[kala]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Driving through kerala, one wouldn't be able to do the journey in a day. The roads are narrow and speed cameras to boost. Plus, once you enter Palakkad district, the road condition is pathetic till you cross CBE. Madurai route is anyday better.

+1 to that. Also if you start from Trivandrum early enough, you should be able to cover the Trivandrum-Nagercoil-Kavalkkinar section before traffic builds up. From thereon NH7 is a breeze.

And I doubt, senior citizens would would have the same enthusiasm about the hair pins, that too after a full day's drive.

Unfortunately since the destination is Mysore it is difficult to avoid ghat sections altogether unless you go the round about way via Bangalore. I think Dimbum ghats is a fair enough choice since the roads are very good almost all the way (Except for 1 or 2 kms just before Chamarajnagar where some roadwork is in progress).

Also for Chamarajnagar-Mysore, I think Chamarajnagar-T.Narsipur-Mysore may be a better choice compared to Chamarajnagar-Nanjangud-Mysore since the traffic is lower and the roads are quite decent too.

Originally Posted by procrj

Chamarajnagar > Muguru > T Narasipura > Talakad > Malavalli is brilliant roads except for a small 5km stretch just after Talakad. Added advantage is a quick stop near cauvery river bank with beautiful view

When travelling to Mysore, you don't need to go to Talakad. T.Narsipur-Mysore (NH-212) is a fairly short stretch and should be decent

Originally Posted by gypsyFreak

Trivandrum to Mysore via Nagercoil, i feel is lengthier. I was looking at parallel route to NH 17.
How is NH 47 from Trivandrum to CBE?
Is any stretch 4 laned?
I don't mind 2 lane road as long as surface is smooth. I am fine for taking longer route if its comfortable, has food options and safe.

Even if you start at 4 AM from Trivandrum, you'll start hitting Kerala traffic as you come close to Ernakulam, and the metro work there plus the bad roads / heavy traffic after you pass Trichur is sure to drive you crazy. (And I'm sure the overall time would be more than going via Nagercoil)

[pramodpk]

Drove from Vaikom to Bangalore yesterday. Seeing the high number of Bangalore bound vehicles, decided to avoid toll booths

took the Bhavani - Mettur - Mecheri -Pennagaram - Palacode -Rayakottah - Hosur - Attibele - Varthur - Whitefield route.

I wanted to avoid attibele toll also but could not figure out the way to reach Attibele from Rayakottah. Since it was a last minute decision, could not check this thread for details. Can anyone please give directions?

Roads were generally OK. Some sections are really good. Drive can be little tiring due to the narrow ghat roads between Mecheri and Pennagaram (surface is very good) and the 2 wheeler traffic through out. Bhavani - Mettur has some surprise potholes.

Saved around 20 KMs and Rs 300/- in tolls.

Took around 5.5 hours from Bhavani to Whitefield (took almost an hour from Attibele to Whitefield) with a break of around 35 minutes.

[zenren]

My brother is driving down from Palakkad to Hyderabad. What would be the best route from Palakkad to Bangalore and onward to Hyderabad highway. They are planning to drive only during the day and at 80-90km/hr max speed, with a journey break planned around Bangalore. What would be the best route considering the current road conditions and driver fatigue? Since he needs to be on road for one more day, I would prefer a less tiring route even if it is slightly longer.

I see a connection from Hosur to Devanahalli (NH 207) which seems to be bypassing Bangalore city. How good is the road condition and is it advisable to take this route? If so, they can take the journey break in Hosur and cover this stretch to join the NH7 at Devanahalli in the morning. Otherwise, they can cover this on day 1 and halt at Devanahalli. Which would be a better option? Thoughts?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by zenren

I see a connection from Hosur to Devanahalli (NH 207) which seems to be bypassing Bangalore city.

The route mentioned by you is the best one. Road conditions are OK to good on NH 207, also traffic is less. However, it will be best to half at Hosur instead of Devanahalli since NH 207 joins inside Devanahalli town where there are no hotels available.

You can get details about NH 207 here.

Other option is to come via Bangalore, which is not required unless you are not able to find accommodation at Hosur. In that scenario you can take Hosur - Silkboard - Outer ring road - KR Puram - Hebbal - NH 7 route.

On NH 7 towards Hyderabad to keen an eye for speed breakers near Devanahalli town. Also you can spot police with speed guns till you cross Chikabalapur. It usually takes below 6 hours from Devanahalli - Hyderabad ORR.

[binand]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Drove from Vaikom to Bangalore yesterday. Seeing the high number of Bangalore bound vehicles, decided to avoid toll booths

Exactly. I was also on the road yesterday, and from Chalakkudi onwards I was being ragged by KA-0x and KA-5x vehicles. Driven by madmen.

