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-   -   Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty : Route Queries (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/36388-bangalore-mysore-ooty-route-queries-61.html)

I just did a weekend run to Masinagudi and here is my report on road conditions and other relevant information.

The onward journey was via Ramanagara - Mysore - Gundulpet - Bandipur - Masinagudi. The strech between Bangalore and Mysore on this route is a well known story. Decent 4 lane highway but heavy traffic and lots of speed breakers. However you can keep doing 90 - 100 on most of the stretches. Try to take the ring road in mysore and avoid the city traffic. Mysore to Nanjangud is really bad as the roads have a lot of rumblers (really annoying ones) the keep popping up out of the blue. The roads are also pockmarked with a lot of uneven surface and small potholes. Nanjangud - Gundulpet strech shows some improvements, however the annoying rumblers are still present. Gundulpet - Bandipur - Theepakadu is an excellent strech with good tarmac and scenic views. The 7 km strech between theppakadu to masinagudi is mostly great except that its very narrow and you have to get off the road to allow oncoming traffic to pass by. (Total drive time - 6 hrs)

The return journey was via Bandipur - Gundulpet - Chamrajnagar - Malavali - Kanakapura. The strech between Gundulpet and Chamrajnagar (SH81) is riddled with damaged road conditions - navigable, but not a smooth tarmac. Specially the stretch between Gundulpet & Thekanambi does get on your nerves. Once you get past chamrajnagar, the tarmac is relatively smooth with some bad streches around yellandur township. However the road conditions improve significantly after Kollegal. You have smooth traffic free tarmac from Kollegal to Kankapura. However after Kanakapura the roads are a nightmare to drive with lots of nasty bus drivers and stupid bangalore bound car drivers. (Total drive time - 6 hrs)

Overall both has its pro's and con's one not better than the other when you take the overall trip into consideration. Some additional information

(A) The forest checkpost at Tamil Nadu is very very strict on checking your cars for alcohol.

(B) I stayed at Jungle Hut which is a fantastic place to stay. The JungleHut team really makes you feel welcome. Though on the expensive side, its worth a try. The property owner Vikram is apparently rally driver (Drover for team MRF). I got to learn this on the day of departure. Am sure he is BHPian. Overall this is an excellent place to stay and am sure I will be visiting this place again.

Hi All,
Planning a 15th - 17th Aug trip to Ooty. Need some guidance on the route to take. After going through this thread, I get to conclude this that -

For Onward Journey, the option is to take :

Bangalore - Mysore - Gundulpet - Bandipur - Ooty

(I understand that the stretch between Mysore and Gudulpet is not that good. So any pointers if a Sedan can cruise through easily without any major roadblocks will help)

For Return Journey, the option is to take :

Ooty - Coonoor - Mettupalyam -Sathyamangalam - Chamrajnagar - Kanakapura - Bangalore

(Hope this is the right assumption, unless other options exist)

Any inputs are welcome. Thanks

If you are starting early morning from Bangalore, take Mysore road else Kanakpura - Chamarajnagar route to Gundlupet.

Thepekadu-36 hairpin bend route via Masinagudi will get you there quickly, but the road is steep and narrow. a small stretch around Masinagudi was patchy when I did last time, but nothing to worry.

Even if you're starting quite early, I'd recommend the route via Kanakapura - Kollegal. The only reason to take SH17 would be for the food options available, and if you're starting very early none of those places would be open when you pass by - So you could as well take NH209 and have breakfast at Chamarajnagar or Gundlupet.

By the way it looks like a lot more people have switched to NH209 these days. Traffic between Kanakapura and Bangalore was pretty heavy last evening when I was returning to Bangalore and there was a traffic jam at Harohalli which took about 15-20 minutes to clear :Frustrati

+1

Completely agree. NH209 is better option, if you are starting early. However, if you have elders or kids on board and need food option, Chamrajnagar/Gundlupet may be bit far/late to stop for breakfast. In such case, see if you can stop at Kollegal as there are couple of restuarants mentioned in this thread. But nothing fancy and they are average restaurants.

-Ravi

Some how I have always felt problem at Harohalli while returning and beyond almost all the way to Bangalore is traffic infested. Thats one thing which I felt was always an issue.

+100 to that. Moment you hit Harohalli there is a small incline and shops on either side. Invariably, a bus will be stopped right there at the bus stop and slow-mo traffic begins from here. Later, the road widens and curves and gets better but still you find slow moving trucks. Once you reach NICE junction you can escape this just momentarily till you pay the toll and then the mayhem begins on NICE road - there are typically 4 lanes including the shoulders :Frustrati
This is a common pattern in the evenings.

