[VinothAJ]

Any leads on when the Theni-Chinnakanal-Munnar would be up and running? They are probably targeting before the full bloom of the Kurinji but I'm planning a trip to Kolukkumalai during the Aug15 week. Wondering if the resorts on the Chinnakanal road would be accessible at all? Mountain Club, Seina Village, Club Mahindra et al.

[kala]

Originally Posted by VinothAJ

Any leads on when the Theni-Chinnakanal-Munnar would be up and running? They are probably targeting before the full bloom of the Kurinji but I'm planning a trip to Kolukkumalai during the Aug15 week. Wondering if the resorts on the Chinnakanal road would be accessible at all? Mountain Club, Seina Village, Club Mahindra et al.

Even if the Lockhart Gap work isn't complete, you could get to Suryanelli through the alternate route via Muthuvan kudi. You need to take the acute right turn a couple of kms after Bodymettu, and that road takes you to Suryanelli/ Chinnakanal. The road is a bit narrow and not very smooth, but even sedans should be able to do it comfortably.

By the way, from what I hear the current roadwork is between Chinnakanal and Munnar, so you may even be able to proceed on the NH itself till Chinnakanal junction and take a right turn there towards Suryanelli. Not 100% sure about it though since I haven't travelled that way after the roadwork started.

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by kala

Even if the Lockhart Gap work isn't complete, you could get to Suryanelli through the alternate route via Muthuvan kudi. You need to take the acute right turn a couple of kms after Bodymettu, and that road takes you to Suryanelli/ Chinnakanal. The road is a bit narrow and not very smooth, but even sedans should be able to do it comfortably.



By the way, from what I hear the current roadwork is between Chinnakanal and Munnar, so you may even be able to proceed on the NH itself till Chinnakanal junction and take a right turn there towards Suryanelli. Not 100% sure about it though since I haven't travelled that way after the roadwork started.

I had taken this Muthuvan kudi route in the past and the route can be done on a sedan comfortably. But, I would advise against taking the route after sunset.

And the NH is open till Chinnakanal anyway and hence going to resorts like CM, Sterling or Siena is not an issue. Even Chinnakanal-Munnar is open during lunch time i.e. 12.30 and 1.00 pm and generally after 5:30 pm. Alternatively, one can take left turn at Periakanal on Periakanal-Mutukad Road and reach Munnar via Bison Valley- Anachal-Cochin Road.

[VinothAJ]

Thanks a lot for clarifying that friends. So, if I stay at Siena Village and headed towards Munnar/Top Station, the route would be via Bison Valley and Chitrapuram right? Looks like a good 45 mins extra.

Will probably look at breaking the stay across 2 resorts then. One at Munnar and One at Chinnakanal.

[ankan.m.blr]

A brief description of a short holiday I enjoyed at Munnar a few weeks ago.

