road is patchy, really bumpy and not all that 'smooth' as mentioned by many others in this thread. Till Marayoor, the road remains bumpy through that forest reserve. After that, tarring quality improves.

Devikulam - theni NH was really hideous and in some places, the road had caved in. You might have some wrestling to do with your steering wheel to avoid the potholes on this road. They were patching it up when we visited that route in november. Maybe now it is okay, others can confirm.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shinthray

Thanks Amp. If I were to take the Salem - Dindigul - Theni - Bodi - Munnar route, do you have the rough timings, as I would be heading to Club Mahindra and I gathered from the various posts that this route is better for CM.

If you go by Theni:

- 3 hours to Salem (200)
- 3 hours to Dindigul (180km)
- 1 to 1,5 to Theni (70km) (Do note you can use Theni by-pass (link)
- 1.5 hours to Chnnakanal (Club Mahindra) (50km)

Hotels to eat:

Beyond Salem, you can break at Theni for lunch (There is a hotel called Meenakshi Bhavan)

[shinthray]

Ampere and KarthikK, thanks a lot for the information. I will post my travelogue after my trip, which is in April end. If anybody else travels between now and April end along the Theni / Bodi route and has the latest updates on road conditions etc, please do post.