[arjithin]

Came back from Chalakudy to Bangalore (HSR layout) yesterday.
started at 4:45 AM and reached home at 1:00 PM. Took the CBE route.

Enough has been said about the road conditions, hence just posting a gps speed profile. If anyone wants the source gps log, PM me.



A - Chalakudy - Mannuthy
B - Mannuthy - Pattikkad
C - Pattikkad - Kuthiran (Irumbu Palam)
D - Kuthiran - CBE Bypass
E - CBE bypass
F - CBE bypass end - Perundurai Sri Annalakshmi Hotel
G - Break
H -Perundurai - Sankari bypass
I - Sankari Bypass - Omallur - For a change, I took the Sankari - Omallur road, bypassing Salem. This saved me 10 km and 2 toll booths. Roads are in good condition, traffic is moderate except in Omallur town limits. I will be taking this route every time from now onwards.



J - Omallur to Bangalore - Krishnagiri onwards, traffic was heavy.

-------
Onward journey was via Calicut. Started at 3:45 AM from Bangalore, reached Gundlupet CCD in 3 hr 20 mts, took a 20 mt tea break, and reached CLT around 9:45 AM. traffic was heavy from Adivaram. Road are Bad from Kerala boarder to Batheri.

[denver85]

Originally Posted by arjithin

I - Sankari Bypass - Omallur - For a change, I took the Sankari - Omallur road, bypassing Salem. This saved me 10 km and 2 toll booths. Roads are in good condition, traffic is moderate except in Omallur town limits. I will be taking this route every time from now onwards

Special thanks for this update. I always had a thought to take this route but always ended up taking the normal route through Salem bypass. Will definitely try this next time. This will save 10.5 kms (As per Google Maps) and 109-/(63-Omalur toll+46 - Vaikundam Toll), which is not at all bad. Only miss is the Saravanabhavan at Vaikundam.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by arjithin

For a change, I took the Sankari - Omallur road, bypassing Salem.

Where do you deviate from NH7 to get in to this and where does it join NH 7 back? Is it easy to find directions in this route? You can also avoid the traffic inside Salem by taking this route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Where do you deviate from NH7 to get in to this and where does it join NH 7 back? Is it easy to find directions in this route? You can also avoid the traffic inside Salem by taking this route.

The other question to ask: Is, the Sankagiri-Oamllur road accessible from Sankagiri bypass. If yes, then it solves half the problem.
The other half though remains and that is to wade to Omallur town before hitting the GQ.

But as Arijith said, it does not seem to be that bad a problem.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Where do you deviate from NH7 to get in to this and where does it join NH 7 back? Is it easy to find directions in this route? You can also avoid the traffic inside Salem by taking this route.

this deviation is exactly 22 km from Sankari bridge. I used google maps as my navigator, hence it was very easy to navigate. It joins back at Omallur.

The Sankagiri-Oamllur road NOT accessible from Sankagiri bypass. hence i took left on the previous junction and joined back on Sankagiri-Oamllur road. (refer the google maps image above). Once the service road is ready, then we can use the service road to reach Sankagiri-Oamllur road, until that time, this route is better.

[denver85]

Originally Posted by RobC

- Recent posts seem to indicate that the toll highway to Thrissur is not worth the toll paid, given all the lengthy queues at the traffic lights? Would it give no advantage over NH17, given my destination is Kunnamkulam?

As you are starting from Tvm around 2.00 PM you may reach Angamaly only after 8.00-8.30 PM. The traffic in the Angamaly-Thrissur will not be that higher around this time.After the latest works,the road condition is very good from Thrissur to Kunnamkulam.
The other option through NH 17 is Angamaly-Chalakudy-Potta-Irinjalakuda-Moonupedika-Thriprayar-Vadanappally-Chavakkad-Kunnamkulam. Not sure about the latest traffic conditions on this road. You may need to travel 11 kms extra on this route which is not worth according to me. My vote goes for the Angamly-Thrissur-Kunnamkulam route.

