[ampere]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

Bangalore -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Dharampuri -> Salem -> Erode -> Thiruppur -> Coimbatore -> Palakaad -> Thrissur -> Cherai

The route via Mysore will be much too longer in time thanks to ghats and twists.

Banaglore-Salem-Avinashi-Palladam-Pollachi-Kollengode-Vadakkancherry-Trichur-Cherai.

[dhanushmenon]

I travelled from Pondicherry to Kochi last thursday.
Route taken was Pondicherry- Salem- CBE- Thrissur- Kochi.

As reported by others, CBE to Alathur is jarred and broken at places.
Especially from Walayar till Alathur.
Easily negotiable on a SUV-ish vehicle, but a bit slow on a low slung sedan or hatchback.
After Alathur, the roads are good except for the traffic and the narrow roads at times

By the way, hats off to coolclouds for having done Kochi to Bangalore on a Boxer!
I know how rickety that bike is.
Once I did Kollam to Kochi on that. Have never even thought of doing it again

[B103]

I have been earlier via the Perundurai -> Kangayam -> Palladam -> Pollachi -> Thrissur route.

As Ampere wrote, is it better to continue till Avinashi and then turn to Palladam (please see route below) then proceed to Pollachi and Thrissur?

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...ra=ls&t=m&z=12

[gk_fiesta]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

Route 1
Bangalore -> Mysore -> Nanjangud -> Gundlupet -> Gudalur -> Nilambur -> Cherpulassery -> Guruvayoor -> Cherai

I did the same route (in opposite direction though), and slightly differently : Kochi-Thrissur-Ottappalam (short break at a relative's house)-Cherpulassery-Nilambur-Gudalur-Gundlupet-Chamrajnagar-Kanakpura-Bangalore. I would suggest this route if you decide on this plan.

Pros: Nice scenery, decent roads, less distance, chances to spot wildlife.

Cons: 2-lane throughout (except Blr-Mysore, if you take that route). Frequent speed breakers in Mudumalai/Bandipur forest stretch though with good intentions. Rough stretches in Kerala border (Nadukani ghat). More time required as the roads are narrow, and lot of traffic will be there in Kerala if driving during day time.

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

Route 2
Bangalore -> Hosur -> Krishnagiri -> Dharampuri -> Salem -> Erode -> Thiruppur -> Coimbatore -> Palakaad -> Thrissur -> Cherai

The thing is that route 1 is 455Kms and route 2 is 524Kms.... which do i take?

Thanks in advance!

Pros: 4-lane mostly. Can cover in shorter time. Good roads almost everywhere.
Cons: More distance, tolls till (near) Coimbatore, driving will be little dry/uneventful as the roads are too good (personal opinion).

You can make a choice based on your priorities.

[richiesubbaiah]

@gd_fiesta,

thanks a ton mate! The reason i was checking is coz we are two families travelling together. I have a 7 year daughter and my friend has a 2 year old. So thought if the roads are good through Bundipur, the kids could get to see some wildlife (hopefully), considering the only wild life that they get to see on a regular basis are my wife and me.

I had done a trip until massanagudi about 3 months back and the roads were manageable. Not too sure past that place though.

Anyways, will keep your advise. Have a month to think over a change of route, so crossing my fingers... just want to have fun

[gk_fiesta]

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

Route taken was Pondicherry- Salem- CBE- Thrissur- Kochi.

dhanushmenon, could you update on the 4-laning status from Salem-CBE. How many toll plazas are open? Roughly how much is the toll paid for this stretch? It has been quite a while since I took this route as I take NH 209 to BLR all this while.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

@gd_fiesta,

thanks a ton mate! The reason i was checking is coz we are two families travelling together. I have a 7 year daughter and my friend has a 2 year old. So thought if the roads are good through Bundipur, the kids could get to see some wildlife (hopefully), considering the only wild life that they get to see on a regular basis are my wife and me.

I had done a trip until massanagudi about 3 months back and the roads were manageable. Not too sure past that place though.

Anyways, will keep your advise. Have a month to think over a change of route, so crossing my fingers... just want to have fun

Since its a pleasure trip with kids, my take would be via Gudalur. Kids can certainly spot some wildlife. Nadugani stretch is not in great shape.

