[luvurride]

Originally Posted by RajeshK

@luvurride, I don't think you need a break at Iritty or other places. Iritty to Payyanur it hardly takes 1hr30mts and the road is very good.
I don't think there are good staying options in Gonikkoppal and Virajpet is little de-tour.

If you start by 1pm, you will be able to cross the Ghats easily before the dusk. I used to travel in this strech frequently in late evenings with my little kids (now 2 and 4years).

Mean while, where in Payyanur you are heading to???

Thanks
Rajesh

Oh yeah you are right! I just checked the distance and it is only 68km! I guess then staying in Iritty would not make much of a difference.

I'm visiting for a wedding and am staying in Hotel Vysakh International.

[Latheesh]

Agree with Rajesh - There is no point in taking break in Iritty. Iritty-Payyannur road is good and will not take more than a hour and half. Rain may play spoilsport if you drive in the night, but there is no problem if you are familiar with the route.

If you start early morning on Saturday (3-4 AM) you will be able to reach Payyannur before noon including breaks.

I am planning another solo drive within a week or two :-)

[luvurride]

Thanks Latheesh but this'll be the first time for me in this route. And I do not know the local language!
But 3-4am is not a possibility by any means! I may be able to leave the earliest by 7. If I reach Payyanur by 3-4pm, that'll be fine as I have to attend just a dinner on Saturday and am in no hurry.

Any plans on doing your trip that Saturday?

[RajeshK]

@luvurride,
If you start by 7, you can easily reach Payyanur by 4-5pm with enough breaks. Roads are bad after Hunsur to Gonikkoppal, but drivable. Initial few kms after Hunsur are full of potholes but conditions are better afterwards. For going to Vysakh Hotel, you need to go to the Payyanur town and take Police station road. Don't hesitate to PM me if you need any assistance

Thanks
Rajesh

[luvurride]

That is some useful information Rajesh and thanks for those kind words to help out! Please PM me your number so I'll reach out to you if I get lost or something during my drive.

[luvurride]

Which would be a good place for lunch if I leave by 7? I'm sure breakfast shouldn't be a problem with plenty of options in Mysore road. But ideally I should be around Gonikoppal around 12.30 or so, not sure if there are any options there.

[RajeshK]

Sadly, there is no good leisurely eating outlet once you cross Coorg Cafe, Hunsur. We can get basic facilities at Gonikkoppal. If you happened to be at Iritty at lunch time, you need to take de-tour to the town for hotels.

My suggestion, if you reach at Hunsur around 11-11:30, get parcel from Coorg Cafe and have it at the scenic forest areas..!!

Thanks
Rajesh

[luvurride]

I was also thinking on the same lines! We had stopped at Coorg cafe when on our last trip to Madikeri in January and the food was reasonably good. Infact I was really surprised about the striking similarity of their decor and logo with CCD and even more surprised when they said they have got nothing to do with CCD!

[Latheesh]

^^

Yes, If you leave BLR around 7 you will be able to reach Payyannur by 3-4PM (including 2 breaks). I suggest you to take heavy breakfast @ Cafe Coorg and if required lunch @ Iritty town. I hope you are already aware about the key junctions on this route (its already explained multiple times in this thread)

[ajithbr]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

^^

Yes, If you leave BLR around 7 you will be able to reach Payyannur by 3-4PM (including 2 breaks). I suggest you to take heavy breakfast @ Cafe Coorg and if required lunch @ Iritty town. I hope you are already aware about the key junctions on this route (its already explained multiple times in this thread)

While going to Payyannur, having lunch @ Iritty town will require some detour, right? And if one is not familiar (and also dont know native language), it may not be easy to find a good place in Iritty. If you are okay to take parcel, there may be some decent hotels around Gonikoppal bus stand. I remember eating in one of the small hotels just at the beginning of the route to Kattikkulam/Mananthavady and it was decent stuff.

[luvurride]

Thanks @Latheesh and @ajithbr.

I am planning to do this - take breakfast in any one of the food joints in Mysore Road like Kamat Upachar or McDonalds. Pack lunch from Cafe Coorg and have it on the way as Rajesh suggested.

[RajeshK]

Friends, Any body travelled after the monsoon started? Any idea about the current condition?

I am driving to Payyanur on 11th June'11 afternoon.

Thanks
Rajesh

[Latheesh]

^^

Even I would like to know the latest updates. Am planning to drive to Kannur on 17th evening or 18th morning.

[RajeshK]

Latheesh, just came to Payyanur yesterday. Roads are at the same condition, but few big potholes got added in the hunsur - gonikkoppal stretch. Took me 7hrs to reach Payyanur.

Thanks
Rajesh

[luvurride]

Ok folks, back from Payyanur trip. It was a fantastic drive, although long owing to rains. Here is the trip log:




We had a couple of interesting things enroute onward:

1. Spotted the next gen Ford Fiesta in Mysore Road being tested by someone from the Media. I don't think it is T-BHP as I could not spot the typical stickers. We were going along almost all the way from Kengeri(NICE Road) to our first pull-over post Ramanagara for my baby's potty. Here is a pic from my mobile.



2. Just after the first checkpost on the Hunsur-Gonikoppal stretch, there was a mini-lorry that was over turned in the middle of the road, leaving only a small area of tarmac to negotiate. Just when I am nearing the spot(I have an Alto before me), there is this truck with a huge load trying to negotiate through this small space. Guess what - his left wheels got struck in the mud by the side of the road and he can't move! We stopped and waited as this guy was still trying to pull out. But in vain! The forest guard has reached the spot by now because of the commotion here(by this time a KSRTC bus and a couple of vehicles have piled) and was trying to reach out to the rescue squad but I guess they did not show any inclination towards immediate remedy. Now all of us got down and were looking at our options to get out of this. Fortunately, the mini-lorry had a load of 'jalli' and hence the driver and his helper tried to move some of them under the wheels, but didn't do any good. By this time one guard even started saying that we should try some detour. Now one of the lorries held in the other side came to the rescue as he tried to pull out this struck guy out by towing him. After a few attempts, with all of us pushing from the front, finally, he was pulled back successfully! Now since we did not want anyone else to get struck again, we physically pushed the overturned mini lorry back on wheels and then pushed him to the side of the road as the driver of the mini lorry was no where to be seen!
This whole drama has set us back by a little more than an hour, but what an experience and story to share!



The journey back was uneventful with heavy rains all the way till Mysore. I didn't maintain a log on the return. But e started at 2:15pm and reached home by 11:45pm.

Road Conditions: As usual, very good till Hunsur with the Yelawala stretch being bad. Hunsur-Gonikoppal-Virajpet has worsened with rains. Hunsur-Gonikoppal especially with the single road is very difficult to negotiate with oncoming vehicles as you cannot get down the road in most places. The small by-pass stretch of Virajpet is also bad. The ghat section is in pristine condition and so are the roads inside Kerala. The only problem is the roads are narrow and hence you still can't maintain decent speeds with the traffic.