[SNayak]

Thanks a lot NPV and Sajinsalin for your valuable suggestion. This was the exact information I was looking for and you guys were spot on.

Decided to stay at Hotel Srinivas at Chengeri as suggested by NPV as this would be the perfect place to break in considering the distance from Bangalore ( Around 300 KM and 5 Hrs drive) . They don't have any online booking however spoke to them on phone and they confirmed my booking. The charges are around 1850 including Taxes. As per my conversation with them, they have good parking space for cars and also the area is secured with CCTV and Security persons. Also 24Hrs availability of hot water and free WIFI is offered. However no Breakfast.

While coming back, opted out of the Valparai route and will be driving back straight to Bangalore. Wanted to cover this route sometime in future with some dedicated days being spent in Valaparai and with more luxury of time to visit the falls.

Thanks once again for your help and suggestions.

[dghosh80]

I have completed my Kerala trip of Munnar-Alleppey, thanks to NPV, Narayan and Suresh for all their suggestions and guidance which had helped me to chose right route to reach Munnar from Bangalore. While going, I took Bangalore-Salem-Dindigul-Batlagundu-Theni-Bodi-Munnar route. I had started from my home at around 1:30 AM on 26th morning and reached the hotel around 11:15 AM.

Overall the trip was excellent, me and my family (Consisting of wife, 4 years old son, my elder sister and her 9 years old son) completely enjoyed the scenic beauty of Munnar and Alleppey 's back water and beach. We had stayed in Chandys Windy Woods in Palliavasal and stay was good except for one incidence there which had changed my views about this hotel. We had visited Top-Station, Echo Point, Mattupetty Dam along with boating, Eravikulam national park, Rose garden, hydel park. Also, while traveling to Alleppey - we were able to see two waterfalls (One with good water and the other one very less water).

During our stay in Alleppey, we had booked Aqua Castle houseboat and we had stayed there from afternoon to next day morning. After that we went to see the beach, had good time and started for Bangalore around 1:00 PM IST. Took the route via Kochi-Palakkad-Avinashi-Salem-Hosur-Bangalore via NH544/NH44. Overall the roads are good except for few kilometers after bypassing Thrissur and till Alathur.

Few shortfalls:-

1. While traveling through ghat section approaching Munnar, my little one had vomiting tendency and I need to force stopping my vechicle so that he can vomit out. I had tried my best to keep my car completely on one side of the road so that other vehicles can pass through the other side freely. All vehicles were able to pass (Even a KSRTC bus) however one private bus hit my car's right ORVM in high speed and ran away. The impact of the hit was big enough to completely damage the ORVM.


2. My car's bonnet (parked in Chandys Windy Wood's valet parking) was damaged by unknown person with stone/coin scratches however hotel security (who sits just 20 meters away from where my car was parked), staffs were clueless about the incident. They had not offered any help to find out who did this, forget about showing empathy. They just came, saw my car and run away without even talking to me. I am really disappointed with this hotel (who charge so much money from their guests) about their ignorance towards my loss. This hotel might have agreement with local cab drivers who might have damaged my car after seeing a private vehicle. Very bad and painful experience.

Even though we all had enjoyed the trip but my car took a big hit on her. But as she is a darling member of our family, she took all the pain and brought us home safely.

Regards,
Ghosh

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by dghosh80

1. While traveling through ghat section approaching Munnar, my little one had vomiting tendency and I need to force stopping my vechicle so that he can vomit out. I had tried my best to keep my car completely on one side of the road so that other vehicles can pass through the other side freely. All vehicles were able to pass (Even a KSRTC bus) however one private bus hit my car's right ORVM in high speed and ran away. The impact of the hit was big enough to completely damage the ORVM.


2. My car's bonnet (parked in Chandys Windy Wood's valet parking) was damaged by unknown person with stone/coin scratches however hotel security (who sits just 20 meters away from where my car was parked), staffs were clueless about the incident. They had not offered any help to find out who did this, forget about showing empathy. They just came, saw my car and run away without even talking to me. I am really disappointed with this hotel (who charge so much money from their guests) about their ignorance towards my loss. This hotel might have agreement with local cab drivers who might have damaged my car after seeing a private vehicle. Very bad and painful experience.

Sorry to hear about these incidents, Private buses in Kerala are known for fast and reckless driving even in the ghats, treat yourself lucky that the damage is limited to ORVM.

