[AshiqueS]

My trip summary to kochi,kerala during the XMAS holidays.

Bangalore --Kochi
Started on 22nd Dec(friday) around 6:30AM from whitefield and reached kaloor around 4:45PM
Stops--breakfast stop at Sree saravana bhavan,krishnagiri at 8:30AM and 20mins tea break at palakkad.
I made the best decision of the year by starting on 22nd dec instead of 23rd as there were less traffic congestion at Toll booth(using fasttag) and Kuthiran.However there were bad traffic from alwaye all the way till kaloor which increased my travel time.

Kochi--Bangalore
Started on 1st Jan around 5:30 AM from kaloor and reached whitefield at 2:30PM
Stops--breakfast stop at Sree saravana bhavan,avinashi at 8:30AM and two short stops.While returning i took the attibelle -sarjapur road--varthur--whitefield route instead of silkroad-ORR route.

Again Fasttag was saviour for me and palliyekkara toll was where it benefitted the most.
Sad to know that many folks were stuck badly at Kuthiran. Lets hope that this is the last XMAS vacation drive thru Kuthiran ghat.

[arjithin]

I travelled to Chalakudy on 23rd Dec. Started from Whitefield at 2:45 AM. Got reports of traffic pile up at Attibele and Krishnagiri tolls from few people who left at 2 AM, so took the Bagalur - Hosur - Palakode Dharmapuri - Omalur road. It saved a lot of time and I was ahead of those who left at 2 AM by the time I reached Sankari bypass even though I was driving mostly in 2 lane roads.


Reached Palakkad around 8:15 AM (in 5.5 hrs) and got reports of huge traffic jam at Kuthiran. So took Kulappully - Shornur road; but got stuck at Wadakkanchery as the traffic from NH was diverted via Alathur - Chelakkara- Wadakkanchery route. Took almost 45 mts to reach Wadakkanchery town, traffic was backed up for 3-4 km. Again took backroads to reach Mannuthy via Madakkathara. Finally reached Chalakudy around 11:30AM.

The traffic jams at Attibele started on 22nd evening itself and I overtook a lot of private buses (like Kallada/Sharma) between Salem and Coimbatore. Most of those buses reached EKM 6-10 hours late.

People who normally take Omalur Sankari bypass, there is a good news. Towards Coimbatore, we can now take a right turn to join NH under the NH bridge at this location (instead of going via Sankari town). The road is a dirt track right now for almost 1km. I continue to take the Omalur - Tharamangalam route in each and every Chalakudy trips; This time covered the 40 km distance in 45 mts (at around 5:15AM)

[treadmark]

Left to Thrissur from Bangalore Kammanahalli 3:20 AM on 28th December. Reached Vaikundam Saravana Bhavan at 6:15 for breakfast and left from there at 7:00 AM. Roads were relatively free and even tolls. Was at home in Wadakkanchery (Thrissur) by 10:00 AM.

Looks like the number of barricades in Tamilnadu have came down in numbers

Started from Wadakkanchery to Bangalore on 3rd December at 8:30 PM and was at home by 3:00 AM with two breaks for tea / loo.

Again planning for a drive back to Thrissur tomorrow 5th January around 3:00 PM.

Cheers!

[virgovencat]

I was on road trip to Kerala in December - Chennai - BGLR - Mysore - Madumalai Tiger reserve - Guruvayur - Allepey - Trivendrum - Madurai - Chennai

Kerala is a beautiful state, but roads are not that great ( they are in great condition). Most of the places it's just double lane roads. I guess they have huge issue with area approvals. Travel time increases drastically. Madumalai to Guruvayur is around 180Km, it took 5 hours to cover this distance. Guruvayur to allepey - 70% four way, rest 2 ways.

[aspire]

Hi,
Planning to drive down to Kollam on Friday morning around 3, is there a lot of fog in the krishnagiri area nowadays which would make driving difficult at that time?

Secondly, any good recommendations for places to stop for lunch and snacks, breakfast will get lots of options at Salem, asking specifically for lunch, as I remember starting around 6:30 once to Kerala, getting a good place for breakfast was easy, but lunch was a struggle, most likely we had crossed madurai and into the rajapalyam nearabouts, we were famished ended up eating in a run down place, just cannot recall which place was it, but it was around 2-3PM after a a start at 6:30.

Really want to avoid that scenario this time, please do provide your suggestions.

Regards
Shailesh

[kavu75]

Originally Posted by aspire

Hi,

Secondly, any good recommendations for places to stop for lunch and snacks, breakfast will get lots of options at Salem, asking specifically for lunch, as I remember starting around 6:30 once to Kerala, getting a good place for breakfast was easy, but lunch was a struggle, most likely we had crossed madurai and into the rajapalyam nearabouts, we were famished ended up eating in a run down place, just cannot recall which place was it, but it was around 2-3PM after a a start at 6:30.

