[goandude]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

If you prefer to keep to the 4 lane to the maximum extent possible and avoid the multiple towns on the above route, you can also do Salem-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalayam. Should take similar time in spite of being longer.

Does not make sense to take the Gudalur Ooty route if destination is Kotagiri

I usually take this 4 lane route. And it used to be a seamless, happy (but boring) drive. Now there is a LOT of 2 wheeler traffic sound Salem, probably about 15 kms +and - from the town. Then are the diversions after Salem, IIRC about 3/4 of them.
After Avinashi the road to M'palayam has pipe laying work going on, which effectively blocks 25% of road width. All above info is 6 months old so maybe it's improved now.

Nevertheless, this is probably the fastest way to Kotagiri at present.

[bht]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Best Option would be Krishnagiri-Thoppur-Mecheri-Mettur-Sathyamangalam-Mettupalayam-Kotagiri. Roads are a little patchy (as of October last year) between Thoppur and Mettur. Great 2 lane roads after that.

If you prefer to keep to the 4 lane to the maximum extent possible and avoid the multiple towns on the above route, you can also do Salem-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalayam. Should take similar time in spite of being longer.

Does not make sense to take the Gudalur Ooty route if destination is Kotagiri

I second this, specially since kalhatty ghat road seems to be closed. unless you want to travel via Bandipur( and for safari etc.) and take more scenic route visiting various PoI on the way, above suggestion is best. even though BNG-->MYS road isn't bad, diversions etc. doesn't make it an comfortable or enjoyable drive as well.

[naadopaasaka]

I drove from Bengaluru to Ooty on the morning of 04.03.2022. At the forest check post on the Kar-TN border between Bandipur and Mudumalai, a policeman asked for a lift. He pointed out that the only road work was on a bridge shortly after the prominent left turn towards Masinagudi, that there was another smaller left turn about 100 metres before that, and that the smaller road was not blocked.

So we took that earlier smaller left turn, I dropped him off at Masinagudi, and proceeded towards Ooty via Kalhatty. No further obstructions.

The two roads merge about 500 metres into the smaller left turn. Not too much of a deviation.

[CrusadingMonk]

Originally Posted by naadopaasaka

Thanks. This is probably why Google Maps isn't recommending the Masinagudi-Kalhatty route even if I add Kalhatty as a stop.

Does anybody have any more information on this?

The road to Ooty via masinagudi (the 36 hairpin bends road) is actually just before the blocked bridge (around 50 meters). It shows as Mudumalai national park. If you hit the blocked bridge shown on google maps, do a U turn and take the first immediate right via the tiger sanctuary road

[CrusadingMonk]

Hi
A summary of our trip to Ooty last week
Started from Marathalli at 5.30 Am. Went thru Silk board and below the Electronic city flyover, took the left towards Nice road entry and exited at the Mysore road exit. Reached Kamat Lokaruchi, Ramanagara at around 7.00 Am. While highway construction work is happening throughout, it is not too bad & we could actually make good time. The steaming hot leaf wrapped idli’s more than made up for the rather luke warm vada’s. Filter coffee & hit the road. The diversions till Mysore are pretty wide and well manageable. Reached Mysore and took the ORR (NH 275K) instead of going thru the city. Excellent wide road. Took a left towards Nanjangud & topped up at a shell pump in Gundulpet (S G Enterprises). Reached Theppakadu thru Bandipur & Mudumalai tiger reserve forests. Lovely drive. Google maps led us to a blocked road towards Ooty via masinagudi (36 hairpin bends road). We thankfully checked with the local jeep guys, took a U turn and took an immediate right turn towards Mudumalai national park. This road meets the original Ooty road a little further on. I was a little apprehensive about the bends but they are very much manageable in a decently powered sedan onwards. We actually enjoyed the drive in our CRV. Reached our Mahindra resort at around 12.30 Pm.
Started return trip at 6.30 Am after couple of days. Had to come down via Gudalur since driving down thru Masinagudi route is allowed only for locally registered vehicles. Had breakfast at Sasthapuri in Gudalur (very average) and reached Shell at Gundulpet to top up. Onwards thru same route to Kamat at Ramanagara & had a pretty decent thali. Mysore – Bangalore route has more construction work & diversions than Bangalore – Mysore but again, very manageable. Nice road from Mysore road entry till Hosur road exit was pretty bad. Reached home at around 4.30 Pm. Would definitely recommend this route for travel to Ooty from Bangalore.

