[deepclutch]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

I have a Thrissur - Kottayam drive planned for coming Friday. I am planning to take Thrissur-Angamaly-Perumbavoor-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam route. How is the current road condition after Angamaly?

My return journey will be in the evening and would like to know if this route (between Angamaly and Kottayam) is heavily crowded?

Road conditions up to Muvattupuzha will be good. roads in the towns are in bad condition. hill road from Muvattupuzha to Ettumanoor during monsoons develop bad potholes. Traffic through this route is not high. But the Towns like Kalady,Perumbavoor,Pezhakkapilly,Muvattupuzha has Traffic Blocks during this time.

You can reach Muvattupuzha from Thrissur in 1 hour 30 minutes . Thrissur to Kottayam may take 2hour 45minutes through MC Road.

From Thrissur, Another Option is to Take:
Thrissur-Angamaly-Kalamassery-Seaport Airport Road-Thrippunithura-Poothotta-Kanjramattom-Thalayolaparambe-Ettumanoor-Kottayam

Distance may be slightly(4-5kms) higher than through perumbavoor-muvattupuzha-kottayam route. time taken may be slightly more due to traffic conditions unlike MC Road. Benefit can be, that you can avoid driving through high ranges.

You can also take Thrippunithura-Vaikom-Kottayam. But Road Condition of Vaikom-Kottayam may not be great. someone can confirm?

[JoeMichael]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

I have a Thrissur - Kottayam drive planned for coming Friday. I am planning to take Thrissur-Angamaly-Perumbavoor-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam route. How is the current road condition after Angamaly?

My return journey will be in the evening and would like to know if this route (between Angamaly and Kottayam) is heavily crowded?

Is there any specific reason to choose M.C road ? Muvattupuzha till Ettumanoor, the road conditions are pretty decent. But its a strenuous drive especially if it rains.

There are two alternatives

Kalamassery - Kakkanad - Irimpanam - Karingachira junction. From here you can take right , pass through Tripunithura Market and rejoin Ernakulam Ettumanoor road (roads are really good) or take left to Mulanthuruthy join EE road at Kanjiramattom (Roads are good , less traffic , one railway crossing at Mulanthuruthy)

Or if you have to touch Muvattupuzha , but avoid M.C road , you can take the Kochi road from Muvattupuzha junction and join the second option mentioned above - but this will add atleast 30-40 minutes to your time.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

Road conditions up to Muvattupuzha will be good. roads in the towns are in bad condition. hill road from Muvattupuzha to Ettumanoor during monsoons develop bad potholes. Traffic through this route is not high. But the Towns like Kalady,Perumbavoor,Pezhakkapilly,Muvattupuzha has Traffic Blocks during this time.

You can reach Muvattupuzha from Thrissur in 1 hour 30 minutes . Thrissur to Kottayam may take 2hour 45minutes through MC Road.

From Thrissur, Another Option is to Take:
Thrissur-Angamaly-Kalamassery-Seaport Airport Road-Thrippunithura-Poothotta-Kanjramattom-Thalayolaparambe-Ettumanoor-Kottayam

Distance may be slightly(4-5kms) higher than through perumbavoor-muvattupuzha-kottayam route. time taken may be slightly more due to traffic conditions unlike MC Road. Benefit can be, that you can avoid driving through high ranges.

You can also take Thrippunithura-Vaikom-Kottayam. But Road Condition of Vaikom-Kottayam may not be great. someone can confirm?

Vaikom - Ettumanoor is in great shape. Done last year with great surface.
Ettumoor - Kottayam is wll not be in great shape. But this is part of MC road.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by JoeMichael

Is there any specific reason to choose M.C road ? Muvattupuzha till Ettumanoor, the road conditions are pretty decent. But its a strenuous drive especially if it rains.

There are two alternatives

Kalamassery - Kakkanad - Irimpanam - Karingachira junction. From here you can take right , pass through Tripunithura Market and rejoin Ernakulam Ettumanoor road (roads are really good) or take left to Mulanthuruthy join EE road at Kanjiramattom (Roads are good , less traffic , one railway crossing at Mulanthuruthy)

Or if you have to touch Muvattupuzha , but avoid M.C road , you can take the Kochi road from Muvattupuzha junction and join the second option mentioned above - but this will add atleast 30-40 minutes to your time.

No specific reason for selecting MC road. I thought it might be the shortest route while coming from Thrissur. Onward journey is early morning on Friday and traffic may not be an issue. I am planning to take MC road for the onward journey and return via the other route (Ettumanoor- Thalayolaparambe - Kanjramattom - Thrippunithura)

[binaiks]

Guys,

Has anyone covered the Kozhikode-Kasargod section anytime recently? I had been upto Kannur in May this year - but guess the road would've been surfaced again after that.

Is the road intact in that area? I need to go up to Vidyanagar, Kasargod.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Guys,

Has anyone covered the Kozhikode-Kasargod section anytime recently? I had been upto Kannur in May this year - but guess the road would've been surfaced again after that.

Is the road intact in that area? I need to go up to Vidyanagar, Kasargod.

Its still bad especially some sections near Kasargod are pathetic.Sandy28 did a drive recently from Mumbai and dreaded the route!Kannur-Kasargod is potholed and dense traffic.Will tire your legs out.

[DieselLover]

I did the Thrissur-Kottayam (via -Angamaly-Perumbavoor-Muvattupuzha) drive yesterday. Roads till Muvattupuzha is in good shape. But Muvattupuzha-Kottayam stretch is in bad with lot of potholes. Return was also on the same route since one of the my friends wanted to get down at Perumbavoor.
Total distance covered: 260kms
Total driving time: 7 hrs.
Traffic was surprisingly light between Muvattupuzha and Kottayam !

