[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by unni246

Any latest recent information on the Kanakapura - Chamaraj Nagar route where they had the bridge near Shivanasamudram closed for renovation? Is there an alternate to this, except the normal BLR - MYS highway.
Also would appreciate if anyone could share the current road condition on the Nilambur route.

Bridge is closed. Alternative is via malavalli - talakad- t narsipura- Ch nagar. The last few pages of the Bangalore- Calicut thread contains detailed information.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by NPV

Did Bangalore-Palakkad-Bangalore this past weekend.
Took the Avinashi bypass-Mangalam-Palladam-Pollchi-Palakkad route. Excellent all the way.
A relative took the Coimbatore bypass-Palakkad route and mentioned that only L&T bypass and then about 15Km upto Walayar was bad, rest is good as per him. I still did not want to take a chance so took the same Pollachi route on the way back.

I took the Walayar route either way. Onward on saturday morning, passed E-city at 3:20hrs, and was at Chandranagar by 09:30hrs, after a 45 min break at Vaikundam. Sparse traffic all along helped maintain a good average speed (and a stellar FE). On the way back, it took me about an hour to reach L&T toll from Chandranagar, after starting at 15:20hrs. End to end took us about 8.5 hours, including tea, dinner breaks, long queues at Krishnagiri and Attibele toll booths, and a couple of long jams caused by accidents

[pariwar]

Originally Posted by NPV

A relative took the Coimbatore bypass-Palakkad route and mentioned that only L&T bypass and then about 15Km upto Walayar was bad, rest is good as per him. I still did not want to take a chance so took the same Pollachi route on the way back.

Walayar-Palakkad is a dream run now! See link below to my experience.

Originally Posted by unni246

Any latest recent information on the Kanakapura - Chamaraj Nagar route where they had the bridge near Shivanasamudram closed for renovation? Is there an alternate to this, except the normal BLR - MYS highway.

Still closed, see link below for my experience.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3632985

[mykal shoemaker]

Hi friends,

I've to drive to Bangalore from Trivandrum side (near kazhakkoottam) tomorrow.
I normally drive through Thenkashi--Chenkottai-Thirumangalam-Madurai- then NH7 route,as my starting points are usually near Kollam.

While checking Trivandrum options, I found on maps that Marthandam--Kulashekaram-Aralvaimozhi is the suggested route. I don't find much difference on taking NH7 via Nagercoil.

I'd like know ,which one is the preferred way? (in terms of traffic,road quality etc).

Start time will be around 10-11AM.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by mykal shoemaker

Hi friends,

I've to drive to Bangalore from Trivandrum side (near kazhakkoottam) tomorrow.
I normally drive through Thenkashi--Chenkottai-Thirumangalam-Madurai- then NH7 route,as my starting points are usually near Kollam.

While checking Trivandrum options, I found on maps that Marthandam--Kulashekaram-Aralvaimozhi is the suggested route. I don't find much difference on taking NH7 via Nagercoil.

I'd like know ,which one is the preferred way? (in terms of traffic,road quality etc).

Start time will be around 10-11AM.

Since you are starting from TVM ~10AM,
1) NH47 through kerala - absolutely NO
2) Marthandam--Kulashekaram-Aralvaimozhi -- will have moderate traffic b/w TVM and nagercoil
3) Thenkashi--Chenkottai-Thirumangalam-Madurai- sparse traffic, will save you some toll money as well, good scenery is the cherry on top

I vote for 3)

[mykal shoemaker]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Since you are starting from TVM ~10AM,
1) NH47 through kerala - absolutely NO
2) Marthandam--Kulashekaram-Aralvaimozhi -- will have moderate traffic b/w TVM and nagercoil
3) Thenkashi--Chenkottai-Thirumangalam-Madurai- sparse traffic, will save you some toll money as well, good scenery is the cherry on top

I vote for 3)

1. NH-47 -Not at all in picture.
2. My question is whether to take deviation at Marthandam or proceed to Ngercoil and then take the turn?
3. Is it worth coming back to Kulathuppuzha and Thenmala to join this route, from Kazhakkottam area? If that is shortest and best route, I'll come back to that route, as I usually drive through Kollam-Thirumangalam + NH7 route and quite comfortable on that road.

