[Kartik Kumar]

Planning to go to the Nilgiris (towards Kerala from Gudalur rather than towards Ooty) from Bangalore on the weekend. Should I take the Mysore road from Bangalore or Kanakpura road? What would be the fastest / most comfortable route to Gundlupet since I'm planning to drive through Bandipur and Mudumalai? Also breakfast options on that route?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Kartik Kumar

Should I take the Mysore road from Bangalore or Kanakpura road? What would be the fastest / most comfortable route to Gundlupet since I'm planning to drive through Bandipur and Mudumalai? Also breakfast options on that route?

Route #1
There is road widening work on Kanakapura road so better to start early if you're taking that route. Route would be Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-turn left onto Mysore Ring Road-exit at Nanjangud Road and turn left-Nanjangud-Gundlupet.
Breakfast options - MTR near Art of living, may be too early though. In Kanakapura town you can stop at Vasu hotel or Srinivasa Sagar both nearby on the main road/NH 209.

Route #2
If you take Mysore road then you have too many options to break all along the route, but most open around 6:45am so not really an advantage, plus the boring and traffic prone route.

Route #3
Another option is to go via Mangalore highway route -> Tumkur road-Nelamangala-Yediyur-Bellur cross-after toll turn left to Nagamangala-Pandavapura and exit at Srirangapatna onto Bangalore-Mysore highway. Turn left at Mysore Ring road (Columbia Asia junction) and then same route as #1
*Swathi Delicacy is a good option to break (near Yediyur)

Fastest route depends on day and time of travel. I would take #3 or #1 and lastly #2 (on weekends even 5am starts aren't great).

[Kartik Kumar]

Originally Posted by NPV

There is road widening work on Kanakapura road so better to start early if you're taking that route. Route would be Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-turn left onto Mysore Ring Road-exit at Nanjangud Road and turn left-Nanjangud-Gundlupet.

Route #3 adds a good 65+ kms to my destination from my home. Hence I was thinking #1. Another option would be via Kollegal, Chamrajnagar and then Gundlupet. What would be the road/traffic conditions on that route?

[NKN]

Originally Posted by throttlehead

Thanks everyone for your help. One final question, I am keen on picking up the Freestyle from Zoom Car (keen to drive her + assuming it's a new model it should be relatively well maintained). However, it isn't available for an airport pick up.

Travelling all the way to Banaswadi to pick up the car is not recommended at all especially since you are with a 3YO. Approx an hour to get there and similar or more time to get out of the city will only cause inconvenience and test your patience- Not an ideal way to start a vacation

The Zoom car parking lot is around 5-7kms from the airport and they bring the car to the arrival area once you call then post landing.
At the airport, the baggage comes out much faster than most other airports and you should be out sooner, so calling them as soon as you reach the terminal will help since they take around 15-20 mins to bring the car once you call

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Kartik Kumar

Another option would be via Kollegal, Chamrajnagar and then Gundlupet. What would be the road/traffic conditions on that route?

Malavalli-Bannur-Mysore has low traffic and decent roads. Also, Nanjangud-Gundlupet will be faster and road is wide, not the case with Malavalli-Kollegal-Chamarajanagar-Gundlupet, many narrow sections and villages en route.

[VinothAJ]

Originally Posted by keroo1099

Mesmerizing is the correct word, but unfortunately you can no longer visit Upper Bhavani without permission from the forest department (roads are closed with checkposts). If you can get permission then you have two ways to get up to the Upper Bhavani dam.

1. Via Manjur (Manjoor) and past Korakundah estate (highest tea garden in the country).
2. Past Avalanche and along the smaller lakes that dot the road and are fed by the Upper Bhavani lake (absolutely stunning drive)

Both roads should be good enough for a small car but you need to drive slowly, and Manjur may have a few places to stay now, but not sure. Avalanche has several places to stay and Red Hill is one of the better places. A google search should give you several options

If you do get permission, you could ask for accommodation at the forest bungalow at the dam, which I remember being simple but clean.

Hi bud, I remember taking the Manjoor route (family of 6 in an Innova) to head to Upper Bhavani and we were of course stopped at a check post beyond which only forest vehicles were allowed. We even requested the guard to accompany us but he flatly refused.

I cant quite remember if that check post was after Korakundah estate or before. Permission to go beyond must be obtained from the DFO Office on Wenlock Rd right? (near TTDC) Can I get permission from the same office to visit Parsons Dam as well?

Appreciate your tips!

[ashi4877]

Dear Friends

Kindly suggest a route from Bangalore to Ooty for a family of four (2 Adult 2 Kids - 12 & 5 years old) travelling by car.

