Idukki-kerala's best driving roads?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

guys wanting to drive around idukki this year are running out of time. monsoons are due to hit kerala sometime next week, and when the rainy season is over, all these billiard table smooth surfaces will be gone.
also driving on these superfast bends and corners while they are rain slick will be tricky.
so hurry! last chance boys!

Why so?

I thought THE best time to drive around Kerala was during the rains. It looks like a different place altogether.

It may just be me, however - I just love dark clouds and the rains. And wet roads lined with lush green trees.

[hvkumar]

Lovely time to be in Kerala during he rains. Happily, most roads maintain their figure, although last year NH47 and NH17 were aberrations.

[rippergeo]

hey! dont get me wrong- i like driving during the rainy season too. but not when its pouring buckets. visibility drops, traction is lost, roads are flooded and the surface gets washed away.
and you cant go trekking to the middle of nowhere with a digital camera when its wet.

the standard of roadworks in idukki is amazing this year, and the roads look like they will last well this time. but I'm not holding my breath.

the hairpins upto idukki are safest, and enjoyed best, when the road is dry and the visibility is good. thats all I'm saying.

for sightseeing- yes, nothing beats the monsoon.
but us TBHPians prioritise differently

[rippergeo]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Did not go to Idukki Arch Dam? The dam reservoir is a great place to boat in and sight elephants and bison on the banks, just like in Thekkady. Boated there in 1978, sometime after the dam was built!! Do they still allow you there? Next time anyone is planning to go to Munnar or Thekkady, this is an exciting route since you can go via Kulamavu to Painavu and onward to Kattapana, where you can link up to either Vandiperiyar/Peeremade on the Kottayam-Thekkady road or near Udumbanshola/Vandanamedu on the Thekkady-Munnar road. These routes are very picturesque too.

Mr Kumar, would you please give more details about this route?

would like to organise a roundabout trip to munnar from cochin for the TBHPians
google maps has let me down.

outline of the route that I planned to take is below
please suggest changes as you see fit.

1.Cochin-muvattupuzha-thodupuzha-kulamavu(I know the route well till here)
2.from there how do we get to munnar?(this is where help would be appreciated) I cant seem to get proper waypoints for this section
and
3.return from munnar via kothamangalam - aluva(the beaten track)
any alternatives to this route would also be nice as most BHPians would have used this route several times already.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

Mr Kumar, would you please give more details about this route?

would like to organise a roundabout trip to munnar from cochin for the TBHPians
google maps has let me down.

outline of the route that I planned to take is below
please suggest changes as you see fit.

1.Cochin-muvattupuzha-thodupuzha-kulamavu(I know the route well till here)
2.from there how do we get to munnar?(this is where help would be appreciated) I cant seem to get proper waypoints for this section
and
3.return from munnar via kothamangalam - aluva(the beaten track)
any alternatives to this route would also be nice as most BHPians would have used this route several times already.

You should go to Kattapana and link up to Vandiperiyar (if you want to Thekkad) or near Vanadanamedu (if you want to go tto Munnar), the latter being on the Kumili-Munnar road.

I will refer my old logs (manual) at home and revert with exact details.

[rippergeo]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You should go to Kattapana and link up to Vandiperiyar (if you want to Thekkad) or near Vanadanamedu (if you want to go tto Munnar), the latter being on the Kumili-Munnar road.

I will refer my old logs (manual) at home and revert with exact details.

that was quick. thank you sir. I think we shall take the vandanamedu route from kattapana to go to munnar.

will wait for the other details.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

we shall take the vandanamedu route from kattapana to go to munnar.

.

From Idukki Dam, Kattapana is only 22 kms.

Route is as follows:

Idukki Dam-Kattapana 22 kms-Puliyanmala 15-JOIN Kumili/Munnar Road here (close to Vandanmedu, 31 kms to the right is Thekkady, 72 kms to the left is Munnar)Nedumkandam 9-Udumbansola 13-Santanpara 16-Poopara 2-Chinnakanal (Club Mahindra area) 14-Munnar 18.

I have driven on the road from Kattapana to Munnar, but not on the 22 kms between the Dam and Kattapana. From Kattapana, you can also go to Kutttikanam (near Peeremede) which is on the Kottayam-Kumili/Thekkady road. Kattapana onwards the road is good.

[kochicar]

[quote=rippergeo;841989]did a little trip to thodupuzha. just me and my swift. the way I like it. not many pics as the route taken was the same as last time.
the first one is some water body in idukki, dont ask me the name.

This is Shankarapally near Muttom. Lot of mallu movies were shot in this area. eg rasathantram.

The second picture is just before greenberg near Kulamavu.

Iam back from an idukki trip today. 233 km covered in 5 hrs. ekm-kothamangalam- idukki-kothamangalam-ekm. It was raining all the way back.

[NRKUMAR]

Great looking roads. Kudos to the people who laid & maintain them. Wish other hilly roads appear more like these.

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Did not go to Idukki Arch Dam? The dam reservoir is a great place to boat in and sight elephants and bison on the banks, just like in Thekkady. Boated there in 1978, sometime after the dam was built!! Do they still allow you there? Next time anyone is planning to go to Munnar or Thekkady, this is an exciting route since you can go via Kulamavu to Painavu and onward to Kattapana, where you can link up to either Vandiperiyar/Peeremade on the Kottayam-Thekkady road or near Udumbanshola/Vandanamedu on the Thekkady-Munnar road. These routes are very picturesque too.

Can you please tell me Munnar-Idukki Arch dam routemap that HVK is talking above. WhiteKnight suggested the one that goes thru Cheruthoni and Adimali, but I could not find the same on the TTK road atlas (Idukki district map).

Thanks,

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by prasad14

Can you please tell me Munnar-Idukki Arch dam routemap that HVK is talking above. WhiteKnight suggested the one that goes thru Cheruthoni and Adimali, but I could not find the same on the TTK road atlas (Idukki district map).

Thanks,

Ignore the TTK map and go by WhiteKnight's suggestion ex-Thodupuzha. I found not only TTK but the other maps too don't appear to have redrawn the Idukki area maps for last 3 decades.

[hvkumar]

Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!

Why don't you check out the wikimapia link above - has the correct road markings - SH33 from Thodupuzha to Kattapana via Cheruthoni, Kulamavu, Idukki Dam?