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I wanted to avoid attibele toll also but could not figure out the way to reach Attibele from Rayakottah. Since it was a last minute decision, could not check this thread for details. Can anyone please give directions?

This is what I did yesterday. It is quite good roads, no cause for any complaint.

* Outskirts of Rayakottah, generally follow road signs to Hosur.
* It is about 35-40 km. When you reach near Hosur, you come to a big 4-way junction (your road with Hosur IRR). Turn left onto Hosur IRR.
* After about 2-2.5km, you cross a bridge. It was dry yesterday. There is the Salem-Bangalore railway line also crossing the same waterbody (it is a lake, looks like) on your left.
* As soon as you cross the bridge, you reach a 4-way junction. Take a left turn here. On your right here, you should see a school called Shishya. You are now on Hosur-Thaly road.
* You will go through a gate for the above-mentioned railway line immediately. Drive on for about 2.5 km. You will reach yet another 4-way junction.
* Turn right at this junction. Now you are on Rayakottai-Attibele road. In some distance you will see the TVS factory, then TN-KA border checkposts, merge with the Anekal-Attibele road and ultimately, join NH 7 under the flyover that comes after Attibele toll booth.

Originally Posted by zenren

Took around 5.5 hours from Bhavani to Whitefield (took almost an hour from Attibele to Whitefield) with a break of around 35 minutes.

I went Attibele-Sarjapur. This was mostly empty. From Sarjapur (ugh! this is Bangalore of the future?) I took left but then the wife wanted to come via Whitefield for some reason. Result: Stuck in Varthur and Marathahalli. I was at Attibele at 3 PM and home by 4:30 PM.

Generally: Start - 5 AM, Pollachi - 8 AM, Perundurai (nice NHAI-branded restrooms and a restaurant here) - 11-ish, A2B Thoppur - 12:30 PM, Rayakottai - 1:45 PM, Attibele - 3 PM. Decent traffic in Salem town, which slowed me down a bit.

Originally Posted by zenren

I see a connection from Hosur to Devanahalli (NH 207) which seems to be bypassing Bangalore city. How good is the road condition and is it advisable to take this route?

Go for it. In fact, it is recommended to take this instead of coming anywhere near Bangalore. Hosur-Bagalur-Chikka Tirupati-Hoskote-Devanahalli.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by binand

* Outskirts of Rayakottah, generally follow road signs to Hosur.
* It is about 35-40 km. When you reach near Hosur, you come to a big 4-way junction (your road with Hosur IRR). Turn left onto Hosur IRR.
* After about 2-2.5km, you cross a bridge. It was dry yesterday. There is the Salem-Bangalore railway line also crossing the same waterbody (it is a lake, looks like) on your left.
* As soon as you cross the bridge, you reach a 4-way junction. Take a left turn here. On your right here, you should see a school called Shishya. You are now on Hosur-Thaly road.
* You will go through a gate for the above-mentioned railway line immediately. Drive on for about 2.5 km. You will reach yet another 4-way junction.
* Turn right at this junction. Now you are on Rayakottai-Attibele road. In some distance you will see the TVS factory, then TN-KA border checkposts, merge with the Anekal-Attibele road and ultimately, join NH 7 under the flyover that comes after Attibele toll booth.

Thanks a lot. Would it be possible to plot this on map?

I reached Attibele flyover by around 3:20 PM. Took 50 minutes to my house near Whitefield. Got stuck at Varthur. Took less than 5 minutes to cross Attibele toll booth.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Thanks a lot. Would it be possible to plot this on map?

I reached Attibele flyover by around 3:20 PM. Took 50 minutes to my house near Whitefield. Got stuck at Varthur. Took less than 5 minutes to cross Attibele toll booth.

Here you go.

Route Link

Varhur road is not worth it anymore. But having said that options are also few. If you want to take 207, then you have to come to Hosur and cross the 4-lane to take the Baglur. In fact that would be a good option.
Route Link

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by zenren

My brother is driving down from Palakkad to Hyderabad. What would be the best route from Palakkad to Bangalore and onward to Hyderabad highway. They are planning to drive only during the day and at 80-90km/hr max speed, with a journey break planned around Bangalore. What would be the best route considering the current road conditions and driver fatigue? Since he needs to be on road for one more day, I would prefer a less tiring route even if it is slightly longer.

I see a connection from Hosur to Devanahalli (NH 207) which seems to be bypassing Bangalore city. How good is the road condition and is it advisable to take this route? If so, they can take the journey break in Hosur and cover this stretch to join the NH7 at Devanahalli in the morning. Otherwise, they can cover this on day 1 and halt at Devanahalli. Which would be a better option? Thoughts?

