[Mighty_Lothar]

Hi Guys,

Does anyone knows the current situation of Hunsur -> Gonikoppal –> Virajpet road? I heard that there are patchworks started but no confirmed news yet. I am planning to drive down to Kerala on 22nd December morning. If the roads are still in bad shape, I am afraid to take fully loaded Vento through those uneven roads.

LOTHAR

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by Mighty_Lothar

Hi Guys,

Does anyone knows the current situation of Hunsur -> Gonikoppal –> Virajpet road? I heard that there are patchworks started but no confirmed news yet. I am planning to drive down to Kerala on 22nd December morning. If the roads are still in bad shape, I am afraid to take fully loaded Vento through those uneven roads.

LOTHAR

Simple advice.. Avoid that road! Road from Hunsur (5kms after Hunsur town) to Gonikoppal is almost non existent! May take at least 2 months for the stretch to be completely repaired. You may take Hunsur town-Nagarhole-Kutta-Mananthavady-Nedumpoil-Kuthuparamba route, currently that is the best option in terms of roads but open only from 6AM to 6PM. Else, Hunsur-Peryapatna-Siddapura-Ammathi-Virajpet town-Makkutta-Iritty.

[enygma]

I have to hit Kannur (near Payyabalam beach) next weekend. It seems the route through Nagarhole-Mananthavady is the best. Can someone please let me know the best route from Mananthavady to Kannur? Seems like there are multiple options available.

Thanks in advance.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by enygma

Can someone please let me know the best route from Mananthavady to Kannur? Seems like there are multiple options available.

Shortest and the best one would be Mananthavady-Thalapuzha-Periya ghats-Nidumpoil-Kuthuparamba-Kannur. Roads are good, except for a couple of hairpin bends on the periya ghats.

[maxaud]

Just drove to Kannur on Saturdary (15th Dec) via Bangalore-Hunsur-Nagarhole-Kutta-Mananthavady-Nedumpoil-Kuthuparamba-Kannur.

The route is absolutely fine except for a very short stretch from Kutta to the Kerala border (still heaven compared to the Hunsur-Gonikoppal-Virajpet stretch) and two hairpin bends on the ghat missing the top layer. It took me 7.5 hours for the 356km trip, which included a half an hour break at Hunsur.

The other alternative is take the Boy's Town ghat road (Mananthavady-Kottiyoor-Mattanur-Kannur). The distance is pretty much the same, but have not seen any reviews on this stretch lately. I am planning to use this route on my return journey day after, unless somebody wants to stop me with an update

Will update.

[kala]

Originally Posted by maxaud

The other alternative is take the Boy's Town ghat road (Mananthavady-Kottiyoor-Mattanur-Kannur). The distance is pretty much the same, but have not seen any reviews on this stretch lately. I am planning to use this route on my return journey day after, unless somebody wants to stop me with an update

The Peravoor-Kelakam-Kottiyoor stretch till the start of the ghat section at Palchuram was in terrible condition when I went that way in August. Don't know if some work has been done on that road since then, but if you cannot get an affirmative information from someone on that, I'd advise you to avoid that route.

[scarecrow]

I drove from Kannur to Bangalore through Irrity, Manathavadi, Boys town, Sulthan Bathery, Mysore, Bangalore (please excuse the spelling mistakes). The route was quite good except for stretches after Irrity, the ghat road and near the Kerala border in Sulthan Bathery. Surprisingly once you cross over into Karanataka the roads are really good, though there are too many speed breakers while crossing the Sulthan Bathery - Bandipur stretch.

Drive safely.
Regards
Ronald

[princenoble]

My usual route is through Periyapatana, siddapura & Virajpet which I found good till date (Destination is Iritty). This time I wan to try a different route with some scenic value as I am not in a hurry. Considering Kushalnagar/Madikeri or Nagarhole as options. Which would be most attractive to drive with short stops? I am also starting early morning this Saturday.

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by maxaud

Just drove to Kannur on Saturdary (15th Dec) via Bangalore-Hunsur-Nagarhole-Kutta-Mananthavady-Nedumpoil-Kuthuparamba-Kannur.

I'm not familiar with this route and Google map shows multiple ways after Mananthavady. Do you go through Boys Town - Periya - Eelapeedika - Nirmalagiri to get to Kuthuparamba or through Boys Town - Kelakam (via Kottiyur Wildlife Sanctuary) - Irrity - Mattanur to get to Kuthuparamba?

Someone also suggested taking the Bangalore-Mysore-Sultan Bathary-Gundulpet- Mananthavady - Boys Town - Periya - Vaarapeedika - Kuthuparamba route.

