[jkdas]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

Cochin to coimbatore yesterday.
patches of bumpy roads before palghat, that smoothen out as we get closer to Palghat. Tolerable though.

2hr 30min trip maintaining steady 100-120. started at 5.30AM
Return trip at 2PM was a nightmare. took 4 hrs. Road was packed with aimless sunday drivers, overloaded trucks that could not do a 5 degree incline and plenty of Metal chicanes at each town worth 2 paise.

I left by 11:30am, reached by 1:30pm

Return 5:15pm, reached cochin by 8.45pm

True about truckers had to use the untarred area now and then to overtake the truck trains.

Thrissur-Angamali is the worst when it comes to traffic.

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by pramodh

Hi I just returned from round trip to Cochin.Road from Bangalore to Salem is excellent 183 kms of 4 lane bliss.There is a few bad spots between Salem and Coimbator but after that road is extremely good.Even the Palakkad Thrissur leg has been tarred and no proble.I left BAngalore at 530Am and reached Fort Cochin by 430 Pm which included a 30 minute stop for break fast and 1 hour stop for lunch.Excellent roads .

Is the bad spots between Salem and coimbatore at Avinashi or before that ?

Originally Posted by joecherian

Did Bangalore to Kanjirappally on 24 and return trip on 28 through the Kumily route . Except for the bad stretch between Oddanchatram and Sembatti, excellent roads all the way . Got a FE of 16 on my Indigo LS with 100% AC (except on the ghat roads while approaching Kumily). Could cover 620 kms in around 13 hours with 3 breaks of an average 45 mins each.

thats a good trip , but whats the distance between Oddanchatram and Sembatti? and how long did you take to cover it ?

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by jkdas

I left by 11:30am, reached by 1:30pm

Return 5:15pm, reached cochin by 8.45pm

True about truckers had to use the untarred area now and then to overtake the truck trains.

Thrissur-Angamali is the worst when it comes to traffic.

These truckers are the sole reason why i always schedule my drives to Trivandrum in the night time. atleast i have lesser entities to look out for with respect to other road users.

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by hellstar

thats a good trip , but whats the distance between Oddanchatram and Sembatti? and how long did you take to cover it ?

Oddanchatram- Sembatti should be in the range of 20-30 kms ( am not sure though). It is not that entire stretch is bad.. The main problem is that there are around 4-5 culverts under construction and most of the diversion for these culverts are one ways and you might end up waiting for the other end to finish so that you get a chance to cross the diversion.For me, this took some time as most of the diversions had a queue of around 20 vehicles on either sides (these might be the returning crowd after vacation and hence shouldn't be a normal scene in off season) .

[menonrajesh]

Came back today from TCR.

Left for TCR on 21st, took Mettur - Bhavani route. We decided to avoid Dharmapuri town and carried breakfast. However happened to see a small and decent looking restaurent before reaching the point where we take left to avoid Mettur Dam. Roads, as many have posted, were a mix of good and excellent for the entire trip.

Return leg was without wifey and kids and so decided to have a night drive. Left yesterday late evening from hometown, TCR to PGT was painful with overflowing roads. Entered CBE town. Had dinner there at Hotel Alankar and took the route via Sathy / Sathyamangalam, Ammappet towards Mettur. EXCELLENT roads! Well marked, butter smooth and traffic less. Coimbatore to Ammappet took just 2 hrs. You will realise how good the roads were, only when you enter mettur road, which is considered to be a 'good' one! From there, entered Thoppur, but decided to take Raikotta road. It is very easy to miss the diversion towards Raikotta due to the road construction activities. Road was good and less traffic there too, but many small bridges are getting built on the way and may loose some time at the diversions, if the traffic is more. Reached home at 4 AM with a total driving time of 9 hrs to cover almost 500 KMs.

Planning to take the Sathy route again while going back to TCR on 8th. I just loved it!

[Jammy70]

Hi, just back from an Yercaud weekend and thought I will update on the B'lore-Salem stretch.

Left on 27th at 11.15am and took the Sarjapur-Attibelle road; peaceful drive and the road is in good condition. Just keep your eyes peeled for Karnataka's signature unmarked speed-breakers, some of which will compare well to camel humps!

