[Shiv_1984]

Originally Posted by ampere

Here you go Route Link


- Go through Dindigul bypass
- Drive towards Madurai
- About 10-15 km down you would see Kodai road exit.
- Take this exit and from here drive to Batlagundu.
- At Batlagundu take the regular NH to Theni.
- The NH I am told is better off now. But by going Kodai road, you still have avoided half the problem.
- At Theni do go into the town, but take the bypass and reach teh other end of the town and then exit to Bodi.

Amp Sir, that will help me too. Thanks but now i am into a royal dilemma. The temp in Munnar says to be hogging around 30 deg.
As i said above, i am panning to visit Munnar in March 2nd week. Do you think that would make sense considering the onset of summer ?

T

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Shiv_1984

Amp Sir, that will help me too. Thanks but now i am into a royal dilemma. The temp in Munnar says to be hogging around 30 deg.
As i said above, i am panning to visit Munnar in March 2nd week. Do you think that would make sense considering the onset of summer ?

Shiv, It would be warm, but I dont think it would be hot.
March should still be good. But I still maintain that the best time to visit is Dec first week ! (Not to close to X-mas and Diwali but right in between !)

[Shiv_1984]

Originally Posted by ampere

Shiv, It would be warm, but I dont think it would be hot.
March should still be good. But I still maintain that the best time to visit is Dec first week ! (Not to close to X-mas and Diwali but right in between !)

Thank You. Do you advice an alternative which can be equally good? We have lots of places around and that gets me confused.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Shiv_1984

Thank You. Do you advice an alternative which can be equally good? We have lots of places around and that gets me confused.

Munnar isnt going to be hot in March.The days, in any hill station in South India,are going to be moderately warm as sun rays are going to be harsher.From around 4pm the temperature begins to drop.You could go to Ooty,Kodaikanal,Valparai if Munnar doesnt fit into your scheme of things.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Shiv_1984

Thank You. Do you advice an alternative which can be equally good? We have lots of places around and that gets me confused.

The ever green place ! How about Ooty ?::
Before you say I have seen it may times, you can get to one of these bungalows outside the city and be holed out there itself without going anywhere!

Here is a place for example:

http://www.littlearth.in/destiny/

[Shiv_1984]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Munnar isnt going to be hot in March.The days, in any hill station in South India,are going to be moderately warm as sun rays are going to be harsher.From around 4pm the temperature begins to drop.You could go to Ooty,Kodaikanal,Valparai if Munnar doesnt fit into your scheme of things.

Originally Posted by ampere

The ever green place ! How about Ooty ?::
Before you say I have seen it may times, you can get to one of these bungalows outside the city and be holed out there itself without going anywhere!

Here is a place for example:

http://www.littlearth.in/destiny/

Thank You Gentlemen. Will have a word with my wife today and hope i would be at a decision by this weekend. Thanks again!!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by odyssey045

NPV, I am not very clear about the route after dindugul that you mentioned. I was checking the google maps for this and is the kodai road route that you mentioned via vadipatti, usulampatti, andipatti?

Originally Posted by Shiv_1984

Thank You Gentlemen. Will have a word with my wife today and hope i would be at a decision by this weekend. Thanks again!!

Guys do note that Vatlagundu-Theni-Bodi stretch is very good. Check the following TL. So at least you dont need to take any diversions for Batlagundu-Theni.
Now I dont know about any updates on Dindigul-Theni section. For that the Kodai Road alternative should be good.


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...odaikanal.html

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by odyssey045

The dindugal - theni - bodi route sounds good since the roads are surely good till dindugul. I am concerned about the dindugul - theni - bodi stretch..

NPV, I am not very clear about the route after dindugul that you mentioned. I was checking the google maps for this and is the kodai road route that you mentioned via vadipatti, usulampatti, andipatti?

