[kala]

Originally Posted by Safety is Param

1) Are the default routes ok to take between Alleppey-Thekkady and Thekkady-Munnar?

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

1. Take Muhamma - Ettumanoor - Manarcaud - then the usual KK Road. Roads are good all the way, execpt a bit narrow for the first few kms from Ettumanoor.

Is the condition of Alleppey-Changanacherry road bad these days ? That used to be the better and faster route earlier. (The Changanacherry-Vazhoor stretch is in good shape, I travelled that way quite recently. From there on it's the same KK road anyway).

I've generally found the Alleppey-Thanneermukkam-Ettumanoor route to be quite slow (and narrower) compared to the AC road.

Edit : Ah - I missed the point of the starting point being Muhamma and not Alleppey. In which case the route via Ettumanoor makes more sense.

From Ettumanoor I'd probably prefer the route via Palai. Ettumanoor-Palai road is excellent, and the Palai-Ponkunnam road has traditionally been quite good (though no recent experiences of driving on that stretch). KK Road is generally a little more trafficky.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by kala

Is the condition of Alleppey-Changanacherry road bad these days ? That used to be the better and faster route earlier.

Kala, I drove through AC road on Easter Sunday morning. The road is good but there are speed cameras installed, which are well marked with amber lights though (I did not realize it the first time) Started from my home at Pathanamthitta at 4am and reached my in-laws' place at Thenhipalam by 8:30am (4.5h) which is ~290km. Never exceeded 100kmph anywhere and this drive made me realize the effect of traffic on Kerala roads. The journey from Thenhipalam to Pathanamthitta on Maundy Thursday took 7h (10:15am - 5:15pm)

Originally Posted by kala

From Ettumanoor I'd probably prefer the route via Palai. Ettumanoor-Palai road is excellent, and the Palai-Ponkunnam road has traditionally been quite good (though no recent experiences of driving on that stretch).

Ettumanoor-Pala-Ponkunnam route is also in good condition. Took the Muvattupuzha-Thodupuzha-Pala-Ponkunnam-Ranni route when I drove from Thenhipalam to Pathanamthitta.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by Torqy

I heard Bangalore - Kanakapura road is dug up till Kanakapura and a pain to drive. Any updates / recent travellers on that route?

May have to make a week end trip towards Kozhikode side. Any updates on the above question? My plan was to take Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-Mysore ORR-Bavali-Manathavadi early in the morning.

[ranjitp1]

A short Update on the roads and facilities on the route that we took from blr to thrissur via a long detour

Blr-Salem:No special update as this section has been beaten to death here.

Salem-Karur:Hardly any traffic,facilities are also not very great (in terms of eating places)when compared to BLR-Salem part.

Karur-Trichy:Opted for the Karur-Trichy road as opposed to leaving the NH7 at Namakkal.Took the Karur bypass to connect to the Trichy road.There are no signboards on the highway to indicate the turn off towards Trichy,so rely on Google maps or ask around else you would overshoot the turnoff.

First 20 odd kilometers is 4-laned on the Trichy road,following which it is the traditional 2-lane highway.Stone quarrying all the way for the next 20 odd kms and this would slow you down tremendously,with trucks all over the place.Overtaking is a big pain.What is appreciable and noticeable is,that the intersections where the big trucks get onto the highway,there are a couple of people standing with big brooms to wipe away the sand and stones that the trucks bring onto the road.For the first time on any highway,I actually saw someone take up the responsibility of keeping the roads clean and safe.

Karur-Trichy took about 2hours.Stayed at the new LemonTree hotel's budget chain called Red Fox.Absolutely reccomended.The standard rooms can be a bit claustrophobic,but the suites are absolutely brilliant.The only issue can be the location,which is bang on the Cantonement Bus-Stand.But the hotel per-se is definitely 4 star standards.

