[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Hi bhpians. I will be going to Coonor next week for a small vacation. I will be staying in kurumba village resort. Can you please suggest the best possible route which involves scenery. Also i will be traveling with my 1 year old kid in a nano. Will nano handle all the inclines? Its a manual variant . Thanks in advance!

Any pointers to my question please? I am very familiar with the BLR-Salem-Avinashi-Coimbatore-Ooty route. However I dont want to use this route and go via Bandipur to Coonor (thats where my hotel is). Request your guidance on this.

Thanks in Advance!

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Any pointers to my question please? I am very familiar with the BLR-Salem-Avinashi-Coimbatore-Ooty route. However I dont want to use this route and go via Bandipur to Coonor (thats where my hotel is). Request your guidance on this.

Thanks in Advance!

Since the Masinagudi route looks closed, the only other option for you would be via (Gundlupet-Bandipur-Theppekadu)- Gudalur-Naduvattom-Pykara-Ooty.
Any car would be able to tackle this ghat easily. The gradient is not all that steep. The only issue could be the bad stretches between Theppekadu and Gudalur. P21 would be able to throw light on how bad it is.
The route is very scenic. Couple of popular tourist spots - The Pykara lake and the cinema shooting point falls on this route.

[sairamboko]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Since the Masinagudi route looks closed, the only other option for you would be via (Gundlupet-Bandipur-Theppekadu)- Gudalur-Naduvattom-Pykara-Ooty.
Any car would be able to tackle this ghat easily. The gradient is not all that steep. The only issue could be the bad stretches between Theppekadu and Gudalur. P21 would be able to throw light on how bad it is.
The route is very scenic. Couple of popular tourist spots - The Pykara lake and the cinema shooting point falls on this route.

Thanks a lot !! So will this route be the one to use? https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ow...d11.335392!3e0

[P21]

Hello sairamboko,

You can take this route with Nano. No steep gradient. After Theppakadu, first 11 km is a nice new tarmac road, while the rest 7 km is a bad stretch but still can be made without much effort. On one of the crosses on this 7 km bad stretch, cement tiles were being paved for which huge amount of sand had been laid on the road. I guess by this time work will be finished.

Just do a sedate driving on this stretch, this will solve the problem.

Regards,
P21

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Hi bhpians. I will be going to Coonor next week for a small vacation. I will be staying in kurumba village resort. Can you please suggest the best possible route which involves scenery. Also i will be traveling with my 1 year old kid in a nano. Will nano handle all the inclines? Its a manual variant . Thanks in advance!

Since the Kurumba Resort is on the Coonoor-Mettupalayam highway (From Google maps it look almost in between Coonoor and Mettupalayam and somewhere on the ghat section), it may make more sense to take the Krishnagiri-Salem-Avinashi-Mettupalayam route. Will definitely be faster especially since the Masinagudi route is closed. You get the benefit of 4 lane till Avinashi and good 2 lane roads post that also.

If scenery is a priority, you can also look at Kanakpura-Chamrajnagar-Dimbam Ghats-Sathyamangalam/Bhavanisagar-Mettupalayam. But would not recommend this since you do not have too many family friendly rest stops on this route (Which I assume you will need since you are traveling with a 1 year old).

If you take the Gudalur route, you have to handle the bad section and cross Ooty town and then Coonoor town to reach the destination. I feel the Mettupalayam option will be better.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Thanks a lot !! So will this route be the one to use?

You have two options to reach Gundlupet

1. Via Mysore: Bangalore-Maddur-Mandya-Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundlupet

Bangalore-Mysore is fully 4 laned road condition is excellent and is dotted with eateries every few kms. Traffic would be high on weekends and there are a few humps/speed barricades to negotiate. Mysore-Nanjandud is 'work in progress' section and usually sees high traffic during the day. Nanjangud to Gundlupet is wide 2 laned and is in excellent condition.
Ideal route if you plan a 5 AM or earlier start.

Gmaps: https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ow...d11.335392!3e0

2. Via Kanakapura: Bangalore-Kanakapura-Malavalli-Kollegala-Chamrajnagar-Gundlupet

2 lane all the way. Bangalore-Kanakapura is good, Kanakapura-Malavalli-Kollegala-chamarajnagar has a few rough patches, but nothing alarming as per reports. Chamarajnagar-Gundlupet has a few rough patches but is generally good. This stretch is not very wide though. Traffic is generally low in this route.
The biggest drawback of this route would be lack of good restaurants. Distance wise, this is around 10Kms more than the Mysore route.