Hosur town is madness as usual, with 2-wheelers, local tempos, etc all over the place, so watch your speed. From then on, it's pure bliss - 4-lane right upto Salem. There's an HP bunk on the left a little outside Hosur where I fill up the tank - never had a problem with their quality and this time too I filled up here.

For those opting to take the Dharmapuri bye-pass, there is a neat Adayar Ananda Bhavan on the right side just a little ahead after crossing the bye-pass; you can't miss it (attached to a BP bunk) and should take you around 2 hours from HSR Layout to get here. Grabbed a lovely south Indian lunch here. Past Thoppur, there are a few stretches where the 4-lane reduces to 2-lane as some bridges/flyovers are still getting completed. However, this won't slow you down much.

Caution: Watch out for locals riding 2-wheelers/tractors on the wrong side, especially beyond Krishnagiri. Overall, B'lore-Salem took me 4 hours including one hour for stoppages driving at 95-110kmph.

Hope this helps.

[sudheeshnairs]

I plan to drive to Trivandrum on 9th Jan. Pramodh, in your case reaching Cochin by 4.30 PM means, I may reach TVM by 9.30-10 PM. BTW what was your speed? I would be going in my 6 year old Indica V2 DLS and the top cruising speed would be around 80-100kph.

I had driven down to Bangalore from Trivandrum in April 08. I had started by 5AM and reached by 10 PM only. The drive was fast in Kerala, I had covered up to Coimbatore by 12 noon, but after that it was slowed down. Four laning works were going on and after Salem it was heavy rain. And from 6 PM onwards I was driving at about 40 kmph only trailing behind trucks due to heavy rain and 'under construction' roads. Road was not seen at all in the rains during dark.

Hope now the drive till Salem is ok now. And what do you guys advice? Through Mettur-Bhavani or go along the Salem highway?

One more advice please. I plan to drive back on 17th or 18th. If on 17th, I may start afternoon from Trivandrum, stop for the day at Trissur or Palakkad and then resume the journey next morning. While going to Kerala, I would be comfortable even if it is night towards the end of the journey. But that is not the case while on the way back to Bangalore. Last time I was with a friend, so it was ok. This time I am with wife, so a little confusion. Is it ok to drive on a single day or divide in to two as mentioned earlier? And I would need to drive the whole distance myself, last time my friend had shared the wheel.

And lastly, one more advice regarding 'driving in Bangalore' with a KL Number plate. I have just renewed my Vehicle Insurance from Trivandrum. I will be doing the 'PUC' test also when I am there. I would be having the fuel bills as well as the Toll receipts. Will all these will help me before BLR RTO/Cops for six more months, say till July 09?

Originally Posted by pramodh

Hi I just returned from round trip to Cochin.Road from Bangalore to Salem is excellent 183 kms of 4 lane bliss.There is a few bad spots between Salem and Coimbator but after that road is extremely good.Even the Palakkad Thrissur leg has been tarred and no proble.I left BAngalore at 530Am and reached Fort Cochin by 430 Pm which included a 30 minute stop for break fast and 1 hour stop for lunch.Excellent roads .

[SkyWalker]

Folks, i did a drive from Blr-Kochi on 22 Dec and back from Kochi-Blr on 4 Jan. The trip was a good experience. Thanks to Jaggu and many others who helped with with directions.

Route: as suggested by most people : Hosur, Dharmapuri Bypass,Thoppur, Mettur, Bhavani, Avinashi,Coimbatore,Palakkad

Short trip details:

22nd Dec
started from old airport road at 5:15 AM. (scared of fog, so started late), drive till Housr was a little frustating, with many diversions happening due to the Elevated highway work. Beyound Hosur, till Thoppur, its a great 2 lane highway where we can easily maintain 120+. Beware od some pesky diversions though. Breakfast in Saravanabhavan, Bavani. Thoppur stretch is bad in some places, but managable. Avinashi,Cbe stretch was frustating with slow moving vechicles, road work, and diversions again. Reached Palakkad around 12:15 PM. Lunch break in Vdakkanchery. Things went all downhill from there - worst roads, and loads of trucks, even worse drivers. Reached Parur at 3:30 PM. (10.5 hours, including a Breakfast+lunch breaks)

