Yes, even i faced the same issue last year. Some people said that 4:00 AM start will be better. Hence thought of checking here. Thanks.

Here's a trip update. Sorry for the long post.

Took the BLR-Kanakapura-Kollegal-Chamarajnagar-Dhimbam-Bannari-Sathy-Coimbatore route http://g.co/maps/ewjx7 about two weeks ago. By and large, the road condition on this route continues to remain good. The route is very scenic, the air is clean, traffic is light and no tolls. What else can one ask for? Just remember to slow down, going through the little villages that dot this entire stretch and enjoy the drive.

The road has worn a bit a few km before and after Malavalli. A stretch through Kollegal town and a bit on the outside of Kollegal towards Chamarajnagar is being relaid and so there was a whole lot of gravel strewn around. A few stretches between Bannari and Sathyamangalam were just a bit worn too. The rest were all in great condition. The road through Yelandur is quite narrow and you can get stuck behind large trucks and buses with no way to pass until you clear the town which on the plus side does not take too long. Food and fuel, you can get at Kollegal / Chamarajnagar / Sathy / Annur, though I didn't stop for either.

If you decide to take the BangaloreMysoreRoad-Maddur-KMDoddi-Malavalli route to get to NH 209, DON'T. The Malavalli-KMDoddi-Maddur road surface is positively lunar. Took this road going through Malavalli on the way back to get onto the Mysore-Bangaloare road as it was getting dark and there was a lot of slow-moving late evening traffic (ox-carts, cyclists, people, etc) on the roads whom you don't see until the very last minute since there is no lighting on the road and not much traffic to illuminate the road ahead of you. Well before I reached Maddur, I was wishing I hadn't taken this route.

The NH209 route is rather easy to follow, except for one turn right going through Kollegal which does not have a signboard. The sign is actually there, only it is just not in the place you expect, nor does it even register as a signboard. It is painted in blue text on a white patch on a wall with a bit of red thrown in (and only in Kannada) looking like just another bit of wall-noise. To ensure you take this turn, take the right at the HP petrol bunk to stay on NH 209 going through Kollegal. All other signboards on the route are in English+Kannada and English+Tamil depending on the state and the odd milestone or three with Hindi thrown in for good measure along the route.

Dhimbam-Bannari ghat section is in good condition, though showing signs of wear and sand-filled potholes in places. Don't know how long it will last or whether the road will be patched going forward. Be alert for traffic, including some cars, turning wide through the 27 hairpin bends. Leave room for the trucks to reverse(if they need to) going through the bends. Returning to BLR, stayed on NH 209 towards Chamarajnagar after Dhimbam rather than taking the right to Kollegal through Germalam as this road was indicated as being in bad condition elsewhere on the forum.

Sathy to Coimbatore through Annur, as others have pointed out, is a great drive if you like the twisties. Just mind yourself going through them. Going through Sathy on NH 209 towards Annur, don't take the branch at left, at which again happens to be a HP bunk, since that goes to Erode. Traffic through Sathy, Puliampatty and Annur will slow you down depending on the time of day/night.

If you need to get to the Coimbatore airport area from NH 209, look for a sign indicating "To Coimbatore Airport" on the left side of the road after passing through Kovilpalayam. This turn off takes you through Kurumbapalayam and Kalapatti towards Coimbatore airport. This road is in excellent condition, though there are quite a few sharp turns.

I will try and post pictures in a bit.

If you have, please post a pic of this turn (I can't read Kannada) :(

I also wish to take this route during next time. I traveled almost near to Kollegal day before yesterday, just to see the road condition/traffic and was happy with the condition after Art of Living.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of this particular sign/turn off. From what I recall the sign is painted on the wall of a HP bunk which is at that T junction.

Your best bet would be to just turn right at that T junction when you see the HP bunk so as to stay on the road out of Kollegal rather than continuing on straight ahead through the T junction.

I did not see any other HP bunks in Kollegal on the route I took into and out of the town heading towards Chamarajnagar.

@Leadfoot Thanks for the useful pointers. I have been contemplating taking this route for a long time now, but was skeptical about pit stops traveling with my 2 year old daughter. Your post instills a lot of confidence. So next time it is!

@luvurride, You are welcome. Just giving back a little bit of the information and enjoyment I get from this wonderful forum.

I finally located my trip log, so here are a few notes, which might be useful:

1. Going through Kollegal I took a 1eft at the first T junction and then a right at the next T junction (at a HP bunk) and then after a short stretch through Kollegal was out of the town and heading towards Chamarajnagar.

2. Going through Yelandur towards Chamarajnagar, I took the road marked as "To Nanjangud" rather than the one marked as "To BR Hills". I did not see a signboard at this point indicating Chamarajnagar, so after a quick inquiry as to whether the road marked as "To Nanjangud" was also the road to Chamarajnagar, I took that and continued on NH 209 to Chamarajnagar.

3. Coming through the checkpost at Bannari from Dhimbam, don't take the right with the signboard "to Mettupalayam". Instead head straight on (you should see what I think is the Bannariamman temple on your right) which means you are on NH209 to Sathy.

And now for a few pictures:

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Slight correction here, I think you missed another right turn that comes right after that first T junction. Not sure if there are any signboards at that junction.

