[Ramsagar]

Originally Posted by binand

A 3 AM start will have you at your chosen destination in Wayanad for a late breakfast/brunch (9-11 AM) depending on your driving style and constraints. Kalpetta is about 300 km from Bangalore.

We are "Early birds". Would prefer to start early to beat the traffic. Does Mintflower, Jubilee, Winton serves breakfast/brunch?

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

It will be hot during day, also personally I feel hill stations looks best soon after rains (~AUG to Oct).

Which is the best place to visit during summer. Other than Ooty & Kodaikanal. Would Yercaud be better?

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Have you finalized your place of stay and your itenary? Based on that it will be possible to get a better idea.

Not yet. Would like to cover : Banasura sagar dam, Chembra peak, Kuruva island, Pookode lake, Wuthanga wildlife sanctuary, Edakkal cave
Being long weekend + Summer vacation, planning to book ASAP.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

Does Mintflower, Jubilee, Winton serves breakfast/brunch?

Not sure of menu options of Mintflower, however I guess they would be open.

Wilton & Jubilee do open for breakfast.

Which is the best place to visit during summer. Other than Ooty & Kodaikanal. Would Yercaud be better?

Yercaud I feel is only worth a one day trip. Nothing much to spend more than a day there, for me the most interesting tourist location in Yercaud was loop road

Ooty will be slightly colder than Wayanad and so will Kodaikanal. However, hill stations in south India are relatively at lesser altitude. Hence, will be more hotter compared to their north Indian siblings.

Not yet. Would like to cover : Banasura sagar dam, Chembra peak, Kuruva island, Pookode lake, Wuthanga wildlife sanctuary, Edakkal cave
Being long weekend + Summer vacation, planning to book ASAP.

Banasura - Yes, you can do. However, plan the trip either early in morning or evening to avoid ending up at dam during noon.

Chembra peak - Closed as of now due to risk of forest fire. It may be open around a month from now, but mostly would remain close till monsoon.

Kuruva Island - Yes, will be open till rains. However, do note that they are restricting entry to only 200 persons per day from two gates. So during long weekends it will be a challenge.

Pookode lake - Yes, will be open. Again, as with any tourist location try to time the entry to avoid rush. Usually the place starts to get crowded past noon once one day tourists from coastal areas land.

Muthanga wildlife - Again, no issues unless there is any specific closure due to summer / forest fire. Also, you can plan your trip by staying at any places adjoining any jungle. Jungle Retreat Wayanad is a great place. The owner is a TBHPian and you can find his post and that of others in travelogues section.

Edakkal - Personally my favorite in Wayand. However, involves bit of climb. Nothing to be concerned about. If traveling with kids, you may have to carry them on certain sections. When we did it last year, our friends 4 year old daughter was accompanying us. She climbed ~80 % of the steps on her own.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

We are "Early birds". Would prefer to start early to beat the traffic. Does Mintflower, Jubilee, Winton serves breakfast/brunch?

I think 3:45-4am is a better time to start and will give you more options like Kamat Madhuvan opposite Mysore palace on the Nanjanagud road. When you get here you'd have just bypassed Mysore city around 6:45-7am
At Sulthan Bathery, if you're ok with a veggie breakfast then Kalpaka is a good option too.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Ramsagar

How good is it to visit Wayanad during summer: 28th April till 1st May? This is a long weekend

Originally Posted by NPV

I think 3:45-4am is a better time to start and will give you more options

The planned travel is during a long weekend; so if one delays start till 4 AM one could be stuck in traffic on BM Road.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by NPV

I think 3:45-4am is a better time to start and will give you more options like Kamat Madhuvan opposite Mysore palace on the Nanjanagud road.

It used to be my breakfast option too when heading towards Kabni side.

However, during my last drive through Mysore during Christmas holidays noticed that there is some road work ongoing from the junction past Mysore palace till Kamat (the section where Ooty road is elevated). Due to this, I had to go past the left turn off towards Ooty road, take the service road and proceed.

Kamat was closed when I crossed and I felt it was either closed permanently or under renovation.

[ashwinsid]

I used to travel often to kerala via gundalpet. Tomorrow im planning to go to kalpetta (waynad) via gundalpet. I will start early morning 3.30 - 4 am. I use the road ramnagara- mandya- sreerangapatna- mysore - gundalpet - kalpetta

However, someone told kanakapura road is good.

Can someone suggest me the best route for early morning?

[mpksuhas]

For an early morning start, you can follow Mandya - Mysore route.

Would have suggested Kanakpura route too, however there is road widening work ongoing between Kakankpura and Mallavalli, driving before day light through two lane road with shoulder dug up at some sections wont be a good idea.

Budget ~ 3.5 hours from NICE road Kengeri junction to Gudulepet.

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by ashwinsid

I used to travel often to kerala via gundalpet. Tomorrow im planning to go to kalpetta (waynad) via gundalpet. I will start early morning 3.30 - 4 am. I use the road ramnagara- mandya- sreerangapatna- mysore - gundalpet - kalpetta

However, someone told kanakapura road is good.

Can someone suggest me the best route for early morning?

Please avoid the Kanakpura route, as I used it last weekend to go to Mysore. Most of the road will be undivided single lane, with quite a bit of traffic, and locals jumping from one side to other without even looking for anything else. For the return, I sticked to the Mandya route, and things were quite relaxing. To add, the Kanakpura route does not have any decent eating joints, whereas the Mandya one had lots of options.

