[Hulk]

Hello folks!

Looking for suggestions for Bangalore (Whitefield) to Wayanad. Which route would be best (Good roads, not flooded, okay if it takes slightly longer). Planning to leave from Whitefield early morning at around 6am. The destination address is -

Thalappuzha Police Station Rd, Thalappuzha, Thavinhal, Kerala 670644


Thanks a lot!

[chaitanyakrish]

Hello folks !

Looking for updates on road conditions from Kutta to Banasura Dam and from Banasura Dam to Sulthan Bathery/Gudalur/Bandipur.

Thank You.

[chaitanyakrish]

Hello BHPians,

Looking for suggestions on rain situation and road conditions, around Wayanad Area, based on that I am planning either vicinity of Banasura Dam/Karapuzha Dam.

Planning to drive through Bandipur/Sultan Bathery route.

Thanks !!

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by chaitanyakrish

Looking for suggestions on rain situation and road conditions, around Wayanad Area, based on that I am planning either vicinity of Banasura Dam/Karapuzha Dam.

Planning to drive through Bandipur/Sultan Bathery route.

We just drove there (stayed in a resort right next to Karapuzha dam) last weekend, and the roads were excellent.

We took Mysore-Gundlupet-Sultan Bathery route, and later drove on till Kalpetta and Pookode Lake. The roads after Mysore are in excellent condition. In fact, Gundlupet-Sultan Bathery road is absolutely awesome - scenic road passing through lush green forest, and very smooth tarmac. We loved driving in that section.

Bangalore to Mysore remains the usual challenge with lot of construction work, many new potholes after the monsoon, and many diversions. But beyond Mysore, the above road is great!

Regarding rain situation, the weather was fantastic last weekend (when we were there). It did rain a bit in the afternoon, but for the rest of the times it was cloudy and pleasant, with perfect conditions to drive or walk around. But that was last weekend. You should check the weather sites for current conditions.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by chaitanyakrish

Hello folks !

Looking for updates on road conditions from Kutta to Banasura Dam and from Banasura Dam to Sulthan Bathery/Gudalur/Bandipur.

Thank You.

To add to @Dr AD's update, we took the Mysore - Hunsur - Gonikoppa route for our stay in Wayanad at Tholpetty (a few kms ahead of Kutta) across the border.

Roads were in pretty good condition except for one bad patch (~1 km) at the border crossing after Kutta. It was raining on & off across the days we spent there (this was nearly ~3 weeks ago when coastal Kerala was on red alert).

[chaitanyakrish]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

It was raining on & off across the days we spent there

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

We just drove there (stayed in a resort right next to Karapuzha dam) last weekend, and the roads were excellent.

Thank You for the suggestions. I completed my trip and back to Bangalore.

As Wayanad is a very large area, with resorts across Kutta, Banasura Dam Area, Karapuzha Dam Area, Tholpetty etc, it was very difficult to pick the main spot around which the entire trip can be planned.

But, thanks to Dr.AD's trip photos, which made my life easy. My 4 year old kid saw the photo of the tower near Karapuzha Adventure Park and shouted that, it looks like Rapunzel's Tower ( her favourite fictional character ), and she wanted to go there.

So we picked Karapuzha as the main spot and saw many places around. Will post a detailed travelogue.

Mudumalai- Gundlupet - Sultan Bathery route is like heaven. Amazing !!

[hungrygamer]

I have a bit of unrelated question but would really appreciate the views of fellow bhpians
Had a long delayed plan to travel to wayanad -vythri from bangalore-marathahalli this Friday, people who know of this route , can you please share if it's advisable , manageable or absolutely needs to be avoided , I really don't want to postpone this trip so really looking for inputs, if this can be done can the experienced traveller's here share about a safe rout too.
Thanks in advance

[binand]

A PSA that the Bharat Jodo Yatra arrived today at Gundlupet and is proceeding along NH 766 towards Mysore from the look of it. Today's schedule is Gundlupet-Begur and we can expect it to do Begur-Nanjangud tomorrow and Nanjangud-Mysore on Sunday. This means that NH 766 could see some blockades/jams during the weekend. All weekend/holiday drivers are advised to keep an eye on the ground situation and take alternate routes where possible. :-)

[jaaz]

How is the road condition between Gudalur and Vythri. There are 2 routes, one through pandalur and the other through Sulthan bathery. Not much difference in the distance or time taken, but would like to know, which road is better and scenic.

Travel would be in day time only. Inclined to take the Pandalur route, if both are similar.

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by jaaz

How is the road condition between Gudalur and Vythri. There are 2 routes, one through pandalur and the other through Sulthan bathery. Not much difference in the distance or time taken, but would like to know, which road is better and scenic.

Travel would be in day time only. Inclined to take the Pandalur route, if both are similar.

Did you take this route? I’m travelling from Wayanad back to Bangalore tomorrow and seeing if there is an alternate route (other than Bathery) worth taking.

Please let me know.

[jaaz]

@krishnakumar - Apologies for the delayed response. In any case, it'll help others.

Gudalur to Vythri - took the route via Pandalur. We need to take a left turn from Gudalur main traffic junction (every one knows this Gudalur traffic junction, which is notorious for long delays). The next 13 to 14 kms from the Gudalur junction is bad, but later on it's decent. It's approx. 70 kms from Gudalur to Vythri. Very less traffic in the day time itself, so we can imagine what would be night time situation.

Return, If you're starting from Vythri or Kalpetta, then NH 766 is the best, via Sultan Bathery. Very good road as well as scenic. But, night curfew will be there on this route.

