Team-BHP - All Roads to Kerala

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Originally Posted by D C (Post 3604294)

Are you talking about the route through Tiruppur to Palladam? I have taken this route many times and is a great option during night drives. However, I find it very tough to cross Tiruppur town during day times.

No. Drive till Avinashi. At Avinashi, dont take the Tiruppur road. But take the road to Mangalam and there on to Palladam. This is good road and especially after the completion of railway over bridge, is even better. Most folks heading to KL use this option to bypass CBE-Walayar-Palakkad.

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Originally Posted by carpacman (Post 3604642)

After some research and discussions, this is the route I am planning to take on next week to Cochin from Bangalore. Thanks to "Kala" for his inputs.

https://goo.gl/maps/cfy5T

The link seems to show the route as a right turn at Karumathampatti (onto NH47) and then a left turn at Pollachi Road (NH209) from midway on the L&T byepass. Not sure if this is what you intended.

My suggestion would be to pass under the NH47 flyover at Karumathampatti and continue straight on SH165 till you hit a T junction at Kamanaikenpalayam and take a right turn towards Pollachi. Those roads have much less traffic than the NH47/NH209 combination and the road surface is equally good or better.

Note : There is a small discontinuity for SH165 at the point where it crosses SH163 at Karadivavi. You need to take a left turn onto SH163 there and the immediate right turn after about 50 meters. I'm sure there must be markings for KamanaikenPalayam there. (Can't confirm about the markings because I have only travelled only in the opposite direction - there were markings for Somanur / Annur there when coming from Pollachi to Annur)

Thanks again Kala.

This is the updated map https://goo.gl/maps/JsQyE

When I zoom in at karadivavi, I can see the left on to 163 and right back to 165, so maps seem to have taken care of this

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Originally Posted by kala (Post 3604659)

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Originally Posted by binand (Post 3604736)

From Kollengode, is it better (road quality/traffic) to go towards Alathur or towards Nemmara and join NH 47 near Vadakkancheri?

Hadn't noticed that GM routes you via Alathur when you specify Pollachi to Vadakkencherry.

I've always travelled from Vadakkencherry to Pollachi via Nemmara-Kollengode and the roads on that route are in good shape. I guess GM suggests going via Alathur because that route is only some 2 or 3 kms longer, so you get to drive more on NH47. I would think it would be faster to go via Nemmara because NH47 has a much higher traffic density and more or less the same (or may be a bit worse) surface quality.

Thanks for all the inputs.

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Originally Posted by suresh_gs (Post 3603639)

From Ulundurpet, proceed further on NH45 towards Perambulur. Then take a turn towards Thuraiyur and proceed till you reach Kulithalai. From here take the Karur-Trichy by pass road (NH67) and proceed till you reach Kangeyam.
From here go towards Pollachi and then rejoin NH47 at Vadakencherry via Kollengode.
By this route you can avoid the mess at Walayar.

I have driven through this route before ( Kangeyam - Palladam - Pollachi) but it does not save much time. I am OK with the Walayar route. Also, I plan to stay at Bhavani for the night.

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Originally Posted by sunil8089 (Post 3603756)

I suggest to make a early morning start at 4:30AM from Adayar, the roads will be free. But don't delay till 6 AM, the traffic will be heavy especially till Chengalpet (Mahindra City) and all the toll gates in GST Road.

If you plan in that way, you can have a breakfast at A2B or Arya Niwas at Ulundurpet (around 8:30 AM) and can have lunch at Palakkad / Pollachi around 2PM, depending on the route you take. After lunch, drive in relax to Vaikom. One good place for a afternoon tea break is Indian Coffee House near Pattikad (next to a BP pump).

My sincere suggestion is try to avoid night driving, especially the Palakkad / Pollachi to Trichur stretch.