[ValarMorghulis]

Any suggestions for pet friendly places near/ in Ooty? Would prefer open spaces/ gardens.

Thanks in advance.

[ValarMorghulis]

Completed the Bangalore-Ooty drive last week in our Petrol Venue DCT SX+.

Route: Bangalore>Ramanagara>Mandya>Mysuru>Gundlupete>Masi nagudi.

The 36 hairpin bends were easy peasy. In fact the entire journey was fabulous with lovely roads (even when deviations are underway), and we reached Ooty by 1:00pm (Started at 6:30am).

No heating issues, no DCT issues nothing. In fact, the Venue drives like a charm and handles beautifully on the twisting roads.

The return trip was via Gugalur, to check out the Needle Rock View Point, etc., and then the same cities back.

Loved the place. Will definitely revisit.

[nagarjun]

Had a quick day trip to Mysore yesterday and here is my experience about the road. I reside in North Bangalore.
1. While going took the Hebbal, Yeshwanthpur, Nelamangala, Yediyur, Pandavapura road. Usual slow downs at Goruguntapalya, Vivanta Jn and while entering the Elevated flyover even at 6AM. After that the rest of the journey was quite smooth. Nelamangala to Yediyur had few diversions due to paving of the top layer, but nothing to create any problem.
2. While returning took the original highway via Mandya, Maddur, Ramanagara, Kengeri-Nice Road, Yesthwanthpur, Hebbal route. It was such a bad decision. I can't believe how the Govt is claiming that the expressway will be ready by Dussera-2022. It was like driving on the service road all the way. Too many diversions, speed breakers, dusty road and traffic pile ups everywhere.

So, please stick to alternative roads to Mysore(Either Nelamangala-Yediyur or Kanakapura road) for the time being.

[lifeinpune]

Dear members,

We have planned an Ooty trip from 7th April to 10th April. Will be staying at Sterling Elk Hill. Plan to start early on 7th. We are a couple and 5 yr old. We would like to do some sightseeing on the same day so would like to reach by 1 PM. We are planning to go in a hired cab. Need inputs on best route and vehicle

Requirements

• Reach by 1 PM. So that we can check-in, freshen up, have lunch, and spend some time sightseeing on Day 1.
• Avoid hairpin bends as much as possible
• Avoid bad roads, under construction stretches as much as possible

We want to avoid the Mysore road because of the frequent diversions. Google is suggesting the Masinagudi route. But this has 36 Hairpin bends and my wife is not comfortable with Hairpin bends. The TN route via Krishnagiri - Mettupalayam-Kotagiri seems to take longer. It looks like it might take upwards of 7 hours with a breakfast break.





Questions

• If we start at 5 AM, can Ooty be reached by 1 PM through the TN route with a breakfast break of 30 minutes?
• Is the Masinagudi route more scenic than the TN Route?
• Question about the choice of Vehicle Make? Which is more comfortable Etios or Dzire?

Thanks in Advance.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

...

Requirements

• Reach by 1 PM. So that we can check-in, freshen up, have lunch, and spend some time sightseeing on Day 1.
• Avoid hairpin bends as much as possible
• Avoid bad roads, under construction stretches as much as possible

We want to avoid the Mysore road because of the frequent diversions. Google is suggesting the Masinagudi route. But this has 36 Hairpin bends and my wife is not comfortable with Hairpin bends. The TN route via Krishnagiri - Mettupalayam-Kotagiri seems to take longer. It looks like it might take upwards of 7 hours with a breakfast break.

Questions

• If we start at 5 AM, can Ooty be reached by 1 PM through the TN route with a breakfast break of 30 minutes?
• Is the Masinagudi route more scenic than the TN Route?
• Question about the choice of Vehicle Make? Which is more comfortable Etios or Dzire?

Thanks in Advance.

