[arjithin]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

Hi,
what is the best route from Muvattupuzha to Devagiri near Kozhikode considering road conditions and traffic?

I need to reach Devagiri for a function by 9AM so what is the estimated time to cover the distance from Muvattupuzha to Devagiri. if I start by 4.30AM, is that enough with sedate driving?
Google maps is showing
Muvattupuzha-Angamaly-Thrissur-Edappal-Ramanattukara bypass-Pantheerankavu-Devagiri is the route shown.
http://goo.gl/maps/8vGd7

1. in the maps, it is shown go straight from Thalore in NH47 and take left from Nadathara to reach Round?? is it better to take normal route Thalore-Ollur-Punkunnam. also, I have taken Kuttanellur route sometimes back. please suggest the best option to bypass Thrissur traffic.
2. is there a route from Kechery to Perumpilavu bypassing Kunnamkulam?
3. I have not visited Devagiri(A college is there?) so if the route from Ramanattukara to Devagiri if explained will be great.
4. what about taking Potta-Irinjalakkuda-Valapad(NH17) route? I heard traffic is less in this route. Is this narrow and problematic compared to regular route through Edappal? this:
   http://goo.gl/maps/pWuyx

It is great if a google maps link of the corrected route is shared.

Do not take the last deviation, take right at Pottammal towards Medcollage/Mavoor. Saves time and effort.
Kunnamkulam Bypass - Its a bumpy road. Took that one on Dec 29th for the first time and my 2 passengers vomited ( who normally dont vomit) at the end of bypass. No pothols though. You can take this while coming back to beat traffic, but in your onward journey you can skip it.

Better to stick to NH17 at valanchery.

For trichur, you can turn left after Ambalur to save time and fuel, there will be very limited traffic during that time.

I normally drive from Chalakudy to CLT (wife house @ CLT) using the same route in 2:45 - 3 hr with a 5 AM start. Adding another 1.15 hr for MVPA to Chalakudy and 45 minutes buffer will take you to a 4 AM start.

Chalakudy - kunnamkulam - 1hr
kunnamkulam - kottakal - 1 hr
kottakal - CLT - 1 hr
(All timing for early morning travel, for peak time travel add 1 hr more)

OT: I studied in Devagiri college (St Joseph's) and driving this route from 1995 on wards.

[deepclutch]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Can help with this point. Devagiri is the name of the area and the location of the Calicut Medical college and hospital. St Josephs is the name of the college, but it is pretty much known as Devagiri college.

Regarding the route. The last section (deviation shown from the Ramanatukara Bye-pass, is not advisable). This is a narrow road and unless you know the road, will not recommend it. The ideal route is to continue on the By-pass till you reach the By-pass- Mavoor Road Jn (This is major intersection with traffic lights and cannot be missed. From here take a right on to Mavoor Road. Once you go around 2.5 km on Mavoor Road you will reach The Medical College Jn with a Roundana. If you turn right, The main road continues downwards towards Mavoor, and you will see a small narrow road on the right side. This is the route to Devagiri College. College is a few hundred meters along this road, this is followed by the Devagiri CMI School.

Are you headed to Devagiri College or some place else in the area?

I am attending a marriage at Devagiri Church which I assume is situated somewhere near the college.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

The route in the link is correct imo.

Thrissur-Kozhikode takes around 3-3.5hrs.Angamaly-Thrissur would take you another 1hr.Would you be able to reach Angamaly from Muvvattupuzha in 1hr,then you are touch and go.

While coming on NH47,its best to take the Kuttanellur bypass-Jubilee Mission College-Bishop Palace-Townhall-Ashwini Hospital-Patturaikal ROB-Guruvayur Road-Right turn towards Perumpilavu at Kecheri-Join Edappal road at Perumpilavu and continue onwards.

NH17 route is time consuming and narrow,Thrissur option is a better option and faster one as well.

Kecheri-Pannithadam(on the Kunnamkulam-Wadakancheri road)-Akkikavu(just before Perumpilavu) is the road you need to take as shown correctly on GM.

Route from NH47 bypass Thrissur town:

http://goo.gl/maps/wTOsd

thanks. I think junctions in Thrissur town is a mess and always get confused eventhough I have travelled so many times through the city.
EDIT: since I leave early morning(4AM), I think taking Thalore-Ollur-round west-Punkunnam route and while returning your route?
http://goo.gl/maps/wTOsd
Ranjith, please explain the route from Jubilee medical collge towards Punkunnam side. I mean the junctions and all.
Thanks to both.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

I am attending a marriage at Devagiri Church which I assume is situated somewhere near the college.



thanks. I think junctions in Thrissur town is a mess and always get confused eventhough I have travelled so many times through the city.
http://goo.gl/maps/wTOsd
Ranjith, please explain the route from Jubilee medical collge towards Punkunnam side. I mean the junctions and all.
Thanks to both.

As far as I remember, the church is on the right side of the Devagiri college road after Savio school (probably 400m from Med college junction)

Within Trichur --> follow Ambalur - Thalore - Ollur - KSRTC - Poonkunnam - route. You will find signboards for Kozhikode in most of the juctions.