NH207 is the best way to bypass bangalore.
I would suggest a halt in hosur itself.
There is a good hotel inside hosur town, right at the point where the changeover from NH7 to NH207 occurs.
http://dhanunjayas.com/
I have been to their restaurant (never visited or stayed in rooms) and there is ample closed parking. Looks like a pretty decent place and for sure will be atleast 30% cheaper than similar accommodation in bangalore.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

The route mentioned by you is the best one. Road conditions are OK to good on NH 207, also traffic is less. However, it will be best to half at Hosur instead of Devanahalli since NH 207 joins inside Devanahalli town where there are no hotels available.

Originally Posted by binand

Go for it. In fact, it is recommended to take this instead of coming anywhere near Bangalore. Hosur-Bagalur-Chikka Tirupati-Hoskote-Devanahalli.

Thanks guys. How about Palakkad to Hosur route? I see some alternate routes mentioned here. How is the condition of NH-47? How long is the road work in progress?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by zenren

How about Palakkad to Hosur route? I see some alternate routes mentioned here. How is the condition od NH-47? How long is the road work in progress?

On KL side the road work is almost done. And anyways, from Palakkad means you dont have to worry much about KL side. Once you cross over to TN there is zero progress till Coimbatore bye-pass. Once you cross over to Salem side of bye-pass there are few fly-overs which are bit bumpy. However in general, nothing to worry about.

If the travel is not on a Sunday or end of long weekend I don't think it is worth taking any other route than NH 47 / 7 combine. You can reach Hosur in around 6 hours from Palakkad.

[creative420]

Traveling to Varkala this coming weekend with my wife and two friends in my Ritz ZXi. Google suggests that I should take Bangalore-Salem-Madurai-Rajapalyam-Tenkasi-Varkala. Here are my questions:

1. Is there an alternate route that you guys can suggest?
2. What should be the best time to start from Bangalore?
3. What are the road and traffic conditions in Tamil Nadu and Kerala?
4. Also, what are the best stops for highway food that shouldn't be missed? (I've already got a suggestion of a place to stop by after Dindigul for the best Egg Dosas)

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I wanted to avoid attibele toll also but could not figure out the way to reach Attibele from Rayakottah. Since it was a last minute decision, could not check this thread for details. Can anyone please give directions?

There is a Y junction just before Rayakottai vegetable wholesale market. Take the left fork here (Market falls in between two). Continue straight on this road to Kelamangalam/TVS factory/Attibelle.

This road is narrow but surface is good except for few small bad stretches.

Hosur IRR is always a good option but queue during morning hours at Attibelle toll is high.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

There is a Y junction just before Rayakottai vegetable wholesale market. Take the left fork here (Market falls in between two). Continue straight on this road to Kelamangalam/TVS factory/Attibelle.

This road is narrow but surface is good except for few small bad stretches.

Hosur IRR is always a good option but queue during morning hours at Attibelle toll is high.

I went to kumbakonam 2 weeks back by Attibele-Kelamangalam-Ratakottai route. This was good in some stretches. I would rate it 50% good. The Hosur-Rayakottai road is any day better than the kelamangalam route.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by zenren

Thanks guys. How about Palakkad to Hosur route? I see some alternate routes mentioned here. How is the condition of NH-47? How long is the road work in progress?

I did this stretch last Saturday. When coming from Palakkad, the 4laning have been done from pollachi -palakkad road junction till Valayar but both sides are not fully open yet. There are no sign boards to indicate diversions so people do take both sides at their whim and fancy. Since the road surface is good, vehicles do good speed also, so be extremely alert on this stretch.

Once you cross Valayar, road is bad till the LnT highway starts. LnT highway is ok if there is not much traffic - otherwise, you will be spending lot of time at the toll booths.

Once you pass Coimbatore, the road is good but few bridges have speed breakers on top - it is easy to miss them and you will end up either breaking hard or jumping over them - do keep an eye out till you reach the first toll booth. From then, it is smooth sailing till Krishnagiri.

--Anoop

[binand]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

There is a Y junction just before Rayakottai vegetable wholesale market. Take the left fork here (Market falls in between two). Continue straight on this road to Kelamangalam/TVS factory/Attibelle.

This road is narrow but surface is good except for few small bad stretches.

Hosur IRR is always a good option but queue during morning hours at Attibelle toll is high.

1. The Rayakottah-Attibele route via Hosur I mentioned skips Attibele toll.

2. The Rayakottah-Attibele direct road is of a lower quality than the one via Hosur.

3. The distance via Hosur is slightly shorter than the direct one (because the latter is a rather meandering road).

All together, the route via Hosur wins over the other one.