[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by ampere

Amazing update Pramod! Especially the fact that the humps around have been removed.
So all the 8 are gone? The authorities should have just sized them correctly instead removing them totally.

After so work on finding hotel Aristo, you just could not beat the cooking gas!
So overall do you think it was worth taking the route via Palode instead of braving the traffic via Nagercoil?

Sorry for the late reply. Did not have access to the internet. The Nagercoil route is the fastest route to Trivandrum any time of the day.
It is better to avoid the Palode route at night as there could be long traffic jams at the check posts. This route could get congested during Sabarimala season. Lot of time will be lost while passing through Rajapalayam and Shenkottai towns. It is also difficult to sustain good speeds. This route is good for a relaxed drive. No point in pushing yourself too hard to save time. Better to take it easy. It took 3.5 hours for me to cover the last 110 KMs from Ilanji (just after Thenkasi) to Kesavadasapuram.

[coolclouds]

Did Cochin-Bangalore yesterday. started at 3pm from Kaloor through normal Trichur-Palghat-Salem-Bangalore route. It was raining heavily till Vadakkancherry and in TN.

Trichur-Coimbatore is almost patched up and still there are few potholes as you enter TN. The worst part was after crossing Neelambur where lot of diversions are there due to road widening work. It took about 2hr 45 mins to cover just 4kms that too with some off road driving (reached L&T last exit at 6.20, may be evening traffic made it worse along with very bad deviations and rain)

[pramodpk]

Trivandrum - Vaikom - Oct 24

Drove from Trivandrum (Kesavadasapuram) to Vaikom via MC road.

Road Condition -

Trivandrum to Chengannur - Good to Excellent
Chengannur to Ettumanoor - Good to Average - No potholes. Some sections have been relaid. All potholes are filled. Kottayam to Ettumanoor heavily congested. Should have taken the Kumarakom route as it is 9 KM shorter but was not sure about road conditions.
Ettumanoor (End of MC road) to Vaikom - Excellent

I took the Ettumanoor route to Vaikom as I was not sure about the road condition via Kumarakom especially near Vechoor as the road was dug for Japan Drinking water scheme. Drove from Vaikom to Vechoor last Sunday and the road has been repaired. A new bridge that was being constructed at Thottakam is now complete. The approach road work is being done (Vehicles can now use the bridge. Only tarring the approach road is pending). Also read in newspaper that the Kumarakom - Kottayam road is being relaid. Hence the Kumarakom route is the one to be taken to Kottayam now.

Vaikom to Bangalore - Nov 1

Drove from Vaikom to Bangalore.


Road Condition -


Vaikom to Kalamassery HMT Junction -Average to Very Good.
The HMT junction to Sea port airport road stretch has been repaired. The Tripunithura to Thiruvankulam road also been repaired.

Kalamassery to Mannuthy - Very good 4 Lane

Mannuthy to Vadakkencherry - NH47. Road has been repaired. No potholes. But surface is not good. Especially near Kuthiran.

Vadakkencherry to Walayar (till Kerala border) - Very good - Good. Road has been repaired. Some sections have good surface without patch works.

Walayar - L&T Bypass - This is the worst stretch in the entire journey. There are huge craters in the diversions. Be very careful with the one just before L&T Bypass. Could be very difficult during rains and night. Also the 4 laning work seems to be halted in this section. Not much progress since my last drive around 2 months back

L&T bypass to Chengapalli - Lot of diversions. No traffic jams but avrage speed was around 40 KM/h.

Chengapalli to Hosur - Excellent. It rained heavily from Salem till Thoppur. There was waterlogging on the express way. Road surface has slightly after Krishnagiri.

Hosur to Attibele - Road surface is broken around Hosur. Some potholes near junctions. Could be difficult in the dark.

Attibele - Sarjapur - Good. There is a huge crater at the Sarjapur Police station junction

Sarjapur - Varthur - Kundalahalli - Brookefield - Good

Started from Vaikom at 5:47 AM and stopped for Petrol and Break fast 6 Km before Palakkad bypass (Chandrapur) at 8:25 AM covering 152 KMs.

Resumed the journey at 9:10 and reached Chengappally at 11:40. Took 2.5 hours to cover 110 KMs.

Reached Salem at 12:50 PM and there was heavy downpour till Thoppur.
Stopped for lunch and fuel at A2B Thoppur at 1:35 PM and resumed the journey at 2:25 PM. Reached home at 5:00 PM.

Took 11 hours 15 mins to cover 570 KMs. My usual timing is 10 hours.

I would take the NH47 from Palakkad to Thrissur now any time of the day.
Walayar to Chengapalli is the worst stretch.

[lloydofcochin]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Did Cochin-Bangalore yesterday. started at 3pm from Kaloor through normal Trichur-Palghat-Salem-Bangalore route. It was raining heavily till Vadakkancherry and in TN.