Planning to go this Sat, so any advice would be of help!

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

Do you go through Boys Town - Periya - Eelapeedika - Nirmalagiri to get to Kuthuparamba or through Boys Town - Kelakam (via Kottiyur Wildlife Sanctuary) - Irrity - Mattanur to get to Kuthuparamba?

The first one- continue on the main road towards Telicherry after Mananthavady and boys town, Via periya ghats, Nidumpoil-Kannavam-Chittariparambu-Kuthuparamba. From Kuthuparamba, you may deviate either to Kannur or to Telicherry. If your destination is Iritty and if you are looking for good roads, take the deviation towards Peravoor (right) at nidumpoil.

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

Someone also suggested taking the Bangalore-Mysore-Sultan Bathary-Gundulpet- Mananthavady - Boys Town - Periya - Vaarapeedika - Kuthuparamba route.
!

A bit longer, but good roads, except for the stretch from Kerala border (muthanga) to S. Bathery.

[menonrajesh]

Friends,

We (3 families with kids - 3 cars) are planning to drive from Bangalore to Parassinikadavu on 29th Dec. Could you please advise me on the directions from Bangalore? I have some basic info that I might have to take Mysore - Hunsur - Virajpet - Iritty - Thaliparamba - Parassinikadavu. However please advise if this is the best route or any better alternatives are there.

We are planning to leave Bangalore around 6 AM and breakfast could be done in / before Mysore. Can you please advise on any good restaurants after Mysore - just in case, as we have kids with us?

Many thanks,
Rajesh

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by menonrajesh

Friends,

We (3 families with kids - 3 cars) are planning to drive from Bangalore to Parassinikadavu on 29th Dec. Could you please advise me on the directions from Bangalore? I have some basic info that I might have to take Mysore - Hunsur - Virajpet - Iritty - Thaliparamba - Parassinikadavu. However please advise if this is the best route or any better alternatives are there.

We are planning to leave Bangalore around 6 AM and breakfast could be done in / before Mysore. Can you please advise on any good restaurants after Mysore - just in case, as we have kids with us?

Many thanks,
Rajesh

This unfortunately is the 'worst' route currently. Road from Hunsur to Virajpet via Gonikoppal is virtually non existent.

There are 3 alternate roads which you could choose
1. Bangalore-Mysore-Hunsur town-Nagarhole-Kutta-Tholpetty-Mananthavady-Perya-Nidumpoil-Kuthuparamba-Kannur-Parassinikadavu
2. Bangalore-Mysore-Gundlupet-Sultan bathery-Beenachi-Kenichira-Panamaram-naalam Mile-Mananthavady-Perya-Nidumpoil-Kuthuparamba-Kannur-Parassinikadavu
3. Bangalore-Mysore-Hunsur-Periyapatna-Siddapura-Ammathi town-Virajpet-Makutta-Iritty-taliparamba-Parassinikadavu

Route 1 & 2 are the best with respect to road conditions, barring few patches the rest of the route is in very good condition. Route 1 is the shorter among the two.
In Route 3, the stretch from Peryapatna to Virajpet is bad, either side of this you will find excellent roads. This is the shortest alternate route with just around 20kms more than the regular gonikoppal- virajpet route.

For breakfast/restroom stop, on route 1 & 3, Cafe coorg, Hunsur - which is at the start of Hunsur byepass- is the best and probably only decent hotel after Mysore.
I am not so familiar with eating joints on route 2, but my guess is that there is a CCD at Gundlupet and a few hotels in S.Bathery town.

[RajeshK]

Originally Posted by menonrajesh

Friends,

We (3 families with kids - 3 cars) are planning to drive from Bangalore to Parassinikadavu on 29th Dec. Could you please advise me on the directions from Bangalore? I have some basic info that I might have to take Mysore - Hunsur - Virajpet - Iritty - Thaliparamba - Parassinikadavu. However please advise if this is the best route or any better alternatives are there.

We are planning to leave Bangalore around 6 AM and breakfast could be done in / before Mysore. Can you please advise on any good restaurants after Mysore - just in case, as we have kids with us?

Many thanks,
Rajesh

Originally Posted by sandsun7

This unfortunately is the 'worst' route currently. Road from Hunsur to Virajpet via Gonikoppal is virtually non existent.