[kala]

Originally Posted by mykal shoemaker

1. NH-47 -Not at all in picture.
2. My question is whether to take deviation at Marthandam or proceed to Ngercoil and then take the turn?
3. Is it worth coming back to Kulathuppuzha and Thenmala to join this route, from Kazhakkottam area? If that is shortest and best route, I'll come back to that route, as I usually drive through Kollam-Thirumangalam + NH7 route and quite comfortable on that road.

I travelled from Trivandrum to Bangalore a couple of days ago and took the Kovalam-Poovvar-Uchakkada-Kaliyikkavila-Nagercoil-Aralvaimozhi route. (Though I started at around 4:30AM from Ulloor, chose the longer route via Poovvar because a friend mentioned that there was some roadwork in progress on NH47 between Trivandrum and Kaliyikkavila ). The 103 kms from Ulloor to Kavalkkinar took me 2 hours, and the ride from there to Electronic city around 7 hours 15 minutes including a 15 to 20 minute break for breakfast near Kovilpatti.

The road till Kaliyikkavila was good though a bit narrow till Poovar, and I suspect that could slow you down during a daytime drive. From Poovar to Kaliyikkavila is very good, and from thereon road conditions on NH47 was mixed - bad stretches off and on. The Nagercoil-Kavalkkinar road has been relaid about 80-90% of the distances, but some craters present off and on especially around towns. From thereon it was a breeze with very sparse traffic except in the Madurai-Dindigul and Namakkal-Salem-Thoppur sections which was fairly busy. Also the Attibele toll took around 10 to 15 minutes to clear, the rest of the Toll booths were quite OK.

I've always found the Thenmala-Rajapalayam-Thirumangalam a bit of a pain to drive due to the heavy traffic that you normally encounter in almost all small towns on the way. Not sure if you can do the total distance in 9 hours if you take that route.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Since you are starting from TVM ~10AM,
1) NH47 through kerala - absolutely NO
2) Marthandam--Kulashekaram-Aralvaimozhi -- will have moderate traffic b/w TVM and nagercoil
3) Thenkashi--Chenkottai-Thirumangalam-Madurai- sparse traffic, will save you some toll money as well, good scenery is the cherry on top

I vote for 3)

Originally Posted by mykal shoemaker

1. NH-47 -Not at all in picture.
2. My question is whether to take deviation at Marthandam or proceed to Ngercoil and then take the turn?
3. Is it worth coming back to Kulathuppuzha and Thenmala to join this route, from Kazhakkottam area? If that is shortest and best route, I'll come back to that route, as I usually drive through Kollam-Thirumangalam + NH7 route and quite comfortable on that road.

Originally Posted by kala

I travelled from Trivandrum to Bangalore a couple of days ago and took the Kovalam-Poovvar-Uchakkada-Kaliyikkavila-Nagercoil-Aralvaimozhi route. (Though I started at around 4:30AM from Ulloor, chose the longer route via Poovvar because a friend mentioned that there was some roadwork in progress on NH47 between Trivandrum and Kaliyikkavila ). The 103 kms from Ulloor to Kavalkkinar took me 2 hours, and the ride from there to Electronic city around 7 hours 15 minutes including a 15 to 20 minute break for breakfast near Kovilpatti.

The road till Kaliyikkavila was good though a bit narrow till Poovar, and I suspect that could slow you down during a daytime drive. From Poovar to Kaliyikkavila is very good, and from thereon road conditions on NH47 was mixed - bad stretches off and on. The Nagercoil-Kavalkkinar road has been relaid about 80-90% of the distances, but some craters present off and on especially around towns. From thereon it was a breeze with very sparse traffic except in the Madurai-Dindigul and Namakkal-Salem-Thoppur sections which was fairly busy. Also the Attibele toll took around 10 to 15 minutes to clear, the rest of the Toll booths were quite OK.