- How much time should I budget for the trip from Kunnamkulam to Keerzhpally, if I start at around 5:30 am? Which is the best road option to turn off from NH17 towards Mattannur - Iritty?

As you are starting early it will take only 2 hours to reach Kozhikode(7.30AM). Plan you breakfast there. Stick to Calicut bypass through the route Ramanattukara-Thondayadu-Malaparambu-Eranhikkal-Atholi(Take Left)-Thiruvangoor(NH 17). You have eating options near Ramattukara on bypass itself. The google map link is here: https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...sz=13&t=m&z=12
Start from Kozhikode by 8.00 AM, you can reach Talassery in 1.5 to 2 hours (9.30-10 AM). Expect heavy traffic on this stretch.
The two route options to Keezhpally is as below:
1st route: Talassery-Kuthuparamba-Mattanur-Iritty-Keezhpally : The roads are in good condition now. The roads are not wide in Talassery-Kuthuparambu stretch and the traffic will be on a higher side. It will take approximately 1.5 hours to reach Iritty(11.30 AM). You can add another 15-20 minutes to Keezhpally(12 noon).
2nd Route: Talassery-Mele Chovva-Kanhirode-Mattanur-Iritty-Keezhpally : The roads are good throughout and the traffic will be almost similar to the route 1. This route adds as extra 15 kms to your travel, which is not worth. So its better to take the route 1.
Hope it helps

Regards,
Deepak

[denver85]

Originally Posted by arjithin

this deviation is exactly 22 km from Sankari bridge

I hope you meant the Bhavani bridge. Please confirm whether you take this route: https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...via=1&t=m&z=11

Regards,
Deepak

[dhanushmenon]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Enough has been said about the road conditions, hence just posting a gps speed profile.

Quite a unique way of representing the progress. And pretty good and comprehensive for assimilation too

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by RobC

- Recent posts seem to indicate that the toll highway to Thrissur is not worth the toll paid, given all the lengthy queues at the traffic lights? Would it give no advantage over NH17, given my destination is Kunnamkulam?

With 2pm start from Trivandrum, I think you are going to hit all the signals from Kundannoor junction to Athani (airport) at the "wrong" time. After Athani, the traffic is normally much less. I would suggest that you start an hour or 1.5 hours earlier (or later).

There are a few signals in the Angamaly-Thrissur stretch. Big queues are generally seen only at Chalakkudy and Amballur.

[redballons]

For the festive period, me and my mum decided on a last minute decision to go to Guruvayoor , Trivandrum & Kanyakumari.

After reading many useful posts about the route from B'lore to Guruvayoor, we took the following route -

B'lore - Salem - Perundarai - Kangeyam - Palladam - Pollachi - Chittur - Alathur - Wadakancherry - KunnumKulam - Guruvayoor

Is going via Chittur to Alathur a round about way ?

Started from B'lore at 3:30AM and reached Guruvayoor at 12:15PM , with a 40 minute break at Pollachi

Then from Guruvayoor to Trivandrum, the next day, took the following route -

Guruvayoor - Edipally - Haripad - Kollam - Trivandrum

My first experience on this side of NH47, blimey its one scary drive i must say. i can safely say that i have got used to kerala highway driving now

Everybody including autos bulldoze their way, KSRTC buses making a single pass right in the middle of the road over taking 3-4 vehicles, its absolute madness

Trivandrum to Kanyakumari - MC road, less said the better about the traffic

Started from KK to B'lore on 1st Jan at 8:30AM, was expecting all the festive travellers returning to B'lore, but the roads had literally no traffic all the way from KK to B'lore. Ok, after Salem, there was a bit of a traffic, but nothing compared what is seen on a Sunday evening

Infact i surprised myself when i was at Thoppur A2B , by 1:15PM after having started from KK at 8:30AM

Took a 40min break and was at home by 4:30PM in B'lore

[sandeepmohan]

Did the return trip from Cochin - Bangalore on 30th December 2012. Big mistake as everyone was returning the same day. The route I took was the same I followed to Cochin, just reversed and that is, Cochin - Trichur - Wadakanchery - Chelakkara - Pazhayannur - Alathur - Kollengode - Pollachi - Palladam - Kangayam - Perundurai and then down the usual free way to Bangalore. The drive took a horrible 14 hours. Thanks to our brilliant toll booths. Trouble started at Thoppur toll and got worse as we closed in on Bangalore. Attibele was probably a mile long jam.

