[iamnarayang]

Originally Posted by unleash_thunder

Dear All,

a) Best route to Munnar from Bengaluru; the route via Theni seems to be good overall owing to the road conditions.
b) Would packing light woolens suffice?
c) Is the ghat section steep as compared to the 36- hair pin bend route to Ooty? Have driven to Ooty via Gudalur and returned via Masinagudi.
d) Would be accompanied by my parents, wife and brother. Hopefully with full load my Punto 1.2 will be able to climb the ghat section without fuss. Any pre-cautions which i need to exercise?
e) Breakfast options enroute as i am planning to start by 3:30-4 am from HSR Layout in Bengaluru.

Thanks a lot for your help in advance.

I went to Munnar on October 24th, taking the Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Dindigul, Theni route. Left BTM Layout at 5 in the morning and checked in at Club Mahendra Munnar at 1:45 PM. This included a breakfast trip at Salem Saravana Bhavan and couple of coffee stops after that. The road is very good till Vathalagundu, which is after Dindigul bypass. Roadwork is going on at Periyakulam. So expect some delay there. On the way back, left Munnar at 1:00 PM on October 26th. Was at salem at around 7:00 PM. Salem had huge traffic jam and I took around 30 minutes to just pass Salem by pass. Reached BTM at 11:00 PM, after couple of coffee stops, lunch and dinner stops.

Munnar was cold. It is better to take warm clothing. Night temperature was around 12 C.

Ghat section till Tamil nadu border post is wide and good. Once you cross the border to kerala, the road gets narrow, but clean without too many potholes. So exercise caution while driving in that section.

[unleash_thunder]

Originally Posted by iamnarayang

Ghat section till Tamil nadu border post is wide and good. Once you cross the border to kerala, the road gets narrow, but clean without too many potholes. So exercise caution while driving in that section.

Just wanted to check if the ghat section is steep as it is in Masinagudi route to Ooty. Since, i am a sedate driver, i usually drive in the band 80-90 kmph on highways and 30-40 kmph in the ghat section. I believe with my sedate driving and a couple of pit stops, i will be able to reach Munnar by 4 pm, given an early start of 3:30-4 AM.

[Landkruzer]

Originally Posted by iamnarayang

Roadwork is going on at Periyakulam. So expect some delay there.

I took the Vaigai dam road, bypassing the periyakulam town. The road is in good condition. This is the default route shown by google maps.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by unleash_thunder

Just wanted to check if the ghat section is steep as it is in Masinagudi route to Ooty. Since, i am a sedate driver, i usually drive in the band 80-90 kmph on highways and 30-40 kmph in the ghat section. I believe with my sedate driving and a couple of pit stops, i will be able to reach Munnar by 4 pm, given an early start of 3:30-4 AM.

The ghat is not steep as Masinagudi, but winding and narrow at many places. There are few stretches in the Theni route where only one heavy vehicle can pass. Obviously you'll need to back up considering it is a heavy vehicle oncoming as it cannot reverse easily. You can search for the Munnar travelogues here which'll carry pictures of the roads.

And...your ghat section timings are probably universal(rather Indian) average!


Leaving at 3:30, Salem will be too early for breakfast. You could try Namakkal(there is a hotel Raja right at the tool booth) or Karur. Shivamuruga at Karur is good, however, this comes right at the Karur exit roundabout on the other side of the road. There are a couple of hotels just when you exit Karur(Approva, Vybhav) as well but haven't tried them personally. Hotel Valluvan is good which comes about 25km past Karur on the right side, if you can hold on to your hunger pangs that long!

[iamnarayang]

Originally Posted by unleash_thunder

Just wanted to check if the ghat section is steep as it is in Masinagudi route to Ooty. Since, i am a sedate driver, i usually drive in the band 80-90 kmph on highways and 30-40 kmph in the ghat section. I believe with my sedate driving and a couple of pit stops, i will be able to reach Munnar by 4 pm, given an early start of 3:30-4 AM.

The road is certainly steep in some places. Munnar is about 1600 Meters above sea level. You should be able to reach your destination by 4, even with sedate driving in the ghat section.

Originally Posted by Landkruzer

I took the Vaigai dam road, bypassing the periyakulam town. The road is in good condition. This is the default route shown by google maps.

On the way back from Munnar, I missed the Vaigai dam road, and paid the price for it by getting delayed at Periyakulam and Theni traffic.



