[Rajeevraj]

Returned to Bangalore from Calicut today. No change in road conditions. Clip from my dash-cam showing the worst sections just after the churam. Saw metal piled up near the broken sections and also read an article indicating that the patchwork will be done immediately. Hopefully will get patched in the next few days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTU_...ature=youtu.be

[onedotsix]

I am planning to drive to calicut(Balussery) tomorrow. I will not be able to start before 6pm, so can not use the Gundalpet route. What would be the best alternate route to take?

[binand]

Originally Posted by onedotsix

I am planning to drive to calicut(Balussery) tomorrow. I will not be able to start before 6pm, so can not use the Gundalpet route. What would be the best alternate route to take?

I don't think you have very many choices. Mysore > Hunsur > Gonikoppal > Kutta > Mananthavady > Kalpetta and the regular route is I think the one that is open all night.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by onedotsix

What would be the best alternate route to take?

The other option is to take Hunsur - Kutta road. However I am not sure of the current road condition, couple of years back when I traveled last it was in bad shape.

If you don't need to reach Balussery before ~ 11.00 AM the next day you can instead start early morning ~ 03.00 AM from Bangalore and take the Gundulpet road. That would be the best option.

[onedotsix]

Thanks guys, have to reach before 8:00, so starting early morning is not an option. When I check in google maps, it shows me another alternate route too: Kutta-Mananthavadi-Kuttiyadi-Perambra-Balussery. Not sure of this route, either.
The other option I have is to go via Iritty-Mahe-Koyilandi-Balussery(part of it my regular route to Kannur).
Have'nt finalized. Lets see, I'll probably make the decision once I reach Gonikoppal.
Will update once I'm back.

[binand]

Originally Posted by onedotsix

When I check in google maps, it shows me another alternate route too: Kutta-Mananthavadi-Kuttiyadi-Perambra-Balussery. Not sure of this route, either.

I think Mananthavady-Kalpetta-Thamarassery-Balussery is better quality than the one above.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by onedotsix

Thanks guys, have to reach before 8:00, so starting early morning is not an option. When I check in google maps, it shows me another alternate route too: Kutta-Mananthavadi-Kuttiyadi-Perambra-Balussery. Not sure of this route, either.
The other option I have is to go via Iritty-Mahe-Koyilandi-Balussery(part of it my regular route to Kannur).
Have'nt finalized. Lets see, I'll probably make the decision once I reach Gonikoppal.
Will update once I'm back.

Go for Iritty route, it may be 30-40 km extra, but will be better. Since you plan to drive overnight, traffic inside Kerala wont be an issue.

[binand]

Going to Calicut on Wednesday (with family) for Diwali break. Thinking of taking Malavalli-Bannur-Mysore-Mananthavady-Kalpetta-Calicut route. Main thing is, this route is more conducive for wildlife spotting, which the kids would enjoy. Concern areas are:

- Diwali celebrations (fireworks) along the route
- Rains
- Recent road damage

We carry food so restaurants aren't a big issue. Planning to start from Bangalore at 5 AM. All updates are welcome.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by binand

Going to Calicut on Wednesday (with family) for Diwali break. Thinking of taking Malavalli-Bannur-Mysore-Mananthavady-Kalpetta-Calicut route. Main thing is, this route is more conducive for wildlife spotting, which the kids would enjoy. Concern areas are:

- Diwali celebrations (fireworks) along the route
- Rains
- Recent road damage

We carry food so restaurants aren't a big issue. Planning to start from Bangalore at 5 AM. All updates are welcome.

Did this route last month (end aug / early sep). Mysore - Bannur wasn't too good but its a shortish stretch. Mysore - HD Kote - Mananthavady - Kalpetta (we took the scenic route via Banasura Sagar directly to Vythiri) was also pretty good.

Vythiri Calicut is okay if you do it past about 7.30 - 8.00 pm, or EARLY morning. Else its the usual crowded mess.

[binand]

Originally Posted by binand

Going to Calicut on Wednesday (with family) for Diwali break.

Back. It was rather an uneventful drive. Left Bangalore at 5 AM on 22/10, reaching home at 1 PM same afternoon.

Return left Calicut at 6 AM on 25/10 reaching home by 4 PM. It was raining since the evening of 24/10 in Calicut, and the rain did not let up at all till Ramanagara (but it started again when we were in Bidadi) - this reduced the average speed quite a bit (very heavy rain in several stretches). Thankfully, the road is of excellent quality, there isn't any potholes or waterlogging, and speedbreakers are limited to the Mysore-Bangalore stretch.

