[tadukuttan]

Originally Posted by hellstar

i would second joe on the seclection of the Kumily route as its the cleanest and fastest drive you can have to changanaserry ...

+1 to that, I use that road regularly.

Originally Posted by pgginish

Vazhiyoram restaurant at Walayar run by KTDC is a good option. I tried twice.

Good breakfast they gave last two times.

But, the lunch buffet is really good at Walayar Motels. Especially for out of state mallus who are yearning for some "nadan" food! A simple vegeterian buffet, consisting of dishes which taste like it was "home made". Perfect for a quick lunch.

[vinaydas]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Just before Dharmapuri town the road turns to RT which is the Dharmapuri bypass, so i wouldnt say just after Krishnagiri. About 5 kms before Dharmapuri town (old route).

After Dharmapuri bypass comes Thopur ghats, which you have to decent. Keep an eye out for ripple bumps on the ghats, they can take you and the car unaware, then you reach Thoppur which is a flat stretch where you will see trucks parked. Then comes the RT turn off for Bhavani. There is a big road sign which will inform you of Palghat so you shouldnt miss it



Well this is one issue with the route, food joints. Mettur am not sure, move on to Bhavani and once you enter Bhavani you should get some south indian places.

OR take a detour into Dharmapuri where you can find many options, with clean toilet facility. Recommended if you are traveling with women and family.

Just missed banging into a tavera on those bumps i was travelling around 70-90 i think in my dads camry all of a sudden the front tavera puts a sudden break thank god for abs i dint lose control and bang the dividers altho there was a bit of rubber burning

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

I am driving to Cochin coming Sunday. I see that the recommended route now is:

Bangalore -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Thoppur -> Bhavani -> Avinashi -> Coimbatore - > Palakkad

Any recommended food joints on this way?

I had a good drive to Cochin today by taking the above mentioned route.

I started from Old Airport Road around 4:30 AM. Leaving early was not a good decision as there was dense fog. Took the Sarjapur Atibelle route and reached Atibelle by 6 AM. The journey till Thoppur is a breeze, as always.

I did not miss the right towards Mettur, thanks to the accurate directions from Jaggu and others. I reached Bhavani at 9 AM and had breakfast at Saravana Bhavan, the only decent restaurant I could find between Thoppur and Bhavani. Thanks Abhi (akRoy) for the recommendation. Bhavani route is decent. I could maintain 90 - 100 in most of the places.

Erode - Coimbatore is full of diversions as road work is going on, but manageable. Be careful of some surprise potholes inbetween. Coimbatore - Palghat route is good, as always. I reached Walayar at 12:10 and had lunch at Walayar Motels, our regular place. Good Kerala food. Took a good 45 minute break.

Palghat - Trissur is decent, the road seem to be repaired recently. Traffic increased after Trissur and reached Aluva at 3:40. Spent 1 hour at a relative's place and reached Ernakulam at 5:15.

Looking forward to the drive back on Tuesday. I really enjoyed a good long drive after long time.

[tortoise]

Hi Patiencewins,

Glad you had a good journey back home. I am also planning to start early in the morning. At 4.00 . My destination is palakkad

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

I reached Bhavani at 9 AM and had breakfast at Saravana Bhavan, the only decent restaurant I could find between Thoppur and Bhavani.

Where in Bhavani is Saravana Bhavan? Any landmark? is it on the way or we have to take a detour?

Other plan that I have is to avoid Bhavani altogether and take diversion at ammapetai and follow this route as per suggestion of csentil. Though I have used Mettur Bhavani 3-4 times, and used Sathyamangalam road once, this is the first time I am going to use the following route.


Mettur - Ammapettai - Andhiyur - Athani - Gobi - Nambiyur - Avinashi

I could go through Annur and reach Cbe directly, but I want to get into the L&T bypass from Avinashi road and not get caught in Cbe traffic

[TomRider]

Hi all,

My usual route is Bangalore -> Mysore -> Gundalpet -> Bandipur -> Gudallur -> Nilambur -> Malappuram -> Kunnamkulam -> Guruvayur -> Kodungalloor -> Paravur -> Varapuzha -> Ernakulam.

Can any one update me on the present road condition? (Last time I took this route was in September.) Is 'VIA NH 47' better than the above mentioned route?

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by TomRider

Hi all,

My usual route is Bangalore -> Mysore -> Gundalpet -> Bandipur -> Gudallur -> Nilambur -> Malappuram -> Kunnamkulam -> Guruvayur -> Kodungalloor -> Paravur -> Varapuzha -> Ernakulam.

Can any one update me on the present road condition? (Last time I took this route was in September.) Is 'VIA NH 47' better than the above mentioned route?

I dont know if you would call it better , but definitley you would reach faster. as the NH 47 route is more conducive to higher average speeds . I think you will run into some bad roads between Salem and Coimbatore. The Gudalur Kunnamkulam section would be a twisty and curvy drive , that for sure would keep you awake and engaged but also slowed down.