Plan to visit Ooty from 1 Nov to 3 Nov and then further proceed to Kerala thrissur to my home town on 4 Nov and then return back to Bangalore on 11 Nov.

Thanks
Ashir

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by ashi4877

Plan to visit Ooty from 1 Nov to 3 Nov and then further proceed to Kerala thrissur to my home town on 4 Nov and then return back to Bangalore on 11 Nov.

You can decide on taking Kanakpura road or Mandya route based on discussions in earlier posts here.

However, past Thepekadu, my suggestion would be to take Masinagudi route to Ooty. This road has steep and back to back curves, however it is possible to be done in any car.

That said, Nov 1 is start of a long weekend, hence I would suggest you start early (cross NICE road exit of Kanakapura / Mysore road) before 05:00 AM in any case.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

You can drive up via the 36 hairpin Masinagudi route and come down via Gudalur.

How is the Gudalur route for both sides? Planning to visit Ooty between 8th and 11th of Nov. Any advantages of taking the Masinagudi road over Gudalur? Never drove to Ooty before and completely unaware of any roads beyond Madhumalai. Thanks.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

How is the Gudalur route for both sides? Planning to visit Ooty between 8th and 11th of Nov. Any advantages of taking the Masinagudi road over Gudalur? Never drove to Ooty before and completely unaware of any roads beyond Madhumalai. Thanks.

No issues taking the Gudalur route for both sides. The Masinagudi route will be significantly faster. But it is a very steep climb with 36 hair pin bends- Which is why it is generally not recommended/or in most cases not allowed by the traffic cops, to descend via this route. Hence the general suggestion of going up via Masinagudi and coming down via Gudalur.

[rajivtelang]

As per my plan will be visiting Ooty on 8th November, starting at 5AM and hopefully reaching there by 2-3PM. Return plan is to decent to Mysore on 10th evening and make a stay there. Start back to Bangalore on 11th. Question is what will be the best route to come back to Bangalore on Sunday. Should I start early (by 10-11AM) from Mysore and take Kanakapura/traditional mysore road? Anything later will be a killer for sure since that weekend could become a converted long weekend. (most organizations have 8th as holiday and 9th could easily be changed to one).

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Question is what will be the best route to come back to Bangalore on Sunday. Should I start early (by 10-11AM) from Mysore and take Kanakapura/traditional mysore road? Anything later will be a killer for sure since that weekend could become a converted long weekend. (most organizations have 8th as holiday and 9th could easily be changed to one).

If you start by 10-11am, the regular Mysore Road should be fine. The real rush starts after 3-4 PM.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

No issues taking the Gudalur route for both sides. The Masinagudi route will be significantly faster. But it is a very steep climb with 36 hair pin bends- Which is why it is generally not recommended/or in most cases not allowed by the traffic cops, to descend via this route. Hence the general suggestion of going up via Masinagudi and coming down via Gudalur.

Are there any restrictions on the route that goes via Bandipur and Madumalai forests? Last night (~10PM) I was just trying to check the distance via gmaps, the route was forced to be out of the forest by gmaps, no matter how I was trying to select this forest route. Surely it has to do something with the timing restrictions. Any ideas about it?
I am hoping to cross this forest in broad daylight (~11AM) while driving to Ooty and at around 4PM on the way back to Mysore. Hopefully there are no restrictions during that time of the day.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Are there any restrictions on the route that goes via Bandipur and Madumalai forests? Last night (~10PM) I was just trying to check the distance via gmaps, the route was forced to be out of the forest by gmaps, no matter how I was trying to select this forest route. Surely it has to do something with the timing restrictions. Any ideas about it?
I am hoping to cross this forest in broad daylight (~11AM) while driving to Ooty and at around 4PM on the way back to Mysore. Hopefully there are no restrictions during that time of the day.

Yes, restriction is in place from 9PM to 6am. No restriction during the day. So if you check Google Maps during night, it will not route through the forest route.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Are there any restrictions on the route that goes via Bandipur and Madumalai forests?
I am hoping to cross this forest in broad daylight (~11AM) while driving to Ooty and at around 4PM on the way back to Mysore. Hopefully there are no restrictions during that time of the day.

Vehicles are not allowed though between 9 pm - 6 am, if I remember correctly. The only exception is state transport buses (TNSTC, KSRTC).

Your 11 am / 4 pm travel times will have absolutely no problem. If you have children, see if you can go through earlier in the morning, they might be lucky to catch glimpses of wildlife