[alphadog]

Hello friends

I am planning a motorcycle ride, from Thrissur to Salem and then onto Yercaud. I would welcome advice on best route, road conditions of the route and recommended places for fuel / food /convenience stops along the way.
Anything to watch out in particular.

I will be starting early morning and the solo ride is being planned in another 10 days time from now. Thank you in advance.

Cheerio!

[aargee]

It's a simple straight forward route. Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore - Avinashi - Sangagiri - Bhavani - Salem - Yercaud. Roads are all good, plenty of eateries on the way (unless you're asking for 1 for every 1 Km), good fuel stations also enroute

Being your first solo trip, go hassle free. For a few folks like us, sorry to say, it's not even considered as a ride on a dull boring highway!

PS - There's a thread here that there's a trouble through a bike gang or something. Personally, we haven't experienced it so far considering we've been doing this stretch for decades at all possible timing from business hours to next day owl hours. So, pls don't let that deter you from this trip.

[naveen.raju]

Salem town will be a bit crowded and roads can be a messy due to the flyover/elevated highway construction.

Once you reach the ghat section, it's all good till Yercaud. There's nothing along this route (fuel stations, shops) but it's just a short distance. Just before entering Yercaud town, you will find a fuel station and shops to eat. Not many places but everything can be seen in the center of the town.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by aargee

.... it's not even considered as a ride on a dull boring highway!

It can be made partly interesting, if you prefer a scenic drive with a small detour :

Trichur - Wadakancherry (exit highway) - Pollachi - Gudimangalam - Dharapuram - Aravakurichi and catch Salem Highway. Two lane road till Aravakurichi with sparse traffic. Only issue will be no good hotels enroute till Salem - other than Anna Sri on the Dharapuram by-pass and Valluvar Hotel before Karur. Once you near Salem there are plenty of options.

The scenic part is driving between tamarind & other trees on either side of the road in this section.

[ampere]

Another option can be take the Attur exit and drive back to Yercaud via Kuppanur.

Route Link

[aargee]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

It can be made partly interesting, if you prefer a scenic drive with a small detour :

Trichur - Wadakancherry (exit highway) - Pollachi - Gudimangalam - Dharapuram - Aravakurichi and catch Salem Highway. Two lane road till Aravakurichi with sparse traffic. Only issue will be no good hotels enroute till Salem - other than Anna Sri on the Dharapuram by-pass and Valluvar Hotel before Karur. Once you near Salem there are plenty of options.

Why stop with just that? No need even for detour :

Avoiding entire highway is pure bliss drive (to me ride personally) with...

Trichur - Vadakkancherry - Kollengcode - Pollachi - Palladam - Perundurai - Bhavani - Sangagiri - Salem. That's an awesome route to ride. And in this route, plenty of aids including hotels as well

[vrprabhu]

You are right, aargee.

But since OP said it is a bike ride, I proposed this route as the second half will be a straightforward drive on highway (post noon and likely to be hot) and distance may be lesser than the route suggested by you.