Bangalore-Ooty-Munnar route and other information

jack33 · 13th January 2009, 19:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by ash_blore

Also do you think its ok to take the civic with the low ground clearance? I hope it doesnt cause any problems.

There is no problem in taking a civic through the above routes.Also for the first day, you can consider staying at Marayoor ,which is famous for sandalwood forests. (Chandana residency-04865252222).For hotels in munnar town you can try Munnar INN (04865230736) and also the newly built C7(232124) has very good rooms.

kannan666 · 11th February 2009, 10:54

Hi,

I too am planning a trip to Ooty beginning next month. Can any of the members here update me on the current road condition from Gudalur to Ooty please ? The last time I went there in 2007 February, the roads were pathetic and the 50km stretch took me close to two hours in my Esteem. No thinking of the Masinigudi route as I plan to take my Omni this time round. Any suggestions ?

akroy · 11th February 2009, 11:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by kannan666

Hi,

I too am planning a trip to Ooty beginning next month. Can any of the members here update me on the current road condition from Gudalur to Ooty please ? The last time I went there in 2007 February, the roads were pathetic and the 50km stretch took me close to two hours in my Esteem. No thinking of the Masinigudi route as I plan to take my Omni this time round. Any suggestions ?

Gudalur route is freshly laid and is great now.

Abhi

Jammy70 · 11th February 2009, 11:56

Addendum to akroy's comment: (I was on this route till Gudalur 10 days back)

The Gundulpet-Bandipur stretch is really bad and the 15-odd km will take you close to 45 minutes (maybe more in the Omni). Bandipur to KTK border is absolutely fine. From the TN border to Gudalur, they have recently relaid the surface, BUT to slow you down, there are these sudden dips/cuts every 200 meters or so which appear without any warning; look out for these.

cheers,

kannan666 · 11th February 2009, 17:13

Thanks guys, guess I will take the longer route through Gudalur after all ! Am still trying to decide whether to take the Omni (MPFI 2007) or my Esteem (Carb 1996), will post details after the trip !

kaushik_s · 11th February 2009, 20:33

Take the Gudalur road as scenically it's much better than Masinagudi route(personal choice again) and as the road is freshly laid it adds to the charm. BTW, the road inside Mudumalai was also broken in few stretches, has that also been repaired now?

arindamray · 11th February 2009, 22:14

You can't beat the thrill of covering those 36 hairpin bends one after another. Scenary, IMHO, is similar in both the routes. In Masinagudi road you can drive more peacefully as there are no buses in that road. I would suggest go up in Masinagudi route and come back via Gudalur.

kannan666 · 12th February 2009, 10:25

Have been on the Masinigudi route on my RX 100 way back in 2001, not too sure if the Omni can handle the hairpin bends, it being top heavy with a higher centre of gravity as well as it being a RWD, what do you guys out here think ?

pypkmsrikanth · 12th February 2009, 12:04

Depends on the number of people travelling in my opinion, it could be more a case of struggling to climb rather than unable to climb if the number of people are more. What you could do is climb up via Gudalur and come back via Masinagudi that way you get best of both worlds. I did read that the Masinagudi way has been made oneway not sure if its on the up or down

kannan666 · 12th February 2009, 12:26

Will be travelling with wife and kid (4yrs) only and a little bit of luggage. Yes, suggestion of going up via Gudalur and coming down via Masinagudi sounds good too........

And what is that about the Masinigudi route being made oneway ? As far as I know, it is closed at 6pm and reopens at 6am.

Jammy70 · 12th February 2009, 14:37

If I am not mistaken, the one-way applies while going down (ie, you can't take the route while going down). I took the Masinagudi route in May'08 and on our return, a cop stopped us from taking this route; it's another matter he let us through after a 'chai-paani fund' was created!

I understand now it has become more stringent. Better if you could check with someone in Ooty.

Regarding scenery, my personal preference is the Gudalur route which offers numerous photo op's.

Cheers,

kannan666 · 12th February 2009, 15:45

'chai-paani fund' - good one !

Maybe other users can help me with the Masinigudi one way stuff !

akroy · 12th February 2009, 17:14

As Jammy suggested, take the Masinagudi route while going and come down via Gudalur route. By doing this you can cover both the scenic routes plus Pykara lake (via Gudalur side).

Abhi

arindamray · 12th February 2009, 17:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by kannan666

Have been on the Masinigudi route on my RX 100 way back in 2001, not too sure if the Omni can handle the hairpin bends, it being top heavy with a higher centre of gravity as well as it being a RWD, what do you guys out here think ?

Omni is an excellent hill vehicle. From my experience, I have seen most of the taxis operating in North Bengal from NJP/Siliguri to Darjeeling / Kalimpong / Gangtok are Omnies.

ravibhat · 12th February 2009, 17:26

Both the routes are in good condition, While climbing take Masinagudi route while coming back take via Gudalur route from Ooty. Leave Ooty around 8AM so you can cover Pyakara Lake on the way. Also you get lot of photo opportunity every 15 minutes. We clicked at least 300+ photos from our 3 cameras in that stretch.

