Delhi - Kerala - Family road trip in Baleno - Completed Oct - 1-5th - 46 hrs/3300 k

[v&v]

Hi i am planning a Delhi - Kerala road trip with family during last week of September. This will be longest road trip undertaken. I have done Delhi- Bombay three times and the latest was on this march 2010.

Last 2 years all our long drives were in our SUV and never was concerned about road conditions. But since we will be doing this trip on my 10 year old Baleno (Which is in pretty good condition) need to know the road condition and hotel info.

This will be a one way trip as i will be leaving the baleno in kerala for our future southern trips .


Route Planned -
1 - Delhi - Udaipur - Mumbai - Goa - Mangalore - EKM - Tiruvalla - Pandalam(Adoor). (Mostly NH17 - NH47)

2 - Delhi - Udaipur - Pune - Blr
a) Salem - Cbtr - Palakkad - Ekm - Kottayam - Thiruvalla - Pandalam
b) Dindigul - Kumili - Vandiperyar - Kanjaripalli - Kottayam - Thiruvalla - Pandalam.


Now if the plan 1 is taken then i will be halting at udaipur, mumbai, goa,manglore,ekm(if required) and home. My brother will be joining me from Manglore.

2. Plan 2 is taken then i need to find a meeting point for my brother to join.
How safe is NH220 - Kumili - Kottayam route. I would prefer route B as i have done upto palakkad on NH47 couple of times.

Hotel info between - Pune - Blr.

3. Need good hotel info. Reliable petrol pumps for filling. My baleno will have a range of 700 - 900 kms.

4. Meetup BHPians en-route.
Thanks in advance.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by v&v

a) Salem - Cbtr - Palakkad - Ekm - Kottayam - Thiruvalla - Pandalam

This is the best route in terms of road condition, facilities & safety. Road condition from Salem to Palakkad is excellent; Palakkad to Thrissur to Ernakulam is good. I'm not sure on Ekm to Kottayam as I usually prefer the MC road via MVPA.

[condor]

v&v : Hotel info between - Pune - Blr.

Reliable petrol pumps for filling.

Hubli for hotels & Shell. You will need to into the city (Dharwad & Hubli). Bye-pass the bye-pass. Between Dharwad & Hubli you have Kamat Yatrinivas (immed after the bridge over the railway track). Or Hans a little after that.

Hubli city has a Shell bunk.

Davangere (again you will need to go into city, and give the bye-pass a miss) has another Shell bunk.

Other options - some Reliance bunks are open.

Pune - Hubli is 400km. If you think you can do 600km, then go right upto Davangere. There are atleast 2 good hotels in between Harihar & Davangere. (Off the current highway - both are on the old 2-lane highway that runs thru the two places).

[hvkumar]

I agree with aargee that going via Bangalore, Dindigul and Kumili is the best route to take to reach Pandalam. This is because NH17 is not only in a bad shape between Ankola and Calicut but the dense traffic in south Kanara and North Kerala can wreck your timetables.

However, since you want to pick up your brother in Mangalore, the best alternative route would be:
Come on NH4 from Bombay till Harihar.
From Harihar, go via Shimoga, Tarikere, Chickmagalur, Mudigere, Charmadi Ghat and Karkala to Mangalore.

If you want to go from Udaipur to Pune, then you should turn off at Surat onto NH6 and go via Dhulia and Nashik, but please bear in mind that the 4-lane beauty through Bombay is faster and better compared to the route via Pune. And you have to enter Pune city if you do that, going via BOmbay means having a bypass.

[madhukar_n]

i have recently done on most parts of the stretch in a baleno itself.
udaipur-mumbai - 200 kms on the western expressway is screwed up (traffic + pot holes). it took us about 7 hours to cover it(maybe bcos it was night also). otherwise roads are fantastic.

upto BLR the roads are good. even i have heard goa - mangalore roads are in bad state.

i would suggest, udaipur-ahmedabad-baroda-pune(bypass mumbai)-blr and ur destination. but if manglore is required then please follow hvkumar.

[v&v]

Originally Posted by aargee

This is the best route in terms of road condition, facilities & safety. Road condition from Salem to Palakkad is excellent; Palakkad to Thrissur to Ernakulam is good. I'm not sure on Ekm to Kottayam as I usually prefer the MC road via MVPA.

Thanks. How much time it takes to cross Walayaar. Also how is the traffic from Palakkad to Ekm.

Originally Posted by condor

Davangere (again you will need to go into city, and give the bye-pass a miss) has another Shell bunk.

Thanks Condor. Will try to do Pune-Blr non stop. if required then will stop over at Davangere. Any special tourist place enroute.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I agree with aargee that going via Bangalore, Dindigul and Kumili is the best route to take to reach Pandalam.

However, since you want to pick up your brother in Mangalore, the best alternative route would be:

Thanks HVK. I am also planning to take Dindigul-Kumali route. How is the day time traffic. Also my brother will be joining me with his car. So i did need to pick from Mangalore. I think i can ask him to join me at Bangalore. Is there any other place where he can join ?
Also is Pune - Blr doable in a day if started early.

