[arjithin]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Hi Guys, please suggest the best route from Ernakulam to Kozhikode.

Route 1: Vytilla > Kodungallur > Ponnani > Chamravattom bridge > Tirur > Chaliyam > Feroke > Mananchira Square

Route 2: Vytilla > Kodungallur > Ponnani > Kuttipuram > Kottakkal > Ramanattukara > Mananchira Square

Route 3: Vytilla > Angamaly > Thrissur > Kunnamkulam > Edappal > Tirur > Chaliyam > Feroke > Mananchira Square

Will be starting from Vytilla at 4 AM. Inclined towards Route 1 due to the metro works till Aluva.

Looking for the fastest route and good roads. A longer distance is fine too. So, welcome other suggestions too.

My choice will be vytilla Thrissur kunnamkulam kuttipuram kottakal Kozhikode.
Reason - this will be probably the fastest. Not much issue with oncoming headbeams till Thrissur and then good and wide roads onwards. I normally cover chalakudi to kunnamangalam (16 km from kazhikkode on wayanad road) under 3 hours with a 5 AM start; so you should be able to cover this in 4 hours.

Every time I took NH17 route, I missed spotting some surprise potholes.

Can you take seaport airport road to skip some of the metro work ?

FYI - I am driving tomorrow post lunch to Kunnamangalam from Chalakudi

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by ajaypjayaraj

After Parappanangadi (and before Vallikunnu), you could take a right turn (its a T junction which is easy to miss) which has a level crossing soon after the turn and join NH17 at Chelari.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Or if you still prefer route 1, would still recommend turning off after Parappanagadi at Chettipadi (as ajaypjayaraj mentioned) and joining NH17 at Chelari. Chettipadi is the 2nd major jn after crossing Parappanangadi.

Thank You guys! We will try to not miss the turn after Parappanangadi. Might opt for NH 17 for our return on Sunday if we are starting a bit late and since its Thrissur pooram. This will come in handy for sure. I hope the level crossing won't hold us back for too long.

Originally Posted by arjithin

My choice will be vytilla Thrissur kunnamkulam kuttipuram kottakal Kozhikode. Can you take seaport airport road to skip some of the metro work?

The big bottlenecks are between Kalamassery and Aluva, so airport seaport road doesnt help. Sometimes they block the NH early in the morning and reroute via Muppathadam. And its no fun to be stuck behind giant trailers and crossing those innumerous speed breakers early in the morning.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

The big bottlenecks are between Kalamassery and Aluva, so airport seaport road doesnt help. Sometimes they block the NH early in the morning and reroute via Muppathadam. And its no fun to be stuck behind giant trailers and crossing those innumerous speed breakers early in the morning.

Generally there are no blocks on the Muppathadam route (touch wood ). And the extra time taken is not much - maybe around 10 to 15 minutes, if you are going to stick to your 4 am start (you guys better stick to it!!). But the route suggested by arjithin would be fastest when you reach closer to Calicut. The only worry would be the Ramanattukara junction.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

The only worry would be the Ramanattukara junction.

Assuming a 4 am start from Vyttila, deetjohn should be around Ramanattukara around 8 AM and traffic should be manageable at Ramanattukara. Other option is to continue on the bypass and turn left at thondayad.

OT: Is paragon that good for breakfast as well?? I have been to Paragon for lunch and dinner many times, but never tried breakfast . There are many new restaurants on the wayanad road which looks good from outside.

[nidhinsarath]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Hi Guys, please suggest the best route from Ernakulam to Kozhikode.



Route 1: Vytilla > Kodungallur > Ponnani > Chamravattom bridge > Tirur > Chaliyam > Feroke > Mananchira Square



Route 2: Vytilla > Kodungallur > Ponnani > Kuttipuram > Kottakkal > Ramanattukara > Mananchira Square



Route 3: Vytilla > Angamaly > Thrissur > Kunnamkulam > Edappal > Tirur > Chaliyam > Feroke > Mananchira Square



Will be starting from Vytilla at 4 AM. Inclined towards Route 1 due to the metro works till Aluva.



Looking for the fastest route and good roads. A longer distance is fine too. So, welcome other suggestions too.

The best route is route 1 if you are planning to start at 4AM. but there's is a slight deviation in the route. This is my route map
Tirur>parappanangadi > vallikkunnu> anangadi(1.5-2 km from vallikkunnu). It's a T junction from where you should take a right turn>Athanikkal > Kottakadavu > Feroke> cheruvannur> Calicut.
You will reach in less than 3 hours with an average speed of 50-60kmph. Roads are good too

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Hi Guys, please suggest the best route from Ernakulam to Kozhikode.