This is the route:

http://goo.gl/maps/CgrYW

Keep on NH7 till you reach the Kodai Road toll.After the toll do not take the flyover,go beside it and take a right under the flyover and continue towards Vathalakundu.Should take you around 30-45mins to cover the distance between Kodai Road and V'kundu

[paulprv]

Hi.
Bangalore to Munnar, if you want to go via Salem there are 2 ways.
1. Bangalore - Salem - Theni - Munnar
2. Bangalore - Salem - Perundurai (its on Salem Coimbatore NH) - Tiruppur - Udumalaipet - Munnar

Route 1 is a kind of standard route, From Namakkal you have only 2 lane roads.

Route 2 if you want to take, follow the road from Salem to Coimbatore till you come to the Perundurai turning. Instead of going into Perundurai, continue till the next toll gate. About quarter km after the toll, there is a service lane that goes off the road with a small board to Uthukuli. It is the first turnoff to the left after the toll and it is pretty close to the toll, so keep an eye and go slow. Take the service lane alongside the highway (there is a little road that goes perpendicular, don't take it), till you come to an underpass on the right and a road going left. Take the left to go to Uthukuli > Tiruppur.

In Tiruppur, as you enter there is a 1-way. Take left, go to the dead end, take right, follow the road and turn left to go on the SECOND bridge. After that follow the road as it goes, at the next signal go Straight. The road leads to Palladam. At Palladam follow the sign boards to Udumalai.

Road condition this way: Till the toll 4 lane. From the turnoff, 2 lane but decent road. A bit winding, but the roads are decent and traffic is quite low. You can maintain 80-100 most of the way. Try to avoid Tiruppur Palladam at peak traffic time (the 20 km can take you close to an hour if you get stuck).
The last time I drove Udumalaipet to Munnar the road was not too great, but we got to see some beautiful wild elephants. We had 1 herd in front of us and one herd behind! Believe me - they are absolutely fabulous! We stopped and put off the engine and waited almost 20 min for them to cross.

A tip if you meet wild elephants: dont honk. Just stop, turn off the engine, especially if you drive a diesel, get your camera out and click away. They are well-fed and majestic fellows, not like the circus elephants.

Place to stay in Munnar:
There is a bakery called Indian Bakery right in the center of Munnar. Ask anyone there and they will show you. The owner is Saju Verghese (9447030465) who has a guest house. Rates are pretty decent - around 1000 for a double bed and 3000 or so for a 2 bedroom cottage. If you are going as family take the cottage, the view is fabulous. They have parking space and theres a restaurant just down the road that offers cheap and excellent food. The room boys will get the food for you if you ask for it.
You are unlikely to get decent accommodation for less than this price bracket in Munnar. This place is about 1.5 km form the town center, in the 'colony' area. In the town, prices will be 2-3 times higher.

Things not to miss:
There is a tea museum where they give you a guided tour of the tea making process. Very informative.
In the Munnar Market, there is a tea trader Abbas & co. Tiy get the best variety of teas there and the prices are also very competitive. I personally like the Kolukkumalai tea. Especially the Green teas there are very cheap so if you are a health freak, get yourself a good load of it.
If you want to go to the Nilgiri Tahr place, you will have to start early. I dont know if they will allow you at this time of year as it is breeding season. Saju should give you whatever information you need.

Since its your anniversary, there is a place opposite to Indian bakery where you get some pretty nice food. Cant remember the name of the place but it is a rooftop kind of restaurant and the food was good.

Have fun

[NPV]

Originally Posted by paulprv

Hi.
Bangalore to Munnar, if you want to go via Salem there are 2 ways.
1. Bangalore - Salem - Theni - Munnar
2. Bangalore - Salem - Perundurai (its on Salem Coimbatore NH) - Tiruppur - Udumalaipet - Munnar

Route 1 is a kind of standard route, From Namakkal you have only 2 lane roads.

