[Mnjdnght]

I need to drive from Goa to Edappally in the next 2 weeks. NH17 looks to be the obvious choice (other suggestions welcome). Any pointers on road conditions, expected choke points and drive-arounds, alternate route suggestions would be most helpful. The segments on this stretch I've driven in the past are - Kundapura - Mangalore (a year back), Mangalore - Kozhikkode (8 years back and now least familiar), Guruvayoor - Edappally (last year sometime). Please also provide any specific suggestions for bypassing Kozhikkode town.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

Please also provide any specific suggestions for bypassing Kozhikkode town.

Kozhikode now has a usable bypass, though it doesn't reach upto the northbound NH17. What you can do is to take the mini-bypass (West Hill > Karapparamba > Eranhipalam), turn left onto northbound NH 212, and then right onto the true NH 17 bypass at Malapparamba. The bypass ends at the junction between NH 17 and NH 213 at Ramanattukara, the commuter town at the southern edge of Kozhikkode district.

Instead of West Hill > Karapparamba, you could try Puthiyangadi > Edakkad > Karapparamba as well.

Alternately you can quit NH 17 after Chemancheri, turn towards Atholi and then Eranhikal, and then take the bypass from its starting point.

Edit: Depending on the time of day and your risk appetite, you could simply continue along the mini bypass and join the southbound NH 17 at Meenchanda. The traffic on this road is HEAVY and rash most of the time.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

I need to drive from Goa to Edappally in the next 2 weeks. NH17 looks to be the obvious choice (other suggestions welcome). Any pointers on road conditions, expected choke points and drive-arounds, alternate route suggestions would be most helpful. The segments on this stretch I've driven in the past are - Kundapura - Mangalore (a year back), Mangalore - Kozhikkode (8 years back and now least familiar), Guruvayoor - Edappally (last year sometime). Please also provide any specific suggestions for bypassing Kozhikkode town.

The choke points I know best between Payyannur and Kozhikode, the area I am most famillilar with (during peak hours only) :
> Taliparamba town
> Near Kannur town - Puthiyatheru to Thazhe chovva. There is an alternate for this, via Alavil which ends up near the new bus stand/fort road and further connection to Caltex junction. This road was recently widened and is in good condition, but it would still bypass only the Puthiyatheru-caltex junction stretch. Beyond that, you still have to endure the traffic uptil Thazhechovva.
Gmaps link here: http://goo.gl/maps/kgO0w
> Moythu bridge ( sometimes gets chocked up due to the narrow bridge)
> Telicherry town and 1-2 km beyond it
> Mahe town and 1-2 km beyond it.
> Towns of Payyoli, Thikkodi, Koyilandy on the vadakara-Kozhikode stretch.

Among the options binand suggested for bypassing Kozhikode city, during off peak hours I would suggest the Atholi route. Its relatively straightforward with good signages. In case you miss the turn to Atholi, another option is to go past Elathur till you find Volkswagen and a couple of other car showrooms. Take left at the junction after this (pavangad junction) and keep going for around 3.5 kms (signages would be for Kuttiyadi, ignore signs for Kozhikode) till you climb up a small ascent and reach a kind of junction where you would see a road going towards sharp right. This is the starting point of the bypass. But caution, If you miss this right, you will end up going in the opposite direction. gmaps link here: http://goo.gl/maps/73QiZ

And do exercise extreme caution in the stretch from Ramanattukara till Kuttipuram. Some of the curves are very dangerous, eg Panambra, Vattapara, etc. You could expect a lot of private buses driven rashly, many times swerving head on into your lane while overtaking others.

[denver85]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

I need to drive from Goa to Edappally in the next 2 weeks. NH17 looks to be the obvious choice (other suggestions welcome). Any pointers on road conditions, expected choke points and drive-arounds, alternate route suggestions would be most helpful. The segments on this stretch I've driven in the past are - Kundapura - Mangalore (a year back), Mangalore - Kozhikkode (8 years back and now least familiar), Guruvayoor - Edappally (last year sometime). Please also provide any specific suggestions for bypassing Kozhikkode town.

According to my last few daytime drives in NH17, I found the stretch between Ramanattukara and Kuttipuram to be most choked and dangerous stretch. In my last week's drive the traffic in this section was insane(Friday afternoon). The drive was almost like driving in a city. There are lot of big vehicles in the road now due to the Sabarimala season. The dangerous curves and slopes reduces the speed of the heavy vehicles. The similar condition of traffic in the oncoming line never allows any vehicle to overtake and in a matter of seconds it becomes a big convoy.