I've always found the Thenmala-Rajapalayam-Thirumangalam a bit of a pain to drive due to the heavy traffic that you normally encounter in almost all small towns on the way. Not sure if you can do the total distance in 9 hours if you take that route.

At 10 AM, it will take 3 - 4 hours to reach Kavalkinar from Kazhakkottam and
around 8 - 9 hours from Kavalkinar to Bangalore. The Kovalam - Poovar route will save some traffic on the NH47 but it is 10 - 15 KMs longer than NH47 route.

I would stick to Thenmala route as it is shorter. If you are starting early in the morning ( 5:00 AM) Nagercoil route would be faster.

[mykal shoemaker]

Thank you Kala and Pramod for the detailed road suggestions. I have taken the exact route Kala posted till Marthandam. Then taken state highway through Kulashekaram to reach Aralvaimozhi. Other than few patchy road between Kulashekaram- Aralvaimozhi, roads were in good condition. As I had additional halts in between I finally crossed Thirumangalam few minutes back. Expecting to reach Bangalore by midnight.

[sbkumar]

On my recent visit, found that the kavalkinar - Nagercoil - Marthandam has been relaid except for a few areas , God knows why ! These narrow non patched slots are quite dangerous if you are not aware of the route. Have seen quite a few tail ending in the couple of days I was in the area..

[kala]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

On my recent visit, found that the kavalkinar - Nagercoil - Marthandam has been relaid except for a few areas , God knows why ! These narrow non patched slots are quite dangerous if you are not aware of the route. Have seen quite a few tail ending in the couple of days I was in the area..

Still more dangerous are the slalom like speed limiters that they seem to have placed at a lot of places in the Kavalkinar-Tirunelveli sector. After getting on to the 4 lane road you tend to push the accelerator a bit as soon as you see the wide empty road, and there suddenly comes a yellow obstacle blocking the complete lane you're going on with absolutely no advance warning..

Extremely dangerous especially if you're driving at dawn (as I was) or dusk when the visibility is poor. Luckily I was at a reasonable enough speed - so I could avoid it without having to brake too hard. But chances of someone crashing into you from behind is very high if you are coming a bit too fast and there's someone following you close.

Not sure if they place it only during nights or if they are present all the time. Don't recall them being there in any of my previous trips.

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by pariwar

Walayar-Palakkad is a dream run now! See link below to my experience.

Still closed, see link below for my experience.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3632985

Thanks for the update. Have a trip upcoming in Mid Feb to Palakkad and was worried about this stretch.

[couswheels]

Originally Posted by sansvk

Thanks for the update. Have a trip upcoming in Mid Feb to Palakkad and was worried about this stretch.

I did that route in end of December from Kochi to Chennai. As the road widening work is in progress beyond Walayar, request you to be careful as the 4 lane suddenly changes to 2 lane and you will find oncoming traffic into your lane. It is better to avoid driving after sunset beyond Walayar towards Palakkad. Have a safe drive.

[ampere]

For food I can see quite many options opening up after Salem towards Avinashi. For start there is a A2B just after Salem and this is not the usual Ghar Dhaba. It looks like a nice fine dining place along with the ice cream joint Polar Bear. Then there are couple of Saravana Bhavans on the Sankari bypass on either side of the road. One of them has rooms to stay. Then there is a Coffee Day and Ananda Bhavan (with rooms for stay) coming close to Perumanallur. Not to mention Aaryas and Annalakshmi on the Perundurai bypass. So looks like options galore.

It also speaks about the volume of traffic in this section as against the Salem-Madurai NH7.

[DieselLover]

Guys,
What is the approx total toll amount to be paid If I am travelling to Bangalore from Kochi?
Myself and my colleague need to travel to Bangalore this weekend to attend a function and we are wondering if car would be cheaper than the private volvo bus. I am assuming Duster 85 will return at least 18 kmpl on this route.