[binand]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

[*]I have not visited Devagiri(A college is there?) so if the route from Ramanattukara to Devagiri if explained will be great.

I studied (pre-degree) at this college.

Devagiri is a hill on the east side (pretty much end of corporation limit) of Calicut. The Calicut-Mavoor road ascends this hill on one side and descends the other. On the north side of this road is the massive campus and hospital that is Calicut Medical College. The top of the hill is also a major starting point for Calicut city bus services; so most people know this place as "medical college". On the south side of the road is the comparably sized campus of St Joseph's College (locally known as "Devagiri college") - a large higher education institution run by the missionaries. This campus also houses 2 schools, hostels, staff quarters and convents, and also a large church - the "Devagiri Church").

Now, the route - from Ramanattukara, take the Calicut bypass (I think signboards mention Mysore mainly). It is about 16 km from here to Thondayad junction, where you need to take a right at the signal. About 3 km from this junction you will climb up the hill (after passing through residential suburbs like Chevayoor and Kovoor). At the top of the hill there is a roundabout - you need to take a near U-turn at the roundabout and take the small road that runs parallel to and between the shops and the road towards Mavoor (the road to take is inclined upwards, Mavoor road is downwards). This road enters the Devagiri College campus; and a couple of hundred metres inside you will find the church on your right.

[silversteed]

What is the best route from Bangalore Int'l airport to Palakkad? The trip is being planned for a sunday morning 9 o'clock departure. I came up with three options:
1. Go through the city and take the NH-7 & NH-47 route (the conventional route)
2. Take ORR from Hebbal and then hit the Kanakapura-Malavalli-Sathyamangalam-CBE route
3. Bypass the city completely by hitting NH-207 - Hoskote-Varthur-Gunjur-Sarjapur-Attibele, and then take NH-7 & NH-47

Option 2 has the disadvantage of having not many good places for food and restrooms, but it's shorter by about 20km, compared to option 1, while Option 3 is longer by 15km.

Though I don't mind some extra distance, a free and smooth road with decent restrooms at 3-4 hour gaps is preferred to congested or bad roads.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by binand

This seems to me is two questions - which is the best route from Bangalore to Palakkad, and which is the best route from KIAL to join the route above. For the second question - on a Sunday morning it is almost always preferable to take ORR. It is mostly signal-free (I think we have just 2 signals between Hebbal and Silk Board), and there wouldn't be much traffic then.

Are you sure that the NH 209 route is only 20 km shorter than the NH 7/NH 47 route? If yes, then go for the latter, but my guess is that the difference is more.

If it were just Bangalore to Palakkad, I would've taken NH7-NH47 route (maybe take a deviation at Perundurai). The idea is to avoid the inching city traffic (and signals, of course).
So, going by your logic, a better option is to take the ORR from Hebbal till Silk Board, which would be rather free on a sunday morning, right?

The distance from KIAL to my destination by each of the 3 routes I mentioned are respectively ~450km, ~430km and ~465km according to Google Maps. For my trips from my place of stay to Palakkad, the trip meter usually clocks ~420km and ~400km for #1 and #2 respectively.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Instead of all these,I would suggest that you take the BIAL Road-Hosakote-Malur-Hosur road.The road is in good condition and joins the NH7 directly at Hosur as opposed to Attibele in your route.

http://goo.gl/maps/qJdg5

If this saves time though longer by 20km, I would like to try this one.

[binand]

Originally Posted by silversteed

What is the best route from Bangalore Int'l airport to Palakkad?

This seems to me is two questions - which is the best route from Bangalore to Palakkad, and which is the best route from KIAL to join the route above. For the second question - on a Sunday morning it is almost always preferable to take ORR. It is mostly signal-free (I think we have just 2 signals between Hebbal and Silk Board), and there wouldn't be much traffic then.

Are you sure that the NH 209 route is only 20 km shorter than the NH 7/NH 47 route? If yes, then go for the latter, but my guess is that the difference is more.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by silversteed

What is the best route from Bangalore Int'l airport to Palakkad? The trip is being planned for a sunday morning 9 o'clock departure. I came up with three options:
1. Go through the city and take the NH-7 & NH-47 route (the conventional route)
2. Take ORR from Hebbal and then hit the Kanakapura-Malavalli-Sathyamangalam-CBE route
3. Bypass the city completely by hitting NH-207 - Hoskote-Varthur-Gunjur-Sarjapur-Attibele, and then take NH-7 & NH-47

Option 2 has the disadvantage of having not many good places for food and restrooms, but it's shorter by about 20km, compared to option 1, while Option 3 is longer by 15km.

Though I don't mind some extra distance, a free and smooth road with decent restrooms at 3-4 hour gaps is preferred to congested or bad roads.