Gmaps: https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ow...d11.335392!3e0

From Gundlupet onward, its the same route to Gudalur-Ooty.

[sairamboko]

Thanks a lot Sandsun and P1 for the reply!!

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Since the Kurumba Resort is on the Coonoor-Mettupalayam highway (From Google maps it look almost in between Coonoor and Mettupalayam and somewhere on the ghat section), it may make more sense to take the Krishnagiri-Salem-Avinashi-Mettupalayam route. Will definitely be faster especially since the Masinagudi route is closed. You get the benefit of 4 lane till Avinashi and good 2 lane roads post that also.

If scenery is a priority, you can also look at Kanakpura-Chamrajnagar-Dimbam Ghats-Sathyamangalam/Bhavanisagar-Mettupalayam. But would not recommend this since you do not have too many family friendly rest stops on this route (Which I assume you will need since you are traveling with a 1 year old).

If you take the Gudalur route, you have to handle the bad section and cross Ooty town and then Coonoor town to reach the destination. I feel the Mettupalayam option will be better.

HI Rajeev- yes the Mettupalayam one is the quickest one and I will be taking it when I am returning back to Bangalore. This is the regular route and I have used it many times. We wanted to go via Bandipur for the scenary and occasional spotting of wildlife

[P21]

Hello sairamboko,

If in case you take Mysore - Gundlupet - Bandipur - Gudalur - Ooty route, find below my recent time line achieved on this route.



Regards,
P21

[aamateen46]

Hi Sairam, the bad stretch between Theppakudu & Gudalur is not a deal breaker. Your Nano should handle them quite easily with its high ground clearance.
Also, you stand a chance of watching elephants, apart from the usual peacocks and deer. Would be worth the effort.

[sairamboko]

Thanks a lot all!!! So I will go with BLR-Mysuru (4 lane one) then Mysuru -Gundlupet-Bandipur-Theppakadu-Gudalur-Ooty-Coonor.

Thanks everyone for your feedback!!

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by sairamboko

Thanks a lot all!!! So I will go with BLR-Mysuru (4 lane one) then Mysuru -Gundlupet-Bandipur-Theppakadu-Gudalur-Ooty-Coonor.

Thanks everyone for your feedback!!

Make sure you start early to beat the weekend holiday crowd if you are starting on a Saturday/Sunday. Even on weekdays early start ensures easy crossing of towns enroute: Ramnagara, Channapattana and Mandya.

Please do give the updates after you are back.

[sairamboko]

Sure. I will be going on weekdays ☺

[P21]

ROUTE UPDATE - CROSSING MYSORE CITY

Now crossing Mysore city is easy with the ring road completed. Take a look on the below map.



ROUTE A:

New ring road, approximately 18kms distance, takes 25 minutes to cross with almost negligible traffic. Suggested during peak hours / any time between 8 am and 9 pm.

ROUTE B:

Goes through the heart of the city. Nowadays, most of the roads in the city is dug up for drainage systems and road upgrade. You will find many deviations within the city itself. Takes 45 minutes to an hour to cross Mysore during peak hours.

-----------------------------------
Note: Mods, please move the post to thread that suits the most

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by P21

ROUTE UPDATE - CROSSING MYSORE CITY

Now crossing Mysore city is easy with the ring road completed. Take a look on the below map.

Attachment 1478356

ROUTE A:

New ring road, approximately 18kms distance, takes 25 minutes to cross with almost negligible traffic. Suggested during peak hours / any time between 8

So now the stretch between Bannur road and nanjangud road is complete? That is indeed great news! All this while I used to go up to Bannur road , take right, again take left near Teresian college and go through race course, besides Mall of Mysore to finally join nanjangud road.

[P21]

Hello Sandsun7,

No such worries now. The entire stretch is completed. But google maps has not been updated yet. All that it takes is max 25 to 30 minutes to complete 18 kms from Bangalore ring road junction to Nanjangud ring road junction.

P21