Route 1: Vytilla > Kodungallur > Ponnani > Chamravattom bridge > Tirur > Chaliyam > Feroke > Mananchira Square

Route 2: Vytilla > Kodungallur > Ponnani > Kuttipuram > Kottakkal > Ramanattukara > Mananchira Square

Route 3: Vytilla > Angamaly > Thrissur > Kunnamkulam > Edappal > Tirur > Chaliyam > Feroke > Mananchira Square

Will be starting from Vytilla at 4 AM. Inclined towards Route 1 due to the metro works till Aluva.

Looking for the fastest route and good roads. A longer distance is fine too. So, welcome other suggestions too.

For a 4 am start, I would suggest route 3, which is faster than the others. If you are still skeptical about the metro work, go via Tripunithura, Ambalamugal, Kizhakkambalam, Aluva. Traffic is very less roads are good. The only concern is some over dimensional consignment of BPCL project blocking the way.

[binand]

Originally Posted by wilful

the Trichur/Guruvayur stretch (in parts) is not too wide and can be pretty congested.

I did a quick Perumbavur-Guruvayur drive on Saturday. Left home at around 3 PM, reached Guruvayur at around 6 PM, started the return trip at 9 PM and was back home again by 11:30 PM. Distance was 90 km one-way.

At Thrissur - follow ranjitp1's directions to the T to pass through the town. Discard Google Maps, gratuitous advice etc. I made the mistake of taking the first exit after the Paliyekkara toll booth (the High Road through Thalore to the round), then MG Road till a major junction (West Fort?) and left again at the junction with Kuttipuram road. This route wasted a lot of time due to traffic pile-ups. On my return I managed to get to Aswini junction and onwards to Kuttanellur where I joined NH7. Coming from Palakkad side I suppose exiting NH7 at Mannuthi itself and joining the Town Hall Road makes sense.

The Thrissur-Kuttipuram Road is 4-lane, dual carriageway till probably near Kaiparambu, and by then traffic volume also goes down. This wasn't the case when I went to Guruvayur a few years back.

At Guruvayur - where you hit the East Nada entrance junction, turn left to the Outer Ring Road, and then take the first right exit. You will be bang in front of the Devaswom paid parking lot. No need to drive around looking for space in the other smaller lots that might be closer to the temple. From this parking lot the east nada is only about 100m anyway.

I could do good speeds in the return direction; even with a dinner break at a nondescript restaurant on the Guruvayur-Choondal road (clean, well-maintained toilets were the only redeeming feature of this place) we reached home in about 110 minutes of driving time.

[C300]

Completed the 600km Kerala Trip over the long weekend.

Took the Wayanad route to reach Guruvayur. Overnight stay at Kenichira on Friday and Guruvayur on Saturday.
Mysore – Antharasanthe – Nagarhole National Park – Kenichira Wayanad – Thamarassery – Tirur - Guruvayur

Visited Thrissur Puram festival on the way back to Mysore.
Guruvayur – Thrissur – Kunnamakulam – Nilambur – Gudalur – Gundalpet - Nanjangud - Mysore

Excellent roads throughout except the Nanjangud – Mysore stretch which is being widened.

[pramodpk]

Updates from my Bangalore - Vaikom drive and back.

1. Took the Omalur -Sankari route while going and coming back. This is the first time that I took while going. Decided to take this route as there was some crowd at Thoppur and expected the same at Omalur and Sankari. The Sankari - Edappadi - Tharamangalam - Omalur route is in good condition. My car was checked due to election while going near Edappadi. Noticed checking while returning too but I was not stopped. Took 46 mins to cover 47 KMs while coming back.

2. The KG Chavadi bypass is open. Only the service roads are open but surface is OK.

3. There is good progress on the Vadakkencherry - Mannuthy stretch. Could see some work at Kuthiran too. Looks like new road is going to be parallel to the current one?

4. 4 -5 new signals have come up between Walayar and Vadakkencherry.

5. Road work seems to be happening between Aluva and Kalamassery below the Metro.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

4. 4 -5 new signals have come up between Walayar and Vadakkencherry.

I too noticed this. If this trend is continued, there could be more and more junctions coming up and more traffic lights brought in. And some of these junctions were existing for ages. So was just wondering why building fly overs at these places were not considered ??

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by C300

Completed the 600km Kerala Trip over the long weekend.