It was a little breather from Bangalore summer. The route I chose to drive : Bangalore Salem Avinashi Udumalpet Marayoor Munnar. Started from my home ( near Marathalli jn.) at around 12.45 AM. Next stop : Sakra hospital to get Ondem for my wife who sometimes get motion sickness. Finally departed at around 1.00 AM from there. Bangalore to Salem NH44 was a zippy drive, although faced some truck traffic on the way. Reached Salem at 3.45 AM with a quick break at Krishnagiri to prepare milk for my 2 yr son. From Salem, took NH544 to Avinashi which is in fantastic condition. Reached Avinashi before sunrise , took the left exit towards Udumalpet. This is a TN state highway, undivided, passing through many small towns and hamlets. The road is fun to drive with decent surface condition. The sun had just risen, I found myself driving through a field of windmills gently rolling their blades. Everybody else in the car was sleeping, no soul was present on the road, I scrolled down my window, slowed a bit and felt a gentle cool breeze caressing my hair. The windmills were so close to the road as if I could have touched them. Anyway, it was very early morning and I drove on as my passengers slept blissfully. Stopped a few times at forest dept check posts to register vehicle details. Crossed Annamalai tiger reserve and Chinner sanctuary (narrow roads here) and entered Kerala. Stopped for a while to munch on granola bars ( I always carry them in long drives). Found a decent tea stall called 'Zam Zam bakery' with toilet facilities, much to everybody's relief. Tea and snacks done, started again.
It is impossible to drive fast here if you enjoy being in the lap of nature like I do. Kanan Devan hills are, in a word, heavenly beautiful. Every corner I took, the hills took my breath away. Lush green tea estates all around, a few waterfalls far away and blooming jacaranda trees welcome you to Munnar. We reached the town of Munnar at 10.15AM, stopped at the roadside as we needed to withdraw money from ATM. Asked locals the way to our accommodation. It was actually 15 Km away from the town in an estate. The estate is huge ( imagine this - we had to board the estate's jeep to go to dining hall from our rooms) with its own natural fountain downhill. We explored the estate in the afternoon, enjoyed the quiet evening and retired early to our beds.
The next day we hired a local cab and visited a few places. ( Matupetti dam, a few viewpoints, tea garden, elephant safari, Kundala lake etc). Top station road was too crowded so we decided to give it a miss. The following day, we were scheduled to depart after breakfast, around 9.00 AM. But to our shock, a political group had announced sudden dawn-to-dusk statewide 'hartaal'. We decided to wait for a few hours and started our return journey at 12 noon. There was a roadblock organized at Munnar town and we were stuck there for 15 minutes. Fortunately the blockade was lifted and we continued our journey, same route which we took while arriving. After 2 hours of driving, hunger pangs started attacking all of us. Our eyes were constantly looking for any signs of a decent eatery with toilet facilities but there were none. Finally, around 3 PM we saw this restaurant 'Kick Grass' few Kms before Udumalpet. The food was tasty and fresh, I recommend this place for lunch break when one is returning from Munnar. After lunch break ( and a little relaxation),we carried on. Filled diesel from an Essar bunk enroute (first time for me from Essar). Had dinner from A2B at Shoolagiri and reached home at 11 PM.*

P.S. This tour took place a day after the TN strike due to Cauvery issue. I was very apprehensive about driving a KA regd car in TN. But thanks to the common people on both sides of the issue, nothing happened. It strengthened my belief that together, we the common people can solve all the issues if politics & politicians are kept at bay.

A few photos from the tour.

[samabhi]

Folks,

Planned a trip to Munnar and booked the stay at Dream Catcher Plantation Resort. It's near Ratnagiri on Bison Valley Road. Munnar is a further 20 KM's away. Plan is to start from Bangalore on 1st June and halt at Dindigul overnight at a friend's place. Start on 2nd morning after breakfast and reach the resort by 1 PM. Google maps is showing two routes from Dindigul. One is through Theni and the other one is through Palani. I plan to take the Theni route as I was told it's more scenic and shorter. Any suggestions?

Also plan to start back on 4th June and drive to Bangalore by the same route without any halt. Are there any better alternatives? I am comfortable driving in the night as long as it's 4 lane. Prefer to avoid Single lane highways in the night.

Appreciate your comments on this

[ravib]

Originally Posted by samabhi

Folks,

Start on 2nd morning after breakfast and reach the resort by 1 PM. Google maps is showing two routes from Dindigul. One is through Theni and the other one is through Palani. I plan to take the Theni route as I was told it's more scenic and shorter. Any suggestions?

Also plan to start back on 4th June and drive to Bangalore by the same route without any halt. Are there any better alternatives? I am comfortable driving in the night as long as it's 4 lane. Prefer to avoid Single lane highways in the night.

Go via Theni route which is more scenic. But do remember only from Bangalore to Dindigul you get excellecent 6L & 4L roads. But beyond Dindigual it is a broad undivided 2L road and almost no shoulder ghat roads once you climb up.

-Ravi

[rahulb22]

Folks,

Driving to Thekkady tomorrow. Any latest updates on the road conditions? Also, if I shart at 3 AM from Bangalore, what is a good option for breakfast after salem on the Namakkal route?