4Jan
Decided to avoid the Kerala traffic by starting early. Started from Parur by aorund 3:40 AM. reached Palakkad by 6:15 AM. Breakfast again in Bhavani, Saravana Bhavan @ 8:30 AM. Roads were reasonably deserted, i could reach Hosur by 12:00. Frustating traffic again from Hosur meant it took me 1 hour to reach home in Old Airport Road (~1:10PM) (9.5 hours, with 1 breakfast break)

[TomRider]

Originally Posted by vsbabu

I had travelled via Mysore-Bandipur-Gudallur-Nilambur-Perinthalmanna-Pattambi. That road is shorter, but quite a bit of curvy roads - not good if you've family with you

So true.

Took the same old route; via Mysore. Not recommended if you are traveling with family. It took 10 hrs for us to reach Cochin, including 3 breaks (15 min for tea, 45 mins break for breakfast and 10 mins for tender coconut). It takes less time compared to the other (Coimbatore) route. The worst part is, the travelers almost vomited by the time we reached Nilambur. The roads are so uneven/bad (in a very few stretches - Gundalpet-Bandipur, Nadugani-Kerala Border and a small part of NH-17) and twisty which makes the travelers so tired. But myself, being the driver, enjoyed the twisties and full potential of multijet diesel.

I will be travelling via Coimbatore next time.

[jacs]

Hi Tom,

So Nilambur route is open to public now? Is there any time restrictions to use this route?

[deepclutch]

can I ask a local travel query?if not suitable ,please delete.
from Ernakulam to Muvattupuzha via NH49 ,if we choose straight route from Irimbanam junction towards kochin refinary-karimugal-puthenkuriz-muvattupuzha ,is there any reduction in distance?I heard the road condition is quiet OK now.
and normal route includes vyttila-irimbanam-thiruvankulam-maamala-..mvpa.

[unni.ak]

Back from a home trip. Took Hosur - Mettur - Coimbatore - Cochin - Alleppey route for onward journey and the Salem route on the way back. The roads are pretty good, except for some stretches around Palghat and Perundurai. Took about 11hrs 30mins (with a 10 min tea break and 40 min brunch) for onward trip, and 9hrs 20mins (left at 2:40am; with a 20min breakfast break) for return.

Word of caution, please please watchout for lunatics on Lunas . These guys just cross the road through divider openings and don't give a damn to your honks. I had a very close call with one at about 100kmph and thank God, was able to stop on time.

[TomRider]

Originally Posted by jacs

Hi Tom,
So Nilambur route is open to public now? Is there any time restrictions to use this route?

It is always open. No time time restrictions at all. During monsoon, there 'd be land slides in Nadugani. That time they may close it for a couple of days for clearing it off.

[varghesepaul]

Hello:

I drove down from Hyderabad to Angamali and onwards to Trivandrum for the christmas vactions.

Left Hyderabad at 6.30am on 24th December but got caught in a massive traffic outside Hyderabad and was stuck for 2 hours, eventually reached Bangalore by 5pm. The next day left from Bangalore by 5.45am and went by the mettur route and was in Angamali by 1.30pm for lunch, stopped for breakfast at Mettur for about 45 mins. The roads were mostly quite good except for some stretch between Palakad and Thrissur.

Returned back on the 3rd - left Trivandrum at 5am and drove down through Allepey, Cochin, Palakad, Mettur route and was in Bangalore by 4.30pm, had brekfast at Palakad and lunch just outside Bangalore - we were debating whether to stay over at Hosur or Anantapur but decided to drive on to Anantpur but took us about 1.5 hours to get out of Bangalore. Finally reached Anantpur by 8.30pm and stayed over for the nte. Next morning, left Anantpur by 6.30am and was in Hyderabad by 11.45pm.

The way the roads are improving, should be able to make the Hyderabad to Trivandrum trip in a day - the major bottlenecks are getting out of Bangalore and the traffic on Kerala roads.

Overall, a great trip though a bit tiring especially the return leg.

Regards
Varghese

Originally Posted by varghesepaul

the major bottlenecks are getting out of Bangalore and the traffic on Kerala roads.

@varghese- Kerala traffic is a bottleneck? You have a flair for understatement.
It's more like a test tube or a pippette rather than a bottle.