[speedkrish]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Did anyone try this route recently: Bangalore - Kollegala - Germalam - Dhondeling - Dhimbam - Coimbatore.

What would be a few good places to take a break for food? Also I read on the last few pages that this route is very scenic but can get deserted. How is the mobile network in these lonely patches?

I did the the Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem route in December and don’t want to repeat on my upcoming trip. Any tips are appreciated.

Did this route twice. It'd just amazing, scenic. You can visit Dhondenling monastery at Udayapura. The Germalam stretch you won't encounter much traffic. There are no food joints so need to carry food. Fortunately in both my trips did not encounter elephants on the roads. Best is to start early and cross forest stretch by 12 to 3 to avoid any hassles.

[etrast75]

Traveling from Blore to CBE, please avoid omalur->tharmangalam->sankagiri route.. 4 laning is going on and the road surface is pathetic riddled with broken tarmac and potholes all over.. If you want avoid salem city and associated tools, better take mecheri->mettur->bhavani toute.

[etrast75]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

A realization from the last few trips - As I get older and turn into a more sedate driver, the newer multi-lane highways and expressways are losing charm. Getting more inclined to take the roads less taken that pass through forests, smaller towns and allow more exploration on the way.

Could not agree more with this sentiment.. In the same boat and I find myself wanting to try all small roads and not having to fight with idiotic and moronic drivers in the multi-laned highways..

[W@SIM]

Originally Posted by etrast75

Traveling from Blore to CBE, please avoid omalur->tharmangalam->sankagiri route.. 4 laning is going on and the road surface is pathetic riddled with broken tarmac and potholes all over.. If you want avoid salem city and associated tools, better take mecheri->mettur->bhavani toute.

Recently i had done Sankagiri Eddapadi jakandapuram-mecheri which was very good

[venkyhere]

Gents, from the attached pic, kindly rank in descending order, the

red,
blue,
violet+blue,
black

routes shown, in terms of :

1. road surface quality
2. traffic density
3. surprise potholes/unseen humps catching one unawares on an otherwise smooth road, and torturing the vehicle

[venkyhere]

Forgot to attach

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by etrast75

Traveling from Blore to CBE, please avoid omalur->tharmangalam->sankagiri route.. 4 laning is going on and the road surface is pathetic riddled with broken tarmac and potholes all over.. If you want avoid salem city and associated tools, better take mecheri->mettur->bhavani toute.

I took the Bhavani - Mettur - Thoppur route on new year's day. Road widening was happening on the entire stretch which slowed down the progress, in otherwise traffic free and good road surface. The widening was happening only on one side, meaning those fully grown trees lined up along the road may face the axe. It seemed the works were progressing fast, do you know the current status?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by bejoy

I took the Bhavani - Mettur - Thoppur route on new year's day. Road widening was happening on the entire stretch which slowed down the progress, in otherwise traffic free and good road surface. The widening was happening only on one side, meaning those fully grown trees lined up along the road may face the axe. It seemed the works were progressing fast, do you know the current status?

I did this route again on the Jan 21-22 weekend in my Thar with my Dad.
Kotagiri-Aravenu-Sathyamangalam-Mettur-Thoppur-Krishnagiri-Bangalore. It is a good fast road even though it was a 2 lane old style state highway. Less traffic. Yes there was road widening going on in places but thats the price we pay for progress. This will become another National highway soon.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Gents, from the attached pic, kindly rank in descending order, the

Take the regular 4-lane via Salem. Thoppur-Mettur-Bhavani is getting 4-laned. So not worth it right now.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by ampere

Take the regular 4-lane via Salem. Thoppur-Mettur-Bhavani is getting 4-laned. So not worth it right now.

Should have worded my Q as "if I have to avoid the regular 2+2 through salem" , which of these is the 'least bad' ?

[srvm]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Forgot to attach

Black seems to be poor as per post #1172 by etrast75.

Violet+Blue is very good based on my past experiences (via Edapadi bypass) and confirmed by W@sim in Post #1174.

I have no experience via Red. But refer #1177 & 1178.

My vote is for Violet+Blue. Have done this 2-3 times in the past 3 years. All time it was wonderful tarmac.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Should have worded my Q as "if I have to avoid the regular 2+2 through salem" , which of these is the 'least bad' ?

Omalur-Tharamangalam is a standard Salem bypass. Road are decent but once you are stuck behind a truck its irritating.

As regards to Macheri-Edapaddi, am not sure. You still need to tackle the 4-lane work from Thoppur to Macheri.

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by ampere

Take the regular 4-lane via Salem. Thoppur-Mettur-Bhavani is getting 4-laned. So not worth it right now.

Are you sure it is being 4-laned? There were calls for making it 4-lane but not sure whether it is approved/sanctioned. What I saw was widening of shoulder on one side and building culverts. There were no diversions as in regular 4-laning.

The Dharmapuri-Palacode-Hosur is being 4-laned and is full of construction activity, some on the existing road and mostly new parallel stretch.

[kpthomas]

Hi Team -

I am planning to travel to Kochi from Bangalore, but Day 1 is only till Coimbatore for my pitstop. I will be leaving Banashankari (Bangalore) at 7 AM. I have a MS Dzire and will have my wife and 3yr old pet dog with me. Could you please advise the best route to Coimbatore?

Some options and concerns around them that I have researched are as follows:

1. NH948 :
Blore - Maddur - Kollegala - Chamarajnagar - Dhimbam - Sathyamangalam - Annur - Coimbatore

Concerns:
a. Dhimbam ghat - How risky is it? I have driven for 3 yrs and have only driven Anmod ghat section during my trip to Goa and found it fairly easy.
b. Are there any better diversions to take on this route?
c. Are there any issues to be mindful of at forest border checkpost?
d. Google doesn't recommend this route.

2. NH44 and NH544 :
Blore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Erode - Coimbatore

a. What are the minute details to take note of if this route is better? For eg. Diversions at/via Thoppur, Mettur, Mecheri, Edappadi, Bhavani etc.
b. How bad is the Attibele border checkpost experience? Any advice?

On Day 2, I will be taking the NH544 all the way till Kochi.

Thank you all in advance!

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by kpthomas

Hi Team -

I am planning to travel to Kochi from Bangalore, but Day 1 is only till Coimbatore for my pitstop. I will be leaving Banashankari (Bangalore) at 7 AM. I have a MS Dzire and will have my wife and 3yr old pet dog with me. Could you please advise the best route to Coimbatore?

Some options and concerns around them that I have reseance!

I would suggest take the normal route itself. Krishnagiri, Thoppur, Salem, Avanashi, Coimbatore.
Lovely broad highway. If you leave at 7am then just grit your teeth if there are toll booth delays at Attibele and Krishnagiri. It should smoothen out after that.
However, I sincerely suggest that you try and leave at 0500.
You will be stunned at the progress you make even when driving calmly at a max of 100kmph and can actually be strolling into CBE by 1130-1200.