[girishglg]

Originally Posted by srvm

girishglg, I see that you are keen on figuring out the best route from Coimbatore to Chinnakanal.

Yes this is correct its the next leg Coimbatore to Chinnakanal which I was looking to get a feedback.

For the Bangalore - Coimbatore route looking at the usual highway via Salem- Erode- Tiruppur hoping that the overall road condition is good after we get off the Golden Quadrilateral.

Originally Posted by meetbadri

I have traveled in this route just about a month back while returning from Chinnakanal. This route has less traffic but there are no issues with respect to safety if you are travelling during day time.

This is great first hand feedback of this route and gives me a reassurance to try it. Just checking if it would take all of 5.30 mins as shown in google maps or if we could clip the distance quicker.

[meetbadri]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Just checking if it would take all of 5.30 mins as shown in google maps or if we could clip the distance quicker.

Coimbatore to Udumalpet is a very nice road to drive with less to nil traffic and post Udumalpet until you cross Chinar Wildlife Sanctuary roads are nice but be careful with the speed breakers. As far as the road conditions are concerned post Marayoor, it would easily take up to Chinnakanal 6 hours

[NPV]

Originally Posted by girishglg

For the Bangalore - Coimbatore route looking at the usual highway via Salem- Erode- Tiruppur hoping that the overall road condition is good after we get off the Golden Quadrilateral.

Stick to the this route for Bangalore-Coimbatore, all others like Kanakapura, etc will eventually be slower and tire you out. With early starts, this leg can be done in 5 hours easily (between Attibele and L&T Coimbatore bypass, add another 1 hour to cover the distances inside Bangalore and Coimbatore city limits).
I don't know of any bad stretches after you get off the GQ if you meant inside Coimbatore city ? Where are you heading to in the city ?

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by meetbadri

As far as the road conditions are concerned post Marayoor, it would easily take up to Chinnakanal 6 hours

What I understand from this line, overall stretch from Coimbatore to Chinnnakanal will take 6 hours right (and not Marayoor - Chinnakanal).

Originally Posted by NPV

I don't know of any bad stretches after you get off the GQ if you meant inside Coimbatore city ? Where are you heading to in the city ?

Leaving early morning by 5AM. I guessed Coimbatore is off GQ after Salem hence checked for the road condition. Halting at Gandhipuram in Coimbatore tomorrow night. Doing some sightseeing like GEEDEE car museum (petrolhead in me) and Adiyogi etc

[meetbadri]

Originally Posted by girishglg

What I understand from this line, overall stretch from Coimbatore to Chinnnakanal will take 6 hours right (and not Marayoor - Chinnakanal).

Yes, that's right. The time I mentioned is just for driving with couple of breaks in between for food. This time does not contain the breaks which you might end up taking to watch the waterfalls, Sandalwood Plantations and Panoramic views of Munnar Tea plantations.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Leaving early morning by 5AM. I guessed Coimbatore is off GQ after Salem hence checked for the road condition. Halting at Gandhipuram in Coimbatore tomorrow night. Doing some sightseeing like GEEDEE car museum (petrolhead in me) and Adiyogi etc

In fact the NH47/544 beyond Salem upto Coimbatore is superb and parts of it even better than the GQ portion of NH 7/44 going towards Kanyakumari, it will be a very fast drive unless it's a peak holiday weekend.
To get to Isha Foundation you can continue on L&T Coimbatore bypass and turn off almost just before the last toll plaza. However, to get to Gandhipuram, you can take the first entry into Coimbatore (Avinashi road) and avoid the L&T bypass. Decide based on where you're heading to first.

[ramanan.skr]

Which route is better in terms of road conditions? Theni/Bodi or Udumalpet? I will be travelling from Chennai.

[meetbadri]

Originally Posted by ramanan.skr

Which route is better in terms of road conditions? Theni/Bodi or Udumalpet? I will be travelling from Chennai.

It all depends on where you are staying. Both the roads after crossing Kerala TamilNadu border deteriorates.

By my drive experience in these route couple of months back, I would prefer to drive via Theni to Munnar.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ramanan.skr

Which route is better in terms of road conditions? Theni/Bodi or Udumalpet? I will be travelling from Chennai.

If you are driving down from south Chennai via GST, Trichy-Dindigul-Theni-Bodi might be the easier one. This is even better if you plan to stay in Chinnakanal rather than Munnar.

[girishglg]

Finally able to post my updates on the route taken-

Originally Posted by NPV

In fact the NH47/544 beyond Salem upto Coimbatore is superb and parts of it even better than the GQ portion of NH 7/44 going towards Kanyakumari, it will be a very fast drive unless it's a peak holiday weekend.

Bangalore to Coimbatore was a breeze taking the usual route via Salem as NPV said.
Next day for Coimbatore to Chinnnakanal (via Marayoor) was quite good till Munnar town (took about 5 hours till Munnar) and yes completely agree to what Badri said, the scenic beauty is just heavenly, beats any foreign land by far.

Originally Posted by meetbadri

This time does not contain the breaks which you might end up taking to watch the waterfalls, Sandalwood Plantations and Panoramic views of Munnar Tea plantations.

This is a good route if someone is doing just upto Munnar. However from Munnar - Chinnakanal is the challenging part since the highway to Kumily is under complete renovation and is also cutoff at point about 5kms from Chinnakanal.

However I did take this route know this hard stop and even though discouraged by locals and resort guys for the steep roads which took nearly 3 hours (Option 1 - Munnar - Devikulam - Gap road - Great escape resort road - Muttukad - St.Jacobite - Periyakanal - Chinnakanal)
Had fun winding down loose gravel hair pin bends and patchy tarred steep climb up again. Just to add my Ecosport could easily cope up with the ground clearance and bad patches however not highly recommended for sedans.

However the resort guys recommended from Munnar which was longer -
Option 2 - Munnar - Anachal - Bisonvalley - Muttukad - St.Jacobite - Periyakanal - Chinnakanal

The return to Bangalore was via the direct route via Theni which was quite uneventful with 8 hours of drive time only. (Till Bodi the roads are bad/under construction)

Option 3 - Chinnakanal - Pooparai - Bodimettu - Bodi - Theni - Salem - Bangalore

Hence in conclusion recommended option if you would like to do from Bangalore to Chinnakanal then take Option 3 both ways

If it is Coimbatore to Munnar (only) then the Marayur option is quite good and no need to take Option 3 (from Theni)

Some pics from GEEDEE car museum and Maryoor - Munnar drive

[RGK]

I recommend BLR - Salem - Karur - Dharapuram - Udumalpet - Maraiyoor - Chinnar - Munnar. One may need to drive an extra 25 kms, but no need to get into any of the towns except Dharapuram & Udumalpet and crossing these small towns will not consume more time.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4686603 (All Roads to Kerala)