[binand]

Originally Posted by ashwinsid

Tomorrow im planning to go to kalpetta (waynad) via gundalpet.

Can someone suggest me the best route for early morning?

Originally Posted by Repsol

Please avoid the Kanakpura route, as I used it last weekend to go to Mysore. Most of the road will be undivided single lane, with quite a bit of traffic, and locals jumping from one side to other without even looking for anything else. [snip ]To add, the Kanakpura route does not have any decent eating joints.

None of these need to be concerns if one is starting early morning (3:30 - 4 AM). One can be in Gundlupet by 7:30 AM or so.

On the other hand, at that start time Mandya-Mysore-Nanjangud is also just fine; no need to look for detours.

[gadadhar]

My friend is traveling to Arimula in Wayanad. He has to be reach there by 5.30 am and is planning to start from Bangalore around 9.30 pm. Since the normal SultanBathery route will be closed in the night, he is planning to drive through Hunsur, Gonikuppe, Kutta, Tholpetty, Kattikulam, Palvelicham, Nadavayal route.

He is traveling with a family including kids in a i20. He is aware that the route will be deserted and there can be wildlife etc, but has some compulsions to go during the night.

He would like to know-
1. Road condition - Are there any tough stretches that i20 can find difficult.

2. Other than Wildlife and deserted roads, are there any other issues you need to be aware of while driving through this stretch

3. Are there any alternate routes, especially after Kattikulam where Palvelicham, Nadavayal road I remember as a very small village road and might be tough to handle in the night.

[binand]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

2. Other than Wildlife and deserted roads, are there any other issues you need to be aware of while driving through this stretch

There have been several cases of armed robbery/dacoity in this route; often targeting the late night/overnight travellers. I would say totally avoid.

Here is the most recent one that got significant coverage in Kerala press:

https://starofmysore.com/kerala-yout...ghway-robbers/

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by binand

There have been several cases of armed robbery/dacoity in this route; often targeting the late night/overnight travellers. I would say totally avoid.

Here is the most recent one that got significant coverage in Kerala press:

https://starofmysore.com/kerala-yout...ghway-robbers/

Thanks for the update, I thought this gang was active in the Nanjangud stretch. Hope authorities could catch them soon.

[balenoed_]

A four of us planning to drive down to some place in Wayanad over the next weekend. Identified one homestay - "Ente Veedu", and planning to hit there. Starting Saturday early morning, and starting back around noon. Planning to go via Bandipur and return via Nagerhole. I have never driven through the Nagerhole stretch (Bavali, Nisna). Does this look okay? Any suggestions on route or accommodation.

[ravib]

I just drove back from Wayanad (precisely Thirunelli) last weekend 17-Mar-2018 and touched Bavali, Nisna, Hunsur, Kutta, tholpetty and Kattikulam, so probably below answers will help you guys.

Originally Posted by gadadhar

My friend is traveling to Arimula in Wayanad. He has to be reach there by 5.30 am and is planning to start from Bangalore around 9.30 pm. Since the normal SultanBathery route will be closed in the night, he is planning to drive through Hunsur, Gonikuppe, Kutta, Tholpetty, Kattikulam, Palvelicham, Nadavayal route.

He is traveling with a family including kids in a i20. He is aware that the route will be deserted and there can be wildlife etc, but has some compulsions to go during the night.

He would like to know-
1. Road condition - Are there any tough stretches that i20 can find difficult.

2. Other than Wildlife and deserted roads, are there any other issues you need to be aware of while driving through this stretch

We were in 2 cars, mine EcoSport and other friend with i20. i20 can easily handle the roads as 98% of the roads are in good condition and nothing to worry. Only inside Nagarhole forest, for few kms the road is not good but anyways you can only drive at 30 kmph inside forest between entry and exit. So should be able to manage.

As binand mentioned, please avoid driving in the night from safety perspective. And since he is traveling with family and kids, beyond Hunsur there are no good places for stop over. Even in hunsur its just okay. So carry all basic essentials for a family trip as necessary.

Originally Posted by balenoed_

A four of us planning to drive down to some place in Wayanad over the next weekend. Identified one homestay - "Ente Veedu", and planning to hit there. Starting Saturday early morning, and starting back around noon. Planning to go via Bandipur and return via Nagerhole. I have never driven through the Nagerhole stretch (Bavali, Nisna). Does this look okay? Any suggestions on route or accommodation.

Attachment 1743844

For your onward trip, i strongly recommend you take NH209 via Kanakpura, Malavalli, Kollegal, Chamraj Nagar, Gundlupet route, if you are leaving Bangalore after 6 am. There is a MTR immediately after AOL which opens at 8 am, and you can stop over for hygenic/decent food. If you are leaving around 4 am or 5 am, then Mysore road should be okay.

Though there are some road expansion work going on before Malavalli, but its only for very few kms and nothing to worry if you are driving in day time. Absolutely should not be a reason to avoid NH209 compared to painful mysore road which is more tiresome and demands higher driving effort for late start. Crossing each town/village is a pain/irritating factor.

For return via Bavali, Nisna and Nagarhole, the road conditions are very good. Should be an easy drive.

-Ravi

[BeantownThinker]

Wanted to know if Nijaguna Resort at Gundlupete is open for outsiders for lunch? Looking at this as a stopover for lunch while travelling from Bangalore to Vythiri.

If not, then are there other options at Gundlupet?