The Cauvery river is absolutely bone-dry and the friends whom we went to meet up with who stayed just opposite the Srirangam temple told us that they don't even remember when the river last had water and they dont foresee it ever having water in the future either.The mandatory temple visit happened too.Coming from Hyderabad,Srirangam was not very hot,but yet-it definitely was hot.For people visiting the temple,enter via the west entrance and you would find ample parking on the roadside.Inside the temple there is a free darshan line,a 50rs line and a 250rs line(oh well which temple isnt commercial now a days-so lets not argue over that).

While in Trichy,a visit to Mayilmark sweets is definitely reccomended.It a local sweet shop that is hugely popular in the city and quality too was remarkable.

From Trichy we headed out to Perundurai via Karur-Kangayam.Roads are all fantastic and wide.At Perundurai we were visiting a friend who runs an organic farm just off the NH47.Really commendable on how they have turned an absolutely 15acre of barren land into what it is today-a lush green farm full of vegetables,cows,goats.

From Perundurai,headed to Coimbatore for the night.Stayed at the Radisson Blu-a 3 month old baby,bang on Avinashi road,amazing rooms.Left for Thrissur the next day.Upto Walayar,work in progress here and there,but overall roads are wide and quality is good.If they dont do something about these sections before the rains,it sure is going to be a mess,as I dont think they would hold up after a big rain.From Walayar onwards till Vadakkencheri it was smooth sailing.Took a detour into Alathur bus stand to buy some SNR Chips at INR360 a kg!

Vadakkencheri to Kuthiran,the roads have been widened.The pain point is from the Kuthiran bridge till Mannuthy.It is dreadful,especially if driving in the dark,completely avoid.

Again with the new flyover to bypass Mannuthy (not yet operational),the least the authorities could have done is to keep a signboard stating where to take the turn off to get into Thrissur town.There is nothing there and its utter chaos.For a newbie,there is no way in the world they would know that they are supposed to go under the flyover and take a right to go towards Thrissur and especially with the new topography with the flyover etc,the place looks completely new.

[Shanmd]

Any updates on the following routes..
The idea is a leisurely drive with good food options and views enroute.
All together if possible.

[ranjitp1]

Would anybody know if the FasTags are available on demand at the Paliyekara Toll office on NH47.Would I be able to walk-in and buy one?Some of the toll offices between Hyd and Coimbatore told me that they were issuing the tags and that I could walk in and buy one(not sure if the toll attendants understood correctly what I asked them! ).Anybody with experience of buying a FasTag at Thrissur-kindly advise.Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Shanmd

Any updates on the following routes..
The idea is a leisurely drive with good food options and views enroute.
All together if possible.

The only views on this route happen between Mundakkayam and Kumily.The rest of the route is the usual narrow roads and heavy traffic.You could stop by Bhranamganam as well enroute.We did this route some time ago https://goo.gl/maps/S31Xv29Nq1H2 except for the section between Thodupuzha and Pala which was undergoing road works,rest of the sections were good,but busy traffic.

[Shanmd]

How about through Vagamon?

[Safety is Param]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

1. Take Muhamma - Ettumanoor - Manarcaud - then the usual KK Road. Roads are good all the way, execpt a bit narrow for the first few kms from Ettumanoor.

Originally Posted by kala

From Ettumanoor I'd probably prefer the route via Palai. Ettumanoor-Palai road is excellent, and the Palai-Ponkunnam road has traditionally been quite good (though no recent experiences of driving on that stretch). KK Road is generally a little more trafficky.

Thanks for your inputs. Started from Muhamma at 10 am and was in Thekkady at 13:45 hrs, just in time for the last boating slot of the day (15:30 hrs)

Couple of heavy jams at Ettumanoor (lorries) cost us 20 mins. Roads were good throughout, with lots of rubber plantations and pineapple crop on both sides of the roads until you reach NH 183.

Yes, NH 183 has lot of traffic!

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Shanmd

How about through Vagamon?