As I said, the idea is a relaxed drive with a halt. Hence want to start after the peak morning traffic. Need to reach Bhavani by 6:30 - 7:00 PM

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Originally Posted by joecherian (Post 3604197)

If you are starting from adyar, I would suggest to take omr till thiruporur and then take the right fork towards chengalpet. This way, you can avoid all the madness till chengalpet on GST. Thiruporur chengalpet is single lane but excellent road. With the railway over bridge done in chengalpet, it is really easy to pass through the town.
If you like driving in 2 lanes, then I would suggest to take the trichy karur dharapuram pollachi wadakkencherry route. But then the flip side is, you might not find any decent hotels. This is my usual route from chennai to cochin but then I always do a night drive. Same for me on 24 as well.

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Originally Posted by binand (Post 3603634)

There's Kelambakkam-Vandalur (4-lane dual carriageway) or Thiruporur-Chengalpattu (I'm not sure, but I think this is a single carriageway road). The former is in excellent condition though could work out to be a bit longer.

Will the GST have heavy traffic at 11:30 AM on a Monday? The route via OMR is significantly longer? Is it worth? Is it better to take Kelambakkam Vandalur Chengalpattu or Thiruporur Chengalpattu?

https://goo.gl/maps/7j9dI

Updated the map to route through Nemmara towards Vadakancherry

Thanks binand for the clarification

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Originally Posted by kala (Post 3604787)

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Originally Posted by pramodpk (Post 3604797)

I have driven through this route before ( Kangeyam - Palladam - Pollachi) but it does not save much time. I am OK with the Walayar route. Also, I plan to stay at Bhavani for the night.

If you take a detour to Kangeyam, then it doesn't save much time. However, if you stay on the 4-L NH47 till Avinashi, and take Mangalam-Palladam-Pollachi, or even Karumathampetti-Somanur-Karanampettai-Pollachi, that would save time and also you get to remain on good roads all along.

Madukkarai-Walayar still remains rough and patchy, and the checkposts at Chavadi and Walayar can get clogged anytime. Walayar till Alathur has moderate to heavy traffic round the clock, plus a lot of diversions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 3604736)

From Kollengode, is it better (road quality/traffic) to go towards Alathur or towards Nemmara and join NH 47 near Vadakkancheri?

From Kollengode, it's better to go via Nenmara and join NH47 near Vadakkenchery. The road leading to Alathur sees much higher traffic, and is narrower in a few stretches, in addition to being a lot more twisty. However, I must say that the route passes through Pallavur village (known for producing some of the finest percussionists) which is scenic - hills, paddy fields, temples. The road is just fine with an occasional pothole on a few of the rather open stretches flanked by paddy fields - this is how it was 2 weeks ago.

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Originally Posted by aajohn (Post 3604975)

Going to Kottayam via Dindigul,Theni Kumily coming Saturday from Bangalore . I did the route in October and found the stretch from Theni to Lower camp pathetic- anyone has an update on the road conditions?

Can't really call it pathetic though there are occasional rough patches off and on. Also roads inside small towns on the way (Chinnamanur, Uttamapalayam, Cumbum etc) are broken and congested, so it would take some time to pass them. I took 1 hour 5 minutes to cover the 55 kms or so from Theni to Lower Camp when I travelled that way last week which is a much better average speed than what you can hope to achieve on most of the roads in Kerala.

The condition of the road between Dindigul and Theni is also very similar.

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Originally Posted by ThomasZach (Post 3604943)

Manorama reports huge delays at the Aryankavu checkpost on the Kollam - Thirumangalam route. It seems that vehicles were held up for up to 13 hours yesterday.

Bad to hear this. Any particular reason or just one off case?
I am planning to take this route sometime next week, probably crossing this area afternoon 3pm - 4pm. Any recent updates on Aryankavu- Punalur - Adoor road condition?
I am traveling from Bangalore to Pandalam and considering 2 options.
1. Dindigul - Kumily - Mundakayam - Ranni - Pathanamthitta - Pandalam
2. Thirumangalam - Rajapalayam - Shenkotttai - Punalur - Adoor - Pandalam

I think option 2 is better, but little worried about the above news.