[tomraven99]

Any idea about the condition of NH17 especially the section from Kasargod to Mangalore?

[kiyer_2000]

Hi everyone,
I am planning to visit Guruvayoor in coming days. I did this stretch last year, but want to know about the latest road conditions mainly after Palakkad.


Which one would be better:
Palakkad --> Ottapalam --> Wadakkanchery --> Guruvayoor
Or
Palakkad --> Alathur --> Wadakkanchery --> Guruvayoor.

I understand it is not necessary to go till Thrissur, and then go north for Guruvayoor.

Request your inputs with the route and road conditions, specially after the recent heavy rains.


Regards,
Karthik Iyer

[NPV]

Originally Posted by kiyer_2000

Which one would be better:
Palakkad --> Ottapalam --> Wadakkanchery --> Guruvayoor
Or
Palakkad --> Alathur --> Wadakkanchery --> Guruvayoor.

I'm not sure of current conditions on the Palakkad-Ottapalam and Alathur-Wadakanchery-Guruvayoor route but I don't expect them to be bad either.

If you're staying in Palakkad town, you can take either route, but if you're not staying in Palakkad, then it is easier to take the 4 laned NH47 all the way up to Alathur and then take the turn off for Kavasseri-Pazhayannur-Chelakara and onwards to Wadakanchery and Guruvayoor (you can take the road via Choondal).

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by kiyer_2000

Hi everyone,
I am planning to visit Guruvayoor in coming days. I did this stretch last year, but want to know about the latest road conditions mainly after Palakkad.


Which one would be better:
Palakkad --> Ottapalam --> Wadakkanchery --> Guruvayoor
Or
Palakkad --> Alathur --> Wadakkanchery --> Guruvayoor.

I understand it is not necessary to go till Thrissur, and then go north for Guruvayoor.

Request your inputs with the route and road conditions, specially after the recent heavy rains.


Regards,
Karthik Iyer

Take the Palakkad-Alathur-Chelakara-Wadakancheri-Kecheri-Guruvayur route.You could also opt for Chelakara-Ottupara(Wadakancheri)-Erumapetty-Kunnamkulam-Guruvayur.Only downside would be you would have to negotiate Kunnamkulam town traffic.

[SAPVEN]

Hi Friends,

Am planning a trip to Kannur in a week's time. The route is the usual one - Hunsur-
Gonikkoppa- Iritty- Mattanur- Koothuparambu- Kannur .

Any recent developments you know about in the above route ? Hope the Hunsur-
Gonikkoppa stretch is fully OK now .

Thanks,

Venu

[batterylow]

Originally Posted by SAPVEN

Hi Friends,

Am planning a trip to Kannur in a week's time. The route is the usual one - Hunsur-
Gonikkoppa- Iritty- Mattanur- Koothuparambu- Kannur .
Venu

Travelled Thalassery->Gonikkoppa->Thalassery by SRS travels and the roads were not a problem. There was some mist on the way from Kootupuzha onwards. Took about 3 hours 10 minutes on an average.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by SAPVEN

Hi Friends,

Am planning a trip to Kannur in a week's time. The route is the usual one - Hunsur-
Gonikkoppa- Iritty- Mattanur- Koothuparambu- Kannur .


Venu

The route is perfectly alright. You don't need to go via Kuthuparamba if your destination is Kannur. Proceed directly to Kannur via Chalode-Koodali-Melechovva.

Gonikoppa-Iritty-Mattannur-Chalode-Kannur

[SAPVEN]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

The route is perfectly alright. You don't need to go via Kuthuparamba if your destination is Kannur. Proceed directly to Kannur via Chalode-Koodali-Melechovva.

Gonikoppa-Iritty-Mattannur-Chalode-Kannur

Thanks. I need to stopover at Pinarayi, hence the route via Koothuparambu.

[SAPVEN]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

The route is perfectly alright. You don't need to go via Kuthuparamba if your destination is Kannur. Proceed directly to Kannur via Chalode-Koodali-Melechovva.

Gonikoppa-Iritty-Mattannur-Chalode-Kannur

Hi all,

Forgot to ask the usual question . Currently, is the road from Srirangapatna
to Ilwala (en-route to Hunsur) in good shape ? Or, is it better to take the
Mysore ring road and turn right to Hunsur ?

Thanks ,

[shifu]

Originally Posted by ampere

Close to Kottayam is Kumarakom. Look for one of those good resorts by the Vembanad lake and chill out. But please be aware it would be raining.

