[joecherian]

Had to make an urgent trip to Kottayam last saturday and took the Chennai-Trichy-Dindigal-Kumily-Ktm route. Travel till Dindugul was smooth but then once I deviated at Dindugal, could see lots of newly laids have started deteriorating, most probably due to the actions by the villagers. Lots of places, I could see the harvest from the paddy fields kept on the road for the vehicles to crush and separate the grains, by which, the hay is getting pasted to the road, resulting in bumpy ride.
After Theni, there are lot of broken/uneven surface which makes the ride bumpy/noisy and pot holes as well. Over all, I felt the ride is not smooth as it was earlier but manageable

For the return trip, since I had some work in Pathanamthitta, I took the Punalur-Chenkotta-Rajapalayam-Madurai-Trichy -Chennai route. Smooth road all the way. Even the ghat sections has been repaired (most probably due to the Sabarimala season which starts next week). So for people travelling to Kollam and neighbouring places , this is a good alternative for the time being.

[denver85]

Originally Posted by joecherian

For the return trip, since I had some work in Pathanamthitta, I took the Punalur-Chenkotta-Rajapalayam-Madurai-Trichy -Chennai route. Smooth road all the way. Even the ghat sections has been repaired (most probably due to the Sabarimala season which starts next week). So for people travelling to Kollam and neighbouring places , this is a good alternative for the time being.

That is a good news This is one of the best alternatives for those coming from Trivandrum, and Kollam to avoid the mad traffic in the Nagercoil route. Hope this remains in good condition at least till next monsoon.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by kala

If you're one who's very concerned about your vehicle, don't even think about the Gudalur-Nilambur route. The ghat section is not in the best of condition right now, and the forest section in TN also is supposed to be on the rougher side.

Last time I did this stretch was on September 17th and the ghats were 'ok'ish then. Not too bad and was very much manageable even in a LOW GC sedan. At many stretches, the central half of the road had sort of eroded which seems to be due to running water. I got stuck behind a truck in one of those stretches and had to really crawl till I found a semi decent stretch to overtake. perhaps heavy rains in october has made it even worse.

There was a stretch between Gudalur and Mudumalai which had some humongous potholes like the one in the picture below. This was the only place where my Punto's (2012 model with 185mm GC) under-body scrapped in an entire trip of 950 kms.

[kala]

Originally Posted by joecherian

Lots of places, I could see the harvest from the paddy fields kept on the road for the vehicles to crush and separate the grains, by which, the hay is getting pasted to the road, resulting in bumpy ride.

Didn't know they did this with paddy also. On Karnataka roads (especially NH209) you mostly see Ragi crop being spread out on the road this way. I always wonder if this isn't a really a very time consuming way of threshing !

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by kala

Didn't know they did this with paddy also. On Karnataka roads (especially NH209) you mostly see Ragi crop being spread out on the road this way. I always wonder if this isn't a really a very time consuming way of threshing !

Yes, they do! It used to be seen in some of the village roads in Kerala. Back in my school days, the van that used to ferry us to school got stuck in a mini-haystack on the road. Took the driver quite an effort and also some movie-style dialogues with the labourers to get the prop-shaft and the wheels free.

More than getting stuck, the fact that you cannot see the potholes makes it extremely dangerous, especially for two-wheelers

[dhanushmenon]

Intend driving from Pondicherry to thanjavur- thenmala- kollam- kochi.

Roads I believe are in good shape (as has been reported a few posts above)

OT: Also, any tips for the thanjavur temple visit?

Hope to visit by around the time of sundown

[binand]

Originally Posted by kala

Didn't know they did this with paddy also. On Karnataka roads (especially NH209) you mostly see Ragi crop being spread out on the road this way. I always wonder if this isn't a really a very time consuming way of threshing !

My impression is that this is the left-overs, after the actual crop is harvested (and processed) using mechanized tools.

[rejeen]

Drove from Cherthala to Bangalore on Sunday (10th Nov). Here is what I observed.

