[NPV]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

I am planning to go via kutta as I have to reach vythiri village on 18th for a meeting. The bandh is from 6am so I am planning to reach there before 6am. The problem is that the sultan battery road is closed from 9pm-6am. The conference guys told me that the road via kutta is open 24hrs. Any idea about the exact route? How much time it would take? I believe the road is in pretty bad shape, so would be glad if anyone who has taken that road recently can update me on the current situation.

Route from Bangalore is via Hunsur (you can do Srirangapatna-Hunsur or Mysore ORR-Hunsur).
Has been discussed recently on this same thread, see here for updates.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

I am planning to go via kutta as I have to reach vythiri village on 18th for a meeting. How much time it would take? I believe the road is in pretty bad shape, so would be glad if anyone who has taken that road recently can update me on the current situation.

The route would be
Bangalore-Mysore ORR-Hunsur-Anechowkoor-Gonikoppal-ponnampet-Srimangala-Kutta-Tholpetty-Kattikulam-Mananthavady-Panamaram-Kalpetta-Vythiri.
Gmaps link from Hunsur here: http://goo.gl/hpHYjM

The 26 km stretch between Hunsur and Anechowkoor is in very bad condition. You could try Hunsur-Periyapatna-Anechowkoor which is slightly better.
http://goo.gl/ueOopj

Originally Posted by NPV

Route from Bangalore is via Hunsur (you can do Srirangapatna-Hunsur or Mysore ORR-Hunsur).
Has been discussed recently on this same thread, see here for updates.

This route through the nagarhole sanctuary is closed for traffic from 6PM to 6AM.

[kala]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

I am planning to go via kutta as I have to reach vythiri village on 18th for a meeting. The bandh is from 6am so I am planning to reach there before 6am. The problem is that the sultan battery road is closed from 9pm-6am. The conference guys told me that the road via kutta is open 24hrs. Any idea about the exact route? How much time it would take? I believe the road is in pretty bad shape, so would be glad if anyone who has taken that road recently can update me on the current situation.

Originally Posted by NPV

Route from Bangalore is via Hunsur (you can do Srirangapatna-Hunsur or Mysore ORR-Hunsur).
Has been discussed recently on this same thread, see here for updates.

The route discussed in that thread (through Nagarahole) is also out of bounds from 6PM to 6AM. If you're driving at night, the best bet would be :

Hunsur-Periyapatna-Maldare-Periyapatna-Gonikoppal-Srimangala-Kutta-Kaattikkulam-Mananthawadi-Kalpetta-Vythiri.

This would be about 60 kms more than the route via Sulthanbathery, and may take about 8 to 8.5 hours when driving in the night. (Via Bathery you might be able to do the same in about 6 hours or so)

Bad sections :

1) First 10 kms from Periyapatna towards Siddhapura is pothole ridden.
2) Not sure about the condition of the road between Siddhapura and Gonikoppal. There are 2 alternates for this section - one via Pollibetta and the other via Ammathi - both of which are about the same distance. Siddhapura-Ammathi (8 kms) is good, but not sure about how good or bad the road from Ammathi to Gonikoppal is. I haven't travelled through the Pollibetta route either, so anyone who has travelled that way recently can please fill in.

The rest of the roads are in quite decent condition (Except for the minor glitches when passing Mysore - either via the ORR or via the Srirangapatna-Eliwala shortcut)


Another alternative is to reach Vythiri in the night itself. If you can get out of Bangalore city before 5PM, you should be able to get past the forest checkpost before 9 and reach Vythiri by about 10/10:30

[dhanushmenon]

Whats the latest condition of roads between Theni and Adimali/ Neriamangalam?
I know the road between Munnar and Adimali (Pallivasal to be precise) are horrible at best. Therefore, considering joining up at Neriamangalam via Kallarkutty reservoir road

I intend driving to Kochi from Thanjavur next week.
I am contemplating Which route should I take:
1) Dindigul- Palani- Pollachi- Alathur- Kochi; or
2) Dindigul- Theni- Neriamangalam- Kothamangalam- Kochi

The initial plan was to route via Thenmala - Kollam- Kochi. However, I have dropped it view paucity of time

[ampere]

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

The initial plan was to route via Thenmala - Kollam- Kochi. However, I have dropped it view paucity of time

How is Cumbum-Kattapana-Idukki-Thodupuzha-MVPA? Does that option help? I have no idea about road conditions. Just suggesting thanks to good views on that route.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by kala

Hunsur-Periyapatna-Maldare-Periyapatna-Gonikoppal-Srimangala-Kutta-Kaattikkulam-Mananthawadi-Kalpetta-Vythiri.