Took this route on 16-Mar and reached by 1:00pm (started at 6:30am) Bangalore>Ramanagara>Mandya>Mysuru>Gundlupete>Masi nagudi>Ooty.
If you want to avoid the 36 hairpin bends, you can take the Gudalur route (add an hour to the commute time).
Bangalore>Ramanagara>Mandya>Mysuru>Gundlupete>Guda lur>Ooty.

Masinagudi route isn't scenic, rather the Gudalur route is better with more viewpoints. No idea about the TN route.

[Caramba]

Took both the routes this week, as you are forced to come down the Gudalur route if you are not local.
Masinagudi route- a lot faster, but narrow. Google maps automatically sends you through the detour where the bridge is blocked so all good. If you are driving sedately the hairpins dont seem that bad (but this is quite a personal view).

Gudalur route- roads are a lot wider, more scenic. However a lot more tourist traffic with quite a few places being blocked by badly parked cars (clearly the 100% literacy rates are not quite accurate as people do not seem to understand boards which say no parking or stopping), including in the stretch between Gudalur and Masinagudi turn off.

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

Completed the Bangalore-Ooty drive last week in our Petrol Venue DCT SX+.

ValarMorghulis, mind sharing the pet-friendly stay which you visited?

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

Dear members,


Requirements

• Reach by 1 PM. So that we can check-in, freshen up, have lunch, and spend some time sightseeing on Day 1.
• Avoid hairpin bends as much as possible
• Avoid bad roads, under construction stretches as much as possible

Questions

• If we start at 5 AM, can Ooty be reached by 1 PM through the TN route with a breakfast break of 30 minutes?
• Is the Masinagudi route more scenic than the TN Route?
• Question about the choice of Vehicle Make? Which is more comfortable Etios or Dzire?

Thanks in Advance.

From the map, it looks like your starting point is somewhere near electronic city. Considering that and your priority to avoid twisty roads, would recommend you do Krishnagiri, Salem, Annur, Mettupalayam, Kotagiri, Ooty. Kotagiri is a gentle climb. Distance wise it is more, but 75% of the route is 4/6 lane and hence your average speeds will be higher.

From a scenery perspective, no doubt that the Bandipur - Mudumalai - Gudalur/Masinagudi route is much better. The TN one is a regular 4 lane highway for most part.

With a 5am start with any of the routes, you should be able to reach by 1. Etios will be more comfortable than a Dzire.

Probably you can go via the Krishnagiri route and return via Gudalur.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by FURY_44

ValarMorghulis, mind sharing the pet-friendly stay which you visited?

We stayed at The Red House on the Avalanche Road. Wonderful place, but be aware that:
1. They are a strictly vegetarian place, and
2. Only Breakfast is provided

[mayukh42]

Originally Posted by lifeinpune

Dear members,

Requirements

• Reach by 1 PM. So that we can check-in, freshen up, have lunch, and spend some time sightseeing on Day 1.
• Avoid hairpin bends as much as possible
• Avoid bad roads, under construction stretches as much as possible

Questions

• If we start at 5 AM, can Ooty be reached by 1 PM through the TN route with a breakfast break of 30 minutes?
• Is the Masinagudi route more scenic than the TN Route?

We have always taken the 95 km longer TN route for Ooty, because the roads are good all the way, can keep good average speeds, and like a true BLRian we hated Mysore Road with a passion . BLR-Salem-Avinashi is 6/4 lanes, then Avinashi-Mettupalayam is good 2-lane state highway, followed by either Kothagiri-Ooty or Coonoor-Ooty, former has less traffic, latter is wider and less bends.

This route satisfies all the above requirements. It will take around 7.5-8 hours, for a distance of 440 kms including hill climb.

However, since you will not be driving yourself, the smooth "drive" may not be applicable that much, and it will add to fuel and considerably more tolls.

From the other updates, I might actually try this one now, because if Mysore takes 2.5-3 hours, that is still 1 hour better than old days. And Mysore-Gundlupet-Bandipur are well laid, though roads near TN border (Gudalur) may not be great.

TN route is scenic too in its own way - Kothagiri route offers vistas of tea gardens, and Coonoor route gives good sight of the valley with railway track. But Gudalur route with pine forests surrounding the road is also great.

OT: make sure to refill the bare minimum in TN, as fuel prices are ~ Rs. 6 higher than KA