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Zen can easily do it.No major wild animal problem during day time.Plenty of eateries enroute till Pollachi.

But the detour via Valparai is going to take a lot of time I am afraid,so be prepared for that.

Hope you are not joking! The lowest temperature in the plains will not be below 18C anywhere in Kerala. Typically it will be more like 22-23C in winter in those parts. Morning fog is also unusual in plains, though it is possible in Punalur and heavily wooded areas.

I assume you meant Annalakshmi?

There are a lot many more now including a Saravana Bhavan and Aryas.

True,the CP guys act funny and at times dont let you go through the CP from 430 itself because by the time you make it to the next CP as per their calculations,you are bound to be beyond 6pm when the CP closes.

60 km of driving through pot hole ridden forest route will take at least 3 hours. But mind you, not many vehicles use this route and is deserted most of the time. Best thing about your lunch is to get it packed at valparai and enjoy it during the journey. And these check post guys are very particular about the plastic bottles you carry and these are verified at both ends.

Did they change the name ? Google maps is mentioning it as Annaporna.

Yes, Saravana Bhavan is also a descent option. Had lunch during rush hour two months back, service was prompt.

Thanks to all for the valuable suggestions. (Not quoting everyone). Yes, i can start early to make sure we have abundant time in hand to enjoy the nature and tackle the roads.

Good pointer about the plastic bottles. Not that we litter every place, but good to know that they do actually check and caution people against it.

From ranjitp1's post, i infer that the CP closes at 6, which is something i dint know. Thanks for that very valuable info.

How's the road condition from Avinashi to Pollachi? Any idea?

Avinashi Palladam road is in good condition,however there is a railway overbridge under construction and that can cause major delays as there is no temporary road and a long detour needs to be taken to get to the other side.No proper signages.I would suggest taking the Perundurai-Kangayam-Palladam-Pollachi route.

Be sure to cross the First CP by 330-4pm latest.However bear in mind its going to be a long detour to reach Kochi.You would be better off staying the night at valparai and off to Kochi the next day or during the return

All reserve forests are closed for traffic during night. It is onky that time of closing may change like 6 pm in this case or 9 pm in the case of mudumalai.

Not all. The Wildlife sanctuaries in Wayanad district (Wayanad WLS and Tholpetty WLS) are open for traffic 24 hours. The night traffic ban is in force only in Karnataka (NH212 traffic towards Karnataka is blocked from 9PM only from the checkpost on the Kerala-Karnataka border)

Are wayanad and tholpetty WLS, declared reserve forests or just sanctuaries. Because supreme court order clearly restricts movement of vehicles and people inside core and buffer zone areas inside reserve forests with no exception.

Reposting this as there wasnt any response. Appreciate it if someone could give some pointers.

couple of points:

- The best option is Trichy/Didigul/Theni/Bodi/Munnar. But I think Theni-Bodi section is closed. So your friend may have to do : Theni-Cumbum-Nedumkandam-Poppara-Munnar.

This increased distance can be equivalent to taking the Udumalpet route.

Trichy-Dindigul-Palani-Udumalpet-Munnar.

Reserve Forests are areas notified as such under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. The focus here is not really on protecting flora/fauna, but on protecting forests and their economic wealth.

On the other hand, National Parks and Sanctuaries are covered under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. These protected areas focus on conservation on flora/fauna. (And some of these are declared as Tiger reserves and covered under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006. They enjoy some extra protection for tiger conservation)

Since wild life protection is more relevant in the latter, night traffic bans are generally placed only in such areas. Have never heard of any blanket Supreme Court ban on traffic in either Reserve Forests or WL Sanctuaries (Though high courts and the Supreme court generally always uphold any administrative orders that ban night traffic through sanctuaries)

Travelled Bangalore -Kochi yesterday on NH7/NH47. The road from L&T exit is very rough with potholes here and there. Negotiating them during night can be tiring.

I passed Coimbatore by 5.30 am and traffic was horrible till Mannuthy. Not at all a smooth journey.

My 2 cents on this route - we took this route a couple of years ago from Coimbatore - Pollachi - Valparai - Athirappilly - Chalakudy.

The road was great until the Tamil Nadu border but beyond that it was absolutely terrible - full of potholes.

The second part of the problem was that traffic was very sparse - we probably came across another vehicle for much of the stretch once in 10-15 mins!

Also, on the Kerala side this seems to be stretch where young men come in cars, bring in their bottles and "enjoy" by the roadside. I would not advise this road if you are traveling with family.