[WhiteKnight]

Started the trip on Sat 5.30 AM. Bangalore -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Thoppur -> Bhavani -> Avinashi -> Coimbatore - > Palakkad> Moovattupuzha> Changanachery

Have to say that Bangy-Coimbatore section road is getting better and better. My daughter wasn't feeling well, so had to do some hospital visit and many unscheduled stops. Happy to be home by 7.15PM.
Met a very well maintained Petra on Bangy Krishnagiri section. I had a feeling that it belongs to one of us.

Merry Christmas to all. May god bless all mallus with queue-free Beverages corp outlets and wish you a great year ahead

[deepclutch]

How is mvpa-chry section ?

Merry Christmas to all. May god bless all mallus with queue-free Beverages corp outlets and wish you a great year ahead

Got Myself a Indica just know(used one!I am a poor guy ).

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by tortoise

Hi Patiencewins,

Glad you had a good journey back home. I am also planning to start early in the morning. At 4.00 . My destination is palakkad



Where in Bhavani is Saravana Bhavan? Any landmark? is it on the way or we have to take a detour?

Other plan that I have is to avoid Bhavani altogether and take diversion at ammapetai and follow this route as per suggestion of csentil. Though I have used Mettur Bhavani 3-4 times, and used Sathyamangalam road once, this is the first time I am going to use the following route.


Mettur - Ammapettai - Andhiyur - Athani - Gobi - Nambiyur - Avinashi

I could go through Annur and reach Cbe directly, but I want to get into the L&T bypass from Avinashi road and not get caught in Cbe traffic

Saravana Bhavan is on the left hand side once you enter Bhavani town. They have kept a board facing the direction in which the vehicle comes. It is nothing great, just a decent place.

The Mettur Bhavani route is pretty good, without much traffic. The road work between Bhavani and Coimbatore is manageable. The Coimbatore Palghat route is good.

Wish you a happy journey.

I plan to start at 4 AM tomorrow.Packing is not yet done

[tadukuttan]

Driving down to Cochin tomorrow as well. Bangalore-Thoppur-Mettur-Ammapettai-Andiyur-Sathyamangalam-Annur-Karumathampatti-Coimbatore Bypass-Palghat-Cochin.

Anybody know whether the Annur-Karumathampatti road is in good shape?

Of course, packing is still a loooong time away.

[TomRider]

I am leaving tomorrow early morning. Taking the same old route.

Bangalore -> Mysore -> Gudallur -> Nilambur -> Guruvayur -> Ernakulam.

[Jammy70]

Originally Posted by TomRider

I am leaving tomorrow early morning. Taking the same old route.

Bangalore -> Mysore -> Gudallur -> Nilambur -> Guruvayur -> Ernakulam.

Hi TomRider,

Look forward to your update on the road conditions of this stretch - I intend to use this route for a Guruvayur trip end-Jan. Also, let me know of possible decent restaurants/break-points, especially Gudalur onward.

Thanks

[TomRider]

Originally Posted by Jammy70

Hi TomRider,

Look forward to your update on the road conditions of this stretch - I intend to use this route for a Guruvayur trip end-Jan. Also, let me know of possible decent restaurants/break-points, especially Gudalur onward.

Thanks

Ahh.. We do not take much breaks. The only one place we stop is a Hotel just before Gudalur (we call it Orange County, as it is painted in orange color), only because of the 'vadai' and 'chutney' they serve in early mornings. Anyways, this time I will try to find a couple of them for you.

Edit: There was a small stretch after Gundalpet (10 kms) which used to be the worst in this route. It used to take around 30 minutes to cover the same. I will update on that as well.

[varghesepaul]

I am travelling to Angamali from Hyderabad tomorrow morning, plan to start from Hyderabad by 6am and should be in Bangalore by 2.30pm....am wondering if i should stay over in Bangalore or continue onwards till night(around 7pm).

The options i have is to either go via Mysore or via Coimbatore....if it is via Mysore, then i guess i can stay over at Mysore but if its via Coimbatore, then it should be Salem.

I hear that the Mysore route is more scenic but is there a considerable difference in time between the two routes?, dont mind a couple of hours difference.

Any ideas/recommendations on what should be the plan?..am travelling with family.

Thanks
Varghese

[vsbabu]

I went with my family last weekend. Started from Banashankari at 4am and reached Thoppur at 6:15am. Roads are excellent till then. No more irritating stretches like K'Giri -> Dharmapuri. From Hosur, it is one stretch with a toll booth in between. Took right at Thoppur to go via Mettur and Bhavani - that road is good, but some new potholes have come up in the last month. Still, not much traffic. Bhavani to Perundurai and Avinashi to L&T Byepass in Coimbatore are not that good - mainly because of idiots who drive buses there.

**AVOID: via Salem. Salem to Bhavani stretch is getting relaid at places (and at other sections, the road is bad) and too much traffic there.

All in all, I reached Palakkad by 10:30 am. Palakkad to Trichur road has some mega potholes - just keep to less than 80kmph even when you see empty roads and you should be fine.

I had travelled via Mysore-Bandipur-Gudallur-Nilambur-Perinthalmanna-Pattambi. That road is shorter, but quite a bit of curvy roads - not good if you've family with you.

Drive safe