Perhaps you meant Hunsur-Periyapatna-Maldare-Polibetta-Gonikoppal-Srimangala-Kutta-Kaattikkulam-Mananthawadi-Kalpetta-Vythiri.

Originally Posted by kala

Bad sections :

1) First 10 kms from Periyapatna towards Siddhapura is pothole ridden.
2) Not sure about the condition of the road between Siddhapura and Gonikoppal. There are 2 alternates for this section - one via Pollibetta and the other via Ammathi - both of which are about the same distance. Siddhapura-Ammathi (8 kms) is good, but not sure about how good or bad the road from Ammathi to Gonikoppal is. I haven't travelled through the Pollibetta route either, so anyone who has travelled that way recently can please fill in.

I feel it would be better turning off to Anechowkoor from Periyapatna and then heading to Gonikoppal. The 11km stretch from Periyapatna to Anechowkoor, though rough is very much drivable as per reports. Beyond that till Gonikoppal, there are intermittent good and bad stretches, but again doable. the worst stretch between Hunsur and Anechowkoor is anyways bypassed. wouldnt this be much shorter than going all the way to Maldare/Siddapura and backtracking to Gonikoppal?

Having said all these, night driving on this route without knowing it properly would not be easy. Would be hard to find a soul to ask for directions in case you miss a turn.

[kala]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Perhaps you meant Hunsur-Periyapatna-Maldare-Polibetta-Gonikoppal-Srimangala-Kutta-Kaattikkulam-Mananthawadi-Kalpetta-Vythiri.

Well, thanks for pointing out the error. I actually meant Maldare-Siddhapura-Gonikoppal. (The Siddhapura-Gonikoppal sector can be done either through Polibetta or Ammathi)

I feel it would be better turning off to Anechowkoor from Periyapatna and then heading to Gonikoppal. The 11km stretch from Periyapatna to Anechowkoor, though rough is very much drivable as per reports. Beyond that till Gonikoppal, there are intermittent good and bad stretches, but again doable. the worst stretch between Hunsur and Anechowkoor is anyways bypassed. wouldnt this be much shorter than going all the way to Maldare/Siddapura and backtracking to Gonikoppal?

Having said all these, night driving on this route without knowing it properly would not be easy. Would be hard to find a soul to ask for directions in case you miss a turn.

Yes, Periyapatna-Anechowkoor would certainly be shorter. But the reports I've seen about that route seemed to be mixed - some saying it's drivable and some saying it's still bad - so I didn't want to suggest it for a night drive without first hand knowledge since I haven't driven that route anytime in the recent past. That's the reason I suggested the safer option of going via Siddhapura since I know for sure that most of that route is in reasonably good shape.

And you're right about the difficulty of finding someone to ask for directions at night in those areas. Happened to me once when I started from Kalpetta around midnight and had to take the Gonikoppal Hunsur route because of the night time driving restrictions. I took a wrong turn somewhere on the way from Kutta to Gonikoppal and was literally going around in circles for a while till I somehow landed up at Thithimathi without touching Gonikoppal through some other road which I have never passed through before (And of course the road conditions were terrible as well)

[robimahanta]

Thanks Kala and Sandsun7, I am planning to leave Bangalore around 8/9pm today and reach Vythiri before the bandh sets in at 6am on Monday. Lets hope I am able to navigate through the routes you guys have provided. I shall update on the road conditions once I have reached.

These hartals make like difficult for everyone. I was hoping for a scenic drive through decent roads and now its has become a night drive across pathetic roads.

[B103]

The best way to Wayanad as of now is via Mysore -> Njangud -> Gundulpet -> Muthanga -> SulthanBathery.

I had 2 bad experiences via 2 other routes -- one via HD Kote and another via Kutta -> Tholpetty. Better not to choose these roads until and unless you have a tractor or a Fortuner and willing to travel at very low speeds on the Karnataka - Kerala border area. Roads are good once you enter Kerala.

[kala]

Originally Posted by B103

The best way to Wayanad as of now is via Mysore -> Njangud -> Gundulpet -> Muthanga -> SulthanBathery.

