[gajadonga]

Drove to Sabarimala and back today.
From Dindigul - Kumily- Mundakayam. Good roads throughout.
Crossed Thoppur ghat today morning no hassle even the regular queue . Had fast tag it was bliss

[Rajeevraj]

Situation was completely opposite today. Had decided to leave today - 25th to avoid the chaos of 23rd and 24th. Turned out to be a good decision. Was headed to Tirur in malappuram dt. Normally I decide at the very last minute whether to take gudalur- Nilambur -Tirur or Salem- cbe -palakkad -pattambi -tirur. Although this is 120 km more , in my experience it is faster timewise if toll crowds are favorable.

Today , I felt it would be good to take Coimbatore route and Google also indicated it to be faster by 10 min. Just to be safe skipped the betl and Attibelle tolls by going via sarjapur-Bagalur. Roads were mostly empty and worst toll wait was 15 min at Thoppur. With shops closed for Christmas, traffic was very light on the Kerala side also.

Was surprised to see the number of signals that have come up after Walayar.Also good to see madukkarai- walayar finally starting to get into a decent shape.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Today , I felt it would be good to take Coimbatore route and Google also indicated it to be faster by 10 min.

Very similar experience for my extended family who returned from Palakkad today. With a 9am start and a leisurely lunch break at Sai Sangeet and another short tea break en route they were at Silk Board junction by 4:30pm.

Was surprised to see the number of signals that have come up after Walayar.Also good to see madukkarai- walayar finally starting to get into a decent shape.

I remember 2 signals between Walayar and Palakkad chandranagar junction, with the third one at Chandranagar only for those going inside Palakkad, any more ?
Madukkarai-Walayar progress is encouraging, hope it is completed soon.
I just wish the L&T bypass is also taken up for widening sometime very soon, it's becoming a big bottleneck now.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by NPV

I remember 2 signals between Walayar and Palakkad chandranagar junction, with the third one at Chandranagar only for those going inside Palakkad, any more ?

Yes, a few more have come up on the palakkad-thrissur stretch. There were 3 in the short ~10km stretch between Chandranagar and kuzhalmannam- where I turned off to go via Mathur kottayi and join the palakkad ottapalam highway at Mankara( My standard route to by-pass palakkad ). Not sure if there are more. The wait times were pretty high-60 seconds+. During peak times these are going to be big bottlenecks.

[Sree73]

Originally Posted by Sree73

Will be travelling to Thrissur on the next week end. On Christmas day (25th). Hope the traffic will not be much as starting on Sunday. Generally we start very early (~3-3:30AM) and used to reach Thrissur by 11:30AM-12PM.

Came to Thrissur yesterday. Started by 4:15AM from Whitefield (504 KMs door to door). Reached home @12:15PM, with a 30 minutes break at Hotel Sree Saravana Bhavan. Roads were pretty empty as it was Christmas day. Kuthiran was also pretty free.

[nidhinsarath]

Has anyone been in the Calicut-Thrissur- Athirappally-Valparai-Pollachi-Coimbatore-Calicut route recently? I am planning a drive to Valparai with family from Calicut day after tomorrow. My plan is to take Athirappally - sholayar route but Google says Pollachi route. From where should i take a turn to Athirapally route from Thrissur - Cochin highway? Any input regarding the road and traffic conditions would be helpful.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by nidhinsarath

Has anyone been in the Calicut-Thrissur- Athirappally-Valparai-Pollachi-Coimbatore-Calicut route recently? I am planning a drive to Valparai with family from Calicut day after tomorrow. My plan is to take Athirappally - sholayar route but Google says Pollachi route. From where should i take a turn to Athirapally route from Thrissur - Cochin highway? Any input regarding the road and traffic conditions would be helpful.

Athirappilly turnoff is clearly marked with signboards on NH47 as you approach Chalakudy flyover.Take a left there and go straight towards Athirappilly.Roads are all good.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by nidhinsarath

Has anyone been in the Calicut-Thrissur- Athirappally-Valparai-Pollachi-Coimbatore-Calicut route recently? I am planning a drive to Valparai with family from Calicut day after tomorrow. My plan is to take Athirappally - sholayar route but Google says Pollachi route. From where should i take a turn to Athirapally route from Thrissur - Cochin highway? Any input regarding the road and traffic conditions would be helpful.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Athirappilly turnoff is clearly marked with signboards on NH47 as you approach Chalakudy flyover. Take a left there and go straight towards Athirappilly.Roads are all good.

My suggestion is to take Palakad Pollachi route while going to Valparai and return via Athirapally. Reason descending is better to enjoy the views in Athirapally sholayar route ( just my opinion).
I drove this route before monsoon and it was good for most of the sections with few rough patches.

The signboard in NH47 (Towards EKM) to show directions to Athirapally is confusing. My home is just 2 KM from that sign and I see tourists getting confused every day there. Reason : The signboard is AFTER the turn

Correct directions : While coming from thrissur side, cross the toll booth and around 14 km later you will see Apollo tyres factory on right side. Cross the factory and keep left for say 400 meters. Take the next left towards Athirapally (You can see the signboard indicating left turn around 200 meter in your front)

[deepclutch]

About - Kothamangalam-Adimaly to Theni road bypassing Munnar:
Is there a motorable route through Rajakkad-Thevaram to Theni instead of the usual Rajakkad-Pooppara-Bodi to Theni?