Had a good time in Wayanad. Locals were very helpful, friendly and kind.

[motorworks]

Hi Folks

Request your guidance on my planned trip to Wayanad during the 3rd week of December.

First is the route to be taken. I stay near Phoenix mall and my final destination is the Taj property adjacent to the Banasurasagar dam, although the property’s exact address is “ Thariyode North, Pandinjarathare”.

I plan to leave on the 24th of December, so im expecting some sort of heavy traffic due to the holiday weekend. Should i still take the Nice road- Mysore road—Srirangapatna—Hunsur—Mananthavady route, this is what google maps throws up. Weirdly, there is no alternate from google maps at all.

Second, I’m due to stay 2 nights at this Taj property, but I would like to spend 1 more night somewhere interesting on the way back to Bangalore. Two reasons for this, im a little wary of driving back to Bangalore in the 2nd half of the day due to the traffic on the mysore stretch and my wife and 10 year old son aren't really happy folks on really long drives, especially through winding roads. So i was thinking of checking out of this Taj property by say 12 noon, reach somewhere interesting by 3pm, spend the night, and again leave early morning from there to Bangalore, so as to beat the day traffic, and probably also not to make the family uncomfortable.

Any suggestions on the route and ideas for the 3rd night would be really great. Also, I dont know if there is an option of staying somewhere near nagarhole for the 3rd night, may be good to get on an evening safari, if that’s a possibility.

[kala]

Originally Posted by motorworks

I plan to leave on the 24th of December, so im expecting some sort of heavy traffic due to the holiday weekend. Should i still take the Nice road- Mysore road—Srirangapatna—Hunsur—Mananthavady route, this is what google maps throws up. Weirdly, there is no alternate from google maps at all.

In all probability Google isn't showing you alternate routes because you checked the route at night - at a time when most of the roads to Wayanad are closed to traffic. When checking for the route, make sure you set the start time to morning (assuming that's what you're planning).

The best route to Bansurasagar is the one via Gundlupet - Sulthan Bathery - Kalpetta (Padinjarethara is about 15 kms from Kalpetta). The route options from Bangalore to Gundlupet is somewhat subjective. Most people would suggest the Mysore Road, but I prefer the NH 948 via Kanakapura-Malavalli-Chamarajnagar route because of the lower overall traffic density and the fact that I don't mind driving on the slightly narrower 2 lane roads.

Second, I’m due to stay 2 nights at this Taj property, but I would like to spend 1 more night somewhere interesting on the way back to Bangalore. Two reasons for this, im a little wary of driving back to Bangalore in the 2nd half of the day due to the traffic on the mysore stretch and my wife and 10 year old son aren't really happy folks on really long drives, especially through winding roads. So i was thinking of checking out of this Taj property by say 12 noon, reach somewhere interesting by 3pm, spend the night, and again leave early morning from there to Bangalore, so as to beat the day traffic, and probably also not to make the family uncomfortable.

Any suggestions on the route and ideas for the 3rd night would be really great. Also, I dont know if there is an option of staying somewhere near nagarhole for the 3rd night, may be good to get on an evening safari, if that’s a possibility.

The only interesting places I can think of en-route are Bandipur or Kabini. Both are about a couple of hours drive from Wayanad, but you will need to check for Safari timings etc at these locations in case you're inclined to go Wildlife sightseeing. Morning is almost always the preferred time for this activity, and reaching at 3PM may not leave you with too many options to do on that day.

[motorworks]

Originally Posted by kala

In all probability Google isn't showing you alternate routes because you checked the route at night - at a time when most of the roads to Wayanad are closed to traffic. When checking for the route, make sure you set the start time to morning (assuming that's what you're planning).

The best route to Bansurasagar is the one via Gundlupet - Sulthan Bathery - Kalpetta (Padinjarethara is about 15 kms from Kalpetta). The route options from Bangalore to Gundlupet is somewhat subjective. Most people would suggest the Mysore Road, but I prefer the NH 948 via Kanakapura-Malavalli-Chamarajnagar route because of the lower overall traffic density and the fact that I don't mind driving on the slightly narrower 2 lane roads.

The only interesting places I can think of en-route are Bandipur or Kabini. Both are about a couple of hours drive from Wayanad, but you will need to check for Safari timings etc at these locations in case you're inclined to go Wildlife sightseeing. Morning is almost always the preferred time for this activity, and reaching at 3PM may not leave you with too many options to do on that day.

Thanks for your inputs, yes, you are right, Google maps shows three routes in the day.
The shortest one seems to be the one you suggested and most probably thats the route to take if im leaving quite early.

I’m a little confused about what to do on the way back, I think the logical option is to stay somewhere in Bandipur for one night since it seems to be on the way and not much of a diversion. But considering my timings, i don’t think i’m actually going to be able plan a safari etc. Idea is to take a break somewhere in thr middle, stay the night and leave early morning the next day so that i can beat the bangalore city traffic while getting back inside the city.

[rajathv8]

Which is the preferred route to Payyampally for day drive with BLR dep @7am?

I see two options:
1. Mysore - Nanjangud - Gundlupete - Sultan Bathery : 290km
2. Mysore - Hunsur - Nagarhole - Kutta : 256 Km

I am aware of the BLR-MYS road conditions and that part is common anyway.
Leaning towards the former as the posts in this thread seem to suggest that it has good road conditions post Mysore.
Any reason to take the latter route instead?