Depending on your start time, decide on Kanakpura road or Mysore road. As someone said, Mysore road is a food court while nothing decent on kanakpura road.

Originally Posted by gk_fiesta

dhanushmenon, could you update on the 4-laning status from Salem-CBE. How many toll plazas are open? Roughly how much is the toll paid for this stretch? It has been quite a while since I took this route as I take NH 209 to BLR all this while.

Salem tollways, Perundurai and L&T. You can expect one more shortly once Avinashi stretch is open.

Mods: Couldn't multiquote from small screen. Please merge.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by gk_fiesta

How many toll plazas are open? Roughly how much is the toll paid for this stretch? It has been quite a while since I took this route as I take NH 209 to BLR all this while.

Between E-city and Chandranagar, the total toll amount would be about Rs.400.

EDIT: Got these toll receipts from a trip in May:
CBE bypass (Madukkarai -Neelambur): 31
Perundurai: 45
Sankari (?): 49
Omalur: 63
Thoppur: 79
Krishnagiri: 55
BETL Hosur: 25

They have increased by 5-15 rupees on each toll booth (except the CBE bypass), and the total amount as I said is around Rs.400

That's about Re.1/km, or worth about 7 Litres of Diesel/5 Litres of Petrol

[gk_fiesta]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

I have a 7 year daughter and my friend has a 2 year old. So thought if the roads are good through Bundipur, the kids could get to see some wildlife (hopefully), considering the only wild life that they get to see on a regular basis are my wife and me.

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Depending on your start time, decide on Kanakpura road or Mysore road. As someone said, Mysore road is a food court while nothing decent on kanakpura road.

Good point there by coolclouds - depending on start time, decide on Kanakpura road or Mysore road. Since there are kids in the group and Mysore road has lot of good eateries it might be a good choice. On NH 209 (Kanakpura road) there is no decent eatery. Have a fun filled drive!!

[richiesubbaiah]

Thanks for all the replies this far.

But has a TBhpian actually done this route within the last month or so? Coz that would be the closest we could get to the condition of the roads...

@dhanushmenon

I am driving a Vento for this trip so you suggest that I take it a little serious?

@silversteed

Thanks for the toll cost update.

@B103

Thanks for the maps link... checking it just now.

@MODS

Can someone pls tell a newbie like me how to quote within my reply?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

But has a TBhpian actually done this route within the last month or so? Coz that would be the closest we could get to the condition of the roads...

Look at it this way:
- Drive into Kerala is a long one
- You would pass through Bandipur in a flash.
- If you chose Gudalur/Nilambur option just for that, I would advise not.
- Its much more tiring for the drive.

I also hear the Gudalur-Nilambur section is not all that great.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

I am driving a Vento for this trip so you suggest that I take it a little serious?

It wont be a problem. I drove my Swift during the worst road conditions that Thrissur-Walayar ever saw and that too I had low profile tyres. As of now, it's patched up and would mean your average speed would be 30-40 km/hr in this stretch. After that you can make it up.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

Thanks for all the replies this far.

But has a TBhpian actually done this route within the last month or so? Coz that would be the closest we could get to the condition of the roads...

I did both the routes on 4th of this month and details posted on page 595 of this thread.

Road inside forest after Theppakadu is really bad for 1-2 kms. Vazhikadavu ghat is in bad shape.

Edit: If you don't take forest route, consider the route suggested by Ampere. Its the best surface you get.

[gk_fiesta]

Originally Posted by richiesubbaiah

But has a TBhpian actually done this route within the last month or so? Coz that would be the closest we could get to the condition of the roads...

I did the route through Nilambur to Bangalore during mid Oct. The Nadukani ghat is bad, but once you enter TN it is alright. I stayed overnight in Nilambur since I reached there pretty late during night, and started by 0500 next day towards Gudalur, by which I could avoid the traffic. However, if you are doing Gudalur-Nilambur during daytime the traffic will be high, and once you enter Kerala driving could get tiring as Ampere said. You may want to consider this point as well.

[dhanushmenon]

Guys.
How about the option of driving to Bangalore through Sathyamangalam ?

Any updates on the current state of roads?