[gajadonga]

Any info which road will be better?

The other route I am considering is Palakkad-CBE - sathyamangalam-chamrajnagar-kellegal -kanakpura -Bangalore.

@theexperthand

I traveled from Mettupalayam to Hyderabad yesterday after spending time at Black thunder.
The roads are in good condition from Sathyamangalam upto Chamrajnagar.
As I was driving between 8-10pm took the Chamrajnagar-Nanjangud-Mysore route.
Chamrajnagar-Nanjangud surface of the road is average no potholes thou.
Nanjangud-Mysore is good.The surface has been laid new.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

I am planning to drive down from Kodungalloor to bangalore via Nilambur - currently, I have two options to reach Gudalur.

1: Kunnamkulam - Perinthalmanna - pattikad -pandikad-wandur-vadapuram-Nilambur – Gudalur
2: Kunnamkulam - Perinthalmanna - pattikad - melatoor - karuvarakundu - kalikavu-pullangode - pookottumpadam-Nilambur –Gudalur

Any info which road will be better?

The other route I am considering is Palakkad-CBE - sathyamangalam-chamrajnagar-kellegal -kanakpura -Bangalore.

Considering the fact that the car will be driven slow (max 80 kmph) and lot of breaks en-route, which route will be better? We plan to start between 5-6 am, on a weekday (most probably May 31 or June 1st).

Take the Pattikad-Pandikkad-Wandoor route to Nilambur.Some culvert works are in progress in between Pattikad and Wandoor,but after that roads are excellent.Narrow but good and after Vazhikadavu the roads are mind blowing all the way till Gundulpet.Drove this road a couple of weeks back.Plenty of eating options as well all the way till Bangalore.There are a couple of KTDC Vazhiyorams between Vazhikadavu & Nilambur,at Gudalur,there are a couple of restaurants as well.There is Pugmark by Jungle Lodges at Bandipur,and after Gundulpet there are more than enough Cafe Coffee Day outlets and the stretch from Mysore to Bangalore is one big Food Court with restaurants every one to two kilometres.

[vasoo]

There is a strike declared in Kerala tomorrow (20th May) in protest of petrol price hike. Avoid driving in/out between 6AM and 6PM.

[narayanang76]

An update about the NH 7 / NH 47 Bangalore to Kerala

I did the Bangalore Palakkad-Shoranur on may 13th. Started from Bangalore at 1 PM, reached Shoranur by 8:30 PM. Route was Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnapuri-Thoppur-Salem-Bhavani-Avinashi-L&T Byepass-CBE-PKD-SRR. 450 KM approx home-home. I was concerned about the road condition of avinashi, and was prepared with route direction of SH 96 and NH 67 from Perundurai to L&T by pass, but as it was day time, no rains and manageable traffic, decided to take the regular route NH 47 as usual. It was 'NO ISSUES, MANAGEABLE' route. There are plenty of road work diversions, but no underbody scrapping whats o ever happned to me (my biggest concern with my honda city :-) ). There are 4 laning work underway until the kerala border, even after the L&T by pass so be prepared for less speed and oncoming traffic conditions. L&T bypass is as usual and no issues at all.

while return as well on may 18th took the same route and same experience, no issues.

So for people who are concerned about the route and the condition of avinashi route:
Please have your alternate routes (NH 67 / NH 209 etc) and decide based on the timing, rains and traffic conditions. Take the NH 47 itself if there are no rains and day time. During night and rainy conditions things can be different to what I have experienced.

Cheers
narayanang76

[gajadonga]

I had traveled from Coimbatore - Chennimalai and back last week.
The route via Avanashi Chengapalli was tedious with lot of deviations.
Return was via Kangeyam - Pongalur - Palladam the route is in excellent conditions and saves a lot of time and less stressful.

[JoeMichael]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

I am planning to drive down from Kodungalloor to bangalore via Nilambur - currently, I have two options to reach Gudalur.

1: Kunnamkulam - Perinthalmanna - pattikad -pandikad-wandur-vadapuram-Nilambur – Gudalur
2: Kunnamkulam - Perinthalmanna - pattikad - melatoor - karuvarakundu - kalikavu-pullangode - pookottumpadam-Nilambur –Gudalur

Any info which road will be better?

The other route I am considering is Palakkad-CBE - sathyamangalam-chamrajnagar-kellegal -kanakpura -Bangalore.

Considering the fact that the car will be driven slow (max 80 kmph) and lot of breaks en-route, which route will be better? We plan to start between 5-6 am, on a weekday (most probably May 31 or June 1st).

Definitely route 1. Roads are much better . Don't expect to gain much time till you pass Gudalur. Roads are not very wide and there would be pretty good traffic flow. Especially keep an eye out for the suicidal auto rickshaws near Nilambur. My last trip on this road was about two months back and the roads were decently maintained. Even though it would just be the beginning of monsoon , please check for any landslides on the ghat section..I know I sound over cautious..but having gone though that ordeal once, would always warn anyone taking that route.

[cool_dube]

Guys,

Please let me know the optimal route for a Vythiri - Madikeri drive. This is what I have in mind: Vythiri - Kalpetta - Kainatty (left) - Panamaram - Kattikkulam - Kutta - Ponnampet - Gonikoppal - Madikeri

Couple of queries:

a) Kutta - Ponnampet: Google Maps shows two options here, one via Srimangala, the other being some interior road, with no towns/villages shown en route. Any preferences?

b) Gonikoppal - Madikeri: Multiple options available here as well including via Virajpet/Murnad, via Ammathi/Murnad, and via Ammathi/Siddapura/Chettalli. Any preferences here?

