[motorsan]

Originally Posted by confortablynumb

I need to travel from Bangalore to Pathanamthitta. How is the state of the roads from Theni / Cumbum to Pathanamathitta now?

Assuming you are talking about the Cumbum-Kumily road, there are reports that the main road is closed for repairs of flood damage. Supposed to be completed by end of October.

A link to a news article in Malayalam:
https://localnews.manoramaonline.com...p-road-26.html

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by binand

Among other things, a totally irrelevant thought occurred to me - that the stretch between Thoppur toll booth and Krishnagiri outskirts (about 60-65 km) is probably the most boring highway that I've driven on. :-)

+1, I said the same thing to my cousin brother two weeks back on the return, honestly, it's so boring that I look forward to broken patches on the road and keep me engaged

While returning I took Manjeri-Pandikkad-Melattur-Mannarkad-Palakkad. Road condition is similar; main hassle is clearing Mannarkad town.

I did Palakkad ~ Mundur ~ Mannarkad ~ Agali, two weeks back and had to be very cautious about those surprising potholes. Also spent 30 minutes on Saturday noon just to cross Mannarkad town, since I had fill fuel at Reliance just after Mannarkad town.

Originally Posted by binand

OK. I last went this way during the weekend of July 7 & 8. It wasn't being done then. Probably later in July.

I started noticing this from my trip on July 10

Cheers!

[binand]

Originally Posted by treadmark

Also spent 30 minutes on Saturday noon just to cross Mannarkad town, since I had fill fuel at Reliance just after Mannarkad town.

The road works within town limits isn't helping any. I noticed this alternate route that avoids the worst of NH 213 and also the broken parts of the Cherpulassery route: https://goo.gl/maps/XPhAqXgwci52

Need to try it sometime.

Originally Posted by treadmark

I did Palakkad ~ Mundur ~ Mannarkad ~ Agali, two weeks back and had to be very cautious about those surprising potholes.

I once took this route on my way to Bangalore (Mannarkad-Agali-Karamadai-Annur-NH 544). Seems like there is no change since then.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4140259 (All Roads to Kerala)

[shashant]

Hi Guys,

I am planning a travel to Kerala next week. Route I am planning to take is as follow.

How are the road conditions within kerala leading to these destinations.

9-Nov-18 Pune -> Hosur
10-Nov-18 Hosur -> Kanyakumari
11-Nov-18 Kanyakumari
12-Nov-18 Kanyakumari -> Varkala
13-Nov-18 Varkala -> Kumarakom
14-Nov-18 Kumarakom -> Thekkady
15-Nov-18 Thekkady ->Munnar
16-Nov-18 Munnar
17-Nov-18 Munnar ->Tumakuru
18-Nov-18 Tumakuru -> Pune

[dhanushmenon]

Originally Posted by shashant

Hi Guys,

I am planning a travel to Kerala next week. Route I am planning to take is as follow.

How are the road conditions within kerala leading to these destinations.

9-Nov-18 Pune -> Hosur
10-Nov-18 Hosur -> Kanyakumari
11-Nov-18 Kanyakumari
12-Nov-18 Kanyakumari -> Varkala
13-Nov-18 Varkala -> Kumarakom
14-Nov-18 Kumarakom -> Thekkady
15-Nov-18 Thekkady ->Munnar
16-Nov-18 Munnar
17-Nov-18 Munnar ->Tumakuru
18-Nov-18 Tumakuru -> Pune

1. Pune to Hosur can be done in a day.
2. Hosur to Kanyakumari is a little stretch, but doable. If going via Kerala route, forget it and cater for a stay at Alleppey.
3. I see that you are reaching each place and leaving the next day. I suggest that you cater for atleast one additional day each at Kumarakom, Thekkady and Munnar. If not anywhere else, Munnar and Thekkady definitely deserves more.

Else, you won't get to enjoy the place. It will only be a point to point sprint.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

1. Pune to Hosur can be done in a day.
2. Hosur to Kanyakumari is a little stretch, but doable.

I guess he is doing TN route to Kanyakumari, this is easily doable in a day mostly good 4 lane. Pune to Hosur is in comparison is longer and tiring. But yes like Dhanush mentioned do see if you can add a day or two to chill also

[shashant]

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

1. Pune to Hosur can be done in a day.
2. Hosur to Kanyakumari is a little stretch, but doable. If going via Kerala route, forget it and cater for a stay at Alleppey.
3. I see that you are reaching each place and leaving the next day. I suggest that you cater for atleast one additional day each at Kumarakom, Thekkady and Munnar. If not anywhere else, Munnar and Thekkady definitely deserves more.

Else, you won't get to enjoy the place. It will only be a point to point sprint.

Thanks Dhanush.
I have kept a whole day for Kanyakumari which can be shortened. I will watch the sunrise and then head for Varakala on the same day, depending on the energy level of family after 2 days of long drive.

BTW how are roads conditions within kerala now.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I guess he is doing TN route to Kanyakumari, this is easily doable in a day mostly good 4 lane. Pune to Hosur is in comparison is longer and tiring. But yes like Dhanush mentioned do see if you can add a day or two to chill also

yes Jaggu. I will be going to Kanyakumari through TN.

[NPV]

Made an unplanned trip to Calicut and back, some updates here.

Since it was a weekday start around noon, was not sure which route to Mysore would work out better, quickly checked with @paragsachania and decided to take regular Bangalore-Mysore road route.
Onward:
1. Started out around noon, road is fine but for few speed humps and the traffic manners, luckily not too many maniac drivers were on the road. Made pretty decent progress through the city and past Kengeri traffic thinned down a bit. Channapatna seems to be the new bottleneck, more commercialization along the highway, road widening with mix of complete and incomplete portions makes it slow and dangerous as well. In fact all other towns including Mandya were not bad at all. Bypassed Mysore by taking the left loop of the ring road.
My first trip after the Mysore-Nanjangud section was 4 laned and Nanjangud-Gundlupet was widened. There is more commercialization on Nanjangud route (and adds more local traffic) so need to be alert here.