1. Took the following route (in reverse) as suggested by lloydofcochin. Bangalore - Salem - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Vyttilla - Cherthala. The route is in pretty good shape.
2. Started by 8:30 am. As meisnutz mentioned, an earlier start could have helped to avoid the traffic.
3. From Mannuthy till about Kuthiraan, watch out for part of newly laid roads broken on the left side. My tyre disc got bent after hitting one of those. Luckily this happened near to a workshop at a place called "Chuvannamannu" and was back on road exactly after an hour.
4. Too many tolls and toll checks where I had to fully stop the car. The toll charge per Km goes up as the journey progress towards Bangalore !!
5. Had decent food (lunch) from Sree Saravana Bhavan (near a diversion) at Karumathampatti.
6. Very less traffic till Krishnagiri (reached there by 5:45 pm).
7. Lot of truck traffic after that. Reached Madivala by 7:30 pm after filling tank full at Hosur.

[bijujj]

Originally Posted by joecherian

Had to make an urgent trip to Kottayam last saturday and took the Chennai-Trichy-Dindigal-Kumily-Ktm route.
After Theni, there are lot of broken/uneven surface which makes the ride bumpy/noisy and pot holes as well. Over all, I felt the ride is not smooth as it was earlier but manageable

.

How is the road from Kumily to Kottayam? Also how much time it took for you to complete the trip.

[wanderlust09]

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

Intend driving from Pondicherry to thanjavur- thenmala- kollam- kochi.

Roads I believe are in good shape (as has been reported a few posts above)

The Punalur-Thenmala-Sengottai stretch of NH 208 has been repaired in view of the Sabarimala season. However, the narrow ROB at Aryankavu is a little bit of a bottle-neck with frequent instances of trucks getting stuck there, especially in the recent past.
This ROB has to be widened as a part of the ongoing Punalur-Sengottai gauge conversion.

[cooljai]

I need to be in Kerala on Saturday morning, and plan to drive from Bangalore with my family. Its appraisal time and tomorrow being the last day, need to be in office at least for some time! Plan to start after 12 Pm from Bangalore.
Destination will be Mavelikara.
Worried about the evening drive through Kerala till Mannuthy. Considering the traffic and road conditions, what should be the ideal time to start from Bangalore?

[rohitm]

Originally Posted by rohitm

Planning a Bangalore - Varkala - Bangalore trip. Route Options:

1. Bangalore - Madurai - Tenkasi - Punalur - Varkala
2. Bangalore - Nagercoil - Thirvananthapuram - varkala

Please recommend which route is better/ faster.

Plan to leave at about 5 AM in the morning, do suggest breakfast and lunch points.

Help please. Will help plan the road trip better..

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rohitm

Help please. Will help plan the road trip better..

I think I read an update some where just a couple of days back that the Punalur road via Madurai is good.
You may want search for that post here. Let me also try.

EDIT :

Check couple of posts above by wanderlust09

[robimahanta]

Need some help on a road trip across Kerala.

The plan is Bangalore-Mysore-Gundulpet-Vythiri-Guruvayur-Thrissur-Cochin-Bangalore

I need help regarding the best route (road condition) from Gundulpet-Vythiri-Guruvayur-Thrissur.

Gundulpet to Vythiri, ideal route? Time required?

Vythiri to Guruvayur, which would be the best route? How much time would it take approximately ? I would be starting from Vythiri around 1pm.

Guruvayur-Thrissur, best option? any shortcuts/roads to avoid?

Cochin to Bangalore, I am planning to take the tried and tested route via Thrissur-Shornur-Ottapalam-Pallakad-Coimbatore-Salem-Krishnagiri-Hosur

[binand]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Gundulpet to Vythiri, ideal route? Time required?

Vythiri to Guruvayur, which would be the best route? How much time would it take approximately ? I would be starting from Vythiri around 1pm.

Guruvayur-Thrissur, best option? any shortcuts/roads to avoid?

Gundlupet-Vythiri, there is no reason not to go via NH 212. It would take about 2.5 hours during daytime (the distance is around 100 km).

Vythiri-Guruvayur, again no reason not to go Vythiri-Calicut via NH 212 and Calicut-Guruvayur via NH 17 till Edappal and then Kunnamkulam-Guruvayur. Vythiri-Calicut would be around 60 km and Calicut-Guruvayur, around 100 km.

Guruvayur-Thrissur, there is only one route really, the one via Kecheri. It is about 30 km.

Overall, this is a bit of a circuitous route; the Gundlupet-Nilambur-Guruvayur route should save you about 50-60 km.