re: All Roads to Kerala I went to Palakkad last weekend. Took Perundurai - Kangeyam - Palladam - Sulur - L&T to avoid Avinasi. While going, I got stuck in Perundurai for 20 minutes and then in Kangeyam for some 15m on Friday evening. While coming back, from L&T road to out of Perundurai only took 1.25 hours on Sunday morning. Great roads, hardly any traffic. 3 weeks ago when I drove via Avinasi, it took me some 2.5 hours to get to 4 lane road after getting out of L&T.
Directions:
- After Bhavani, watch out for the signboard that says "Nasiyanur Byepass"
- Immediately after that byepass ends, you will see a small board and an exit on to the left for Perundurai. Take that.
- Go through Perundurai town. You will hit two junctions - keep going straight. Boards to follow are Palani, Kangeyam or Dharapuram.
- Go past Kangeyam. Towards the end of the town, you will hit a junction/circle with big green direction boards towards both straight and right side roads.Take right - board says Coimbatore 68km.
- Just keep going. After few kilometers, you will hit a t-junction. Take left. And then a right after some 100m. That road looks very small with no board. But that is the right one. It becomes excellent after a short while.
- Straight on to Palladam. Sulur comes after Palladam. Follow boards to Coimbatore. It is all straight without any junctions.
- Some 3-4km after Sulur, you will hit L&T byepass. Turn left and proceed to Palakkad.
While coming back:
- Take right towards Trichy Road on L&T byepass (there is a signboard that says Trichy Road). I believe it is the second junction (first one being to Pollachi) after you get into L&T byepass
- Straight through Sulur - Palladam. Follow boards to Karur and Trichy. At t-junction, again left and then right.
- End of this road is Kangeyam junction. Left there. Straight will take you to Karur.
- Right within Kangeyam, there is a funny junction with two roads straight and a sharp right. Take a right at the junction around a mini circle and follow the right side straight road. Sharp right takes you to Erode. There is a board that say Perundurai at the junction.
- Cross Perundurai, go under 4 lane road (careful here - after you go under 4 lane road, you do not join a service road, but the highway to Bangalore - wait, look hard for on-coming vehicles - most doing 100+kmph). Take right.
All the boards I've mentioned above have English signs.
Most of this road have ample space and lane for mopeds - that I find to be very nice. Almost all two wheelers use that and it makes driving easier for cars. Another plus point is that this route hardly has any of those maniac buses that you see often on Avinasi road. For 15km more, you get lot more peace of mind.
Also, I usually take SH86 from Sankari to Omalur avoiding Salem. While it takes some 10m longer though it is short on distance, it is a decent scenic drive that breaks the monotony of highway driving.
Last Sunday, my timings were like 8:15am Palakkad junction; 9:00am fuel fill at Ettimadai; 9:15am exit from L&T byepass; 10:35am exit from Perundurai; 12:10pm stop at Thoppur A2B; 12:50pm start from A2B; 2:40pm home at Koramangala. |