Thanks in advance for your help.

PS: I realize that most of this route falls in Karnataka rather than Kerala but this being a popular circuit for many Keralite T-BHPians, I hope to get good inputs here

[JoeMichael]

Just back from Kottayam. As it was an unplanned and urgent trip - Took the Hosur- Salem - Avinashi -Palakkad route. road conditions are good to excellent mostly. Not commenting on roads till Chengapally - its excellent as always (Toll rates will be revised from today)

After Chengapally till the L&T Stretch, there is a lot of road widening and bye-pass work happening. Roads are ok to poor at most places.

For once Kerala roads are not a pain. Except for the perennial trouble in and around Kuthiran , hardly any notable potholes anywhere. Chalakudy to Kochi four lining is now complete with fly overs. Though this stretch roads is tempting, high speeds are strict no-no here , especially due to auto rickshaw population and with houses and commercial establishments on both sides of the road , unexpected pedestrian crossings should be expected.

Took the Airport - Seaport road past Kakkanad. Overall driving time was under 10 hours 598 kms from house to house.

And it was raining cats and dogs.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by JoeMichael

For once Kerala roads are not a pain. Except for the perennial trouble in and around Kuthiran , hardly any notable potholes anywhere. Chalakudy to Kochi four lining is now complete with fly overs. Though this stretch roads is tempting, high speeds are strict no-no here , especially due to auto rickshaw population and with houses and commercial establishments on both sides of the road , unexpected pedestrian crossings should be expected.

Took the Airport - Seaport road past Kakkanad. Overall driving time was under 10 hours 598 kms from house to house.

And it was raining cats and dogs.

Flyover at Angamali is also now complete?
There were some bad sections in the Airport-Seaport road near Kalamaserry till HMT - are they better now? Do you think signages are clear enough on this road for someone new to the area to find his way to NH49 near Tripunithura?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Flyover at Angamali is also now complete?
There were some bad sections in the Airport-Seaport road near Kalamaserry till HMT - are they better now? Do you think signages are clear enough on this road for someone new to the area to find his way to NH49 near Tripunithura?

Angamali (no flyover here)? Did you mean Chalakkudy? If so, its complete.
This section of the road still got few potholes thanks to the recent rains. For someone new, I would say this would be tricky spot, especially at night.

[JoeMichael]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Flyover at Angamali is also now complete?
There were some bad sections in the Airport-Seaport road near Kalamaserry till HMT - are they better now? Do you think signages are clear enough on this road for someone new to the area to find his way to NH49 near Tripunithura?

HVK - I am not sure if they were planning a flyover at Angamail..But no there is no flyover..Yes, the horrible potholes near Kalamassery has been repaired. You can feel the uneven surface , but much better than a few months back. Only place unattended is the service road just before Aluva junction when your coming from Kochi.

Well to be frank I didnt check for signages coz I am familiar with this route..But guess it wouldnt be too difficult to find either

[cool_dube]

Guys - a gentle reminder. Any inputs on my query?

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Guys,

Please let me know the optimal route for a Vythiri - Madikeri drive. This is what I have in mind: Vythiri - Kalpetta - Kainatty (left) - Panamaram - Kattikkulam - Kutta - Ponnampet - Gonikoppal - Madikeri

Couple of queries:

a) Kutta - Ponnampet: Google Maps shows two options here, one via Srimangala, the other being some interior road, with no towns/villages shown en route. Any preferences?

b) Gonikoppal - Madikeri: Multiple options available here as well including via Virajpet/Murnad, via Ammathi/Murnad, and via Ammathi/Siddapura/Chettalli. Any preferences here?

Thanks in advance for your help.

PS: I realize that most of this route falls in Karnataka rather than Kerala but this being a popular circuit for many Keralite T-BHPians, I hope to get good inputs here

[Twiny]

Driving down to Kochi today evening. How is the Avinashi-Cbe stretch now.. between 8pm to 10pm is it better to take Kangeyam route? Thanks..

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Twiny

Driving down to Kochi today evening. How is the Avinashi-Cbe stretch now.. between 8pm to 10pm is it better to take Kangeyam route? Thanks..

Had been on this stretch in last week of May. Good progress compared to when the work started in Nov 2010. I did this stretch in good time though there are diversions but was very manageable mainly due to low truck traffic in the morning around 10-11 am. However, the stretch is unpredictable. See the following thread for more details on alternate routes, etc:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...h-nh47-14.html

In my opinion you'd be better off sticking to NH47 on this stretch since you will be driving between 8-10pm.

[JoeMichael]

Originally Posted by Twiny

Driving down to Kochi today evening. How is the Avinashi-Cbe stretch now.. between 8pm to 10pm is it better to take Kangeyam route? Thanks..

Condition is manageable. Work is progressing, but the deviations can be a game spoiler. Especially if you get stuck behind a slower vehicle. Watch out for the killer buses. They would force you off the road or will overtake through wrong side at these deviations...Its just a minor inconvenience and would add 15-20 minutes to your overall times