I have taken this route many times on my route to Pandalam. But no recent updates.
One option you can consider is Bell Monkey restaurant between Pulyangudi and Shenkottai.
https://goo.gl/maps/EqZY51LjQbR2
It's an ok-ish type, not something great. But one of the best option we can consider in this route.
For 3AM start, you will be reaching this place around 11-12.

[Prodigy07]

Originally Posted by aspire

but lunch was a struggle, most likely we had crossed madurai and into the rajapalyam nearabouts,

Really want to avoid that scenario this time, please do provide your suggestions.

There's a Marrybrown at Rajapalayam. Also, there are couple of decent Veg restaurants near the bus stand.

Or, as Kavu has suggested you have Bell Monkey at Shencottah.

We usually have our tea here at Bell Monkey during our drive from Chennai to Karunagapally.

Originally Posted by kavu75

One option you can consider is Bell Monkey restaurant between Pulyangudi and Shenkottai.

[mpksuhas]

Fog update

Friend of mine who traveled to Bangalore last weekend said there was heavy fog around Hosur in the morning around 06:00 AM. Visibility as per him was reduced to few meters forcing him to stop the car and take rest for around half hour since he was driving overnight from Kerala.

I had faced this last year during return from Kerala, though the fog was dense it was limited to couple of KM's. So as long as you slow down and take precautions it should not be an issue.

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by aspire

Hi,
Planning to drive down to Kollam on Friday morning around 3, is there a lot of fog in the krishnagiri area nowadays which would make driving difficult at that time?

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Fog update

Friend of mine who traveled to Bangalore last weekend said there was heavy fog around Hosur in the morning around 06:00 AM.

I drove to Thrissur on 6th Morning, left Bangalore at 2:30 AM and fog wasn't an issue. There was fog between Hosur and Dharmapuri but wasn't dense enough to hamper the visibility. Same was the case when I drove on 28th Dec for a start at 3:30 AM.
Looks like timing is the key here.
Cheers

[agbenny]

Suggestions for a road from Palakkad to Calicut? After monsoons which one is best to take this weekend? Like to take some beach photography with car- is possible.

[binand]

Originally Posted by agbenny

Suggestions for a road from Palakkad to Calicut? After monsoons which one is best to take this weekend? Like to take some beach photography with car- is possible.

There are no beaches on any of the straightforward routes from Palakkad to Calicut. You have to really go via some circuitous ones.

The route I usually take is Palakkad-Mundur-Cherpulassery-Perinthalmanna-Malappuram (bypass)-Kondotty-Ramanattukara-Calicut. It is about 120-130 km and takes 3-3.5 hours during early mornings or late evenings.

[treadmark]

What will be the best route to take from Wadakkanchery (Thrissur) to Thiruvalla.
Should I stick with Thrissur ~ Angamally ~ Alluva ~ Edapally ~ Cherthala ~ Alapuzha ~ Changanaserry ~Thiruvalla
or
Thrissur ~ Angamally ~ Kallady ~ Perumbavoor ~ Koothatukulam ~ Ettumanoor ~ Kottayam ~ Changanaserry ~ Thiruvalla to choose?

If not is there any other better option also any vital things to be aware of.
I'm a regular till Ernakulam but not much beyond that.
I'm planning to start tomorrow morning by5 AM and return from Thiruvalla afternoon.

Thank you in advance.
Cheers!

[SajiNSalin]

The second option via Perumbavoor, Kuthatukulam will be better as you avoid a large number of traffic signals present on option 1. The Angamaly to Alapuzha stretch is choked with vehicles and is a slow drive. In option 2, you can skip Ettumanur, Kottayam by going through Kuthatukulam-Uzhavoor-Kidangur-Manarcaud-Puthupally-Thengana-Thiruvalla. The Ettumanur-Kottayam stretch also sees heavy traffic.

[binand]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

In option 2, you can skip Ettumanur, Kottayam by going through [...]

Similarly, you can skip Kalady and Perumbavur by going via Mattoor-Malayattoor-Kuruppampady-Keezhillam. Vallom-Perumbavur is nowadays a 24x7 traffic jam.

There is a way to avoid Muvattupuzha town too; can someone post that?

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

The second option via Perumbavoor, Kuthatukulam will be better as you avoid a large number of traffic signals present on option In option 2, you can skip Ettumanur, Kottayam by going through Kuthatukulam-Uzhavoor-Kidangur-Manarcaud-Puthupally-Thengana-Thiruvalla.

Originally Posted by binand

Similarly, you can skip Kalady and Perumbavur by going via Mattoor-Malayattoor-Kuruppampady-Keezhillam. Vallom-Perumbavur is nowadays a 24x7 traffic jam.

How are the road conditions on these stretch after Angamally?
I'm thinking of rescheduling my onward journey at 4 AM, but return is going to be a tough one for sure.

Cheers!