2. In the forest section after Gundlupet - About 4Km after the forest checkpost/gate, a stretch of about 5Km is bad with scattered potholes and washed away, deep sections near couple of humps. After this, road quality improves and is very good on the Kerala side.

3. After Bathery, there are odd potholes but manageable. Traffic inside Kerala is thick so speeds come down drastically. Took the Kalpetta bypass and even that has couple of bad patches. Lots of new buildings around Vythiri, the green cover is vanishing fast along the highway!

4. Thamarassery ghat is fine up until the last 2-3 hair pin bends. Road has completely eroded in couple places and there is also road repair work in progress in one place.

We took a few breaks in between and reached around 9pm.

Return:
1. Started around 12:15pm, reached Mysore via the ring road and joined Mysore-Bangalore road near Columbia Asia hospital junction at 5:30pm

2. Since it was a holiday, traffic was lot less than usual and we reached near MG Road by the direct straight route around 8:30pm. Again, the bottlenecks were mostly at Channapatna, Ramnagara, Kengeri.

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by binand

The road works within town limits isn't helping any. I noticed this alternate route that avoids the worst of NH 213 and also the broken parts of the Cherpulassery route: https://goo.gl/maps/XPhAqXgwci52
Need to try it sometime.

Even I think it will be a better alternative. Road from Mundur to Kongad is amazing, and I have taken the diversion to Mannarkad from Kongad till Karakursi in 2017, was going to a small town Elampulasery to attend a function, it was a typical village road in Kerala, not sure how it is now but would be a better alternative.

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

1. Pune to Hosur can be done in a day.
2. Hosur to Kanyakumari is a little stretch, but doable.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I guess he is doing TN route to Kanyakumari, this is easily doable in a day mostly good 4 lane.

Agreed with Jaggu, I have done Bangalore ~ Trivandrum through TamilNadu
with a break in Kanyakumari for 30 minutes for sunset, Kaniyakumari ~ Trivandrum is still a pain due to road widening. So Hosur ~ Kanyakumari is an easier stretch.

Originally Posted by shashant

Thanks Dhanush.
BTW how are roads conditions within kerala now.

Most of the roads in Kerala have taken a hit due to the last monsoon. Be prepared for bad stretches combined with a slow-moving traffic during daytime.

Cheers!

[knightrider_7]

How is the road condition between Kothamangalam and Munnar?

I am planning to visit Munnar tomorrow in my two-wheeler. Route decided is Kothamangalam- Neriamangalam-Adimali-Munnar.

If anyone has traveled on this stretch recently, please update.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I guess he is doing TN route to Kanyakumari, this is easily doable in a day mostly good 4 lane. Pune to Hosur is in comparison is longer and tiring. But yes like Dhanush mentioned do see if you can add a day or two to chill also

Yes, Hosur - Kanyakumari is easily doable. Can be done in 8-10 hours, its 4L all through.

[Midas]

I'm planning to drive from Bangalore to Malappuram via Mangalore in December. My plan is to start from Bangalore early morning, stay in Mangalore that night and drive to Kerala the next morning or the morning after that. Looking for info/suggestions on the following:

- Suggestions on good places to visit in this route (or with some slight deviation). I have Shravanabelagola & Bekal fort in my list and eliminated Chickmangalore.
- Tips about Shravanabeagola? Will it be tiring to climb up considering I'll be the sole driver.
- Are there good enough attractions in/around Mangalore to spend 1 day there?
- Tips about Bekal fort? Good places worth visiting in Kasargod/Kannur/Mahi?
- How is the road condition in the entire route?
- Excluding other stops, generally how much time it will take to drive between Bangalore-Mangalore and Mangalore to Malappuram assuming that I drive in sane speeds?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by Midas

My plan is to start from Bangalore early morning, stay in Mangalore that night and drive to Kerala the next morning or the morning after that.

Any specific reason for planning drive to Mangalore?

If it's just to visit tourist locations between Malapuram and Mangalore, I would suggest you take it as part of another drive.

It will be easier and less tiring to take Malapuram - Nilambur - Bangalore and then do Shravanabelagola as a half day drive from Bangalore.

[Midas]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Any specific reason for planning drive to Mangalore?

If it's just to visit tourist locations between Malapuram and Mangalore, I would suggest you take it as part of another drive.

It will be easier and less tiring to take Malapuram - Nilambur - Bangalore and then do Shravanabelagola as a half day drive from Bangalore.

I generally take Mysore-Nilambur route itself. I have a relative in Manglore. So, this plan is mainly to cover multiple places in the Bangalore-Mangalore-Calicut route, along with visiting my relative in Mangalore. Moreover, I can cover more places & avoid night driving by splitting trip into 2-3 days.

[A350XWB]

Originally Posted by confortablynumb

I need to travel from Bangalore to Pathanamthitta. How is the state of the roads from Theni / Cumbum to Pathanamathitta now?
Any suggestions for a safe hotel to stay near Theni?

I think this information is too late for you as I assume that you have already traveled. But I'm still posting it for others who might be interested. The Lower Camp-Kumily route is open for traffic now. I traveled on Sunday, 4th of November and the info I got was that it was open for a couple of days already. I had to start late from Bangalore on Saturday and stayed at ABM Grande in Theni. The accommodation was good, but food was average. They have parking behind the hotel, so peaceful. I was traveling with family, to my home in Pathanamthitta. There is road work happening at lot of places from Kumily up to Kuttikkanam and beyond. Some sections before Vandiperiyar is really bad.