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IMO,the situation isnt that bad as it is being made out to be.Yes the Theni,kumily cumbum routes are definitely a big NO,but other routes are ok as of now.I think you should still go ahead with your drive plans.Such a blanket blockade of roads is not a feasible option in today's times.So rest assured I think you should still go ahead with your drive plans.Moreover if its TN registered car,hardly anything to worry.

Yes this is a good option as well.No problems on this route either.Good option to reach South Kerala via this route.

The drive should take you anywhere between 10 & 12 hours and not more than that.Roads are very good all the way till Palakkad.From Palakkad if you want to continue on good roads,then I would suggest that you go via Ottapalam-Shoranur-Wadakancheri-Thrissur.

Xtremeshock, 11-12 hours should be good enough for this route with breaks.

11-12hrs? I've done Bangalore to Thrissur in 8hrs 45mins with breakfast in Krishnagiri, lunch in Coimbatore and tea in Thrissur :D

I agree with you regarding the timings. Even I have done Bangalore - Cochin in 9.5 hours but the road conditions are not that great now plus he is traveling with family so the timings given were very conservative :)

Thanks guys, its a relief to hear. Nilambur is definitely a good option then. Heard some improvements in road conditions in KL recently till Perinthalmanna too.


I think, Nilambur is the choice considering the distance and travel time. Lets wait till 20th :).

I thought ExtremeShock was driving from Chennai to thrissur?So the 11 hours is quite right.Chennai-Thrissur does take more time as compared to Bangalore Thrissur.

Yes Nilambur is quite a scenic drive as well.Nadugani ghats have also been patched up.Budget for a 10-11 hour drive though because traffic density increases post Vazhikadavu and stays that way till you reach Pattambi.

Ranjit, You are right regarding the timings. I quoted 11-12 hours for the Chennai-Tcr trip only. I was actually replying to Iron4hwk's post about timings from Bangalore :D

I have just completed a Bangalore-Calicut round trip via Gudalur-Nilambur and return via Thamarassery Ghat/Kalpetta. Below are the timings and route update for both of these routes.

Onward - Bangalore-Gudalur-Nilambur-Edavanna-Areekode-Mukkom-Kunnamangalam-Calicut

06:35 AM - Start from Marathahalli, Bangalore

07:10 AM - NICE Road Entry (From Housr Road) - Being a weekday, this will be the best option to avoid the morning city traffic and all the humps and bad roads within the city. Try to take the Nice Road from the Hosur road entry itself. You will reach Mysore road in 30-35 mins from Silk Board Junction.

07:35 AM - NICE Road exit to Bangalore- Mysore Highway.

08:30 AM - 45 mins break for Fuelling/Breakfast at BPCL/Kamat just before Madddur.(This is a Company outlet and the fuel quality is excellent).

10:20 AM- Enter Mysore City

11:25 AM- Gundlupet - 20 Mins Rest/Coffee stop at Cafe Coffee day.
Mysore-Gudlupet Road is in excellent condition all the way. Can cover this distance in 45 mins if there is no much traffic.

1:15 PM- Gudalur

Although roads are in good condition, there are so many humps in the Masinagudi-Gudalur Forest section. Every 100 meters, you have to slow down for this humps and this takes lots of time to complete this strech. But the best part is you can spot lot's of wildlife on the way.

One other probelm may be with the winding roads in the Nadugani Ghat section. Some people may be get motion sickness with the winding nature of this road.

2:35 PM- Nilambur - 30 mins Lunch stop at KTDC Tarmarind Hotel, Just before Nilambur.

5:10 PM- Eranhipalam Jn.

From Nilambur, the route taken was Edavanna- Areekode- Mukkom- Kunnamangalam- Eranhipalam. Total distance is 66 Kms and the time taken was around 2 hrs. Roads are excellent all the way. Heavy traffic from Nilambur till Edavanna. From Edavanna, it's great 2 line roads and very less traffic till Kunnamangalam. From Kunnamangalam to Eranhipalam, it was very heavy traffic, especially during a weekday evening.

