[treadmark]

Which is the best route to take for Thrissur ~ Thiruvalla ~ Thrissur?
Planning to leave Thrissur day after tomorrow around 5 AM and return from Thriuvalla after lunch. I went through Cochin, Alleppy before the monsoon, will the same do good or should I consider Kottayam?

Cheers!

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by treadmark

Which is the best route to take for Thrissur ~ Thiruvalla ~ Thrissur?
Planning to leave Thrissur day after tomorrow around 5 AM and return from Thriuvalla after lunch. I went through Cochin, Alleppy before the monsoon, will the same do good or should I consider Kottayam?

Cheers!

You can go via Aluva, Kalamassery, Tripunithura, Kundannur, Aroor for the onward journey as it is early in the morning.

Take MC Road for return journey, as construction of bridges at Vytilla and Kundannur is in full swing, there is heavy traffic jam.

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

You can go via Aluva, Kalamassery, Tripunithura, Kundannur, Aroor for the onward journey as it is early in the morning.

Take MC Road for return journey, as construction of bridges at Vytilla and Kundannur is in full swing, there is heavy traffic jam.

Thank you, Johnny.

Did I plot it right HERE for onward journey?

For return will it be crowded than usual in MC road due to Sabarimala traffic? Moreover, how is the road condition after monsoon?

Cheers!

[binand]

Originally Posted by treadmark

For return will it be crowded than usual in MC road due to Sabarimala traffic?

As per media reports there is no Sabarimala traffic worth speaking of, this year.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by treadmark

For return will it be crowded than usual in MC road due to Sabarimala traffic?

Originally Posted by binand

As per media reports there is no Sabarimala traffic worth speaking of, this year.

May be less compared to previous years, however I noticed many pilgrim vehicles on Bangalore - Calicut route yesterday. So it is better to consider pilgrim traffic too.

[mithun]

Planning to travel from Kochi - Pondicheery with my family.

Any damages due to Cyclone Gaja? Are the roads fine?

Thanks in advance.

[ike]

Originally Posted by mithun

Planning to travel from Kochi - Pondicheery with my family.

Any damages due to Cyclone Gaja? Are the roads fine?

Thanks in advance.

What route are you planning to take? I drove from Chennai to Thrissur yesterday, the road till Villupuram is in good shape if you are going via Salem - Ulundurpet - Villupuram.

[mithun]

Originally Posted by ike

What route are you planning to take? I drove from Chennai to Thrissur yesterday, the road till Villupuram is in good shape if you are going via Salem - Ulundurpet - Villupuram.

Thanks for the info.

Yes, I'm going via that route

Any advices?

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

You can go via Aluva, Kalamassery, Tripunithura, Kundannur, Aroor for the onward journey as it is early in the morning.

Take MC Road for return journey, as construction of bridges at Vytilla and Kundannur is in full swing, there is heavy traffic jam.

Your suggestion was spot on, thanks a ton, passed Ernakulam in a jiffy since it was early in the morning.
Road work in progress between Alappuzha and Changanassery.

On return took Thiruvalla ~ Changanasery ~ Ettumanoor ~ Muvattupuzha ~ Angamally ~ Thrissur. Good road surface all along

Originally Posted by binand

As per media reports there is no Sabarimala traffic worth speaking of, this year.

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

May be less compared to previous years, however I noticed many pilgrim vehicles on Bangalore - Calicut route yesterday. So it is better to consider pilgrim traffic too.

Pilgrim traffic was less relatively but then saw a spike over the weekend.

Cheers!

[tomchacks]

Originally Posted by binand

I'd consider a third option: Kochi-Nilambur-Gudalur-Mysore-Hassan. The distance to Kerala edge is about 200 km which you can cover in 4 hours if you start early in the morning. Road conditions are good throughout (except flood damages, if any).

I travelled on this route on 22nd Nov to Bangalore. The Nilambur-Gudallur stretch is in shambles. The ghat section road is in a pitiable condition after the monsoons along with the widening/embankment work going on. This route is advised to be avoided till the completion of widening and re-tarring (for at least the next 6 months), especially at night. Also from Shornur to Pattambi the road was blocked and had to take a diversion. In my eagerness to try a new route, I took the Cherpulassery route which proved to be a big mistake as it is in a very bad state. Karalmanna to Perinthalmanna and up to Nilambur is okay.

[binand]

Originally Posted by tomchacks

The Nilambur-Gudallur stretch is in shambles. [...] I took the Cherpulassery route which proved to be a big mistake as it is in a very bad state.

What this means is that 750+ pages of collective wisdom in this thread has been completely invalidated by the floods. :-)

[tomchacks]

Originally Posted by binand

What this means is that 750+ pages of collective wisdom in this thread has been completely invalidated by the floods. :-)

Sadly so, as I have been a frequent traveler on this route as I used to take a break at Bandipur for the evening and morning safaris, before proceeding further up or down. Now I will have to forgo that idea for some time.

[sujithsidhardha]

I am planning to drive from Kozhikode - Chennai (Wimco Nagar) on 21DEC with family. Senior citizen and a kid of 6 years age included.

Google maps provided this route with around 13-14 hours of drive. Request your advice.

Sedate driver. Go above 60km/hr, only if the road and traffic condition permit.
No driving at night from 10PM to 06AM.
Can i follow the route or any alternate suggestions?
How is the tarmac and expected traffic condition?
Approximate time in reality would highly be appreciable.

Originally Posted by ike

I drove from Chennai to Thrissur yesterday, the road till Villupuram is in good shape if you are going via Salem - Ulundurpet - Villupuram.

How long it took from Chennai to Thrissur?

[binand]

Originally Posted by sujithsidhardha

I am planning to drive from Kozhikode - Chennai (Wimco Nagar) on 21DEC with family. Senior citizen and a kid of 6 years age included.

Google maps provided this route with around 13-14 hours of drive. Request your advice.

If we divide this into sections:

* Kozhikode-Palakkad - there are multiple routes and flood damages; you might face issues in the route suggested by Google. In particular, the Perinthalmanna-Cherpulassery-Mundur section is in bad shape when I went that way in September. Ask locally and pick the best choice. I took a route via Arekode-Manjery-Pandikkad-Mannarkkad last time and was quite happy with it.

* Palakkad-Salem - nothing to complain, no alternatives to consider. The Coimbatore bypass might tax you a bit; be careful.

* Salem-Chennai - there are two routes, Ulundurpet-Tambaram or Krishnagiri-Vellore. The latter has 6-lane section between Krishnagiri and Ranipet. Since your destination is north Chennai I think you should take this instead of the suggested one.

One suggestion is to turn off the NH at Sriperumbudur and get on to the Chennai bypass at Vandalur at its starting point.

[SJM1214]

Kerala: PWD to stop toll on bridges

The ministerial meeting has decided to stop toll on 14 bridges under Public Works Department. This includes bridges that charged toll for the past 14 years.

These bridges are Aroor-Arukutti(Alappuzha),Pulikkakkadavu-Poovathumkadavu(Thrissur),New Cochin(Cheruthuruthy), Thuruthippuram-Kottappuram, Krishnan Kotta, Kadalundikkadavu, Murinjapuzha, Mayannoor, Sreemoolanagaram, Vellappu, Muttool-Madakara, Nedumkallu, Mannoorkkadavu. The toll collection at Mannoorkkadavu couldn’t be started due to protests.

News Source: News Source.