Google Maps has the route through Kollegal mapped incorrectly (possibly because the satellite image is covered in cloud), but MapMyIndia has the correct route : ( Maps, Driving Directions, Local Search, Deals and Movies in India : MapmyIndia Maps )

As you enter Kollegal town, you see an Indian Oil petrol bunk on the right (Marked 1 in that MapMyIndia link) and the road forks about 45 degrees to the left. (The road that goes straight goes into town and is much narrower). You find a couple of badly designed speedbreakers after you take this 45 degrees deviation and reach a T junction after about 200 to 300 metres where you need to take a left.

After this left turn you have to take a right turn at the very next junction that comes up in about 50 to 100 meters. The straight road apparently goes to MM hills. (This is the turn that Leadfoot seems to have missed)

The HP petrol bunk comes after you go about 1 kms south from this point. You have to take another right turn there. (This HP bunk is not marked on the MapmyIndia map, but is right at the corner where you need to take a right turn).

From there on, just follow the road and you're out of Kollegal town.

Easy way would be to follow a TN registration vehicle (car/lorry) or for the current season, follow a vehicle bound to Sabarimala :-)

Anyway, the road to MM Hills is correctly mentioned above. The road becomes a ghat-section just before/after the temple town. Just before the town (I remember an arch or banner/board associated with the temple at this junction), there is a junction from where if you take right, it goes through dense forest (lots of Tamilnadu govt. buses though) to Gopinatham/Mettur/Anthiyur etc. which was a favourite route for Veerappan and his mates.

MapMyIndia seems to have a better map of Kollegal area. I also had faced difficulty in finding the correct way through Kollegal following Google Maps directions and had to ask the locals for guidance. With the map you have linked, the route is very clear.

Btw, I think you meant the Indian Oil bunk marked 2 in the MapMyIndia link.

Following is okay but does not work all the time On two occasions, I followed Bangalore registration vehicles and ended up backtracking. So, I suppose one needs to exercise a bit more caution before following a vehicle which is presumably going in the intended direction.

Didn't realize that MapMyIndia is not consistent in assigning these numbers. (I was getting that as "1", but I tried clicking on the Petrol bunks link on the left side navigation bar twice, and suddenly 1 and 2 got interchanged !).

Anyway I was referring to the IOC petrol bunk that comes up on your right just as you are getting into Kollegal - i.e just before the 45 degree fork / speedbreakers.

I undertook the Mumbai-Bangalore-Coimbatore trip on 28-29th Dec'11 and returned on 2nd-3rd Jan'11.

Started at 6.41am from Shantinagar to take the Hosur Road and BETL to halt at Kamat Upchar at Hosur beside Reliance Petrol Bunk. I later realised that better food options are also available further down within 15kms with Mcdonalds and Adyar Anand Bhavan beside BP Hosur petrol station.

If we travel about 158kms from BP Hosur, there is a recently opened 'Shree Sravana Bhavan' with neat toilets and clean set up. Coffee was okay.

The travel ended with the last 55kms before L&T bypass being a driver's nightmare considering the diversions and the rough driving by bus drivers coming from the opposite side. Reached my destination at 1.02pm and the travel time (including breaks totalling 58mins) was 5hrs 21 minutes for a distance of 348 kms from shantinagar-bangalore to trichy road-coimbatore.

During the return trip starting at 6.05am on 2nd Jan'12, we encountered fog in the early morning after 55kms, that is after crossing Avinashi and on the way towards Thoppur ghats. After 202.5 kms travel from L&T toll end, we stopped at BP Thoppur for fuel and breakfast at Adyar Anand Bhawan. The breakfast and coffee was very good.

The destination at Shantinagar, Bangalore was reached at 12.15pm with the halt time of 48mins. Traffic after Hosur upto Athibelle was encountered and cops with speed guns were welcoming vehicles who sped over the speed limit of 80kmpl over BETL.

The overnight halt was at Bangalore eventhough, I could have taken the NICE road to Neelamangala and on to Tumkur, if I want to further reduce my travel time to Mumbai.

The toll paid for one way between Coimbatore and Bangalore by NH7 and NH47 aggregates to Rs. 334/- (which includes BETL toll of Rs. 35/- and L&T toll at Neelambur of Rs. 11/-. )

Other Toll charges are Rs. 20/- at Athibele, Rs. 50/- at Krishnagiri, Rs.73/- at Thoppur, Rs. 58/- at Omalur, Rs. 46/- near Salem, Rs. 41/- at Kumarapalam.

Did you do the NH47 stretch between Avinashi-Coimbatore? How is the road condition now?

Yes. I did the NH 47 stretch. During my Bangalore to Coimbatore journey, I had to slow down and the average speed was 45kmph for the last 55kms before Coimbatore. The time was between 12noon and 1.30 in the afternoon. Road is motorable and widening work is also on.

During the return trip, when i left Ondipudur at 6am in the morning, the traffic towards Bangalore was very less even though the incoming traffic was heavy. Hence one could travel at an average speed of 60kmph for the first 55kms. Thereafter the road is good as usual in NH47.

Tomorrow by early morning, i am starting to Coimbatore. I need to meet a relative at Annur on the way. I have decided upon the following two routes:

1) Bangalore-Kanakapura-Malavalli-Chamrajnagar-Sathy-Annur-Cbe

2) Bangalore-NH7-Thoppur-Mettur-Ammapettai-Anthiyur-Sathyamangalam-Annur.

Which among the two will be quicker / having better roads?

@ ramzsys, route 2 would be quicker ,But remember you might need to pay the toll till the thoppur stretch and there might queue in all these tolls