Trichur-Coimbatore is almost patched up and still there are few potholes as you enter TN. The worst part was after crossing Neelambur where lot of diversions are there due to road widening work. It took about 2hr 45 mins to cover just 4kms that too with some off road driving (reached L&T last exit at 6.20, may be evening traffic made it worse along with very bad deviations and rain)

Jain,

My brother is driving down to Bangalore from Cochin on Saturday. It will be most probably a 4-5am start. So which route would you suggest? I was thinking of asking him to take the Gudalur - Mysore route since it was a day drive but I'm a lil wary since this will be his 1st long drive.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by lloydofcochin

Jain,

My brother is driving down to Bangalore from Cochin on Saturday. It will be most probably a 4-5am start. So which route would you suggest? I was thinking of asking him to take the Gudalur - Mysore route since it was a day drive but I'm a lil wary since this will be his 1st long drive.

Thats going to be a very long drive via Mysore.Ask him to stick to the NH47-NH7 combo.If he wants to avoid bad stretches he can go via shoranur,else continye on the nh47.

With all the bad sections,he should be able to make it to Silk Board Junction in 9-10hours time.Just ask him to maintain a very strict 80KPH on the elevated road in Blore,else he is bound to get a speeding ticket and there are no fixed amounts for the fine.Else its going to be a smooth drive for him.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by lloydofcochin

Jain,

My brother is driving down to Bangalore from Cochin on Saturday. It will be most probably a 4-5am start. So which route would you suggest? I was thinking of asking him to take the Gudalur - Mysore route since it was a day drive but I'm a lil wary since this will be his 1st long drive.

LLoyd,

At present condition, regular NH47 would be the BEST available and least confusing option. It will be easy for him to navigate those few bad stretches (immediately after getting into TN) in day light. Advise him to watch for those first few bad diversions after L&T byepass. Let him continue on NH47 via Salem itself as Edappadi/Omallur route may be confusing/crowded by morning.

I did Ernakulam-Edappal and Trichur-Shornur route during last week and will never put forward these two-lane congested routes to anyone (EDIT: for peak hour travel)

[lloydofcochin]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Thats going to be a very long drive via Mysore.Ask him to stick to the NH47-NH7 combo.If he wants to avoid bad stretches he can go via shoranur,else continye on the nh47.

With all the bad sections,he should be able to make it to Silk Board Junction in 9-10hours time.Just ask him to maintain a very strict 80KPH on the elevated road in Blore,else he is bound to get a speeding ticket and there are no fixed amounts for the fine.Else its going to be a smooth drive for him.

Originally Posted by coolclouds

LLoyd,

At present condition, regular NH47 would be the BEST available and least confusing option. It will be easy for him to navigate those few bad stretches (immediately after getting into TN) in day light. Advise him to watch for those first few bad diversions after L&T byepass. Let him continue on NH47 via Salem itself as Edappadi/Omallur route may be confusing/crowded by morning.

I did Ernakulam-Edappal and Trichur-Shornur route during last week and will never put forward these two-lane congested routes to anyone (EDIT: for peak hour travel)

Thanks Ranjit & Jain. I will ask him to stick to the NH47 & 7 combo.

[NPV]

Good timing - @coolclouds & @ranjitp1, while you guys are still discussing this route, thought I'd ask my question too which is related
I will be traveling to Palakkad this weekend and was thinking of this route to avoid the bad stretches of Chengapalli-Coimbatore, L&T Bypass widening and also the L&T Bypass-Walayar:

Bangalore-Get off NH47 at Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad
I will be starting by 5am from Bangalore so is it worth taking this route (distance and travel time) to avoid the above bad stretches ?

[sureshurs]

Returned back from Allepey on Tuesday. Started at 10.00 am and took Allepey-kottayam-kumili-Theni-Dindigul-Salem-Bangalore. It took me 12.5 hrs (including two stops each of 45 mins and 1.5 hrs due to flooding of road near Kumily due to heavy rain.

The timings are below

allepey- Kottayam : 1 HR ( good roads, heavy traffic)
kottayam - vandiperiyar :1.5 hrs( decent roads, moderate traffic)
Stoppage between Vandiperiyar and Kumili because of flooding : 1.5 hrs
Kumiliy to Theni: 1 HR 15 mins( bad patches)
Theni-Dindigul: 1.5 hrs ( good 2 lane road, moderate traffic)
Dindigul -Salem: 1.5 hrs ( 4 lane, low traffic)
Salem bypass : 30 mins
Salem- thoppur toll gate A2b : 30 mins . Break for 45 mins
Thopur - Silkboard : 1.5 hrs

[ampere]

Originally Posted by NPV

Bangalore-Get off NH47 at Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad
I will be starting by 5am from Bangalore so is it worth taking this route (distance and travel time) to avoid the above bad stretches ?