Theni Munnar Road

[unleash_thunder]

Originally Posted by iamnarayang

The road is certainly steep in some places. Munnar is about 1600 Meters above sea level. You should be able to reach your destination by 4, even with sedate driving in the ghat section.



On the way back from Munnar, I missed the Vaigai dam road, and paid the price for it by getting delayed at Periyakulam and Theni traffic.

Attachment 1433273

Theni Munnar Road

Finally the accommodation has been booked at Deepwoods Plantation in Munnar. The options in Chinnakanal were really expensive and out of the budget. Consequently, have decided to take the Theni route to Munnar for a relatively stress free driving owing to less traffic as suggested by many BHPians on this thread. Will decide on the return journey later; will probably try the Udumalapet option. Hopefully, Punto will be able to climb ghats with relative ease despite being fully loaded. Have already ordered a three socket car charger splitter (WAGAN brand, ordered from Amazon.com) to run the dash-cam and MMI GPS side by side during the journey. Would also be buying a hydraulic jack to save sometime in changing the tyre incase it is punctured.

[gurminder_81]

Anyone recently visited Munnar or nearby areas on the Bangalore-Munnar route? I have an upcoming trip to Munnar next week and is worried about road conditions after the recent Tamil Nadu floods and the torrential rains in Kerala, TN and elsewhere.

[razeetg]

I did Munnar - Bangalore this Monday. The roads are mostly good. The stretch from Marayoor to Udumelpet through reserved forest is a little narrow and has a few potholes. Have to be a bit careful there. But apart from that, the route is good. After Udumalpet, took Palladam, Avinashi route.

[Rohan24]

Did Bangalore-Munnar and back last week. Took the Dindigul-Theni route for the onward journey. Road is good all the way, albeit a bit narrow at some points. Traffic till Poopara is minimal and the hairpins can be tackled easily. The route turned out to be a nightmare for us, as after Poopara, we encountered a lot of traffic and a jam at the gap road view point - took us a good 2 hours for the 30 odd kms! It was the 25th, so must've been holiday traffic going to Thekkady.
Took the Marayoor-Udumalpet route on the way back on 28th. Conditions aren't as good as the Theni route, with quite a few pothole-ridden stretches - especially in the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary. Udumalpet to Avinashi, road is good.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Rohan24

Udumalpet to Avinashi, road is good.

When was this ? The first 5-6Km of the road from udumalpet town towards Chinnar forest check post had some pipe laying work in progress and was pathetic, we got stuck in a jam created due to the ongoing work on 26th Dec
Other than this stretch, roads were good towards Pollachi, Avinashi, etc

[Rohan24]

This was on 28th. Yes, in Udumalpet, there is some work going on, and the road is reduced to a single-lane. Sorry, had forgotten that. Probably because there wasn't much traffic that day, and we crossed the town without any delays.
Moreover, the roads in Palladam are also in a bad state, now that I think of it.

[nma83]

Hi,
I am planning a Bengalooru-Munnar trip next month. Queries:
- what is a good circuit around Munnar (2-3 days), drivable in a Rapid
- does it make sense to cover Valparai as a 2nd leg
- what is a good route from Munnar to Valparai
Hope the weather is suitable during March.

Thanks!
NMA

[NPV]

Originally Posted by nma83

Hi,
I am planning a Bengalooru-Munnar trip next month.
...
- what is a good circuit around Munnar (2-3 days), drivable in a Rapid

If 3 days is all you have you need that for just Bangalore-munnar-bangalore.
If you have 2 more days you can consider going to Valparai or you can consider Pollachi and surroundings like Parambikulam.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by nma83

Hi,
I am planning a Bengalooru-Munnar trip next month. Queries:
- what is a good circuit around Munnar (2-3 days), drivable in a Rapid

May be Thekkady can be thought of when you are visiting Munnar as it is about 100 odd kms from Munnar.

[nma83]

Originally Posted by NPV

If 3 days is all you have you need that for just Bangalore-munnar-bangalore.
If you have 2 more days you can consider going to Valparai or you can consider Pollachi and surroundings like Parambikulam.

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

May be Thekkady can be thought of when you are visiting Munnar as it is about 100 odd kms from Munnar.

@NPV, 3 days is reserved for Munnar. A couple of more days for Valparai if route is doable.
Is this a good route w.r.t road conditions and is the time predicted by maps (4.5hrs) practical?
https://goo.gl/maps/WbPkswB71br

@suresh_gs, thekkady got bad reviews from a few people who have visited before. Any other options?