[adutta2k]

Hi Friends,

My Alleppey trip got postponed and planning to do that in Jan17 now. I am pretty new to this route and would like some suggestions/inputs since it will be a 10+ hours drive with me as the only driver and I will be travelling with an infant.

As I always do, will try to leave Bangalore early by 5am. But it looks from the discussions above that there are few stretches on the route which is best avoided (bad traffic, construction).

Would really appreciate your valuable feedback. I received the following route suggestion from fellow tbhp-ian pramodpk

Route - Bangalore - Salem - Coimbatore(by pass) - Palakkad ( By pass )
- Mannuthy - Angamaly - Aluva - Edapally - Vytilla - Cherthala - Alapuzha.

Questions:
1) Are the roads in good shape all through. How much of the 570km is 4 laned. From experience I know that the roads till Coimbatore are all 4 lane but do not know after that.
2) Any specific stretch of the road to avoid?

[binand]

Originally Posted by adutta2k

Route - Bangalore - Salem - Coimbatore(by pass) - Palakkad ( By pass )
- Mannuthy - Angamaly - Aluva - Edapally - Vytilla - Cherthala - Alapuzha.

Questions:
1) Are the roads in good shape all through. How much of the 570km is 4 laned. From experience I know that the roads till Coimbatore are all 4 lane but do not know after that.
2) Any specific stretch of the road to avoid?

1) Yes. The entire stretch is 4-laned, with these exceptions:

* Bangalore-Krishnagiri and (I think) Perundurai-Coimbatore are 6 laned.
* Coimbatore bypass is single carriageway, two lanes with shoulders.
* Vadakkanchery-Mannuthy is also single carriageway, (barely) two lanes.
* So is Chertala-Alapuzha (the final stretch).

2) The following stretches need special attention:

- Thoppur Ghats (heavy traffic, out-or-ordinary gradients, heavily loaded trucks).
- Salem bypass (multiple flyover construction).
- Coimbatore bypass (single carriageway, two major junctions, maniac drivers).
- Final TN stretch leading to KL border - incomplete roadworks so many diversions.
- Vadakkanchery-Mannuthy stretch - road widening & tunnel construction.
- Angamaly-Aluva-Edapalli-Kochi bypass - traffic!

In general, the entire stretch within Kerala needs special attention due to traffic volumes, lack of sufficient median, frequent at-grade junctions etc.

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by adutta2k

Hi Friends,

My Alleppey trip got postponed..
2) Any specific stretch of the road to avoid?

The above post would have answered most of your queries. There are no other alternate faster routes in Kerala. Be prepared for traffic on Kerala's NH despite being 4 laned, you will find umpteen number of signals. I spent 15 mins crossing Edapally signal a couple of nights back.
If its a vacation, why not you try to book a flight ticket to Kochi and Taxi to Alleppey?

[adutta2k]

Originally Posted by sansvk

The above post would have answered most of your queries. There are no other alternate faster routes in Kerala. Be prepared for traffic on Kerala's NH despite being 4 laned, you will find umpteen number of signals. I spent 15 mins crossing Edapally signal a couple of nights back.
If its a vacation, why not you try to book a flight ticket to Kochi and Taxi to Alleppey?

Originally Posted by binand

1) Yes. The entire stretch is 4-laned, with these exceptions:

Just came across an alternate route in the link mentioned below
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...queries-5.html

Bangalore-Salem-Dindigul-Theni-Kumily-Peermade-Kanjirapally-Kottayam-Kumarakom.

Any suggestions from frequent travellers on this route? Its longer by 30-35 odd kms, but I dont mind the extra kms if the drive is stress free

[binand]

Originally Posted by adutta2k

Just came across an alternate route in the link mentioned below
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...queries-5.html

Bangalore-Salem-Dindigul-Theni-Kumily-Peermade-Kanjirapally-Kottayam-Kumarakom.

Any suggestions from frequent travellers on this route? Its longer by 30-35 odd kms, but I dont mind the extra kms if the drive is stress free

That way you have Bangalore-Mysore-Gudalur-Nilambur-Pattambi-(Chavakkad or Thrissur)-Edapalli too which is shorter by about 80 km. Apart from the one through Walayar pass, all the other TN-KL (and KA-KL) connections actually scale up and down the western ghats and hence have very tough mountain roads for you to drive on; since you mentioned an infant in your party I didn't suggest any of these.

The route through Salem-Coimbatore is the quickest and easiest to drive on.

Edit: Is your destination Alapuzha or Kumarakom?

[adutta2k]

Originally Posted by binand

Edit: Is your destination Alapuzha or Kumarakom?

I am staying at Kumarakom near the Bird Sanctuary.

[Geo_Ipe]

Did a Vellore - Kottayam drive for my Christmas vacation.

Vellore - Kottayam on 23/12/16
Salem - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Angamali - Muvattupuzha - Ettumanoor - Kottayam.
Traffic insi Kerala was maddening. Reached Thrissur without much hassles, by 1430 (had started at 0500). Wasn't fully aware of the ongoing work along MC Road. Road condition was poor between Muvattupuzha and Ettumanoor. However, I would say I lost more time due to traffic than the poor roads. Reached home by 2000, total drive time of 15 hours (642 km).