Total driving time will be around 8.5 to 9 hours (From Marathahalli to Eranhipalam Jn, Calicut) excluding breaks if you drive on an average speed. Total distance covered is 385 Kms from Marathahalli- Eranhipalam Jn.

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Return - Calicut-Thamarassery Ghat-Kalpetta-Batheri-Gundlupet-Mysore-Bangalore

Eranhipalam Jn to Adivaram is having very good roads in most of the places.

Thamarassery ghat is still in pretty bad condition in most of the hair pin bends, except the places where they had put the interlocking tiles. Going with a Low Ground Clearance vehicle may be an issue if you don't drive carefully. I have seen a Cruze got stuck in one of those Hairpin bends and struggling to climb up where there is no road and only big gutters and stone pieces exists. It took 1 hr for us to climb the ghat section.

Kalpetta - Sulthan Bathery - Muthanga road is patched up, but you will feel it rough and uneven. Once you enter the forest section, it is good roads in most of the places.

Below are the timings we took on this strech.

10:15 AM - Start- Eranhipalam Jn
12:30 PM - Kalpetta (30 mins Lunch stop)
1:45 PM - S. Batheri
3:15 PM - Gundlupet (15 mins rest break at CCD Gundlupet)
4:25 PM -Mysore City
6:50 PM - Enter NICE Road
7:15 PM - NICE Road Electronic City Exit.
7:30 PM - Silk Board Jn.

Total travel time excluding breaks is 8.5 Hrs. Total Kms travelled is 380 kms from Eranhipalam Jn to Marathahalli.

One more update on this route is that they are going to start the Thamarassery ghat section road repair from this January 1st week. During this time, there is a plan to ban all heavy vehicles (including buses) in this strech and to relay the entire ghat section roads. So this ghat section should get repaired probably in 1 or 2 months time if it all goes well according to this plan.

That is a real bad timing for 380 kms. I cover nearly 730 kms in the same time while driving from Bangalore to Thiruvananthapuram.

I am sure you took the NH 7 which cannot be compared to the ghat/forest route. You would have done triple digit speeds where as Sony would be doing less that 60kmph most of the way up the ghats.

From Gundulpet, it's all Forest area and there are so many humps on the way (Especially the Nilambur Route), atleast one hump in every 100 meters after Masinagudi till you reach near Gudalur. So your average speed will come down to 40-50 max as you have to slow down at every hump. Then at the Nadugani Ghats, road is too much winding that you can't go beyond 30-40 km speed at most of the place. Once you reach Kerala border (From Nilambur to Kunnamangalam), you can go max 50-70 km speed, as there is heavy traffic in between towns and overtaking is very difficult in narrow two line roads till Kunnamangalam. There is too much two wheeler traffic as well which makes overtaking very difficult in narrow roads.

Ofcourse if you do the same distance in NH7 or any other 4 line highway all the way, then it will be almost half the time.

My response was not about Sony's timings, but the quality of road including the width. Something needs to be done there to improve the quality of roads. Why cant the NHAI make the quality of the NH in similar sense and why some NH needs to be felt like a SH.


A 60 kmph on an NH is unacceptable in 2011. It would have been acceptable 20 years back.:Frustrati

Sir I meant the same. A lot needs to be done to improve the quality of roads in kerala. I meant that since he was taking the NH212 he would be slower whereas you took the NH which is like a runway.

60kmph is not acceptable ? Think about this
The best road stretch in kerala is thrissur to angamaly and the top speed is restricted to 70kmph with cops ready to pounce on you for over speeding with speed radars etc. 60kmph average :deadhorse

Got caught doing 140kmph last month and again at 78kmph :Shockked: last week on the same road.

^ What should can we do about it?
If you have roadside property, will you let go of it for expanding the highway? If no, you also fall into the general Kerala population otherwise you are an exception :)

I am planning to do Cochin-Bangalore this sunday(18th) via Trichur-Pallakkad-Coimbatore-Salem-Krishnagiri. Mine is a Kerala registered vehicle. Any issues in travelling in this route? I am travelling with my Family. Or should I take the calicut-mysore-bangy route?