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I have not taken this route. will look for it.
the reason i suggested the other route was that most of the driving would be in TN roads which are generally better than KL roads and less driving via the ghat section. this led me to think that this would be faster to negotiate. But some of the reviews here say that the trafic from Tenkasi to Madurai is a pain.
hence was wondering which of these routes will be faster

The route via Pathanamthitta-Ranni-Erumeli should generally be in good condition since it is Sabarimala season. However if you're planning to drive during the Makaravilakku timeframe (next week), expect heavier traffic.

From Erumeli you also have the option of going directly to Mundakkayam instead of Kanjirappally. Not sure if this road is as good as the one to Kanjirappally, but should save you about 10-15 kms.

Ok back on teambhp after a fairly long hiatus.Was away at Thrissur for the last two weeks and was on a self imposed exile from anything to do remotely with computers!

Heres a brief update on the roads travelled:

Hyd-Blr:Tarmac.Airport to Airport 6.5hrs (Toll of INR 493 one way including that rip off at Blr airport)

Devanahalli to Keys,HSR Road via Mekhri Circle:2hrs from 1145-1345 including a 10minute argument with namma police constable at Highgrounds Police stn arguing that the Figo glasses have sun films pasted on it whereas reality is those were just the company fitted tints!

A2B Refugee Camp at Shoolagiri is going from bad to worse.No more stopping there for us.We pushed on straight till the excellent Saravana Bhavan at Sankari Toll gate.On our return we stopped at the lovely Rajabhojanam after Thoppur toll gate which is excellent and fitted with all kinds of moder amenities.The A2B refugee camp at Thoppur is equally bad and the staff needs a major attitude rehaul!

Saravana Bhavan staff-courteous,quick,place is clean,washrooms are clean as well.Pushed on till Perundurai and went through the town and straight onto Kangeyam via Chennimalai.Excellent wide road.At Kangeyam the road ends at a dead end after the bus stand,right towards Palladam-Coimbatore.Excellent wide road again,speeds of 80-100kph easily done and not a bump and no toll!At Palladam just before the flyover,left onto Pollachi road-roads excellent,keep on the road till the dead-end(last 1k road gets narrow in between shops).At dead end,take a right,bus stand on LHS,followed by a junction.At junction take a left and follow the road-takes you all the way to Govindapuram-Kollengode.Customary stop at SNR Chips and onwards to Chelakara-Thrissur.

Did trips to Palakkad via NH47 just to know how the heck the NH47 was,one time the holes were patched up and by the next trip they all had begun to open up-so same old story.Did trips to Mangalamkunnu-Cherplassery and palakkad via Shoranur route-road still wide and in great shape.This is the only road that can keep handling howmuch ever traffic without any hint of potholes.

Thrissur-N.Parur:Road from Thrissur till Kodungallur via Irinjalakuda is in great condition.Kodungallur-N.Parur road quality is excellent,but the NH17 in that section is getting narrower by the day with the compound walls and shops acquiring more and more of the road.Was a nightmare driving the section by day and night,huge traffic jams all over the place and the pradakshinam of NH17 around Kodungallur temple is sure shot jam-prone area!

Thrissur-Guruvayur:road quality is excellent and road is divider separated and 4 laned from Amala Cancer all the way till Kecheri,beyond that same old story but atleast some improvement.Guruvayur-Kunnamkulam-Pannithadam-Nelluwaye-Kundannur-Ottupara-Wadakancheri is also in excellent condition

NH47 between Kuttanellur and Edappally does not look like a 4 laned one at all,so much of traffic and everyone driving at their own pace and to top it road is speed radar controlled,Always drive with INR 500 with you especially if you have upsized your tyres and the speedometer reading would not tally with the speed gunclap:

Thrissur-Pollachi-Udumulpet-Palani-Kodai excellent roads.Palani-Kodai ghat roads are still rough and some sections as you reach Kodai are bad.Kodai lake approach and most of the town roads are bad.

Kodai-Vathalangundu road is excellent.At Vathalangundu did not take the route to Dindigul,instead drove the arrow straight road via Nilakottai to Kodai Road and joined the NH7 just before Kodai Road toll.From thereon excellent roads all the way to Bangalore.

The desi version of CCD has opened up in many state and national highways of Tamil Nadu called as Only Coffee / Naidu Coffe.Amazingly clean places,excellent filter "kaapi" priced at INR 15 and some short eats.

Erumeli to Mundakkkayam is a good single lane road but the only thing which you might face is, due to the sabarimala season, there will be lots of pilgrims who come by walk in this route and hence you might not be able to have good speeds.Distance wise, Erumely to Mundakkayam is ~ 14 kms

So you guys suggest that this route would be faster than the Tenksi Madurai Bangalore route?

I think it will be more or less even stevens. The Kumily route would be about 35-40 kms shorter, but you need to drive more distances on Kerala roads - and that too on curvy mountain roads. So either way you may end up spending the same amount of time eventually.

If you're going to be driving during the course of next week, I'd certainly prefer the longer route via Punalur-Shenkottai since the Ranni-Erumeli would be clogged with Sabarimala pilgrimage vehicles.

I am travelling on the first week of Feb hence no issues with the traffic. I have never driven by any of the routes before. Everyone here are happy with the theni road so i may try that for now. Next time maybe the thenmala Tenkasi route

Check out the status of the Theni-Dindigul four-laning work before you start. If it is still continuing, it may be better to take the alternate route from Theni to Kodai Road.

Widening is still in progress and I dont think it would get over in a month.Even if its over the faster option would be Theni-Vathalakundu-Nilakottai-Kodai Road-NH7.Wide roads,and excellent condition.

http://goo.gl/maps/swrfk

Does this mean the Theni - Vathalakundu stretch (via Periyakulam) is free from all roadwork now ? I thought people used to take the Theni-Andipatti-Vathalakundu-Nilakottai-Kodai road route to avoid the entire NH stretch between Theni and Dindigul where roadwork was in progress.

If you are travelling in Feb, I suggest to take the Adoor-Pathanamthitta-Ranni-Erumeli-Mundakkayam (you enter KK road after Mundakkayam town)-Kumily route. The roads are more or less in good condition and usually, it takes around 10 hours for this route with breaks included, with very relaxed pace. In Kerala, this route is less crowded than the Punalur route, during off season (Sabarimala) time.

Hi All,

I need to travel to Ottapalam, Kerala for a colleague's wedding. He generally takes the route via Salem and he says the road is a good highway throughout.

http://goo.gl/maps/FAKTd

I just stumbled upon another route via Mysore. Can somebody tell me more about this route?

http://goo.gl/maps/qg06s

It's lesser in terms of distance. But how are the roads? Any more info would be really helpful.

Any day via salem-L&T-PKD-Ottapalam from Bangalore.
Mysore-bandipur-Nilambur -ottapalm would be more picturesque with an opportunity to enjoy some wild life though.

That's exactly what I'd love. If the road condition is good, I wouldn't mind driving on the more picturesque albeit slower road as there's no dearth of time.

I can come back to Bangalore via Salem.

Scenic definitely the Bandipur-Mysore route.Faster definitely the Salem route.You can go via one and come back via the other.

Just a small change to your ottapalam route map,attached is the modified route.Perinthalmana-Cherplasserry-Srikrishnapuram-Mangalamkunnu-Ambalapara-Ottapalam.Budget for a 9hour drive.Enroute if you are lucky you could see elephants at Mangalamkunnu as the place is home to the person in Kerala owning the highest number of elephants as on date (around 23 iirc).

http://goo.gl/maps/4Jkew