Masinagudi route needs lot of 1st and 2nd gear in most of the hair pin curve.

Ravi.

11th February 2009, 10:54	#32
kannan666 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: KA-02 Posts: 1,002 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	Bangalore to Ooty via Gudalur Hi, I too am planning a trip to Ooty beginning next month. Can any of the members here update me on the current road condition from Gudalur to Ooty please ? The last time I went there in 2007 February, the roads were pathetic and the 50km stretch took me close to two hours in my Esteem. No thinking of the Masinigudi route as I plan to take my Omni this time round. Any suggestions ?
	() Thanks

11th February 2009, 11:56	#34
Jammy70 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 164 Thanked: 144 Times	Addendum to akroy's comment: (I was on this route till Gudalur 10 days back) The Gundulpet-Bandipur stretch is really bad and the 15-odd km will take you close to 45 minutes (maybe more in the Omni). Bandipur to KTK border is absolutely fine. From the TN border to Gudalur, they have recently relaid the surface, BUT to slow you down, there are these sudden dips/cuts every 200 meters or so which appear without any warning; look out for these. cheers,
	() Thanks

11th February 2009, 17:13	#35
kannan666 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: KA-02 Posts: 1,002 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	Thanks guys, guess I will take the longer route through Gudalur after all ! Am still trying to decide whether to take the Omni (MPFI 2007) or my Esteem (Carb 1996), will post details after the trip !
	() Thanks

11th February 2009, 20:33	#36
kaushik_s Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,088 Thanked: 164 Times View My Garage	Take the Gudalur road as scenically it's much better than Masinagudi route(personal choice again) and as the road is freshly laid it adds to the charm. BTW, the road inside Mudumalai was also broken in few stretches, has that also been repaired now? Last edited by kaushik_s : 11th February 2009 at 20:34.
	() Thanks

11th February 2009, 22:14	#37
arindamray BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 750 Thanked: 91 Times	You can't beat the thrill of covering those 36 hairpin bends one after another. Scenary, IMHO, is similar in both the routes. In Masinagudi road you can drive more peacefully as there are no buses in that road. I would suggest go up in Masinagudi route and come back via Gudalur.
	() Thanks

12th February 2009, 10:25	#38
kannan666 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: KA-02 Posts: 1,002 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	Have been on the Masinigudi route on my RX 100 way back in 2001, not too sure if the Omni can handle the hairpin bends, it being top heavy with a higher centre of gravity as well as it being a RWD, what do you guys out here think ?
	() Thanks

12th February 2009, 12:04	#39
pypkmsrikanth Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,124 Thanked: 283 Times View My Garage	Depends on the number of people travelling in my opinion, it could be more a case of struggling to climb rather than unable to climb if the number of people are more. What you could do is climb up via Gudalur and come back via Masinagudi that way you get best of both worlds. I did read that the Masinagudi way has been made oneway not sure if its on the up or down
	() Thanks

12th February 2009, 12:26	#40
kannan666 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: KA-02 Posts: 1,002 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	Will be travelling with wife and kid (4yrs) only and a little bit of luggage. Yes, suggestion of going up via Gudalur and coming down via Masinagudi sounds good too........ And what is that about the Masinigudi route being made oneway ? As far as I know, it is closed at 6pm and reopens at 6am.
	() Thanks

12th February 2009, 14:37	#41
Jammy70 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 164 Thanked: 144 Times	If I am not mistaken, the one-way applies while going down (ie, you can't take the route while going down). I took the Masinagudi route in May'08 and on our return, a cop stopped us from taking this route; it's another matter he let us through after a 'chai-paani fund' was created! I understand now it has become more stringent. Better if you could check with someone in Ooty. Regarding scenery, my personal preference is the Gudalur route which offers numerous photo op's. Cheers,
	() Thanks

12th February 2009, 15:45	#42
kannan666 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: KA-02 Posts: 1,002 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	'chai-paani fund' - good one ! Maybe other users can help me with the Masinigudi one way stuff !
	() Thanks

12th February 2009, 17:14	#43
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,423 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	As Jammy suggested, take the Masinagudi route while going and come down via Gudalur route. By doing this you can cover both the scenic routes plus Pykara lake (via Gudalur side). Abhi
	() Thanks

12th February 2009, 17:26	#45
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	Both the routes are in good condition, While climbing take Masinagudi route while coming back take via Gudalur route from Ooty. Leave Ooty around 8AM so you can cover Pyakara Lake on the way. Also you get lot of photo opportunity every 15 minutes. We clicked at least 300+ photos from our 3 cameras in that stretch. Masinagudi route needs lot of 1st and 2nd gear in most of the hair pin curve. Ravi.
	() Thanks