There are 3 alternate roads which you could choose
1. Bangalore-Mysore-Hunsur town-Nagarhole-Kutta-Tholpetty-Mananthavady-Perya-Nidumpoil-Kuthuparamba-Kannur-Parassinikadavu
2. Bangalore-Mysore-Gundlupet-Sultan bathery-Beenachi-Kenichira-Panamaram-naalam Mile-Mananthavady-Perya-Nidumpoil-Kuthuparamba-Kannur-Parassinikadavu
3. Bangalore-Mysore-Hunsur-Periyapatna-Siddapura-Ammathi town-Virajpet-Makutta-Iritty-taliparamba-Parassinikadavu

Route 1 & 2 are the best with respect to road conditions, barring few patches the rest of the route is in very good condition. Route 1 is the shorter among the two.
In Route 3, the stretch from Peryapatna to Virajpet is bad, either side of this you will find excellent roads. This is the shortest alternate route with just around 20kms more than the regular gonikoppal- virajpet route.

I would suggest you to avoid the options 1 & 2. You can either take option 3 or from Hunsur continue till Kushalanagara, and take the siddapura - Virajpet route. In this, the route between Siddapura and Virajpet is not in good shape, but easily driveable in any sedans

Once you reached Iritty,
1. continue towards Irikkur and after Irikkur town, take the left on to the bridge at the junction (you can see a bridge on your left hand side). This will take you to Parassinikkadavu directly via Mayyil. Roads conditions are seems to be ok though I don't have the up to date information. This is the shortest route to reach Parassinikadavu. You can see this route in google map
2. After Iritty, continue towards Irikkur - Srikandapuram - Thalipparamaba - (once you join the NH 17 take left (there are option to byepass the thalipparamba town by taking left at Manna Jn.)) - Dharmasala - Parassinikkadavu. Roads are good in this stretch.

I would suggest you to avoid touching Kannur if your final destination in Parassinikkadavu. Crossing the traffic at Kannur towards Dharamasala is very tough and tiring with day time traffic.

Thanks
Rajesh

[RajeshK]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

I'm not familiar with this route and Google map shows multiple ways after Mananthavady. Do you go through Boys Town - Periya - Eelapeedika - Nirmalagiri to get to Kuthuparamba or through Boys Town - Kelakam (via Kottiyur Wildlife Sanctuary) - Irrity - Mattanur to get to Kuthuparamba?

Someone also suggested taking the Bangalore-Mysore-Sultan Bathary-Gundulpet- Mananthavady - Boys Town - Periya - Vaarapeedika - Kuthuparamba route.

Planning to go this Sat, so any advice would be of help!

Once you are in the Kannur road after Manathawady Town, its pretty simple. Just continue the same road till Nedumpoyil. Your road will end here and you need to take a left to Koothuparamba and there to Kannur once you reached the Koothuparamba town. Total distance is ~90-95kms.

If you really wanted to go via Boys Town, take a right turn at Thalappuzha (around 10km from Mananthawadi town). You can see the sign board mentioning Boys town/Kottiyur temple at starting of this road. This is a sharp down with little risky turns and you really need to give way to upcoming vehicle. If you are taking this route, go via Kottiyur - Peravoor - Iritty - Mattannur - Kannur. Remember to take right turn after Manathana to Peravur. I don't have any status update about this route.

Thanks
Rajesh

[KnightRider77]

Just got back from a trip to Tellicherry. Went by 2 different routes:

From Bangalore:
Took the Mysore-Gundulpet-Sulthan Bathery-Thamaraserry-Kozhikode-Quilandi-Mahe-Tellicherry route. This is a longer route (8 hours and 30 minutes according to Google maps) and except for the road on the Kerala side of Muthunga forest, the drive is over pleasant comfortable roads. The negative is that the Kozhikode-Tellicherry road can get quite crowded esp. post noon. In fact, we made the mistake of leaving Bangalore at 6.30 AM this Sat with much of the holiday crowd also on the road for the weekend. Result: we reached Tellicherry after a marathon 13 hour drive! Needless to say I was exhausted at the end of it!

From Tellicherry to Bangalore:
On the return trip we took a different route via Panoor-Kuttiady-Makkiyad-Meenangadi-Sulthan Bathery-Gundulpet-Mysore-Bangalore. The roads are a bit poor in some patches esp near the Kuttiady side but there are some brilliant stretches of roads as well esp. the scenic ghat sections that are a sight to behold in the morning. Took us 10 hours but I didn't feel exhausted at all mainly because I drove at an easy pace and wasn't struggling through traffic for much of the ride.

It's a bit sad to see that the Kerala govt. continues to ignore road infrastructure. The roads are truly appalling and when one considers the brilliant roads on the Karnataka side of the border the contrast can't be less eye-opening!

I dream of the day when one can drive through God's Own Country on beautiful stretches of road while admiring the nature's bounty that this land possesses...