[sansvk]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

My recco would be:

Pondy-Ulundurpet-Attur-Salem-Perundurai-Kangayam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad
http://goo.gl/maps/yOQtZ

Thanks, Is Pondy to Salem a two lane or 4 lane?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by sansvk

Thanks, Is Pondy to Salem a two lane or 4 lane?

Not entirely.NH45 is 4 laned.The section you would take from Pondy till you touch NH45 is 2 laned state highway,for approx 80kms imo.Once you are on the NH45 it is 4 laned all the way till Ulundurpet-attur-salem.Again Salem-Perundurai is 4 laned and post perundurai it is all wide 2 laned good roads.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sansvk

Thanks, Is Pondy to Salem a two lane or 4 lane?

As Ranjit said the route is :

Pondi-Villupuram : Narrow 2-lane
Villupuram-Ulundurpet-Salem-Perundurai : 4-lane
Perundurai-Kangeyam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad : 2-lane

For a change if you wan to take 2-lane roads and enjoy SH road, you can try :

Pondi-Villupuram-Perambalur-Thuraiyur-Kulithalai-Karur-Dharapuram-Pollachi-Palakkad.

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Not entirely.NH45 is 4 laned.The section you would take from Pondy till you touch NH45 is 2 laned state highway,for approx 80kms imo.Once you are on the NH45 it is 4 laned all the way till Ulundurpet-attur-salem.Again Salem-Perundurai is 4 laned and post perundurai it is all wide 2 laned good roads.

Perfect for a relaxed drive.

Originally Posted by ampere

For a change if you wan to take 2-lane roads and enjoy SH road, you can try :

Pondi-Villupuram-Perambalur-Thuraiyur-Kulithalai-Karur-Dharapuram-Pollachi-Palakkad.

Never done many miles on TN's interior roads (SH's), seems like a nice way to get to Kerala. Both routes end up with similar kms and since time isn't a constraint, this would be my first preference. Shall keep you guys posted.

[JoeMichael]

Originally Posted by nitinbose

I'm surprised if you can do above 45kph on those roads, owing to their pathetic conditions. You can speed on the Palghat-Shornur-Trichur road but again, it has so many bends.

Walayar to Kuthiran is pretty decent. Its Kuthiran to Mannuthy where road conditions are way less than optimal.

[Twiny]

Kuthiran top(temple) to Pattikkad stretch is in horrible state. Don't think of taking that route if it's raining, as it will be difficult to judge how deep the potholes are. I traveled last weekend thru this section for onward/return night journeys, since I had determined to follow and crawl.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by JoeMichael

Walayar to Kuthiran is pretty decent. Its Kuthiran to Mannuthy where road conditions are way less than optimal.

3 weeks ago, Madukkarai to Walayar and beyond, at least for the next 20-30km was horrible. After Chandranagar, there's not even two lanes, as either side of the carriageway is being worked upon. Is it any different now?

[dhanushmenon]

Has anyone travelled recently through Gudalur- Nadugani- Nilambur- Perinthalmanna- Thrissur?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by silversteed

3 weeks ago, Madukkarai to Walayar and beyond, at least for the next 20-30km was horrible. After Chandranagar, there's not even two lanes, as either side of the carriageway is being worked upon. Is it any different now?

No change,gone from bad to worse.

[ranjitp1]

Thrissur-Palakkad NH47.All copyrights with the original owner of the picture.Just shows how bad a condition the NH47 is in at the moment.Looks like all that talk of night closures to repair the road was just a hogwash.

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by silversteed

3 weeks ago, Madukkarai to Walayar and beyond, at least for the next 20-30km was horrible. After Chandranagar, there's not even two lanes, as either side of the carriageway is being worked upon. Is it any different now?

Exactly what I'm saying, I've driven to Kerala during the last two weekends, the stretch between Avinashi to Palghat is horrible. One has to keep the speeds to a max of 30kph and be vary of potholes or other road "structures"

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by nitinbose

Exactly what I'm saying, I've driven to Kerala during the last two weekends, the stretch between Avinashi to Palghat is horrible. One has to keep the speeds to a max of 30kph and be vary of potholes or other road "structures"

Avinashi to Neelambur is manageable. It's only the diversions that one should be wary of. The surface is good, and one side of the divided carriageway is opened up for traffic. Neelambur to Madukkarai via the L&T bypass toll road is also good. Except that there are some stretches where the tyre tracks have become channel-like. Beyond Madukkarai, it's another hell, just like Kuthiran-Pattikkad, is what I'm told.

[joommen]

Its a wonder why none of the governments are keen to repair the roads from Walayar to Thrissur, is it politics or resource crunch or about mis-management of road taxes?

May be its time that the passengers plan a social work week for this stretch of the road so that we could travel safely.

Any one interested ?

Thanks,

Jacob
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Please.gif

[dhanushmenon]

Travelled from Kochi to Coimbatore last friday.
The route taken was Kochi- Angamaly- Mannuthi- Wadakkanchery- Pazhayannur- Alathur- Kollengode- Pollachi- Coimbatore.

The roads from Mannuthy onwards towards Kuthiraan is in shambles. I was on Mannuthy junction for some 100 meteres or so, and within that I was disgusted.
To add to the misery is the reckless driving of the local buses, who think that the whole road is their family property.

I took a pocket road and my GPS took me through a stretch of broken road (1Km). Then the road further lead to Wadakkanchery.
The roads along the route I travelled was in prime condition. The rains have not done anything and with sparse traffic, it was a breeze to drive along

[ak916]

It has been a few months since I have gone to Kerala. I know the monsoon does its magic on the roads so would appreciate if someone can tell me the best road choice between Kottakkal and Kochi. We would be doing this around 5-6 am tomorrow morning. I am going to take the kanakpura route to kottakal tonight. We will be in a sedan.