The traffic was okyish in the NH17 before Kozhikode. The Talassery-Mahe and Payyanur-Kannur is always crowded but you will be able to move easily due to almost straight and plane roads.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

I need to drive from Goa to Edappally in the next 2 weeks. NH17 looks to be the obvious choice (other suggestions welcome). Any pointers on road conditions, expected choke points and drive-arounds, alternate route suggestions would be most helpful. The segments on this stretch I've driven in the past are - Kundapura - Mangalore (a year back), Mangalore - Kozhikkode (8 years back and now least familiar), Guruvayoor - Edappally (last year sometime). Please also provide any specific suggestions for bypassing Kozhikkode town.

With the kind of traffic that you would encounter on NH17, I would say it would be a good idea to break at some place for a day in between. The highway is a nighmare on traffic.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by ampere

With the kind of traffic that you would encounter on NH17, I would say it would be a good idea to break at some place for a day in between. The highway is a nighmare on traffic.

Further to ampere, if you are comfortable, with night driving you can beat most of the traffic issues. It will be much faster compared to day drive.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Further to ampere, if you are comfortable, with night driving you can beat most of the traffic issues. It will be much faster compared to day drive.

Agree 110%. Your day time average speed could be 30-35 kmph and can be very tiring and frustrating. Better to start noon from Goa and reach destination early in the morning ( only if you are comfortable driving overnight).

Alternatively you can try via Bglr for a longer, equally time consuming but peaceful 4 lane drive.

[Mnjdnght]

Originally Posted by binand

Kozhikode now has a usable bypass, though it doesn't reach upto the northbound NH17. What you can do is to take the mini-bypass (West Hill > Karapparamba > Eranhipalam), turn left onto northbound NH 212, and then right onto the true NH 17 bypass at Malapparamba. The bypass ends at the junction between NH 17 and NH 213 at Ramanattukara, the commuter town at the southern edge of Kozhikkode district.

Alternately you can quit NH 17 after Chemancheri, turn towards Atholi and then Eranhikal, and then take the bypass from its starting point.

Perfect. That gives some good options. I'll probably avoid the heavy traffic mini bypass and stick to the regular bypass to Ramanattukara. I am hoping that there are food options along the bypass route to avoid hunger routing me back into town :-)

Originally Posted by sandsun7

The choke points I know best between Payyannur and Kozhikode, the area I am most famillilar with (during peak hours only) :
> Taliparamba town

Google maps is showing me an alternate route from Cheruthazham via Pazhayangadi joining NH17 near Pappinisseri that avoids Taliparamba town. Is this a good option?

Originally Posted by sandsun7

> Near Kannur town - Puthiyatheru to Thazhe chovva. There is an alternate for this, via Alavil which ends up near the new bus stand/fort road and further connection to Caltex junction. This road was recently widened and is in good condition, but it would still bypass only the Puthiyatheru-caltex junction stretch. Beyond that, you still have to endure the traffic uptil Thazhechovva.

I may end up staying over in Kannur to break the journey and hence maybe able to work around this.

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Among the options binand suggested for bypassing Kozhikode city, during off peak hours I would suggest the Atholi route. Its relatively straightforward with good signages.

Agreed. I'll mostly take the bypass from Atholi.

Originally Posted by sandsun7

And do exercise extreme caution in the stretch from Ramanattukara till Kuttipuram. Some of the curves are very dangerous, eg Panambra, Vattapara, etc. You could expect a lot of private buses driven rashly, many times swerving head on into your lane while overtaking others.

Got it. Any thoughts on taking the Tirur - Chamravattam route instead of sticking to the original NH17 through Kuttippuram?

Originally Posted by ampere

With the kind of traffic that you would encounter on NH17, I would say it would be a good idea to break at some place for a day in between. The highway is a nighmare on traffic.

Agreed. I'll mostly be breaking the journey at Kannur.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

Google maps is showing me an alternate route from Cheruthazham via Pazhayangadi joining NH17 near Pappinisseri that avoids Taliparamba town. Is this a good option?

This route is shorter by around 8km, but again you will have to brave traffic inside two highly congested towns - Pazhayangadi and Cherukunnu. The road surface is great, but is really narrow and with crazy traffic at most places after Pazhayangadi. Also, 2 railway gates to cross- one at Pazhayangadi and another at Pappinishery. So best avoided if you are travelling on a weekday during the daytime.

Originally Posted by Mnjdnght

Got it. Any thoughts on taking the Tirur - Chamravattam route instead of sticking to the original NH17 through Kuttippuram?

