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-   -   Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty : Route Queries (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/36388-bangalore-mysore-ooty-route-queries-95.html)

Mysore-Nanjangud 18-20Km may be a pain due to widening work, beyond Nanjangud up to Gundlupet is fine. If you start early, should not be too much of a problem, else consider Kanakapura-Chamarajanagar-Gundlupet route which will help avoid Mysore-Nanjangud :)
In that case Nijaguna Residency, Chamarajanagar is a good place to break.

I am visiting Kotagiri (25km from Ooty) next month, planning to take Bangalore-Hosur-Salem-Avinashi-Mettupalayam-kotagiri route.

I know that this route is about 80km longer compared to Mysore-Ooty, but it offers more 4 lane driving and I will avoid ORR like traffic between Bangalore & Mysore.
Anyone done this before, please share your inputs. Thanks!

Many people are scaring me of the 36 Hairpin bends and the steep roads in the Masinagudi route to Ooty. Is it that difficult? I have done the Theni Munnar route without difficulty. Is it comparable to Masinagudi Ooty route? I drive XUV 500. Please advice.

Nothing to be scared of. I have not done Theni-Munnar. But pretty sure the Masinagudi-Ooty route is much steeper. The ~7000 ft climb is completed in ~20 km. Plenty of people have done it in even in Nano's and Alto's. You will not have any trouble with a beast like the XUV at your disposal.

Only point is that, it is a narrow road, so you may need to plan the hairpin bends a little. (May not be needed also, just my thought-Experts can comment)

Not that difficult, only thing is that we living on the plains are not used to the steep continuous climbs and the short time to learn the technique. Just keep in mind not to up-shift from 2nd to 3rd gear (even on a seemingly straight road) and keep the rpm above 2000. Even if you need to downshift to 1st, the XUV can easily pull off and shift to 2nd after you have enough momentum.

I've done this route couple of time in XUV, you can easily drive up on hairpin bends. Please ensure to use 1st gear abundantly, as we are not used to using 1st gear on empty roads. Almost, each hairpin bend will need it.

Moreover, you still have hill assist functions incase you roll back.

Be careful during downward journey and use 1st/2nd gear in hairpin bends, as car will roll down very fast if not controlled. I've also used hill decent function during these bends and it works like a charm. Try it out & let us know.

Have not done the exact route, but have done Bangalore-Coimbatore and then Coimbatore-Mettupalayam-Kotagiri- Coonoor/Ooty couple of days later. This was in October 2015.

Bangalore-Avinashi is the well know excellent 4 Lane. Avinashi-Mettupalayam should be good from reports here. Mettupalayam-Kotagiri road is brilliant with less traffic. Here is a picture of this stretch from my trip- Link

Although it is longer, should take the same time as the Mysore route.

March end, I have done this in my VW van.
U-Tube-- ‘Kallhiti Ghats T3 Van‘.
My route was,
NICE Road-Mysore-Nanjanagudu-Gundlupet-Theppakadu-Masinagudi-Kalhatty-Ooty Time 5.30 am.

Good luck & Happy Journey.

The dash cam video shows the road condition well and gives me confidence. Thank you. I will take the Masinagudi route for the onward journey and return by the Gudalur route.

Acharya -
Presume you will go to Mettupalayam via Annur, from Avanashi? That's a good road with less traffic. If not, you will end up going through Coimbatore city, and with the fly over constructions and the heavy traffic on Mettupalayam road, it gets tough.

Yes, with XUV you can easily do it. The specialty of Masinagudi 36 hairpin bends route is that the 'S' turns are pretty quick & zig-zag in many hair pin bends. By the time you turn left in one hairpin bend, you have to turn right again immediately for next hair pin bend. The swift action is needed.

BTW, watch out for any vehicles driving down. They may be rash and would take most portion of the road and few don't even have courtesy to give right of way to vehicles driving up hill. Exercise caution if you notice and keep honking abundantly.

Drive safe! :thumbs up

-Ravi

Thanks for your reply and tips. Wouldn't it be lot easier and relaxing to take the Gudalur route, considering that the road has been resurfaced recently? What is the hype about the Masinagudi route?

It's a much quicker drive up to Ooty and much more scenic and one of a kind experience in a way since it's one of the quickest ascents when it comes to hill roads in South India..it's your choice in the end :) Also, on long weekends/holidays cops do not allow downhill traffic so taking this route in onward journey is an option. I was also apprehensive of this route, but enjoyed the drive after I tried it few years ago.

NPV said it all ! :thumbs up
Its the quickest way to reach Ooty. You got to go through this experience as well at least once. Once you do this, all other hair pin bend driving will be nothing. :) To answer your original question, Theni-Munnar has long hill drive for several kms/long distance, but not as steep as Masinagudi. In Masinagudi route, in no time you will finish 36 hair pin bends, as the distance/kms is less.
However, if you are not confident or not interested to give it a try, don't do it. As NPV said, the choice is yours!

You have XUV. I would recommend you to go for it ! Roll your windows down, enjoy the scenery (and any wildlife if you are lucky).

-Ravi

To make you much more convincing, My Van is 15 feet in length & 6 feet in width. You can easily make it.

U-Tube:- Kallhiti Ghats T3 van, Handy-cam. A small clipping recorded from inside the van. You can see the workout on the steering. I never used the 1st Gear until we reached the top.

Yes, Downhill Gudalur route is the best. More scenic. I took this this route Downhill. Small clipping in U-Tube.