Kottayam - Vellore on 29/12/16
Kottayam - Ettumanoor - Thrippunithara - Airport Seaport road - Kalamasseri - Thrissur - Coimbatore - Salem - Vellore.
Started leisurely by 0815. Progress was slow till Kalamasseri, with typical Kerala town traffic all along the way. Road conditions were good, however it mainly was undivided single carriageway type of roads. Progress was quick once on the NH post Kalamasseri. Total drive time was 13 hours for 639 km!

PS: I was driving my Santro Xing.

[Sree73]

Did Thrissur (Exact - Karalam, Near Irinjalakuda) - Bangalore today (02/01/2017). Started by 6 AM from home. Reached Whitefield by 1:45 PM. Had a 30 minutes break at Sree Saravana bhavan near Coimbatore for breakfast. From Attibele took the SH35 route for Whitefield. Total 490 KMs. Covered in 7 Hrs 45 Minutes (Actual drive time 7 Hrs 15 Minutes)

[pgginish]

Did anyone face dense fog during early morning drives between Hosur and Krishnagiri?

[Sree73]

Originally Posted by pgginish

Did anyone face dense fog during early morning drives between Hosur and Krishnagiri?

Yes. It was very difficult when I travelled on 25th December. I had started by 4:15AM and the visibility was very minimum at the Krishnagiri forest area. Could travel in 20-25KM/Hr speed only for around 6-7 KMs.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by pgginish

Did anyone face dense fog during early morning drives between Hosur and Krishnagiri?

Drove the section on 25th Dec ~6.15-7am. There was some fog after hosur in patches. Not dense and did not impact visibility in a big way.

To Hosur , I went via Sarjapur-Bagalur. The fog was very dense between Bagalur and Hosur. Had to crawl very slowly.

[kavu75]

Originally Posted by Sree73

Did Thrissur (Exact - Karalam, Near Irinjalakuda) - Bangalore today (02/01/2017). Started by 6 AM from home. Reached Whitefield by 1:45 PM. Had a 30 minutes break at Sree Saravana bhavan near Coimbatore for breakfast. From Attibele took the SH35 route for Whitefield. Total 490 KMs. Covered in 7 Hrs 45 Minutes (Actual drive time 7 Hrs 15 Minutes)

Do you have a "got bhp?" sticker at rear right? I was following grey S-Cross for some distance from Thrissur till Palaghat. I was in my silver Innova.
Me, started from Ettumanoor at 4.30 AM and reached HSR at 1.30 PM. Took Ettumanoor - Thalayolaparambu - Seaport Airport - Kalamassery route. All the way roads are good with some minor diversions between Mannuthy and Vadakkencherry and again after Walayar.
Took 30 minutes breakfast break at Saravana Bhavan Palgiriaghat.
It was a relaxed drive and Fastag also helped me to save sometime.

@pgginish - This was situation when i traveled on December 25th morning small stretch between Hosur and Krishnagiri at around 6.40 AM

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

To Hosur, I went via Sarjapur-Bagalur. The fog was very dense between Bagalur and Hosur. Had to crawl very slowly.

Originally Posted by kavu75

This was situation when i traveled on December 25th morning small stretch between Hosur and Krishnagiri at around 6.40 AM

I think if you go past these sections, when its not yet daybreak, it may turn out to be better. Problem arises only after morning light.

[unni246]

Originally Posted by Sree73

Did Thrissur (Exact - Karalam, Near Irinjalakuda) - Bangalore today (02/01/2017). Started by 6 AM from home. Reached Whitefield by 1:45 PM. Had a 30 minutes break at Sree Saravana bhavan near Coimbatore for breakfast. From Attibele took the SH35 route for Whitefield. Total 490 KMs. Covered in 7 Hrs 45 Minutes (Actual drive time 7 Hrs 15 Minutes)

Lucky You!
I had to start my journey as wife had to report to work today morning though it was my day off.
Started from Tirur at 12 noon and was home 12 Midnight
Took the Coimbatore - Salem route instead of the Nadugani - Gundlupet route as my friends reported traffic in this route owing to New Year weekend as many folks from Kerala head there to party.
It was all good until Thoppur and I took the Bhavani - Mettur Road to avoid bottlenecks at Salem, which I guess was wise as I could catchup with guys here who had overtook me from Coimbatore bypass driving insanely (rather rashly).
The toll gate here was horrible as it took a full 1 hour to cross it with a 3km crawl. Another 30 mins and 20 mins wait at Krishnagiri & Attibele tolls respectively. This was the same case on my trip to Kerala on the 24th morning with a 4.30am start.
I guess the law is to keep the toll gates open if there is a queue of more than 5 vehicles? Could someone enlighten me on this? And yes I have a 'FASTag' which is absolutely useless as it's hard to identify the lanes in the long queue and also these lanes are open for normal traffic at most booths.
Hopefully I wouldn't think of driving this route on any peak festive seasons.

[Sree73]

Originally Posted by kavu75

Do you have a "got bhp?" sticker at rear right? I was following grey S-Cross for some distance from Thrissur till Palaghat. I was in my silver Innova.

Yes. I do have "got bhp?" Sticker on the rear right. And it's a granite grey S-Cross.