Our halt is generally Nijaguna Residency at Chamarajanagar (have recommended that to at least 5 of my relatives as well). We kind of time our journey considering that Nijaguna's breakfast counters open at around 8:00AM only, and we need to arrive there some where in that time frame. Another problem in that route is that there are not too many good hotels with clean toilets (for the women folk).

Hi All,

Looking for some quick help as always. Planning to start at 6am today from Bangalore and plan to reach mysore then go to Ooty, Coonoor and back. Is this route option fine? Is this route better? http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post3404466

Don't have much time to research as this is a hastily planned trip. Here is the itinerary - any suggestions are welcome.

17.09.2014 Day 1

Bangalore
Mysore Palace
Mudumalai Safari (Mudumalai Nature Safari Phone no - +91-94434 61720 +91-94432 05361)
Pykara Waterfalls & Lake

Check to a hotel in Ooty

From my review I found these two are within my budget:-

Accord Highland Hotel Ooty Hotel
4 / 278, Doddabetta Junction
Kotagiri Road, Ooty 643001, India
Hotel website
089 39 856407

Hotel Lakeview
West lake road
Ooty-643004
Ph No. (0423)-2443904,2443580-82 & 2440978-83
Fax:(0423)-2443579
Email:reservations@hotellakeview.com

Day 2 18.09.2014 and Day 3 19.09.2014

Plan to cover attractions in and around Ooty & Coonoor

Avalanche Lake
St Stephens Church
Botanical Garden
Boat house
Dodbetta Peak
Kodanadu View Point,
SIM's Park
Coonoor
Dolphin's Nose

Day 4 20.09.2014

Return to Bangalore from Ooty

Thread I'm referring to for my trip:- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...t-d-again.html

With a 06.00 AM start from Haralur road I guess it will be best to stick to Kanakpura road route. However if you want to visit Pykara lake it will be a detour from the Masinagudi - Ooty route.

However based on the road conditions when I traveled and few updates in this thread it looks like that may be the best route to go since Gudalur - Ooty route is in bad condition.

For your sightseeing you can plan -
St Stephens Church
Botanical Garden
Boat house in one go since all are located nearby.
Dodabetta view point is supposed to get crowded as day progress, hence it is best to travel there early in morning.

For Coonor, SIM's park is on the way to Kodanadu view point. We liked this park much better than the crowded Botanical garden. Do note that Kodanadu view point is bit of a travel and there are no food options enroute.

Once you are done with that, you can return to Coonoor and visit Dolphin nose before returning to Ooty.

Thanks for the detailed reply.

We started late around 9am as I needed to catch up on some sleep. Sarjapur Signal was a mess at that time so took the Harlur Road to ECity. Was pretty empty. Got up on Nice Road from ECity Phase 1. Toll 90 bucks till Mysore road exit. Took a long pitstop at the Maddur KFC. Reached Mysore around 1.15pm. My wife did some shopping at the Kauvery Silk Emporium and then we went to Mysore Palace. Left Mysore around 4.15pm. Reached Ooty around 7.15pm. Took some time to locate Hotel Lakeview. Reached and checked into Hotel at 8.20pm. Your thread helped a lot. Thanks.

Today I'm planning to cover as follows from Ooty:-

1. Dodbetta Peak
2. Sim's Park
3. Dolphins Nose

Just wanted to check if drive to Kodanadu and back to Coonoor is worth it? Both ways its about 70kms on hills which I'm guessing will take 3 hours in my car.

Tomorrow plan to go to Avalanche & Pykara in the 1st half of the day. 2nd half see local attractions in Ooty.

Depending on the return route, you may cover Pykara in the return leg, if you chose to take Gudalur route. Unless you start your day early, half day may not be sufficient to enjoy the beauty of both these places!

These are in different directions, lot of time will be spent traversing through Ooty. Try to visit Emerald & Avalanchee which are in same direction.
Visit Pykara on your way back to Bangalore, it's near the Gudalur road.

Yes, Kodanadu is a long drive. I have felt that more than the location it is the drive through twisty roads that makes the location a must visit. However may be you can take a call on the same after considering with your passengers. During my travel though I was grinning at each turn, one of my passenger was trying hard not to puke.

Anyways, if you plan for Kodanadu you will have to combine it with Sim's park and Dolphins nose since all this locations are near Coonoor.