Munnar get lot of private vehicles from and outside the state, I have never heard issues from the local cab drivers against the private cars (they show it against the Uber and Olas though). We have heard horror stories of private vehicles being attacked by the taxi mafia in hill-stations of the North East, I hope there is no similar trend catching up here

[dghosh80]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Sorry to hear about these incidents, Private buses in Kerala are known for fast and reckless driving even in the ghats, treat yourself lucky that the damage is limited to ORVM.

I completely agree with you that me and my family were very lucky as damage was only limited to ORVM as that spot was bit tight in terms of space and it could have hit the entire car, risking our life.

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Munnar get lot of private vehicles from and outside the state, I have never heard issues from the local cab drivers against the private cars (they show it against the Uber and Olas though). We have heard horror stories of private vehicles being attacked by the taxi mafia in hill-stations of the North East, I hope there is no similar trend catching up here

Yes, it was bit surprising for me also. Ruled out any child's play considering the damage was all around the bonnet and in some place it was hit by some hard material similar like hammer or stone as bonnet dented inside in few locations. Also as security room/chair was just placed 10/15 metres away from the location where my car was parked and hence it was hard to believe that it was not done by any insider or persons known to Security people.

[Steel_lk]

Hello Team.I am going to munnar next week from bangalore. I intend to start at 7:00 a.m. I have booked my stay in club mahindra munnar and have therefore decided to take the dindigul route and not the marayoor route. I need a clarification on which route to take, to reach club mahindra, once i cross Bodi mettu. Since i am a slow driver i will reach this place around 6:00 pm. Please suggest me which route i should take.

Route 1:-
The one marked in blue, is what google suggests. Could you let me know the road condition and if it is safe to travel by this road? It seems this is not a main road, and some kind of a short cut and hence i am worried about the road condition and safety.

Route 2:-
The one i have marked in Red. Google does not suggest this route and i drew a red line on this route manually. This route looks like a main road i.e. marked in yellow in Google maps, but is a longer route and may take 20-30 minutes more to reach the destination.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Steel_lk

Hello Team.I am going to munnar next week from bangalore. I intend to start at 7:00 a.m.

Any reasons why 7? I would suggest 4. (In fact not suggest, but dictate!)

I have booked my stay in club mahindra munnar and have therefore decided to take the dindigul route and not the marayoor route. I need a clarification on which route to take, to reach club mahindra, once i cross Bodi mettu. Since i am a slow driver i will reach this place around 6:00 pm. Please suggest me which route i should take.

I think you have to take the red route. Thats the national highway (old NH49). You have to go till Chinnakanal where you exit the highway to get to Club Mahindra.

[kala]

Originally Posted by Steel_lk

Route 1:-
The one marked in blue, is what google suggests. Could you let me know the road condition and if it is safe to travel by this road? It seems this is not a main road, and some kind of a short cut and hence i am worried about the road condition and safety.

I took this road when travelling to Suryanelli last month. It is a rather narrow road with very less traffic with odd potholes here and there, but can be easily traversed by normal sedans as well. The entry to this road (which is the second acute right turn that you will encounter after you pass Bodimettu) is easy to miss since there are no markings and it looks more like a private estate road. The first half a kilometer or so is a rather steep descent with sharp curves and the road quality is poor, so you might think twice about continuing, but the road improves considerably after that and you should reach Club Mahindra faster through this route. No safety issues really, the road isn't all that deserted and there are quite a few villages along the way.

P.S : The last time I took this road (before my trip last month) was about 15 or 20 years ago and this used to be a 4WD only territory in those days, but the condition is much better now, it is a proper tarred road all through.

Route 2:-
The one i have marked in Red. Google does not suggest this route and i drew a red line on this route manually. This route looks like a main road i.e. marked in yellow in Google maps, but is a longer route and may take 20-30 minutes more to reach the destination.

This is the National Highway, but that section is not all that wide. Not sure about the current road condition since the last time I travelled that way was a couple of years ago. Longer by about 10+ kms I think, so might take you about 10 to 15 minutes of extra driving I would think.