I had 2 bad experiences via 2 other routes -- one via HD Kote and another via Kutta -> Tholpetty. Better not to choose these roads until and unless you have a tractor or a Fortuner and willing to travel at very low speeds on the Karnataka - Kerala border area. Roads are good once you enter Kerala.

I disagree. The best route as of today is Bangalore-Kanakapura-Malavalli-Kollegal-Chamarajnagar-Gundlupet-Sulthanbathery

But Robi has a problem with that route as well as the one you suggest because he needs to travel at night, and neither of these allow him to cross over to Kerala past 9PM. Hence the discussion.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

I was hoping for a scenic drive through decent roads and now its has become a night drive across pathetic roads.

Originally Posted by B103

I had 2 bad experiences via 2 other routes -- one via HD Kote and another via Kutta -> Tholpetty. Better not to choose these roads until and unless you have a tractor or a Fortuner and willing to travel at very low speeds on the Karnataka - Kerala border area.

The route through Nagarhole and Kutta is the most scenic of all the other routes. I did this route in July this year in my low GC Linea (161 mm). The road was average till the Kerala border but not as bad as projected to use a Tractor.

Originally Posted by kala

I disagree. The best route as of today is Bangalore-Kanakapura-Malavalli-Kollegal-Chamarajnagar-Gundlupet-Sulthanbathery

I agree. This is the best route in terms of road condition and this may be the quickest too.

[robimahanta]

Guys I reached Vytiri around 4am having started from Bangalore at 9pm. Thanks a lot Kala and Sandsun7 for the route help.

Bad road stretches:

Periyapatna to Siddapura (first 10kms, till about Maldare)

Polibetta to Gonikoppal

Few Kms around Kutta.

The rest of the roads were pretty decent all through. The Siddapura-Polibetta stretch and the Mananthavady-Vythri stretch was good fun.

[nitinbose]

Hi Everyone,

Just completed a trip to Ernakulam and back, over the last weekend. The overall ride was enjoyable. There are diversions at Krishnagiri due to the ongoing 6-lane expansion so one has to slow down to about 30-40kph as the roads are bumpy. The stretch from Avinashi to Palghat is somewhat better.

The expansion gaps on the fly-overs are still bumpy though its only two bumps per fly-over. There are two small boards on either side to warn motorists, though these boards are exactly at the start of the bumps. Would have been better if they were placed earlier so that motorists may slow down. I passed these stretches in daylight so was lucky enough to notice them.

The Coimbatore (after the L&T road) to Alathur has bumpy roads with some very bad stretches. Again, caution is advised and speeds between 30-40kph is highly recommended. The road is a breeze from Alathur to Trichur, though its a single carriage way. There is a slight rough stretch at Trichur from where the dual carriage way starts again. The only drawback is the speed limit of 70kph which really kills you. I personal fee this limit should be increased to 100kph.

I was under the impression that heavy trucks were not allowed to run during day times especially the inter-state ones, but now I'm only seeing such vehicles on the road.

[cooljai]

Drove back to Bangalore yesterday from Chengannur.
Took the AC road and then on to NH47. Started at 5 Am, and could reach Palakkad bypass exit at 9AM. The roads are in excellent condition and in my opinion you do not need to go via ottappalam. From Coimbatore onwards, the roads are mostly done with very few diversions. Watchout for speed breakers on the middle of flyovers (Most of them are marked, when you see a board warning of speed limit of 30 Kms, expect a hump within the next 50 mtrs).

[gk_fiesta]

I will be driving to Kochi tomorrow, via. Coimbatore (overnight stay tomorrow at a relative's place).

I will be taking NH 209 to Coimbatore which is my current favorite. I leave early by around 0400, so the roads are mostly empty. Added to that is the attraction of no-tolls, lesser distance and more scenery.

From Coimbatore to Kochi, I will be leaving again by 0400, to touch Thrissur Round for breakfast in 'Bharath' and then proceed to Kochi.

My only concern was the Palakkad-Kuthiran-Thrissur which I avoided in my recent 3-4 trips to take Ottappalam-Shoranur route. But the recent updates in the forum seems to suggest that this route is much better now. So I will be taking Kuthiran route this time.

However, Coimbatore (after L&T stretch) to Palakkad still seems to be bad. How bad is it? Do you guys, who did it recently, feel that it is better to take an alternate route, say Pollachi-Kollengode-Alathur route?