[rejeen]

Hi All,

Thanks for the information here.

I plan to drive to Changanasseri on 13th August. Plan to start from Bangalore around1 or 2pm.

Right now the plan is to take Hosur-KrishnaGiri-Thoppur-Mettur-Coimbatore-Angamaly-Cherthala-Alappuzha-Changanachery route in my Getz GLS.
Had driven in April once back taking the same route from Kerala (went via the Nilambur route going to Kerala). From the recent updates, it looks like the roads have become bad after April during the monsoon.

Please can you help me with the following?

1. Does taking Angamaly-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam-Changanacherry route saves time compared to the above route?
2. Is there any other alternate routes which could save the journey time particularly from Bangalore to Coimbatore (I think the Mysore route would be time consuming though shorter)?

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by rejeen

Hi All,


1. Does taking Angamaly-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam-Changanacherry route saves time compared to the above route?
2. Is there any other alternate routes which could save the journey time particularly from Bangalore to Coimbatore (I think the Mysore route would be time consuming though shorter)?

Will leave the 1st part to our pals who drive in Kerala daily. Until Muvattuppzha MC road is in a terrific shape thought you may not be able to hit high speeds

Taking Mysore road I feel is not at all a good option and always take a longer time. Bangalore to Coimbatore is good and Trichur to Cochin is ok (not bad a 4 laning is done in most of the areas).. I am not sure about the Coimbatore to Trichur stretch. I suggest not to take the Metur road since Bangalor Salem is a good drive now..

Another word of caution, heard that there is speed check at many points in Kerala highway and 70 KM/hr is the limit. So keep an eye..

[rejeen]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

I suggest not to take the Metur road since Bangalor Salem is a good drive now..

Thanks for this information. I thought the Salem stretch is slower because of construction work going on.

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Another word of caution, heard that there is speed check at many points in Kerala highway and 70 KM/hr is the limit. So keep an eye..

Thanks for the reminder. This is true - my parents were fined for overspeeding at 72km/hr 3 months back on their way from Mysore.

Hope they do fine the private buses as well who always go at much faster speeds and never think of the cars/pedestrians whose safety is at risk.

[trrk]

Hi,

Originally Posted by rejeen

Thanks for the reminder. This is true - my parents were fined for overspeeding at 72km/hr 3 months back on their way from Mysore.

Hope they do fine the private buses as well who always go at much faster speeds and never think of the cars/pedestrians whose safety is at risk.

I doubt! But they do sincerely catch hold of cars for speeding. They also check seat belts quite sincerely.

Please see the relevant portion of Joe's message below. Could be useful to you.

Originally Posted by joecherian

Guess this will be useful for all who travel to Bangalore from central kerala ( kottayam,kanjirappally,ranni side)
I took the Kumily route as I had a very bad experience driving through palghat when I went to Cochin.
One line update is, roads are perfect 100 % all the way.

The exact route which I too is Manimala ( which is my home town) - Erumely - Mundakkayam-Kuttikkanam-Vandiperiyar-Kumily-Cumbum-Theni-Periyakulam-Batlagundu-Sembatty-Oddanchatram-Dharapuram-Kangayam-Perundurai-Bhavani-Mettur-Thoppur-Hosur-Sarjapur-C V Raman Nagar.
Total distance is 620 (door to door) and we took 13.5 hours (with 2 major stops) and around 6 short stops for my pet puppy

Average fuel consumption was 18 with 90% AC on my Indigo LS

[unni.ak]

Originally Posted by ak916

Bangalore to Salem is entirely 4 lane tolled road, so its a good stretch to drive on. Between salem and coimbatore, there is only about 50 kms of road that is 4 laned and I am guessing they would have started collecting toll because last week they were doing a dry run and testing their booths.

They have not started collecting toll yet. Just came through there today. Guess they'll start soon.

Originally Posted by joecherian

I took the Kumily route as I had a very bad experience driving through palghat when I went to Cochin.
One line update is, roads are perfect 100 % all the way. The exact route which I too is Manimala ( which is my home town) - Erumely - Mundakkayam-Kuttikkanam-Vandiperiyar-Kumily-Cumbum-Theni-Periyakulam-Batlagundu-Sembatty-Oddanchatram-Dharapuram-Kangayam-Perundurai-Bhavani-Mettur-Thoppur-Hosur-Sarjapur-C V Raman Nagar.

A very welcome update. Thanks Joe. On a side note, I too had second thoughts on driving the Palghat - Angamaly bit.

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by rejeen

Hi All,

Thanks for the information here.

I plan to drive to Changanasseri on 13th August. Plan to start from Bangalore around1 or 2pm.

Please can you help me with the following?

1. Does taking Angamaly-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam-Changanacherry route saves time compared to the above route?
2. Is there any other alternate routes which could save the journey time particularly from Bangalore to Coimbatore (I think the Mysore route would be time consuming though shorter)?

If you are driving to changanassery, I don't see a reason for you to worry whether to take angamaly-mvpa-chry route or angamaly ekm alappey route, where as you should really be worried about the potholes palghat-angamaly route.
Why don't you try the Kumily route ? A word of caution though, if you plan to drive at night,you might not find people on road for directions.Also, lack of facilities (rest rooms, good hotels). Only good thing is good roads, with very less traffic.

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by joecherian

Why don't you try the Kumily route ? A word of caution though, if you plan to drive at night,you might not find people on road for directions.Also, lack of facilities (rest rooms, good hotels). Only good thing is good roads, with very less traffic.

Well said there joe, i also second that notion , as a first timer driving in th night to this section can be a bit disorienting , as even truck traffic would be minimal after lets say salem.

[deepclutch]

Isn't kottayam-ernakulam route via kumarakom got some bridges completed reducing the distance?

[jacs]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

Isn't kottayam-ernakulam route via kumarakom got some bridges completed reducing the distance?

This route is ready since long, there are lot of KSRTC running this route. You could drop near Cherthala and head towards right for reaching Vyttila. Route from Kottayam to Cherthala is bit narrow cousing delay these days due to the increased traffic. From Cherthala, Cochin is just a breeze away through the wonderful highway. Anyhow the distance is less but not worth a ride if its towards North Cochin (Aluva/Kalamassery etc), its better to take the airport-seaport road via Kanjiramattom.

[rejeen]

Originally Posted by joecherian

Why don't you try the Kumily route ? A word of caution though, if you plan to drive at night,you might not find people on road for directions.Also, lack of facilities (rest rooms, good hotels). Only good thing is good roads, with very less traffic.

Hi Joe,
I'm concerned about the total journey time - the kumily route seems to be time consuming than CBE route. Also I'm not familiar with the Kumily route but could try on my return to Bangalore on 16th Aug.

Palakkad-Angamaly - how bad is it? Is it pathetic?
I'll start around 1pm - 2pm from Bangalore. since the above updates say Salem road is good now (instead of going the Mettur way), hope to reach CBE by 6-7 pm.

[coolclouds]

Today morning, a local television channel reported that both routes via Mysore (Calicut/Nilambur) will be closed for night traffic from tomorrow.

[coolclouds]

The fastest route between Kottayam and Ernakulam (Kochi) would be Kottayam-Ettumanoor-Kaduthuruthy-Thalayolapparambu-Kanjiramattom-Nadakkavu-Tripunithura-Vyttila-Ernakulam.

Road also in very good condition but with lot of bends.

Second one is KSRTC route via Vaikom.

Another possible route is taking a right turn at Kaduthuruthy via Peruva-Piravom-Mulanthuruthy-Nadakkavu (Small road till Piravom, later decent smooth road.

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by rejeen

Hi Joe,
I'm concerned about the total journey time - the kumily route seems to be time consuming than CBE route. Also I'm not familiar with the Kumily route but could try on my return to Bangalore on 16th Aug.

Palakkad-Angamaly - how bad is it? Is it pathetic?
I'll start around 1pm - 2pm from Bangalore. since the above updates say Salem road is good now (instead of going the Mettur way), hope to reach CBE by 6-7 pm.

Distance wise, I don't think Kumily route is much longer than CBE route. Blr-Manimala is 620 kms and from there, changanasserry is 35 kms , making the total of 655 kms

Going through cbe,blr- ernakulam is approximately 550 kms, kottayam is 70 (?) and changanaserry is another 15 (?), making the total 635.

Palghat - ernakulam will take anywhere between 4-5 hrs ( especially at night with all traffic and potholes. I am sure the potholes would have worsened from what I have seen when I drove on 19th of July.
Hence, if you were familiar with Kumily route, that is the best bet.Or else you will have to follow the safe bet of palghat-ekm route.
If you start at around 6 in morning, you can very well take the Kumily route as you get lots of people who can give directions. Just see my previous post in which I have mentioned all major way points which should help you reach Kerala border and from there is is one single route.

[sanjaykk]

Today's Mathrubhumi seems to indicate a Karnataka bandh on 9th Aug related to the Thiruvalluvar statue unveiling issue.
I plan to take the Salem route to go to Guruvayoor on that day. Assuming I start early morning (3am types) is it advisable to go via Tamilnadu with a KA reg vehicle?

[sj_koova]

Originally Posted by joecherian

Another road update: Guess this will be useful for all who travel to Bangalore from central kerala ( kottayam,kanjirappally,ranni side)
I took the Kumily route as I had a very bad experience driving through palghat when I went to Cochin.
One line update is, roads are perfect 100 % all the way. I was in doubt whether I should drive through Dindigul or take the Dharapuram route ( as the road between Sempatty and Oddanchatram was in bad shape when I last took this route in Jan this year). Still, decided to try my luck and took the Sembatty Dharapuram route. To my surprise ( and luck), the road has been laid completely and it is one smooth drive all the way(except 2 culvert constructions)
The exact route which I too is Manimala ( which is my home town) - Erumely - Mundakkayam-Kuttikkanam-Vandiperiyar-Kumily-Cumbum-Theni-Periyakulam-Batlagundu-Sembatty-Oddanchatram-Dharapuram-Kangayam-Perundurai-Bhavani-Mettur-Thoppur-Hosur-Sarjapur-C V Raman Nagar.
Total distance is 620 (door to door) and we took 13.5 hours (with 2 major stops) and around 6 short stops for my pet puppy

Average fuel consumption was 18 with 90% AC on my Indigo LS

Perfect timing. I have to take the exact same route by end of this month.
Thanks for the update Joe.
I am sure some part of the route is really pleasant with lush green.