Again, narrow roads with high traffic density. Roads near Chamravattom bridge which was bad earlier were recently relaid and is in good condition. There are some very crowded towns to cross like Tanur, Parapppanangadi, Tirur, etc. Also expect some extra traffic due to many shabarimala bound vehicles visiting Chamravattom ayyappan temple now! The temple is now very popular is what I heard.

[sreerknair]

Guys, we are doing a trip to Parambikulam WLS tomorrow from Cochin. I was too occupied with work that didn't even get time to explore the route options. Google maps shows a route via Thrissur - Vadakkencherry - Anaimalai. This one looks like a long route. Does anyone can give a better suggestion? I prefer short travel time even if it means I have to cover more distance. Also any details on the road conditions. Thanks

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by sreerknair

Guys, we are doing a trip to Parambikulam WLS tomorrow from Cochin. I was too occupied with work that didn't even get time to explore the route options. Google maps shows a route via Thrissur - Vadakkencherry - Anaimalai. This one looks like a long route. Does anyone can give a better suggestion? I prefer short travel time even if it means I have to cover more distance. Also any details on the road conditions. Thanks

As far as I know, the only route to Parambikulam WLS is through Tamilnadu, that is via Pollachi-Anamalai.

[rejeen]

Originally Posted by rejeen

Planning to do Bangalore to Cherthala tomorrow via NH 47. Start by 5 - 5:30 pm. Hope the construction qorks won't cause a lot of delays.

Started by 5:30 pm from Madiwala and reached home (Cherthala) by 3:30 am with a single break of 50 minutes (from 10:00pm to 10:50 pm) at Hotel Aariyas (google maps showed this one as SARAVANA BHAVAN or is it my mistake). This hotel has permission to stay open only till 10:00 pm. we were their last customers for the day. Overall food quality is average. Will try some other place next time.

A couple of points - Traffic was very slow at Hosur near the flyover construction. Could lose a lot of time here.

After exiting L & T Bypass, the roads were not that great. Walayar could also have traffic blocks. Find a way out where ever you see a gap.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by rejeen

After exiting L & T Bypass, the roads were not that great.

Thanks for the info. Can you provide a bit more info on the section between L&T Bypass and Palakad? How long it took?

[ampere]

Quoting your complete post in here. It would be good for many.

Originally Posted by dphilip.iitk

Thanks for all the warm wishes, and the Jazz is now safe in Kerala. Travelled 2259 kilometres from Kanpur to Kerala. Some important updates for all of you.

1. Kanpur to Nagpur drive mostly was good, but there are two sections that are quite bad. One 20 kilometre stretch near Babina and one 40 km stretch before Nagpur through the forest area (near deori). Started from Kanpur at 2:00 PM and reached Nagpur at 6:00 AM.

2. Nagpur to Bangalore was much more pleasant, but some 38 kilometres after exiting Nagpur to Hyderabad is quite bad. Then there are stretches like 1-2 kilometre where road is broken, but for Jazz like vehicle, it is negotiable. Started from Nagpur at 8:30 AM and reached Bangalore (SBC area) at 12:15 AM. Did ORR at HYD as per Team BHP members' advice. HYD passed in a bliss. Airport to Hebbal was little confusing for me - many deviations and confusing signage. :(

3. Bangalore to Kerala, and the drive was the worst when it came to average speed. Started at 10:40 AM and reached the destination near Kottayam at 12:45 AM. Took two hours to reach from Bangalore railway divisional office to Electronic city toll. Also, I took the road to Pollachi from Avinashi. Before reaching Palladam, the local people turned us around stating that road closed. By that time, it started getting dark and the Jazz had to come back to Avinashi. However, the Coimbatore to Walayar was doable. Walayar traffic was bad. However, still no jams.

Anyway, was a good experience. Thanks for all Team BHP members for the help.

At night, its not worth detouring via Pollachi. Not because its unsafe. But more so because, you can lose your way if dont know where to turn.

At Avinashi once on the bypass, you get two main exits. One goes to Tiruppur. Most people mistake that as the main exit to Palladam and take that road. Its a good road and hence many dont realise. Though this road would also lead you Palladam, but, it will go via Tiruppur town. The next exit about 2 km ahead would directly lead you to Palladam. The issue with this road is that the first 2-3 km is quite bad. And that is mainly because of a railway over bridge construction. Beyond that its very good and nice. Also that road is called the road to Mangalam. Many identify it that way. If you ask for Palladam most folks would ask you to take the Tiruppur road!

Its logical that at night, you might have faced the bad road to Mangalam and retracted back to the GQ.

[rejeen]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Thanks for the info. Can you provide a bit more info on the section between L&T Bypass and Palakad? How long it took?

The bad stretch is only about 20 KMs. That takes probably 30 mins. From Walayar the road gets better.