Route 1 via Namakkal - Karur - Dindigul is on NH7 which is 4 laned all the way upto Kanyakumari (except for a small stretch near Madurai which is delayed due to a railway bridge there). Not sure if you meant this route as the one which is 2 laned. 2 lane undivided road starts only when you take the turn off at Dindigul for Batlagundu, this also is presently being widened.

For Route 2 you need not go to Tiruppur at all, in fact given the traffic mess in Tiruppur town it may be a good idea to avoid it.
After one takes the turn off from NH47 to Perundurai one can go to Munnar via Kangeyam-Dharapuram-Udumalaipettai-Marayoor-Munnar.

[paulprv]

Originally Posted by NPV

Route 1 via Namakkal - Karur - Dindigul is on NH7 which is 4 laned all the way upto Kanyakumari (except for a small stretch near Madurai which is delayed due to a railway bridge there). Not sure if you meant this route as the one which is 2 laned. 2 lane undivided road starts only when you take the turn off at Dindigul for Batlagundu, this also is presently being widened.

For Route 2 you need not go to Tiruppur at all, in fact given the traffic mess in Tiruppur town it may be a good idea to avoid it.
After one takes the turn off from NH47 to Perundurai one can go to Munnar via Kangeyam-Dharapuram-Udumalaipettai-Marayoor-Munnar.

Right. I meant Dindugul - Batlagundu that is 2 lane. And of course the road up the hills is also 2 lane. Actually this route is the Cochin Madurai NH. Though the road is a bit narrow, the surface is not too bad. The marayoor route roads had a lousy surface and there were quite a few potholes the last time i drove that way.

I preferred the Tiruppur rout because the roads are a little better and little wider than Kamgeyam - Dharapuram. I agree the traffic in Tiruppur is a mess especially in peak time. I usually take that route to Pothanur since I dont like the Avinasi Coimbatore stretch (Uthukuli - Tiruppur - Palladam - Chettipalayam - Pothanur).

[sahilsharma208]

I am planning to do Night Drive to Munnar from Bangalore this coming weekend. Planning to start by 9 PM from Bangalore so that i can reach early morning(lack of time so saving the day light). Please suggest if the Salem route is safe for night drive? Also, i am suspecting that there might be some timings to enter the Ghat section and the forest area any idea about that?

Also, if anyone can suggest me the safest alternate way to travel in the night?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by sahilsharma208

I am planning to do Night Drive to Munnar from Bangalore this coming weekend. Planning to start by 9 PM from Bangalore so that i can reach early morning(lack of time so saving the day light). Please suggest if the Salem route is safe for night drive? Also, i am suspecting that there might be some timings to enter the Ghat section and the forest area any idea about that?

Also, if anyone can suggest me the safest alternate way to travel in the night?

If you go via Udumalaipet, there are Check Posts in both TN & KL (Chinnar WLS), but no restrictions. However, be careful, there will be plenty of wild life movements between TN CP and Marayoor.

If you take the Theni-Bodimedu route, there are no restrictions too, you may see wildlife too till Poopara.

[sahilsharma208]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

If you go via Udumalaipet, there are Check Posts in both TN & KL (Chinnar WLS), but no restrictions. However, be careful, there will be plenty of wild life movements between TN CP and Marayoor.

If you take the Theni-Bodimedu route, there are no restrictions too, you may see wildlife too till Poopara.

Thanks for the update. As i will be starting from Bangalore at around 9-10 PM so will only reach that area early in the morning so i hope it should be fine right? Have you tried Udumalaipet route early in the morning or night recently?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by sahilsharma208

Thanks for the update. As i will be starting from Bangalore at around 9-10 PM so will only reach that area early in the morning so i hope it should be fine right? Have you tried Udumalaipet route early in the morning or night recently?

Early morning is the time when there are normally maximum animal movements. You have to take care, cannot avoid crossing-free time on this road.

Leaving at 10 pm from Bangalore, you can cross Salem by 1-2 am, reach Udumalaipet by 4-5 am & be crossing the forest area before 7 am.