[flycatcher]

Whoa! thats some quick reply naveen.raju. I am going to the Bhagavathi temple @ Chottanikkara. The place is about 20KM from Ernakulam.

EDIT: Any particular reason you asked me to be careful between Palghat - Thrissur? I am planning to leave Bangalore at about 3AM in the morning? Could be please tell me approximate how long would I need to reach the place? I am excepting about 10-11 Hours.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Whoa! thats some quick reply naveen.raju. I am going to the Bhagavathi temple @ Chottanikkara. The place is about 20KM from Ernakulam.

EDIT: Any particular reason you asked me to be careful between Palghat - Thrissur? I am planning to leave Bangalore at about 3AM in the morning? Could be please tell me approximate how long would I need to reach the place? I am excepting about 10-11 Hours.

They have just re surfaced the stretch between Palghat - Thrissur so expect some uneven patches. Another major factor - the private bus drivers. They are really horrible. Expect some unexpected overtakes from them. After Thrissur it will be fine. I usually start at 4am and reach by 1PM. Average time would be 9-10 hours. Am driving to Blore on 22nd Jan.

[flycatcher]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

They have just re surfaced the stretch between Palghat - Thrissur so expect some uneven patches. Another major factor - the private bus drivers. They are really horrible. Expect some unexpected overtakes from them. After Thrissur it will be fine. I usually start at 4am and reach by 1PM. Average time would be 9-10 hours. Am driving to Blore on 22nd Jan.

Oh thanks for the heads up. BTW even I will be driving back to Bangalore on 22nd. Watch out for a Fiat Punto. I have a LTD sticker at the back. I might leave for Bangalore around 10 AM on Sunday.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Oh thanks for the heads up. BTW even I will be driving back to Bangalore on 22nd. Watch out for a Fiat Punto. I have a LTD sticker at the back. I might leave for Bangalore around 10 AM on Sunday.

Cool. 10AM? Man, I would leave at 4am from Cochin. Anyways, I will be in Blore for a week. Mainly running around MG road, Hennur main road, Brigade, Kamanahalli. Watch out for a KL-7 (reg) White Swift with Got BHP on the rear bumper.

[flycatcher]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Cool. 10AM? Man, I would leave at 4am from Cochin. Anyways, I will be in Blore for a week. Mainly running around MG road, Hennur main road, Brigade, Kamanahalli. Watch out for a KL-7 (reg) White Swift with Got BHP on the rear bumper.

Sure will look out for your car. One more question: Would it be possible to see Athiripally falls either while going to Ernakulam or while coming back. I dont mind deviation of 50-60KM? Also, any other place you feel is worth visiting enroute. My plan is something like this
Sat:
- Leave Bangalore by 3/4 AM.
- Reach Ernakulam by lunch time 1pm/2pm

Sun:
- Leave for Bangalore. Time is tentatively 10AM.

Main agenda of the trip is visit to Bhagavathi temple. I guess I will be having some spare time. So I want to see if I can see some places in Ernakulam.

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Main agenda of the trip is visit to Bhagavathi temple. I guess I will be having some spare time. So I want to see if I can see some places in Ernakulam.

Athirampally falls is a good 80 kms from Ernakulam. About a couple of hours. Not sure about the road conditions right now.
You can surely visit Athirampally falls on the way to Kochi from Bangalore instead of going to Kochi first and then come back to visit the falls. But it will take time to trek to the base of the falls. IMO, this is a must visit place and you will not regret the visit.
My suggestion would be start by 2AM and reach the falls by noon. SPend aobut 3 hours at falls and head back to Kochi by 7 PM.

If this is not possible to include in your itenerary, then you can visit Chinese fishing nets, Synagogue, St Francis church.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Sure will look out for your car. One more question: Would it be possible to see Athiripally falls either while going to Ernakulam or while coming back. I dont mind deviation of 50-60KM?

Yes, it's possible to visit the falls. Here's the route when coming from Blore.

1) Take left just before the Chalakudy flyover.
2) Take left when you reach the junction.
3) Take right when you reach a T junction in front of the petrol station.
4) Straight road to the falls. Around 50 kms.

Roads are pretty good. Would recommend you to visit this while coming from Blore. In cochin, you could visit Fort Cochin and nearby places.
Have fun.

[flycatcher]

Done with the Bangalore-Kochi-Bangalore trip last Saturday. naveen.raju thanks for giving a picture perfect heads up regarding the road conditions.
Here is the route I took
Bangalore-Salem- Coimbature - Palakkad - Thrissur- Kochi
Bangalore - 60 KM from Coimbature: Absolute hoot to drive
Then till Coimbature: Its a pain to drive because of the numerous diversions and some reckless driving by buses, cars, mopeds all sort of vehicles one can think of
Coimbature - Thrissur: Again driving is a pain because of the way people overtake each other. From Coimbature I felt I was in a cross country rally!
Thrissur-Kochi: Amazing roads. But heavy traffic.

On the way, I made a visit to the Athiripally falls. The drive between Chalukuddy and Athiripally was awesome. Also, loved the way the authorities maintain Athiripally falls area

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Done with the Bangalore-Kochi-Bangalore trip last Saturday. naveen.raju thanks for giving a picture perfect heads up regarding the road conditions.

Good to hear that. Even I had some hard time driving through the sections that you have mentioned. I'm in Blore now and will be driving back in a week.

[sandeep3in]

Friends - can you suggest a good place to have break fast between Salem and Coimbatore , Preferably a place near to coimbatore .

My travel plan is such that i would be near to Coimbatore by around 7AM to 8AM and need to have a good place to take rest /have breakfast and use of toilet.

TIA

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by sandeep3in

Friends - can you suggest a good place to have break fast between Salem and Coimbatore , Preferably a place near to coimbatore .

My travel plan is such that i would be near to Coimbatore by around 7AM to 8AM and need to have a good place to take rest /have breakfast and use of toilet.

TIA

80 kms after Salem you have Saravana Bhavan and Aryaas few kms after that. I usually have from Aryaas. Also saw few hotels in Erode but havent tried. But guess that will be too early for you. Not seen any decent hotels between Erode and Coimbatore. I usually have from the usual places since I plan my travel accordingly so that I reach these hotels at the right time to have food.

[ajithbr]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

80 kms after Salem you have Saravana Bhavan and Aryaas few kms after that.

Saw this about Salem->Coimbatore stretch. I usually stop at Aryaas in Perundurai bye-pass and have not seen/noticed this Saravana Bhavan (looks like around Bhavani) till about a few months back. Can someone tell me exactly where this come and which side of the road? Will be helpful in the next trip in this route !

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

Saw this about Salem->Coimbatore stretch. I usually stop at Aryaas in Perundurai bye-pass and have not seen/noticed this Saravana Bhavan (looks like around Bhavani) till about a few months back. Can someone tell me exactly where this come and which side of the road? Will be helpful in the next trip in this route !

I think I had been to this Saravana Bhavan. It comes on left while going towards Coimbatore. But is kind of small and didn't like the restrooms. Aryaas is better IMO. Again, there seems to be a new Saravana Bhavan near Selam bye-pass, don't know the exact location, though.

[ampere]

I have only seen Annalakshmi some distance ahead of Aryas.
Never saw Saravana Bhavan.

[kala]

Originally Posted by ampere

I have only seen Annalakshmi some distance ahead of Aryas.
Never saw Saravana Bhavan.

There's a Saravanabhavan (or New Saravanabhavan) somewhere around Karumathampatti on the right hand side of the road when you're travelling from Bangalore to Coimbatore - but I don't think it has any connection with the real "Saravanabhavan" chain.