[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by NPV

Need help from Thrissur experts:
For someone heading to Pushpagiri, Punkunnam in Thrissur which is the best route to enter Thrissur from the NH 47 ? Gmaps is suggesting the exit near Mannuthy (goes via the Thrissur Zoo), Aswini junction and onwards to Punkunnam. Is this the best route ? Any landmarks to spot the turn off on NH 47 ?

goo.gl/IXXpxW
You can try this route. I use this once a week to reach Aswini hospital. It is the shortest as well as the least busy route. Avoid any route through the east fort as it is a bottle neck.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Has anyone traveled recently from Kodaikanal towards Ernakulam via Theni?

The route is Kodaikanal - Periyakulam - Theni - Bodi - Rajakumari - Selliampara - Thalakode - Kothamangalam - Ekm. (271 KM)

Attachment 1592508

Want to know the road condition. Can a sedan do it?

I did Kothamangalam-Adimaly-Munnar-Poopara-Bodimett-Bodinayakanur-Theni-Madurai route last week.

From Devikulam till Poopara, there were stretches where only one bus can pass at a time and there were minor hold ups. Except that stretch, the rest was a breeze. Especially the Poopara-Bodinayakanur stretch, its a petrolhead's ultimate dream. There are tight as well as sweeping curves, with excellent surface. I went during the peak holiday season and even then there was barely any traffic past Poopparai till bodinayakanur.

PS: I did this in a Honda City. Any type of car can do this.

Few pics of the Poopara-Bodi stretch from the dash cam:

[NPV]

Originally Posted by deerhunter

goo.gl/IXXpxW
You can try this route. I use this once a week to reach Aswini hospital. It is the shortest as well as the least busy route. Avoid any route through the east fort as it is a bottle neck.

Thanks, this is interesting - but this goes right through Aswini and Patturaikal junctions which as per Ranjit see heavy traffic and are bottlenecks, hence he was suggesting going via the East Fort, Swaraj Round East to South, MG Road, West Fort and to the destination in Punkunnam.

So the question is Aswini + Patturaikal junction Vs East Fort and going around the round, West Fort route!

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Here is the correct one.Keep on the palakkad thrissur road,its one straight road all the way to the Swaraj round.take a semi circle of the round and take mg road (bang opposite the vadakkumnathan main nada) and go straight till west fort junction(its a messy junction with so many roads intersecting,just take the right at circle,u dont have to go round the circle to go right,they let you take a straight right)from there on its one straight road to the mandapam (you will cut across the main thrissur kunnamkulam road at Punkunnam junction and go straight towards the SeethaRamaswamy temple- the area where the mandapam is located)

https://goo.gl/maps/eEknYa9V3Qt

@ranjit - any comments on the route @deerhunter is suggesting?

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks, this is interesting - but this goes right through Aswini and Patturaikal junctions which as per Ranjit see heavy traffic and are bottlenecks, hence he was suggesting going via the East Fort, Swaraj Round East to South, MG Road, West Fort and to the destination in Punkunnam.

The traffic around Aswini jn is not heavy. The traffic signal there is switched off all the time because the traffic is easily managed around that roundabout. I am not sure about Patturaikal junction because my weekly journeys dont go beyond Aswini. But I dont think it is as heavy as near east fort. In the east fort route, the road after Kizhakkumpatukara bus stop is too narrow for the amount of traffic it handles, and the bus stop near lourde church causes further hold up. I never take the east fort route unless it is before 7:30 AM or after 9 PM.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

I was also suggested a route which I suspect as if it exists - Muvattupuzha-Paingottur-Oonnukal-Adimaly-Rajakkad-Chemmannar-Udumanchola-Thevaram to Theni.

It sure exits! And some part of it is good, but not sure about the entire route. Google maps say it is about 200 KM and 6 hours. Needless wandering, but then its fun if you don't have any plans.

Originally Posted by deerhunter

Especially the Poopara-Bodinayakanur stretch, its a petrolhead's ultimate dream. There are tight as well as sweeping curves, with excellent surface. I went during the peak holiday season and even then there was barely any traffic past Poopparai till bodinayakanur.

PS: I did this in a Honda City. Any type of car can do this.