Originally Posted by madhukar_n

i have recently done on most parts of the stretch in a baleno itself.
i would suggest, udaipur-ahmedabad-baroda-pune(bypass mumbai)-blr and ur destination. but if manglore is required then please follow hvkumar.

When you say bypass mumbai means take Ghodbandar road to Thane and then take pune express highway. Is there any other route ? Dont want take the Dhule - Nasik route.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by v&v

Thanks. How much time it takes to cross Walayaar. Also how is the traffic from Palakkad to Ekm.

Walayar check post sometimes sees traffic jams, but you should not get delayed by more than 5-10 minutes normally. Once you enter KL, progress is slow, by day expect anywhere between 3-4 hours for Palakkad to Ernakulam.

I am also planning to take Dindigul-Kumali route. How is the day time traffic.

Excellent road, no traffic issues anytime.

Also my brother will be joining me with his car. So i did need to pick from Mangalore. I think i can ask him to join me at Bangalore. Is there any other place where he can join ?

I think Bangalore is the closest place for your brother to join.

Also is Pune - Blr doable in a day if started early.

12-14 hours. Easily a day trip. Try to leave before 7 am from Pune.

When you say bypass mumbai means take Ghodbandar road to Thane and then take pune express highway. Is there any other route ? Dont want take the Dhule - Nasik route.

Yes, that is the best route currently. The traditional bypass via Kalwa, Mumbra & Taloja is in tatters. Moreover, it is a more complex route compared to the one via Thane, Mulund, Airoli & Turbhe.

[v&v]

Thank you very much HVK for the details.

Once you enter KL, progress is slow, by day expect anywhere between 3-4 hours for Palakkad to Ernakulam.
This is one reason i will be taking the Kumali route.


Pune-Blr in 12-14 hours. Easily a day trip. Try to leave before 7 am from Pune.
We are early starters. Can start by 4.30-5.00 Am.
Can Blr be bye passed ? Also any good hotel on Hosur Road or NH-7.



What is the current road condition from Surat - Till Thane. Heard has lots of pot holes. Is it really bad ?

[kpzen]

Due to rains, Pune - Satara section has become a bit tricky now, good tarmac and all of a sudden a rim breaker crater will appear.
Once you reach Satara its all concrete and dream to drive till Belgaum.

[v&v]

good tarmac and all of a sudden a rim breaker crater will appear
Exactly this is my concern too. A big crater will make a mess of tyre. I had happened in my Indica once Rim and Tyre damage both.

[v&v]

One more query regarding Kumili route.

Kumili - Vandiperyar - a) Via Kottayam - Tvlla - Cgnr - Pandalam
b) Erumeli - Pathanamthitta - Pandalam

I think if there is a route from Vandiperyar - Erumeli exist and in motorable condition then it will be 50 km shorter. Any body done this route ?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by v&v

What is the current road condition from Surat - Till Thane. Heard has lots of pot holes. Is it really bad ?

Surat-Vapi is being widened, so expect to slow down, but roads are great. Problems are only in MH after Vapi. Lots of pot holes. Heavy traffic. Expect slower than normal speeds, at least 30 minutes behind. But now that the rains are getting over, one will see a quick patch up job of the potholes although relaying will take some more time.

[kala]

Originally Posted by v&v

One more query regarding Kumili route.

Kumili - Vandiperyar - a) Via Kottayam - Tvlla - Cgnr - Pandalam
b) Erumeli - Pathanamthitta - Pandalam

I think if there is a route from Vandiperyar - Erumeli exist and in motorable condition then it will be 50 km shorter. Any body done this route ?

Not sure of the Vandiperiyar - Erumely route, but you could certainly deviate from Kanjirappally and go via Manimala-Ranni-Pathanamthitta-Pandalam. The roads on this route used to be quite decent when I traversed them last, but that was a quite a while back. May be someone here can fill in with the current conditions..

[hvkumar]

AFAIK, there is no route from Vandiperiyar to Erumeli, the roads start only from Mundakayam onwards, and then Kanjirapalli and Ponkunnam.

I heard that roads around Ranni and Pathanamthitta are bad now.

[kala]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

AFAIK, there is no route from Vandiperiyar to Erumeli, the roads start only from Mundakayam onwards, and then Kanjirapalli and Ponkunnam.

I heard that roads around Ranni and Pathanamthitta are bad now.

I've heard of a couple of forest roads that start from somewhere around Vandiperiyar (one via Gavi, another that goes via Moozhiyar ?) that connect to the state highway passing through Ranni/Pathanamthitta, but have never had the chance to try them out. Don't think one would want to venture on them without ascertaining the actual conditions - they could very well be more of OTR trails.

If the Ranni/Pathanamthitta road isn't in great shape, then it would be wiser to go via Vazhoor-Changanacherry-Thiruvalla-Chengannur (Or one could even bypass Changanacherry and save some time by taking a left turn from Thengana which is about 4 kms before Changanacherry. That road was quite OK when I used it in April, and you join MC road a few kms before Thiruvalla).