[Shanmd]

Originally Posted by Steel_lk

Hello Team.I am going to munnar next week from bangalore. I intend to start at 7:00 a.m. I have booked my stay in club mahindra munnar and have therefore decided to take the dindigul route and not the marayoor route. I need a clarification on which route to take, to reach club mahindra, once i cross Bodi mettu. Since i am a slow driver i will reach this place around 6:00 pm. Please suggest me which route i should take.

Route 1:-
The one marked in blue, is what google suggests. Could you let me know the road condition and if it is safe to travel by this road? It seems this is not a main road, and some kind of a short cut and hence i am worried about the road condition and safety.

Route 2:-
The one i have marked in Red. Google does not suggest this route and i drew a red line on this route manually. This route looks like a main road i.e. marked in yellow in Google maps, but is a longer route and may take 20-30 minutes more to reach the destination.

As member Kala stated, it IS a sharp turn off from the main road, and an immediate steep winding down road, some 500mts. After this, its smooth through and through. My new wanderers spinned at this point while climbing the last S-curve to the highway. Roads were good when I last took this, a year or so ago. Don't expect streetlamps till you exit it near Club Mahindra, which too is quite a steep but straight climb.
You can actually take a call once you reach this point. Get off the vehicle and just walk down the initial sharp twists.
Also, don't forget the wonderful Dindigul Biryanii, if you are not a veggie, ie.

[Steel_lk]

Originally Posted by ampere

Any reasons why 7? I would suggest 4. (In fact not suggest, but dictate!)

I normally sleep late and therefore was planning to leave at 7:00 am. I will heed to your advise and will try leaving bangalore earlier.

[Pilot77in]

Hello Friends,

I am planning a Bangalore Munnar trip this month. I checked Google maps and see two routes, one via Dindigul Theni and the other via Udumalpet Chinnar. Both seem to take the same time per Google maps despite the Dindigul route being 50 Kms longer. I assume the Dindigul route is thus faster? Those who know both routes, what do you suggest ? Which of these should I take ? I am headed to a hotel at Chithirapuram. I saw Kannan devan hills en route if I take the Udumalpet route. Does that mean it will be more scenic and pass by more of Munnar's beauty than the other route ? Of course I also want the route to be safer and roads of better quality and willing to let go off natural beauty in exchange if necessary. Let me know and thanks for your help as always ! I will be driving with my spouse and 3 year old.

[searacer932]

Originally Posted by Pilot77in

Hello Friends,

I am planning a Bangalore Munnar trip this month. I checked Google maps and see two routes, one via Dindigul Theni and the other via Udumalpet Chinnar. Both seem to take the same time per Google maps despite the Dindigul route being 50 Kms longer. I assume the Dindigul route is thus faster? Those who know both routes, what do you suggest ? Which of these should I take ? I am headed to a hotel at Chithirapuram. I saw Kannan devan hills en route if I take the Udumalpet route. Does that mean it will be more scenic and pass by more of Munnar's beauty than the other route ? Of course I also want the route to be safer and roads of better quality and willing to let go off natural beauty in exchange if necessary. Let me know and thanks for your help as always ! I will be driving with my spouse and 3 year old.

I would suggest you take both the routes to get the variety. Both are of different flavours. The chinnar route will be dry, lonely. The theni route will be green. I think Munnar might be reasonably hot now.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Pilot77in

I will be driving with my spouse and 3 year old.

Since you are travelling with a kid I suggest to take Udumalpet --> Chinnar route for uphill drive so that kid may enjoy the sanctuary and Lakkom waterfalls on the way. For return journey take the alternate route. Udumalpet - Munnar roads are good except for few bad patches.

[Pilot77in]

Thank you. I thought Munnar ranges between 15-27 degreees even in April? Agreed nothing like the colder months but still considerably less than the nearby plains which are mostly 35+.

[kala]

Originally Posted by Pilot77in

Thank you. I thought Munnar ranges between 15-27 degreees even in April? Agreed nothing like the colder months but still considerably less than the nearby plains which are mostly 35+.

It is true that Munnar is cooler than most of the surrounding plains, but the weather this year has been considerably warmer than normal, and the day temperature was around 30 when I visited in end Feb. Nights were cooler at around 18-20 degrees.

[Pilot77in]

Anyone aware of the ongoing land encroachment agitation at Munnar and if those touring have any reason to defer the trip untill after it dies down? Or is it just one of many strifes normal for Kerala and nothing to be unduly concerned?