[enygma]

Took both the routes (Bangalore - Theni - Chinnakanal & Chinnakanal - Udumalpet)for my just completed trip to Club Mahindra. Would suggest the Theni route to reach Club Mahindra. The only problem in this route is that there are tons of diversions on the Dindigul - Theni route due to road works. This would slow you down a bit. Otherwise, there are absolutely no issues till Club Mahindra. Between Club Mahindra and Munnar town, the road does get narrow at some places allowing only one vehicle to pass.

When you are about to reach Dindigul watch out for a signboard that asks you to take service lane for Palani and Kodaikanal. Stay on the service lane and dont take the first right below the flyover which goes to Palani - there are signboards here. Take the 2nd right below the flyover, there are signs for Kodaikanal and Theni only after you take this right. Before Theni, take the Theni bypass as mentioned in this thread.

As far as the Udumalpet route is concerned, it is more scenic but the potholes (which arent that bad for a sedan) and the forest checkposts would slow you down so account for that much time. Also there is a diversion when you are about to reach Udumalpet, that might be a bit confusing.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by h_man

Varun - Thanks! Dindigul seems to be a good option for the night halt. Tripadvisor shows a few good hotels/resorts.

h_man

I would suggest Karur instead of Dindigul to stay simply because you'll find good hotels in Karur pretty close to the highway, whereas Dindigul might lead you much into town and can get confusing. Karur to Dindigul hardly takes 45mins and the best part is you could just stay on the highway and exit onto Theni road.

Here is a very good recommendation in Karur -
Hotels in Karur: The Residency Group,Star hotels in Karur,Hotel in Coimbatore,Cuisine from 4 southern states,South indian restaurant,Combo lunches in bar

You can also find a few more pretty close to the highway through Google or other travel sites.

It is better to stick to SH85 if you are driving there first time as this is the standard route with fall back options when traveling with kids.

BTW that's a long drive you are taking. Happy and Safe Driving!

[h_man]

Originally Posted by luvurride

h_man

I would suggest Karur instead of Dindigul to stay simply because you'll find good hotels in Karur pretty close to the highway, whereas Dindigul might lead you much into town and can get confusing. Karur to Dindigul hardly takes 45mins and the best part is you could just stay on the highway and exit onto Theni road.

Thanks for the tip. Karur looks definitely better for the night halt. I was otherwise thinking of heading to Madurai for the night halt - also for the reason that Madurai - Theni road is better than Dindigul - Theni. Would have got to see the Meenakshi temple too (would be visiting after nearly 20 years). Might decide after calling hotels in Karur/Madurai.

Originally Posted by enygma

Took both the routes (Bangalore - Theni - Chinnakanal & Chinnakanal - Udumalpet)for my just completed trip to Club Mahindra. Would suggest the Theni route to reach Club Mahindra. The only problem in this route is that there are tons of diversions on the Dindigul - Theni route due to road works. This would slow you down a bit. Otherwise, there are absolutely no issues till Club Mahindra. Between Club Mahindra and Munnar town, the road does get narrow at some places allowing only one vehicle to pass.

I did read in earlier posts that Madurai - Theni is a better road, not sure of its condition now. Can anyone comment on Madurai-theni This will be overall longer - but not by much considering I am driving across 3 days.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by h_man

Madurai - Theni road is better than Dindigul - Theni. Would have got to see the Meenakshi temple too. Can anyone comment on Madurai-theni This will be overall longer - but not by much considering I am driving across 3 days.

I drove Dindigul-Theni in December, it was decent. As per recent post, there seem to be road works happening. But I'm sure they can be handled easily by XUV!
Unless you want to visit Meenakshi temple, I don't see a convincing reason to go through Madurai. But please be aware that you would have to divert from NH7 and drive some distance to reach Madurai city while getting in and out of the city is another pain.

[hvkumar]

Dindigul also has good hotels like the Parson's Court. If you have no need to go to Madurai, you can turn off NH7 at Dindigul and go direct to Theni.

[zensure]

Hello

I am planning to drive to Munnar on 25th April. Planning to take Bangalore -> Salem -> Perundurai -> Kangeyam -> Dharapuram -> Udumalpet -> Munnar route. I am seeking info on the following

1. Any "reliable" petrol bunks in between Munnar to Perundurai? Last time around (in 2009) had difficulty in finding good petrol bunks -- either were not confidence inspiring or bunks didn't work due to power cut! Specifically, any decent petrol bunk in Munnar?

2. Any good vegetarian hotels -- either for meal or tiffin -- between Udumalpet to Perundurai?

Thanks in advance

[NPV]

Originally Posted by zensure

1. Any "reliable" petrol bunks in between Munnar to Perundurai? Last time around (in 2009) had difficulty in finding good petrol bunks -- either were not confidence inspiring or bunks didn't work due to power cut! Specifically, any decent petrol bunk in Munnar?

2. Any good vegetarian hotels -- either for meal or tiffin -- between Udumalpet to Perundurai?

1. In Munnar town near the Tata/Kanan Devan Head office there is a Bharat Petroleum that is decent (this is just on the other side of a narrow bridge that you need to cross when going towards the sight seeing places like Matupetty Dam, etc).