Few pics of the Poopara-Bodi stretch from the dash cam:

Absolutely brilliant! Thanks a lot. Exactly what I was looking for.

We will stick to the Theni - Bodi route. Will not be touching Munnar for sure. Just need to decide whether to go via Adimaly or Neendapara to Neriamangalam.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by deerhunter

The traffic around Aswini jn is not heavy. ...

The turn off from NH 47 in the route you've shared is about 1Km before the Mannuthy bypass turn off (Thrissur-Palakkad Road to East Fort) that Ranjit suggested. Landmark for the Mannuthy bypass turn off is the road beside Mayura Inn, similarly any landmarks for the turn off in your suggested route ?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by NPV

The turn off from NH 47 in the route you've shared is about 1Km before the Mannuthy bypass turn off (Thrissur-Palakkad Road to East Fort) that Ranjit suggested. Landmark for the Mannuthy bypass turn off is the road beside Mayura Inn, similarly any landmarks for the turn off in your suggested route ?

If you are driving straight from Blore,then the Puthen Vettuvazhi is not a great idea unless you are well versed with the routes and the turns.For a relatively new person to Thrissur,I would suggest not experimenting too much as you might end up going in circles.IMHO Stick to the main roads.If you must take the Puthen Vettuvazhi,then leave the NH47 at Mannuthy Busstop(market area to your right and ask anyone there for the Puthen Vettuvazhi-Kizhakkumpattukara road)

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by NPV

The turn off from NH 47 in the route you've shared is about 1Km before the Mannuthy bypass turn off (Thrissur-Palakkad Road to East Fort) that Ranjit suggested. Landmark for the Mannuthy bypass turn off is the road beside Mayura Inn, similarly any landmarks for the turn off in your suggested route ?

There is a convent just before the turn on the right - Holy family is the name I think. It is pretty prominent, with an arched gate.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

If you must take the Puthen Vettuvazhi,then leave the NH47 at Mannuthy Busstop(market area to your right and ask anyone there for the Puthen Vettuvazhi-Kizhakkumpattukara road)

It is no more possible to take a right at Mannuthy busstop while coming from Palakkad. Due to 6-lane construction, they have closed that gap for now. You will have to go near Mayura Inn to take a U turn. So it is better to take a right before reaching Mannuthy near the convent. (goo.gl/IXXpxW)

Originally Posted by NPV

hope Kuthiran will not be too bad.

Vadakkencherry-Mannuthy stretch of NH-47 is much improved. Except for the diversions, road condition has improved a lot. Half of the way is now through newly constructed stretches. Also traffic jams at Kuthiran are rare nowadays.

PS: Got a picture of Holy family convent. This is how it looks like from the highway.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

If you are driving straight from Blore,then the Puthen Vettuvazhi is not a great idea unless you are well versed with the routes and the turns.

Originally Posted by deerhunter

There is a convent just before the turn on the right - Holy family is the name I think. It is pretty prominent, with an arched gate.)

Thanks Guys!
I will keep this in mind and decide when we travel later this month. If time permits, we may end up taking Alathur-Chelakara-Wadakkanchery-Thrissur route onwards and the NH 47 route for return, hope Kuthiran will not be too bad.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

It sure exits! And some part of it is good, but not sure about the entire route. Google maps say it is about 200 KM and 6 hours. Needless wandering, but then its fun if you don't have any plans.

The Udumbanchola - Thevaram part does not show a direct road in google maps. Both options shown are detours either north or south of the ideal line (I mean as the crow flies) and takes ~2 hours.
https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ud...51!2d9.8957874

It would be nice if locals can throw some light on a more direct route if one exists.

[mykal shoemaker]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

As you proceed on the Salem-Kochi highway towards Salem, you will see a board showing Sankagiri to the right and Edappadi to the left. Take the left route which happens to be SH 220.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Vi...8568!3e0?hl=en

Attachment 1592512

Is this better than Bhavani-Mettur route? I am driving back today from Alappuzha side and during most of the earlier trips, used to take Mettur road.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by mykal shoemaker

Is this better than Bhavani-Mettur route? I am driving back today from Alappuzha side and during most of the earlier trips, used to take Mettur road.