Had 2 long-ish (1h+) breaks:

1. Breakfast+calls of nature break at Mananthavady at Hotel Brahmagiri. This was the find of the trip. Extremely well-maintained toilets. Average+ to Good quality food. Lots and lots of parking. Since it is a hotel with rooms, breakfast service starts rather early (7 AM, I think). You have to go into Mananthavady town, negotiate all the one-ways and go about 1.5 km on the road towards Kannur to reach this place. Worth the detour. They have a website here: http://www.hotelbrahmagiri.com/.

2. At Bestin's Break, the food court near Maddur for lunch. Many of the outlets were closed - only A2B and Pizza Corner seemed to be functional. Which was fine with us.

The son wanted to go to Kappad, so went there from the city via Kannur Road (NH17) - big, big mistake. Took about 75 minutes to cover the 16 km distance. Returned via the much faster Atholi-Calicut Bypass-Thondayad route.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by binand

Back. It was rather an uneventful drive. Left Bangalore at 5 AM on 22/10, reaching home at 1 PM same afternoon.

Return left Calicut at 6 AM on 25/10 reaching home by 4 PM. It was raining since the evening of 24/10 in Calicut, and the rain did not let up at all till Ramanagara (but it started again when we were in Bidadi) - this reduced the average speed quite a bit (very heavy rain in several stretches). Thankfully, the road is of excellent quality, there isn't any potholes or waterlogging, and speedbreakers are limited to the Mysore-Bangalore stretch.

Binand have the potholes and bad patches on the kalpetta vythiri churam stretch been fixed?

[kala]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Binand have the potholes and bad patches on the kalpetta vythiri churam stretch been fixed?

Remember my nephew who went that way last Thursday mentioning that the Chundale - Lakkidi stretch wasn't as bad as he had expected and was pretty much OK (I had warned him about the potholes based on my experience last month). So I have a feeling they must have patched it up recently.

But observed during my Wayanad trip this weekend that NH209 and the SH between Chamarajnagar and Gundlupet have become worse. Terakanambi to Gundlupet is probably as bad as it has ever been in the past 3-4 years with the last 2 kms before Gundlupet horrible. And even on NH209 there are odd potholes here and there at places where you don't expect so can surprise you if you're driving at speed. Only the stretch between Malavalli and Kollegal remains in excellent shape even now (except the slow bridge across Cauvery)

While going to Wayanad, I had taken the SH33 route (Mysore-HDKote-Bavali). I used Bannur Road to get to Mysore and that wasn't in too great a shape either (It was quite OK when I went the same way a couple of months earlier). Road widening work going on between Malavalli and Bannur, and lots of bad sections all over including on the Bannur-Mysore stretch which was decent earlier. So if one is travelling to Mysore, taking the Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-Mysore to avoid SH17 may not be such a great idea till they finish the road work.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Binand have the potholes and bad patches on the kalpetta vythiri churam stretch been fixed?

Originally Posted by kala

So I have a feeling they must have patched it up recently.

The Lakkidi-Vythiri-Chundale-Kalpetta stretch has had some patchwork done; the potholes are gone. But now the road is somewhat bumpy (no dangers now, though).

The pothole on the 8th hairpin is still there; vehicles try to avoid it and creates a sort of bottleneck on the bend. Be careful here.

Down, there are bad potholes and stretches in Kunnamangalam and Karanthur. Otherwise, the road is all fine between Kalpetta and Calicut.

Originally Posted by kala

So if one is travelling to Mysore, taking the Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-Mysore to avoid SH17 may not be such a great idea till they finish the road work.

Yes, I too went Malavally-Bannur and repented it. Please avoid this stretch, especially if not in an SUV. The widening work looks like has been stopped due to the rains, so now you have a slushy mess of loose gravel for several kilometres which if you aren't careful, can be quite dangerous. There is a culvert which is barely wide enough for a small hatchback; don't take your low GC sedans through this route at all.

On the positive side, the road leading up to the Mall of Mysore has been completely renovated and resurfaced; it is now wide enough and smooth enough to make passing through Mysore towards Calicut via the ring road a breeze.

I also took the Mananthavady-4th Mile-Tharuvana-Padinharethara-Pozhuthana-Vythiri route. A pleasure to drive on, with twisty, meandering roads through dense greenery and hardly any traffic. :-)

[mpksuhas]

Road widening from Calicut city till Vellimadukunnu is finally on track. Compensation disbursement is underway. The initial proposal was to widen the road till Kunnamangalam, no idea about status of Vellimadukunnu - Kunnamgalam section.

[coolclouds]

Did a Wayanad trip from Kochi during last three days. Sulthan Bathery-Calicut is excellent except for few bad sections around Kunnamangalam. Traffic on ghat yesterday evening was horrible.

Kuruva Island was closed due to heavy rains.

Jeep safari was waste of time.

Calicut-Trichur-Ernakulam is good for night travel.