2. Near Perundurai (not the town, on the NH47 highway itself) very close to the turn off for Kangeyam/Palladam on left hand side when going from Bangalore there is a vegetarian hotel called Annalakshmi. There are couple of hotels on opposite side also but you would need to make a U-turn to reach them.
Also, there are couple of good restaurants in Udumalaipet town too, we had breakfast at one of them but I can't remember the name. This was on the left hand side when driving from Pollachi and it is about 1.5Km before the right turn that goes towards Chinnar-Marayoor-Munnar.
I had posted about this on another thread, will try to find that and get you the link.
EDIT:Found it - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2575530

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by NPV

Also, there are couple of good restaurants in Udumalaipet town too, we had breakfast at one of them but I can't remember the name. This was on the left hand side when driving from Pollachi and it is about 1.5Km before the right turn that goes towards Chinnar-Marayoor-Munnar.

NPV, was it Balaji vegetarian mess by any chance? the description sounds familiar to me, even I had stopped here for lunch when I went to Munnar recently. It was pure south Indian stuff available there, but quite decent. It was one of the only vegetarian hotels we could find on that stretch. After we pass reliance petrol bunk on the right, we found this place on the left, opposite a temple.

[wasif]

Any tips on good food places in Munnar ? That place had absolutely no good food options in sight when we visited last year !

[ampere]

Originally Posted by wasif

Any tips on good food places in Munnar ? That place had absolutely no good food options in sight when we visited last year !

I have rarely seen any good restaurants. The only way I realized is to eat at the resort where we stay.
Did not find many places. Ate once in the town. DId not like the food at all.

Originally Posted by KarthikK

NPV, was it Balaji vegetarian mess by any chance? the description sounds familiar to me, even I had stopped here for lunch when I went to Munnar recently.
It was pure south Indian stuff available there, but quite decent. It was one of the only vegetarian hotels we could find on that stretch. After we pass reliance petrol bunk on the right,
we found this place on the left, opposite a temple.

Karthik. All I did was pack curd rice at Dharapuram and ate at roadside under a tree!

[NPV]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

NPV, was it Balaji vegetarian mess by any chance? the description sounds familiar to me, even I had stopped here for lunch when I went to Munnar recently. It was pure south Indian stuff available there, but quite decent. It was one of the only vegetarian hotels we could find on that stretch. After we pass reliance petrol bunk on the right, we found this place on the left, opposite a temple.

I'm unable to remember the name but I don't think it was Balaji, it was a unique name and quite uncommon !

Originally Posted by wasif

Any tips on good food places in Munnar ? That place had absolutely no good food options in sight when we visited last year !

Have tried these places during earlier visits and they were good:
1.Silver Spoon, Munnar Town
2.Saravana Bhavan, Munnar Town (Veg, South Indian)
3.SN Sujatha Inn, Munnar Town (Veg, North Indian)

[skdking]

Originally Posted by wasif

Any tips on good food places in Munnar ? That place had absolutely no good food options in sight when we visited last year !

Saravanan bhawan. Hotel Grand.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by zensure

1. Any "reliable" petrol bunks in between Munnar to Perundurai?

Perundurai has Lorry Owners Association bunk, but it is on the service road leading to Coimbatore. So you might have to do that extra km or two.
Udumalpet might also have some decent bunks in town or just when you exit town.

Originally Posted by zensure

2. Any good vegetarian hotels -- either for meal or tiffin -- between Udumalpet to Perundurai?

Udumalpet: Hotel Janakiram opposite bus stand.
Dharapuram: There are a couple of hotels opposite New bus stand on the bye-pass road.
Perudurai: Hotel Chentoor - on the road to Coimbatore before joining 4-lane. There are a couple of hotels on the 4-lane to Salem, of which I've tried the one on the other side when you drive from Perundurai and found it good. But the best in Perundurai is Jothi Bhavan at the Erode turn-off. You can't beat their coffee.

[KarthikK]

@Ampere - I like that option - packing and eating under a tree on the highway btw, does Dharapuram have any decent eateries?

Wasif, as Ampere suggests, perhaps the best choice is to eat at whichever resort you are put up. The restaurants in Munnar town are mainly simple joints serving south indian stuff, so you may not find as much variety as you like.

If you are looking for places to eat when exploring the spots around Munnar, there were 2 places I visited -

Munnar to Devikulam route (Munnar - Theni highway) - around 5-7 km from Munnar, you will find one hotel called Las Palmas. The restaurant there was quite good and service too was very prompt. When I was exploring places on the Devikulam route, I stopped for lunch here with parents. The chinese stuff that we tried here was decent fare, even the north indian stuff.

Also, there is a small resort called Olive brook near Munnar town on the Munnar-Cochin highway (around 2-3km from the town). They serve amazing, delicious food too - I tried continental cuisine here and everything they served was good. You may have to call them up and reserve your meals before going. Both Olive brook and Las Palmas have decent car parking space too.

[Sunney]

Bangalore to Munnar: Yet another scenic route is: Bangalore-Salem- Avinasi- Pollachi- Udumalpet: till here great roads. From Udumalpet-Marayur-Munnar section is no highways, but very scenic, possibly can see many wildlife too.