If its Palakkad, I think you would be better off with the regular NH47. Its only for beyond Trichur, that you may get some advantage of that deviation.
Also Pramod's recent update says, one is better sticking to GQ (and he drove from Vaikom!).

So I think the regular NH47 would just fine.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by NPV

Bangalore-Get off NH47 at Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad
I will be starting by 5am from Bangalore so is it worth taking this route (distance and travel time) to avoid the above bad stretches ?

Stick on to NH47 itself, the roads are not that bad. You may find some traffic just before L&T first toll (diversion to Coimbatore city) since you will be reaching there by 10-11am.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by lloydofcochin

Jain,

My brother is driving down to Bangalore from Cochin on Saturday. It will be most probably a 4-5am start. So which route would you suggest? I was thinking of asking him to take the Gudalur - Mysore route since it was a day drive but I'm a lil wary since this will be his 1st long drive.

Stick to NH 47 - NH 7 combination all the way. No need to take the Shornur deviation.Thissur Palakkad NH 47 is not bad at all. Surface is not great from Mannuthy to Vadakkencherry. No potholes. With a 4 AM start, your brother will be able to reach Bangalore by 1:00 PM comfortably. I would suggest a 5:00 AM start instead of 4:00 AM. See my post above for more details

[vu2pmc]

hi,
The roads from Muthanga( the point where you enter Kerala from Mysore side) till Calicut is horrible. The ghat section is even worse. Hardly any tarmac.
I would suggest Palghat Trichur seems a better option

[kala]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Stick to NH 47 - NH 7 combination all the way. No need to take the Shornur deviation.Thissur Palakkad NH 47 is not bad at all. Surface is not great from Mannuthy to Vadakkencherry. No potholes. With a 4 AM start, your brother will be able to reach Bangalore by 1:00 PM comfortably. I would suggest a 5:00 AM start instead of 4:00 AM. See my post above for more details

The road of my choice for a day journey would be NH-47/NH-209. The latter is in excellent condition and traffic is very sparse once you pass outskirts of Coimbatore. The drive through the Dimbam forest ghat section is very scenic and pleasant since the road is very good. The time taken would be more or less the same as going via Salem, and as an added bonus you save about 300 Rupees in toll as well No need to worry about the whole road being 2 lane and not 4 lane, it is quite wide and the only areas in which you'll find some traffic would be between Coimbatore and Annur at the start and then between Kanakapura and Bangalore.

In case of an early start - i.e if you can reach Coimbatore before say 8 - 8:30AM, once can go through the city itself (the shortest). If later, it may be faster to take the L&T byepass and go from the Avinashi end of the byepass (Neelampur) to Annur either via Karumathampatti which is about 10 kms further on NH47 (take a left there), or turn back towards the city on the 6 lane old NH47 at the end of the byepass and take the right turn towards Kurumbapalayam at the junction near Coimbatore airport (about 2 kms from Neelampur) - the latter will allow you to avoid the four lane construction diversions between Neelampur and Karumathampatti, but is about 5 kms longer.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by kala

The road of my choice for a day journey would be NH-47/NH-209. The latter is in excellent condition and traffic is very sparse once you pass outskirts of Coimbatore. The drive through the Dimbam forest ghat section is very scenic and pleasant since the road is very good. The time taken would be more or less the same as going via Salem, and as an added bonus you save about 300 Rupees in toll as well No need to worry about the whole road being 2 lane and not 4 lane, it is quite wide and the only areas in which you'll find some traffic would be between Coimbatore and Annur at the start and then between Kanakapura and Bangalore.

In case of an early start - i.e if you can reach Coimbatore before say 8 - 8:30AM, once can go through the city itself (the shortest). If later, it may be faster to take the L&T byepass and go from the Avinashi end of the byepass (Neelampur) to Annur either via Karumathampatti which is about 10 kms further on NH47 (take a left there), or turn back towards the city on the 6 lane old NH47 at the end of the byepass and take the right turn towards Kurumbapalayam at the junction near Coimbatore airport (about 2 kms from Neelampur) - the latter will allow you to avoid the four lane construction diversions between Neelampur and Karumathampatti, but is about 5 kms longer.

I would not recommend the NH209 route to a first timer due to the Ghat sections and the difficulty in passing through towns like Chamarajnagar, Kollegal etc. This route is good if one knows the way but it cannot be faster than NH 7. In fact, I was thinking of taking this route on my return journey on Nov 1 but my wife was against it due to ghat sections. This route could be better than NH 7 after a long weekend when there is a possibilty to get stuck in toll booths. The NH 209 is very scenic and the ghat sections in very good condition.