Instead of all these,I would suggest that you take the BIAL Road-Hosakote-Malur-Hosur road.The road is in good condition and joins the NH7 directly at Hosur as opposed to Attibele in your route.

http://goo.gl/maps/qJdg5

From Hosur,go via Salem-Perundurai-Kangayam-Pollachi-Palakkad or stick to the NH7-NH47 all the way till Chandranagar.Expect rough roads post Avinashi till Chandranagar with the exception being the L&T bypass

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by silversteed

What is the best route from Bangalore Int'l airport to Palakkad? The trip is being planned for a sunday morning 9 o'clock departure. I came up with three options:
1. Go through the city and take the NH-7 & NH-47 route (the conventional route)
2. Take ORR from Hebbal and then hit the Kanakapura-Malavalli-Sathyamangalam-CBE route
3. Bypass the city completely by hitting NH-207 - Hoskote-Varthur-Gunjur-Sarjapur-Attibele, and then take NH-7 & NH-47

Option 2 has the disadvantage of having not many good places for food and restrooms, but it's shorter by about 20km, compared to option 1, while Option 3 is longer by 15km.

Though I don't mind some extra distance, a free and smooth road with decent restrooms at 3-4 hour gaps is preferred to congested or bad roads.

IMO best route would be KIA-hebbal-ORR-Silkboard-BETL/Regular NH7. I don't think it is worth going further to get on kanakpura road. It means more time to exit the city and availability of rest stops will be an issue. Since it is Sunday morning and with the new flyovers on the KIA route as well as the one under construction on ORR complete, you can cross electronic city and be out of city limits in ~1.5 hrs from KIA

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

EDIT: since I leave early morning(4AM), I think taking Thalore-Ollur-round west-Punkunnam route and while returning your route?
http://goo.gl/maps/wTOsd
Ranjith, please explain the route from Jubilee medical collge towards Punkunnam side. I mean the junctions and all.
Thanks to both.

Once you come via Kuttanellur road,you would cross JMH onto your right,following which the road takes a natural right with the JM Medical College to your right.Keep on the road and go straight.

Keep straight at the 1st (left takes you to Shakthan Thampuran Bustand) and second circle (left here takes you to Thrissur round and right takes you to Mannuthy).Keep straight,after a while you cross St.Claire's convent to your left,followed by Bishop Palace to your right.

The road takes a natural left,followed by the Zoo to your left.At the first circle you encounter after the zoo(town hall to your left-ahead)take a right.

Bal Bhavan to your left after you take the right at the circle.Follow the road,the road curves left after Bal Bhavan.Keep on the road and it takes you all the way to Kecheri(enroute you pass Patturaikal rail overbridge).

[sandeep3in]

i would be traveling to Changacherry and would like to take the Salem Thrissur route .

Would like to know how i can avoid going through Eranakulam town, heard that due to the metro work there is a lot of traffic issues.

Is it better to go via the Pollachi route to thrissur or Palakkad route ?


Thanks

[binand]

Originally Posted by sandeep3in

i would be traveling to Changacherry and would like to take the Salem Thrissur route .

Would like to know how i can avoid going through Eranakulam town, heard that due to the metro work there is a lot of traffic issues.

Changanassery is actually on MC Road, so you don't need to go via Ernakulam. You turn off NH 47 at Angamali where MC Road starts, and continue via Perumbavur-Muvattupuzha-Ettumanur-Kottayam.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by sandeep3in

i would be traveling to Changacherry and would like to take the Salem Thrissur route .

Would like to know how i can avoid going through Eranakulam town, heard that due to the metro work there is a lot of traffic issues.

Is it better to go via the Pollachi route to thrissur or Palakkad route ?


Thanks

To avoid EKM,go via MC Road from Angamaly.

As for Pollachi vs Palakkad,you are never going to get a firm reply on this thread as there are people who are NH47 lovers and NH47 hatersGo with whatever your gut feel is.

Personally for me,I take the Pollachi route(Perundurai-Kangayam-Palladam-Pollachi-Govindapuram-Kollengode-Pallassana-Alathur town-Pazhayannur-Wadakancheri-Thrissur-NH47) everytime as there are no potholes,no rough roads anywhere,and the wayside scenery is refreshing,and no big trucks and buses coming screaming at you.The NH47 has been patched up,there is 4 laning and widening in progress.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by sandeep3in

i would be traveling to Changacherry and would like to take the Salem Thrissur route .

Would like to know how i can avoid going through Eranakulam town, heard that due to the metro work there is a lot of traffic issues.

Is it better to go via the Pollachi route to thrissur or Palakkad route ?


Thanks

Any reason for going via Salem - Thrissur? Isn't Dindigul - Theni route better?

[avi@98]

We still take the MC road till Changanassery nd then to Allepey via AC road in order to go to Kochi from Trivandrum. Is this still the best route or is the NH47 via Kollam better?

[NPV]

Planning a weekday drive to Calicut, starting in the afternoon and staying overnight at Kalpetta and proceeding to Calicut from there next morning. Some questions/clarifications:

1.Forest checkpost after Gundlupet, Karnataka side - timings are 6am-9pm, has this changed ?
2.Forest checkpost at Muthanga, Kerala side - any timings for this ?
3.How late can I start from Bangalore in the afternoon so I can cross the Forest check posts before closing time and possibly reach Kalpetta before 10pm?
4.Suggestions for Hotels at Kalpetta - decent, with car parking, nothing extravagant, will be with family. Woodlands, Issac Regency, any others ?