[ampere]

How is the Vaikom-Kumarakom section? Is it still dug-up?
Any updates?

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Guys,

Has anyone covered the Kozhikode-Kasargod section anytime recently? I had been upto Kannur in May this year - but guess the road would've been surfaced again after that.

Is the road intact in that area? I need to go up to Vidyanagar, Kasargod.

Did this route on 19th July while driving down to Kerala from Ahmedabad. The road is worse than hell. You wont find pot holes here, instead you will have to drive thru giant craters! And there are some stretches where there are no roads left. Also city traffic at all major junctions is like crazy.

Originally Posted by DieselLover

I did the Thrissur-Kottayam (via -Angamaly-Perumbavoor-Muvattupuzha) drive yesterday.

I went to Koovapady near Kaladi today from Thrisur. Took the Thrisur-EKM HW till Angamaly and then turned on to the MC road till Vallom. From there turned left onto the Perumbavoor Road. Physical condition of Thrisur-EKM HW and MC road is great. But still driving was a real pain in the wrong places mainly because of the indisciplined traffic. Pedestrians cross the road as if they are walking in a park; autos drive in the middle of the road irrespective of how much ever you horn; cars and buses suddenly decide to stop and they turn left without any indicators. Though the road is great, this was one of the most stressful drive I ever had. I dont know if I am over reacting or this is the trend here. What was your experience like during your drive?

[deepclutch]

Originally Posted by Sandy28

I went to Koovapady near Kaladi today from Thrisur. Took the Thrisur-EKM HW till Angamaly and then turned on to the MC road till Vallom. From there turned left onto the Perumbavoor Road. Physical condition of Thrisur-EKM HW and MC road is great. But still driving was a real pain in the wrong places mainly because of the indisciplined traffic. Pedestrians cross the road as if they are walking in a park; autos drive in the middle of the road irrespective of how much ever you horn; cars and buses suddenly decide to stop and they turn left without any indicators. Though the road is great, this was one of the most stressful drive I ever had. I dont know if I am over reacting or this is the trend here. What was your experience like during your drive?

This is because MC Road is through small and big towns all the way from Angamaly to Trivandrum. No Bypasses are constructed even in big towns including Kottayam!. It will be good to see bypasses in Perumbavoor(much needed) and Muvattupuzha at least. the Journey to Kottayam will be less stressful.

MC Road passes through main centres of the towns across the route which makes it a stressful experience for long distance drives.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by ampere

How is the Vaikom-Kumarakom section? Is it still dug-up?
Any updates?

Vaikom Kumarakom is in better shape now. Most sections have been repaired. This is the update from my father 2 weeks before.

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

This is because MC Road is through small and big towns all the way from Angamaly to Trivandrum. No Bypasses are constructed even in big towns including Kottayam!. It will be good to see bypasses in Perumbavoor(much needed) and Muvattupuzha at least. the Journey to Kottayam will be less stressful.

MC Road passes through main centres of the towns across the route which makes it a stressful experience for long distance drives.

I can still understand the situation on MC Road since it is thru smaller towns. But what I was refering to was on the main Thrisur-EKM HW. What should have been a pleasant drive turned out to be too stressful.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by Sandy28

Did this route on 19th July while driving down to Kerala from Ahmedabad. The road is worse than hell. You wont find pot holes here, instead you will have to drive thru giant craters! And there are some stretches where there are no roads left. Also city traffic at all major junctions is like crazy.



I went to Koovapady near Kaladi today from Thrisur. Took the Thrisur-EKM HW till Angamaly and then turned on to the MC road till Vallom. From there turned left onto the Perumbavoor Road. Physical condition of Thrisur-EKM HW and MC road is great. But still driving was a real pain in the wrong places mainly because of the indisciplined traffic. Pedestrians cross the road as if they are walking in a park; autos drive in the middle of the road irrespective of how much ever you horn; cars and buses suddenly decide to stop and they turn left without any indicators. Though the road is great, this was one of the most stressful drive I ever had. I dont know if I am over reacting or this is the trend here. What was your experience like during your drive?

Agree with you. Eventhough the road is good driving is very stressful on this route. Even on the newly laid 4 lane between Thrissur and Ekm driving is tough due to lack of lane discipline and careless pedestrains.
Between Angamaly and Muvattupuzha there are lot of so called speed breakers which add to the confusion and traffic jam.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by ampere

How is the Vaikom-Kumarakom section? Is it still dug-up?
Any updates?

This is for you. Did a Cochin-Kumarakom drive yesterday. Here's an update.

Vaikom-Kumarakom isnt all that great. I did a different route.

Cochin - Aroor - Thaneermukam - Kumarakom
Total distance - 53kms

This road will join the Cherthala - Kumarakom road. This is shorter with very very less traffic.

Excellent road from Cochin till Thaneermukam after that it's a bit bad. Very less traffic but roads are narrow. Watch out for the private buses here.

Toll:
Aroor - 20/- (multiple pass)
Aroor - Thaneermukam - 3/-


Here are some pics:

[coolclouds]

Did Trichur-Bangalore yesterday in a Maruti 800 via Avinashi.

The stretch around Kuthiran is in very bad shape (see snaps). Avinashi stretch was not an issue in the evening may be because it was a Sunday.
Started at 3.45 from Trichur West fort and reached Silkboard at 10.50pm non stop solo.