Originally Posted by FuelInjector

Kottayam is a place of rubber estates and spice source. There are few resorts in the middle of spice forests. Tripadvisor has some good options. Else, Kumarakom is the closest and you could book a good resort. My suggestion would be to not go for any of house boats or off shore places to stay. Monsoon times are dark gloomy and turbulent in the shores.
The weather would be perfect for what you mentioned (lazing around etc).

Originally Posted by pramodpk

You can spend max 2 nights at Kumarakom. You can also go to Thekkady & Munnar.

Originally Posted by binand

Sunday you could go to Kochi in the morning and roam around, prior to taking an evening flight back. Though cosmopolitan, it is also an ancient city with a lot of historical and cultural connections. There are several museums, palaces and places of worship that can interest you.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Airport to Kottayam is going to take you around 2-2.5hrs.So choose your flight accordingly.4 nights kumarakom is going to be an overkill.Like Binand suggested,you could choose to stay at Kochi and go around for 2 nights and then take the flight back.There are no self-drive rental agencies in Kochi or whole of Kerala.There are single-owner operators-but my suggestion would be to stay away from them.Cabs are easily available,so sticking to them would be easiest.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. My final itinerary is -

17th Aug - Fly from Hyd to Kochi. I am looking for a hotel/resort by the Vembanad lake. Apparently there is a boat race the previous weekend, so I hear that most of the good places are already full.
18th Aug - Attend the Wedding in Pala.
19th Aug - Free day. Stay at resort, or go to Alleppey beach. Or maybe take a house boat for half a day.
20th Aug - Fly back to Hyd from Kochi.

As ranjitp1 suggested, the flight back from Kochi is in the afternoon as I'll need atleast couple of hours to get to Kochi from the resort.

And, as most of you suggested, not taking a self-drive. Found a travel agency that can provide me a cab for all the 4 days...

Short and sweet vacation. I am so looking forward to it!

[binand]

Originally Posted by shifu

17th Aug - Fly from Hyd to Kochi. I am looking for a hotel/resort by the Vembanad lake. Apparently there is a boat race the previous weekend, so I hear that most of the good places are already full.
18th Aug - Attend the Wedding in Pala.

Ah. The boat race. Take a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6whehCS6ggU

Btw, from Alappuzha to Pala it might take you a good 2 hours on a weekday. Plan accordingly. It is a comfort that you'll have a locally knowledgeable driver.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by SAPVEN

Forgot to ask the usual question . Currently, is the road from Srirangapatna to Ilwala (en-route to Hunsur) in good shape ? Or, is it better to take the Mysore ring road and turn right to Hunsur ?

If you're taking the Mananthavady route, I think it's better you go straight through the city (especially if early morning) or take the left turn on Mysore ORR and go towards Nanjangud road.

If you're taking the Hunsur Route better to turn right at Mysore ORR (Columbia Asia hospital on right side). There is a restaurant/hotel called Kalyani which can be a good stop.

From what I know, the Srirangapatna-Ilwala route has few rough sections and can be avoided in favour of Mysore ORR.

[Agarwaka]

Hi,

I'm travelling to Thiruvananthapuram (flying down from Bangalore) over the coming weekend and plan to book a taxi for the duration of my stay there (shuttling between Ashtamudi and Poovar). Would appreciate references of any reliable taxi agency there. Many thanks in advance!

[glenmz]

We are planning a drive to Ernakulam this week. The usual route has been Bangalore - Salem - Coimbatore - Walayar.
The Satyamangalam route has been in the bucket list for long. How is the road condition along this route? What is the best time to drive thru?

Thanks much!

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by glenmz

We are planning a drive to Ernakulam this week. The usual route has been Bangalore - Salem - Coimbatore - Walayar.
The Satyamangalam route has been in the bucket list for long. How is the road condition along this route? What is the best time to drive thru?

Roads along the Sathy route are excellent. You may come across the odd rough patch near to the villages that NH-209 passes through. I read in the HVK-FF FB group that traffic is restricted on the ghat section from 6PM to 6AM in the wake of some recent wildlife sightings, for two months. Since this route sees a lot of truck traffic, the traffic ban might result in congestion on the ghats, so it may not be that peaceful. Earlier it used to be a peaceful, sedate drive. Based on my experience, it's better to cross the small hamlets before the ghat section begins, by daybreak, as this route is infested with sand trucks and unruly private and KaSRTC Saarike buses during day time.

If you want to avoid the Rs.85 toll at Karumathampatty (Google maps routes you to NH-47 right under the flyover before the toll booth - so you pay Rs.85 for 500m of 6-laned road), follow directions to CBE Airport from Annur and once you're on Avinashi road you can proceed to Neelambur or take a short cut towards L&T bypass via Venkatapuram Road (this is a major signal after a hospital on the LHS). This will add about 15 minutes to the drive time.