The route is told as Rajakkad-Chemmannar-Udumbanchola-Chakkulathimettu to reach Thevaram and to Theni. If someone had knowledge on this route and road condition, please share.

[RapidRavi]

Hey Guys,
Travelling to Kumarakom (KTDC waterscapes) from Bangalore next week. Route will be via CBE and Kochi. Planning to leave around 12am so that i reach resort by 10-11 am. This is my second trip via this route last one being till Chalakudy 4 months back.
I have read the route updates with recent posts near Walayar and stretch between Thrissur and Kochi. As this is an overnight drive(Lone driver), i am worried about crossing Kochi traffic around 9am as this seems to be a peak time and near Lulu mall. Is the Kochi traffic as bad as Bangalore ones or can i do it without much frustration?
Also, is it feasible to take a deviation from Angamaly via perumbavoor and Piravom? Worth skipping kochi traffic?
Can i expect to reach Thrissur by 8 am with start around 12am (Sedated driving with 100-110 kmph)?

Thanks in advance!

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by RapidRavi

Hey Guys,
Travelling to Kumarakom (KTDC waterscapes) from Bangalore next week. Route will be via CBE and Kochi. Planning to leave around 12am so that i reach resort by 10-11 am. This is my second trip via this route last one being till Chalakudy 4 months back.
I have read the route updates with recent posts near Walayar and stretch between Thrissur and Kochi. As this is an overnight drive(Lone driver), i am worried about crossing Kochi traffic around 9am as this seems to be a peak time and near Lulu mall. Is the Kochi traffic as bad as Bangalore ones or can i do it without much frustration?
Also, is it feasible to take a deviation from Angamaly via perumbavoor and Piravom? Worth skipping kochi traffic?
Can i expect to reach Thrissur by 8 am with start around 12am (Sedated driving with 100-110 kmph)?

Thanks in advance!

Traffic at Lulu Mall eased a lot after the commissioning of flyover. Another one at Palarivattom also operational now. the tricky points are Vytilla and Kundannoor.

You can turn left at Kalamassery (after the Apollo Tyres) and go to Kumarakom via Airport-Seaport Road, Tripunithura, Vaikom. Roads are single laned (except from Kalamassery to Kakkanad) but good and once you cross Tripunithura, the traffic will ease considerably. You'll encounter some traffic at Kakkanad.

[deepclutch]

Originally Posted by RapidRavi

I have read the route updates with recent posts near Walayar and stretch between Thrissur and Kochi. As this is an overnight drive(Lone driver), i am worried about crossing Kochi traffic around 9am as this seems to be a peak time and near Lulu mall. Is the Kochi traffic as bad as Bangalore ones or can i do it without much frustration?
Also, is it feasible to take a deviation from Angamaly via perumbavoor and Piravom? Worth skipping kochi traffic?
Can i expect to reach Thrissur by 8 am with start around 12am (Sedated driving with 100-110 kmph)?

Thanks in advance!

The road through Piravom-Peruva-Kumarakom is time consuming and has some bad patches. I will recommend taking Seaport-Airport road-Thrippunithura-Vaikom to Kumarakom.

Another option is to take Aluva-Pookkattupady- Kizhakkambalam- Pallikkara- Karingachira- Thrippunithura to reach Vaikom and Kumarakom. The road from Pookkattupady to Kizhakkambalam (3.5kms) may not be in good condition. This route will not add extra kilometres.

[Horizon81]

Mother of all confusions!

I always drive via Thirumangalam-Dindigul-Salem, but the routing from Google is giving me second thoughts. Similar duration and similar distance via Kochi-Palakkad-Erode. Can someone comment on the road conditions and traffic, if I start at 5 AM from Kollam? Onward journey to Kollam was via Thirumangalam, and the road was rough in patches. Not potholed, though. Thanks in advance.

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

I am not sure, but Kanjar-Wagamon route which you take when going through Thodupuzha may not be in good condition. The best option may be to take Angamaly-Muvattupuzha-Arakkuzha-Pandappilly-Koothattukulam-Pala-Erattupetta-Vagamon. The route may be longer; But, this is the main route. From Vagamon to Ernakulam/Kochi, The route is Vagamon-Erattupetta-Pala-Uzhavoor-Monippilly-Elanji-Piravom-Nadakkavu highway to Ernakulam. This is the shortest route to Ernakulam.

Reached Vagamon from Palakkad via Ottapalam-Mannuthy-Angamaly-Muvzhattupuzha-Thodupuzha-Muttom-Moolamuttom-Vagamon. Roads till Moolamuttom is good, there on the roads are narrow, patchy, twisty, with few steep hairpins but definitely motorable. Took about 7 hours including a 40 min lunch break.

[MSAneesh]

Saw this post in a facebook forum. Felt important to be shared here.