This route (via Edappadi-Jalagandapuram-Nangavalli-Mecheri ) is parallel to the Mettur -Bhavani route. The latter has considerable lorry traffic. The Edappadi route is full of twists and turns but very good roads all the way and traffic is also minimal. The minor hickup is near Mecheri level crossing where the roads are slightly bad otherwise no issues

[deepclutch]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

The Udumbanchola - Thevaram part does not show a direct road in google maps. Both options shown are detours either north or south of the ideal line (I mean as the crow flies) and takes ~2 hours.
https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ud...51!2d9.8957874

It would be nice if locals can throw some light on a more direct route if one exists.

Someone suggested this route to me when I did some personal research on the possibility of a proper highway connectivity from Ernakulam to Theni (to reach Dindigul-Trichy/Chennai etc) through relatively less hilly and twisty roads through highranges in Idukki district bypassing Munnar, Kannan Devan Hills and also such that heavy vehicles truck-container traffic is possible (an alternate outlet to TN roads apart from the Mannuthy-Palghat-Coimbatore and Kumily-Lower Camp-Cumbum). This guy who suggested the route is a local from Rajakumari in Idukki district and as per him, development of Ernakulam-Kakkanad-Muvattupuzha-Pothanicad-Vannappuram-Rajakkad-Chemmannar-Udumbanchola-Chakkulathimettu-Thevaram to Theni is less arduous to implement and with a direct swift result in terms of viability. This is because, Udumbanchola-Chakkulathimettu-Thevaram the descent is smoother and altitude is lesser compared to Pooppara-Bodimettu-Theni (NH85/49). As per him, 40-45kms lesser than the Pooppara-Bodi-Theni route when coming from Muvattupuzha/Kothamangalam region. I will update if he can provide me an update whether this road is presently in usable condition. Though, I found out that there did exist some kind of road connecting Udumbanchola to Thevaram:
https://goo.gl/yYwqXo

[RapidRavi]

Finished a quick trip Bangalore-Kumarakom-Bangalore last Sunday.
Route onward/return: Bangalore-Salem-CBE-Thissur-Edapally-Cherathal-Kumarakom.
Onward:
Started at 1am from BTM and reached waterscapes (Kumarakom) around 11.30 am. This included 2 breaks and a power nap of 15 min. It was a breezing travel till Coimbatore when i reached city bye pass at 5 am. Bad patches/Construction near Walayar and usual traffic through Angamaly, Kochi along with speed limit made me slow. Total 10.5 hrs
Return:
Started around 2.30Pm from Cherathal on Saturday. Very heavy traffic till Edapally junction and medium traffic till Angamaly. After that it was empty roads all the way with minimal traffic. Took 2 breaks of 20 min. Reached Attibele toll by 1am. Total 10.5 hrs

Enjoyed pure bliss with empty roads in TN till Kerala.

[gadadhar]

Got a whatzapp forward video of Paliyekkara (Thrissur NH) toll plaza where few people were arguing with the Toll booth officials to let the vehicles pass without paying the toll. It seems as part of the contract, if there are more than 5 vehicles in the queue, they need to allow them to pass for free to avoid a pile-up. I saw the same getting reported in a Malayalam News channel yesterday (they didn't quote the no of vehicles as 5).

Is this true and is this applicable in other toll plazas on the highways? Can someone throw more light in to this.

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Got a whatzapp forward video of Paliyekkara (Thrissur NH) toll plaza where few people were arguing with the Toll booth officials to let the vehicles pass without paying the toll. It seems as part of the contract, if there are more than 5 vehicles in the queue, they need to allow them to pass for free to avoid a pile-up. I saw the same getting reported in a Malayalam News channel yesterday (they didn't quote the no of vehicles as 5).

Is this true and is this applicable in other toll plazas on the highways? Can someone throw more light in to this.

I think there are provisions in their contract to not collect toll if the number of vehicles in the queue is more than a particular number. I have been let off without payment several times at Paliyekkara, but I have also had to wait there in long queues at other times. It probably depends on the toll supervisor in charge at any particular time. But legally speaking, I believe there is some limit in the length of the queue beyond which the vehicles have to be let off without collecting toll.

The contract terms maybe different for different NH stretches. But I have seen several news articles about this 'no toll if queue is long' for Paliyekkara toll plaza.

Interestingly, found this in the nhai website. Duties of toll plaza supervisor: