[ontheroad]

Originally Posted by noblecr

I am traveling from Trivandrum to Shoranur tonight with my wife and baby. planning to go via Kollam Alleppey. Can anyone give a quick reply about the road condition of Kayamkulam - Alleppey stretch.

Thanks in advance.
Noble.

Still bad as per Soccerfan.He posted the info couple of posts back. Please update after your journey as iam travelling through the stretch tomorrow night.

[deepclutch]

I am thinking of travelling by Bus to Madikeri next month. My query is, if I reach Thalassery, is there frequent services to Madikeri by RTC's?

TIA

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

I am thinking of travelling by Bus to Madikeri next month. My query is, if I reach Thalassery, is there frequent services to Madikeri by RTC's?

TIA

Not many buses, I am afraid! There are a couple of buses in the morning around 7-8 AM, not sure of the exact timings though. But you may find buses to Virajpet (Mysore/Bangalore bound buses also pass though virajpet) and from virajpet, you will find plenty of buses to Madikeri.
EDIT: got to know now that there is a KSRTC bus to Madikeri at 4.30 PM, Telicherry to Virajpet KSRTC (bangalore/mysore buses) :- 6.30 AM, 7 AM ,8 AM, 8.40 AM , 8 PM ,9 PM , 10 PM. Apart from these, there are few other buses like SRS, SNRTC, and Lakshmi private buses to Virajpet in the morning.

[ontheroad]

Road condition in Tcr-Klm stretch. Tcr-Alleppy is good. Alleppy-Haripad is ok condition. No potholes but road surface not smooth at some places were pothole repair was done. Haripad-Kayankulam(Klm-Alpy border) entire stretch is bad due to very uneven surface after the pothole patchwork. My swift, which was not rattling after the 30k service, started to rattle again after driving through that part. Kayankulam-Klm stretch have a very smooth road surface.

[pramodpk]

Drove from Bangalore (Brookefields) to Vaikom yesterday. Took the Bangalore - Mysore - Gundlupet - Gudalur - Nilambur - Wandoor - Perinthalmanna - Pattambi - Perumbilavu - Kunnamkulam - Chavakkad - Kodungalloor- N Paravoor - Varapuzha - Binanipuram - Kalamassery - Seaport Airport Road - Vaikom route.

Roads were generally good. Total distance - 532 KM Total time12 hours 40 minutes. For comparison, the regular NH 7 - NH 47 via Kuthiran is 580 KMS and via Pollachi - Chelakkara - Thrissur is 630 KM. Total toll paid was Rs 9 while via the regular route, it is around Rs 350/-.


Started from home at 4:40 AM and stopped for breakfast at Kamat Maduvan Mysore from 7:07 to 7:37 AM. Reached Gudalur at 9:37 AM, Nilambur at 11:00 AM. Stopped for lunch after Kunnamkulam at 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM. Reached home at 5:15 PM. It started raining heavily after Chavakkad making the progress really slow. Also, the narrow road from N. Paravoor till Binanipuram also made progress really slow.

I took 6 hours and 15 mins to cover a distance of 214 KMs in Kerala with
a 30 min break for lunch. Bangalore Mysore was very fast - 2 hours 15 mins. There was no traffic in Mysore inspite of Dusserah.

Plan to take Vaikom - Thrissur - Shoranur - Pattambi - Nilambur - Gudalur - Gundlupet -Chamarajnagar - Kollegal - Malavalli - Kanakpura - Bangalore route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Plan to take Vaikom - Thrissur - Shoranur - Pattambi - Nilambur - Gudalur - Gundlupet -Chamarajnagar - Kollegal - Malavalli - Kanakpura - Bangalore route.

At Perinthalmanna, do ask folks about Perinthalmanna-Melattoor-Kalikavu-Nilambur route. That used to be a good road earlier and also twisty.
Not sure how it is today. But a very scenic road.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

I suggest you cover Thirunelli Temple also. . You could club it with Kuruva island, they are not very far from each other if you choose Manantavady-Tholpetty route. The temple and the area around is a perfect place to enjoy nature at it's silent serene best and if you are spiritual, even more great! The drive through the forest would be thrilling for the kid. Only thing is you have to start early, say by 6 AM, visit Thirunelly first, and then proceed to Kuruva.

Confirmed trip to wayanad. Booked rooms at Vythiri.
Plan for the trip
26th
6 AM - start from Thrissur.
12 PM - Vythiri resort
visit Pookode Lake and Banasura Sagar Dam in the afternoon.
27th
6AM - Drive to Thirunelly temple. Its around 70km away. Any idea about road conditions and expected driving time?
Afternoon: Soochippara waterfalls.

28th
Start return journy by 9 AM.

Can someone help on the route to Thirunelly, banasura sagar dam and soochippara watefalls. I am also keen to know the road condition as I am travelling with parents and a 2yr old kid. Is the waterfalls accessible to elderly people?

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

Plan for the trip
26th
6 AM - start from Thrissur.
12 PM - Vythiri resort
visit Pookode Lake and Banasura Sagar Dam in the afternoon.
27th
6AM - Drive to Thirunelly temple. Its around 70km away. Any idea about road conditions and expected driving time?
Afternoon: Soochippara waterfalls.

28th
Start return journy by 9 AM.

Can someone help on the route to Thirunelly, banasura sagar dam and soochippara watefalls. I am also keen to know the road condition as I am travelling with parents and a 2yr old kid. Is the waterfalls accessible to elderly people?

Plan looks OK, perhaps if you are not in a hurry to reach Trichur on the returning day (28th) , you could visit Pookode lake then because it would come on the way. That way you would free up some time on 26th and could spend more time in Banasura dam.
On 27th, are you not planing to visit Kuruva island? since you are anyways driving upto Tirunelly, would not be very far from there. But one catch is that after coming back from Kuruva, don't know whether you would have enough time/energy to visit Soochipara waterfalls. And yes, there is a 1.5km long trek route including a steep decline/incline to reach the waterfalls. Elders might not find it very easy.
Roads around Wayanad have deteriorated, as per some of my relatives there. Sultan Bathery-Kalpetta route is potholed I heard. The route to Tirunelly would be Vythiri-Kalpetta-Mananthavady-Kattikulam(take left, head on to tholpetty)-Take left at Thettu road junction. There are enough signage all over the route.

[Rajeevraj]

Drove from Bangalore to Calicut on 20th Oct. Started from Belandur at 4.30 and reached Calicut by 12:45 with around 45 min break. Lost half hour in a jam at the border, 15 min each in jams in Kalpetta town and Thamarassery town.

Route
Bangalore-Kanakpura-Kollegala-Chamrajnagar-Gundlepet- Bathery-Calicut.

Road Conditions
Patchy in stretches from Chamrajnagar to Gundlepet
Patchy from Kerala border to Meenangadi.
Terrible from meenangadi to Outskirts of Kalpetta. Big potholes
Beautiful roads everywhere else. The bad stretches are easily forgotten

Other Points
First time taking the Kanakpura Route in the early morning. Need to watch out for oncoming truck traffic mainly between Bangalore-Kanakpura. Slightly dangerous as it is 2 lane and nobody dims the headlight.
Some really deserted stretches between Kanakpura and Kollegala (till around 6.30am).
Saved 15-30 mins over the regular Mysore-Gundlepet route. Started at 4:30 Reached gundlepet at 7:45. In mysore route I usually reach around 8 with the same start.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by ampere

At Perinthalmanna, do ask folks about Perinthalmanna-Melattoor-Kalikavu-Nilambur route. That used to be a good road earlier and also twisty.
Not sure how it is today. But a very scenic road.

The Nilambur - Wandoor - Pandikkad - Perinthalmanna route is in very good condition now.

[DieselLover]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Plan looks OK, perhaps if you are not in a hurry to reach Trichur on the returning day (28th) , you could visit Pookode lake then because it would come on the way. That way you would free up some time on 26th and could spend more time in Banasura dam.
On 27th, are you not planing to visit Kuruva island? since you are anyways driving upto Tirunelly, would not be very far from there. But one catch is that after coming back from Kuruva, don't know whether you would have enough time/energy to visit Soochipara waterfalls. And yes, there is a 1.5km long trek route including a steep decline/incline to reach the waterfalls. Elders might not find it very easy.
Roads around Wayanad have deteriorated, as per some of my relatives there. Sultan Bathery-Kalpetta route is potholed I heard. The route to Tirunelly would be Vythiri-Kalpetta-Mananthavady-Kattikulam(take left, head on to tholpetty)-Take left at Thettu road junction. There are enough signage all over the route.

Thanks Sandsun. We would like to visit Kuruva islands as it is on the way to Thirunelly but I heard that the entry is closed due to rains?

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by DieselLover

Thanks Sandsun. We would like to visit Kuruva islands as it is on the way to Thirunelly but I heard that the entry is closed due to rains?

It is not actually 'on the way' to Tirunelly, you still have to take a slight detour which is not very far but. On the way back from Tirunelly, once you reach Kattikulam ,the junction where you meet the main road to Bavali/Mysore, you have to take a left there and proceed for a KM on bavali road. You will see the signage for kuruva island on to your right. The boat landing centre would be around 6 km from there. Local folks will be happy to help with directions any day anywhere in Wayanad! Do ask taxi/auto drivers about the route conditions.
It is almost peak tourist season, so expect a lot of buses with college/school students and cars in that narrow road.
Don't have any concrete information about the closure of the island, will try to find out and let you know.

[denver85]

Done Bangalore-Kottyam-Bangalore last weekend. The details are given below:

Onward Journey(20 October,Saturday):
Route: Bangalore (Marthahally) - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Bhavani - Chengapalli - Tirupur - Palladam - Pollachi - Kollengode - Vadakkenchery - Alwye - Vytila - Cherthala - Thaneermukkam Bund - Kumarakom - Kottayam
Strat time : 5.50 AM
Reached at : 6.30 PM
The road conditions were nice all through. Kuthiran section was much better than I expected. Major potholes are patch worked which ensures a bumpy ride. The deviation through Palldam-Pollachi was very good this time. It took only 2 hours 50 minutes with no breaks from Chengappalli to Vadakkenchery(10.40 AM and 1.30 PM). There were small traffic jams in Tirupur and Pollachi town but nothing serious. It was raining heavily after entering Kerala with huge traffic which made the progress slower.

Return Journey(21 October,Sunday):
Route: Kottayam (Kanjikuzhi) - Ettumanur - Muvattupuzha - Angamaly - Mannuthy - Shornur - Pattambi - Perinthalmanna - Pattikad - Pandikkad - Wandoor - Nilambur - Gudalur - Gundlupet - Chamrajnagara - Kollegala -Malavalli - Kanakapura - Bangalore (Koramangala)
Strat time : 8.50 AM
Reached at : 9.30 PM
The roads were good. The Kottaym - Muvattupuzha road was much better compared to my last trip (May be 1 year back). Some sections were completely rubberized. The roads from Thrissur to Gudalur are narrow, curvy but in excellent condition. The Nadukani ghat section was nice with a few bad potholed sections. Gundlupet- Ch'Nagara road offered a bumpy ride. Nothing much to comment on the remaining section till the Nice road entry.

Nice to know that the road condition is not worse even after the Mansoon

[binoyb22]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Drove from Bangalore to Calicut on 20th Oct. Started from Belandur at 4.30 and reached Calicut by 12:45 with around 45 min break. Lost half hour in a jam at the border, 15 min each in jams in Kalpetta town and Thamarassery town.

Route
Bangalore-Kanakpura-Kollegala-Chamrajnagar-Gundlepet- Bathery-Calicut.

Road Conditions
Patchy in stretches from Chamrajnagar to Gundlepet
Patchy from Kerala border to Meenangadi.
Terrible from meenangadi to Outskirts of Kalpetta. Big potholes
Beautiful roads everywhere else. The bad stretches are easily forgotten
.

how about the ghat section??

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by binoyb22

how about the ghat section??

Ghat section is awesome. No deterioration or potholes seen after the stretch was relaid few months back. In fact most of the ghat was covered in mist. An unlikely sight at 11am