Cheers
Rahulb22

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rahulb22

Driving to Thekkady tomorrow. Any latest updates on the road conditions? Also, if I shart at 3 AM from Bangalore, what is a good option for breakfast after salem on the Namakkal route?

1. Immediately after Salem before Namakkal : Sai Annapoorna

2. After Karur before Dindigul: Valluvar

[rahulb22]

Completed a trip to Thekkady - Munnar yesterday.

Onward: 28/06/2018 [3:00 AM to 11:30 AM]
Bangalore to Thekkady [via Salem - Dindigul - Theni]
Roads are excellent throughout with only about 10 kms of ghat section.4 Lane roads till Dindigul and wide 2 lane roads from there on.

We stopped at a restaurant called Arathi about about half an hour before dindigul for breakfast. Food was quite good but rest rooms were ok. Another option is a Coffee Day about 45 mins after Salem.We wanted to try Valluvar as suggested by Ampere but it was not yet open when we passed.

We stayed at KTDC Aranya Nivas in thekkady as I wanted to stay within the wildlife reserve. It is a well maintained property with easy access to the Tekkady Boating point.


Next day drove to Munnar [via Kattapana - Adimali]
Roads are a bit on the narrow side with lot of curves but generally in good condition except for a small stretch before Kattapana town. We visited Cheruthoni Dam on the way, and I would suggest this place to all who are going towards Idukki, as the scenery is just amazing.
We stayed at The Leaf Munnar and the property was just amazing. It is in Chitirapuram and therefore a bit away from Munnar town. The next day was spent sight seeing around Munnar.

Return: 01/07/2018 [10:00 AM to 8:45 PM]
Munnar to Bangalore [via Marayoor - Udumalpet - Palladam - Avinashi - Salem]
Roads until Kerala border after Marayoor are slightly patchy but not something to worry about. But from TN border, the roads are just amazing. It is narrow 2-Lane almost until Udumalpet but awesome wide 2 Lane state highway until Avinashi where we join the Coimbatore - Salem Highway. From Salem it was a pain to drive upto Bangalore thanks to the heavy weekend traffic and endless waits at toll booths.
Took lunch break at Kick Grass, Udumalpet & Tea break at Sai Sangeet, Thoppur. Both places had good food and clean restrooms.

Average time both ways was about 10.5 Hours with couple of breaks.

Cheers
Rahulb22

[avimal]

Any update on conditions in Munnar in midst of heavy rains. I am planning to visit after 10 days.

[shivendra2111]

@Team, any update on the road conditions. I am visiting chinnakal ( stay at sterling) on aug 15 for four nights but I am concerned with heavy rainfall in ikkudi area. Is the route to sterling motorable and in good condition.

Has anyone been via that route in last few days?

[knightrider_7]

Originally Posted by shivendra2111

@Team, any update on the road conditions. I am visiting chinnakal ( stay at sterling) on aug 15 for four nights but I am concerned with heavy rainfall in ikkudi area. Is the route to sterling motorable and in good condition.

Has anyone been via that route in last few days?

Please avoid. Tourist vehicles are banned in Idukki now.

News link

[VinothAJ]

Spoke to Siena Village (Chinnakanal), where I have a booking on Sep 9. He told me "no chance", for now. No guests at hotel, roads blocked everywhere.

He also confirmed Munnar was kind of unaffected up until a couple of days back but they had to open even the Mattupetty Dam and that's caused flooding in a lot of areas. Road to Top Station is a No-No. Eravikulam is un-visitable too I guess.

He was trying to cheer me up by saying situation should be 'okay-ish' by Aug 25 but will the driving ban be lifted by then? Not really optimistic. Rubbing salt to my wounds, my leaves were approved and so my bookings are non refundable

[VinothAJ]

Friends, I would advise not to travel for the next couple of months. I managed to negotiate a full refund from Siena Village and donated that amount to the CM relief fund. I would urge everyone to do your bit. The least we can do for a state that has offered us so much.