Its a good scenic route,you can detour to Wagamon from Erattupetta and rejoin the Kumily road at Kuttikanam.If you are going now,not sure how great it is going to be,dont expect to see any great vistas,the weather would be quite warm as well.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

May have to make a week end trip towards Kozhikode side. Any updates on the above question? My plan was to take Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-Mysore ORR-Bavali-Manathavadi early in the morning.

The Mysore - Gundlupet road is almost done and with that Kanakpura road is no more a better choice for early morning starts.

I am driving to CLT this saturday 4AM, and plan is to take Bangalore - Mysore - Gundlupet - Batheri - Kozhikode

[binand]

Originally Posted by arjithin

The Mysore - Gundlupet road is almost done and with that Kanakpura road is no more a better choice for early morning starts.

There is a toll booth being prepared at Kadakola, a commuter town of Mysore (it is about 10 km from the MRR junction). Once toll collection starts, I imagine the appeal of this route will go down.

There seems to be many bylanes that connect NH 275 to NH 212 skipping Kadakola. On particularly traffic-prone days, I imagine some alternative will work out fine. For example, T. Narasipura-Nanjangud is a perfectly navigable KA state highway.

But there's another toll booth coming up about 10 km after Gundlupet. Maybe switching back to Mysore-Mananthavady-Calicut will start making sense once again.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by arjithin

The Mysore - Gundlupet road is almost done and with that Kanakpura road is no more a better choice for early morning starts.
I am driving to CLT this saturday 4AM, and plan is to take Bangalore - Mysore - Gundlupet - Batheri - Kozhikode

More than the other advantages (like say a speedier drive), why I chose the Kanakapura or even the Bavali route, is because it is more scenic. I have reached a situation where many of those big highways and the roads well taken have become very boring.

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by kala

Is the condition of Alleppey-Changanacherry road bad these days ? That used to be the better and faster route earlier. (The Changanacherry-Vazhoor stretch is in good shape, I travelled that way quite recently. From there on it's the same KK road anyway).

I've generally found the Alleppey-Thanneermukkam-Ettumanoor route to be quite slow (and narrower) compared to the AC road.

Edit : Ah - I missed the point of the starting point being Muhamma and not Alleppey. In which case the route via Ettumanoor makes more sense.

From Ettumanoor I'd probably prefer the route via Palai. Ettumanoor-Palai road is excellent, and the Palai-Ponkunnam road has traditionally been quite good (though no recent experiences of driving on that stretch). KK Road is generally a little more trafficky.

I suggested the route via Ettumanoor because he starts from Muhamma, so no apparent advantage if go via Chenganacherry.

Yes, it is narrower but traffic is very less, so not much issues on that count.

The Ettumanoor - Manarcaud road (popularly called Bypass) is equally good barring a few kms of narrow stretch near Ettumanoor.

Originally Posted by Safety is Param

Thanks for your inputs. Started from Muhamma at 10 am and was in Thekkady at 13:45 hrs, just in time for the last boating slot of the day (15:30 hrs)

Couple of heavy jams at Ettumanoor (lorries) cost us 20 mins. Roads were good throughout, with lots of rubber plantations and pineapple crop on both sides of the roads until you reach NH 183.

Yes, NH 183 has lot of traffic!

Which route you took? Via Palai or Manarcaud?

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

More than the other advantages (like say a speedier drive), why I chose the Kanakapura or even the Bavali route, is because it is more scenic. I have reached a situation where many of those big highways and the roads well taken have become very boring.

Completely agree; even in my return I will choose the above road since I am alone in the car !

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Would anybody know if the FasTags are available on demand at the Paliyekara Toll office on NH47.

It was not available around Jan when one of my friend checked.

Don't think situation would have changed much since this is just one of the few (3?) NH toll booths in KL which accept Fastag. Hence I doubt they will have sufficient tag users to have a dedicated point of sale at toll booth.