Our breakfast pit stop was at Thiroor in Trichur distrcit. Hotel Pee Bee family restaurant. Decent for food. Rest room is sad and there is just one.

Lunch pit stop was the biggest surprise and at a restaurant with a interesting name. The Slaves. Found them on trip advisor and it was easy to locate in Pollachi. Very nice place. Good food, clean rest rooms, air conditioned and fantastic service. Lunch for two was Rs. 320.

As for the route I took up to Perundurai, absolutely loved it. Smooth roads all the way, next to no traffic after Alathur and it was a very involving drive as the roads are hardly ever straight. This is not a road for high speeds. While in Kerala, it is best to maintain no more than 80kmph as the roads are narrow and have a lot of blind curves. The moment you cross the border in to Tamil Nadu, the roads are wider and you can do higher speeds though I kept it under 100Kmph. Absolutely stress free and a very beautiful road to take if you have the time to spare. The distance from Maradu, which is where I live in Cochin to Cox Town in Bangalore indicated 580km.

[kala]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Onward journey was via Calicut. Started at 3:45 AM from Bangalore, reached Gundlupet CCD in 3 hr 20 mts, took a 20 mt tea break, and reached CLT around 9:45 AM. traffic was heavy from Adivaram. Road are Bad from Kerala boarder to Batheri.

Are you sure these timings are right ? As per your timings you must have started from Gundlupet CCD at around 7:25 PM. From there to Calicut in 2 hrs 20 minutes ? (For a total of around 150 kms inclusive of 25 kms of forest road with speedbreakers, about 20 kms of pothole ridden roads between Kerala border and Batheri and the 10kms of ghat roads with hairpin bends that sounds like a real dash even when not accounting for the Kerala traffic !!)

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by kala

Are you sure these timings are right ? As per your timings you must have started from Gundlupet CCD at around 7:25 PM. From there to Calicut in 2 hrs 20 minutes ? (For a total of around 150 kms inclusive of 25 kms of forest road with speedbreakers, about 20 kms of pothole ridden roads between Kerala border and Batheri and the 10kms of ghat roads with hairpin bends that sounds like a real dash even when not accounting for the Kerala traffic !!)

I stand corrected. Reached CLT (kunnamangalam/NIT to be precise) at 10.45 not 9.45. It took 7 hours not 6. will post the speed profile later today.

[gandalf]

Hi All,
My Xmas and New Year drive to kerala got cancelled since our train tickets got confirmed (Can you believe that, they never get confirmed for that time of the year) on the last day of our travel. Now to make up for that we decided to drive for a marriage in Chalakudi and drive back.

For going to Chalakudi I was thinking of the Below route
Salem-> Perendurai -> Pollachi -> Wadakancheri -> Thrissur -> Chalakudy
Any other Suggestions for a faster route?
I need to return from Adoor. For this I am a bit confused.
Adoor -> Pathanapuram -> Punalur -> Trnkasi -> Tirumangalam -> Madurai -> Salem -> Bangalore
This should be the best route for me. But I am unsure of the road and traffic road conditions for this route. Anyone who has taken the above route please update. Also please sugest an alternate route?

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by gandalf

Hi All,
For going to Chalakudi I was thinking of the Below route
Salem-> Perendurai -> Pollachi -> Wadakancheri -> Thrissur -> Chalakudy
Any other Suggestions for a faster route?

What time do you plan to start from BGLR? if you plan to start late morning or afternoon, then Pollachi route makes sense to avoid traffic. You can find updates about both routes in the last 3-4 pages of this thread.