Took the Wayanad route to reach Guruvayur. Overnight stay at Kenichira on Friday and Guruvayur on Saturday.
Mysore – Antharasanthe – Nagarhole National Park – Kenichira Wayanad – Thamarassery – Tirur - Guruvayur

Excellent roads throughout except the Nanjangud – Mysore stretch which is being widened.

I will be driving from Kerala to Bangalore in the 1st week of May. Havent done the Wayanad route before; so am interested in trying this route this time.

1. Can you share the exact route you took so that i can plot it on google?
2. How about taking Mysore-Hampapura-Antharasanthe route instead of Mysore-Nanjangud?
3. If we start early from Kerala (my place is near Perumpilav) say by 5 am, can we reach Bangalore by late evening?
4. Hows the road thru the forest area? Since it is summer, the forest must be pretty dry right now?
5. Are there good eateries enroute or do we need to carry food? Fuel options?
6. Is it possible to take a detour to Thirunelli temple and still make it to Bangalore by late evening?

Thanks

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

4 -5 new signals have come up between Walayar and Vadakkencherry

They've been there for over a month now.

Originally Posted by silversteed

there are signals installed at Chandranagar, Kazhchaparambu (after Paalana hospital), Kuzhalmannam, Alathur and a couple of other places.

The signals had to be installed because of the many accidents that have occurred, most of them due to bad design of the intersection and a handful of them due to callousness of the local populace (every such highway would have its thirst for blood before things settle down over a period).

The contractor washed their hands off it, stating that their work conforms to the rules laid out by the NHAI and they're not answerable to the local bodies. Whoever had the clout did manage to strategically locate a few flyovers and meandering elevated portions which did nothing good to the users.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Sandy28

• Can you share the exact route you took so that i can plot it on google?
• How about taking Mysore-Hampapura-Antharasanthe route instead of Mysore-Nanjangud?

That seems to be the route he had taken, but for Perumpilavu it is circuitous. Shorter to take Mysore-Gundlupet-Gudalur-Nilambur-Perinthalmanna-Pattambi.

Originally Posted by Sandy28

• If we start early from Kerala (my place is near Perumpilav) say by 5 am, can we reach Bangalore by late evening?

Easily, but be aware that the late afternoon/early evening traffic on the Mysore-Bangalore Road can be quite maddening.

Originally Posted by Sandy28

• Hows the road thru the forest area? Since it is summer, the forest must be pretty dry right now?
• Are there good eateries enroute or do we need to carry food? Fuel options?
• Is it possible to take a detour to Thirunelli temple and still make it to Bangalore by late evening?

All the three routes in question - Mysore-Mananthavady, Gundlupet-Bathery and Gundlupet-Nilambur have excellent roads.

Once you are beyond Mysore, your food options are limited though, until you enter Kerala.

For Tirunelli you need to necessarily take the Mananthavady route. A detour would lengthen your journey time by approx. 1.5 hours (not counting time spent at the temple itself).

It would be better if you asked in the Bangalore-Calicut thread, where there are many regulars who take these routes several times a year.

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by binand

That seems to be the route he had taken, but for Perumpilavu it is circuitous. Shorter to take Mysore-Gundlupet-Gudalur-Nilambur-Perinthalmanna-Pattambi.

For Tirunelli you need to necessarily take the Mananthavady route. A detour would lengthen your journey time by approx. 1.5 hours (not counting time spent at the temple itself).

It would be better if you asked in the Bangalore-Calicut thread, where there are many regulars who take these routes several times a year.

Thanks Binand for the inputs. I have done the Gundlupet-Gudalur-Nilambur route before also. So wanted to try the Thamarasery Mananthavady route. Will post my query on the Bangalore-Calicut threat as well.

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Updates from my Bangalore - Vaikom drive and back.
4. 4 -5 new signals have come up between Walayar and Vadakkencherry.

Originally Posted by sachinpk

I too noticed this. If this trend is continued, there could be more and more junctions coming up and more traffic lights brought in.

Originally Posted by silversteed

They've been there for over a month now.

The one on Chandranagar (Palakkad) will take a new user by surprise. While going towards Thrissur this one below the flyover is a perfect recipe for disaster especially when approaching vehicle are anywhere above 80 Km/Hr.

LINK

On top of this; last weekend I was greeted by a father and a daughter from the wrong direction in an ALTO around 10.00 PM. Since I was aware of this signal I could brake on time with few meters to spare (since there was bus already to my left lane I couldn't switch my lanes). These guys fail to understand the value of life is worth more than the time and fuel they save by all these stunts . I believe he was to drop his kid near the Hotel Aryas which is a pickup point for may private intercity buses.

Cheers