[Vysakh]

Did Calicut - Bangalore - Calicut over the weekend.

Calicut - Bangalore -> No checks anywhere around the border. Regular stuff. Mysore road has a million deviations. Even with lesser number of vehicles, it is a pain to drive on this road.

Bangalore - Calicut -> Maps suggested the Mangalore highway route. Expected to turn at Bellur cross, but Maps asked to turn a km or two before that. A few speed breakers initially, but after that the roads are in pristine condition. Minimal traffic for most parts. There's one town (nagamangala) where there's some traffic and there's some traffic at srirangapatana and the road gets narrow there. I still saved time compared to mysore road.
At the checkpost, said that I had a pass and they just took my vehicle number and number of passengers and that was it. Had registered on Jagratha portal. Date/slot doesn't matter.

Ghat section is mostly good, except for a few hairpins.

[mpksuhas]

A late update. Had done Bangalore - Calicut - Bangalore.

23-Oct- Bangalore - Calicut

Started at 03.45 AM from HSR layout, took NICE road - Kanakapura road exit. Road work on Kanakapura road seems to be at standstill, last I drove on this road was in May and compared to then, it looks almost the same.

The speed breakers were a pain since traffic was less and you had to be very careful to spot the unmarked ones. Also, it was raining slightly, which added to the difficulty.

However, past Kanakapura, roads are almost done till Malavalli. From Malavalli, took Bannur - Mysore ring road route. There are 4 new big speed breakers which has come up between Malavalli and Bannur, thankfully they are easy to spot.

Mysore - Bandipur - Batherry was uneventful. At Muthanga Covid center, was stopped and passes checked. They noted down the details and was let through. This was done by policemen standing next to road and not at the center as it was done earlier. Saw even trucks being stopped and detailed noted down.

One interesting thing which happened was at the excise department checkpost, just before the Covid checkpost. In past 20+ years I been traveling on this route, I guess I been stopped and vehicle checked only once or twice. But that too were the 'routine' checks, where you are asked queries and checking is just namesake. This time though, I was asked to move the bags and even lift the noodles mat to check the tools bay of XUV. I guess it's due to cases of drugs smuggling which is in news nowadays.

Kalpetta bypass is missing surface at few sections and is a pain, if traveling early, it may be better to drive through the town.

Else as such, traffic was less and was able to do Muthanga - Calicut in around 2 hours 15 mins.

There was road work ongoing near Karanthur, hence had to take left diversion from near to IIM and carry on that way till NH bye-pass.

Reached home around 08.40 AM, a shade below 6 hours door to door. Did the drive non stop due to Covid related concerns, stopping just at checkposts.

Bangalore - Calicut

26-Oct- Calicut- Bangalore-

Started from home at 03.15 PM, the road work at Karanthur had caused a big traffic jam which took some 15 mins to clear. Ghats were comparatively empty, though there was patch work ongoing at couple of hairpins.
Batherry took around 3 hours to reach, which is the usual timing, road work, bad road of Kalpetta byepass and rains around Lakkidi all contributing to this even though traffic was in general less.

Bathery town was not crowded as usual, crossed over to KA before it was getting dark. No checks on KA side.

Reached Mysore ring road junction at 08.00PM, took the same route as onward and reached home around 10.35 PM. Once road widening of Kanakapura - Bangalore is done, this route will be peaceful.

Though not related to Bangalore - Calicut route, things in KL side is visibly dull due to Covid situation. I had gone on 7 day visit permit and had gone out of house once to meet a relative. While returning, came through beach road and to see beach devoid of any person was surreal.

Desolate Calicut beach

[ccnarayanan]

Planning to do Bangalore - Calicut - Bangalore during the last week of December.

1. Has anyone done Bangalore - Calicut recently on short visit pass?

2. How is the situation around checking for short visit pass at Muthanga checkpost?

3. Are there any containment zones in Calicut?

4. I have a KA registered car. Has anyone encountered any issues with a KA license plate in Kerala?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by ccnarayanan

1. Has anyone done Bangalore - Calicut recently on short visit pass?
2. How is the situation around checking for short visit pass at Muthanga checkpost?
3. Are there any containment zones in Calicut?
4. I have a KA registered car. Has anyone encountered any issues with a KA license plate in Kerala?

My last trip was around end of Oct and next is planned in two weeks time, so wont call as a recent trip.

However, from what was noticed during my trip and that of friends who did after mine, answering your queries -

1. No issues in doing the same.
2. Wasn't much a hassle, just noted down the details when I traveled, no details entry/ ID verification and all when I traveled. I was in car itself, police men stopped, came over, noted the details and asked to proceed. My friend who travelled couple of weeks back was let through without even that.
3. Yes there are. You can follow Calicut collectors FB if you want to keep a track of the same. They put a list daily evening.
4. Haven't encountered and haven't heard of.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by ccnarayanan

3. Are there any containment zones in Calicut?

4. I have a KA registered car. Has anyone encountered any issues with a KA license plate in Kerala?

Honestly not sure where the containment zones are. Calicut is super crowded and seems pretty normal. Lot of new food joints have recently popped up and all of them seem to be full of people all the time. Traffic is higher , I think due to more people using private vehicles and also due to lot of people( like me ) who have come down from Bangalore for longer visits.

No issue with KA vehicles. Been driving around in Calicut and Tirur for a month now.

[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by ccnarayanan

1. Has anyone done Bangalore - Calicut recently on short visit pass?
2. How is the situation around checking for short visit pass at Muthanga checkpost?

This post of mine may be of help to you. There wasn't any checks when I drove to Wayanad two weeks ago.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4946054 (All Roads to Kerala)

I just drove back to Blore last Sunday from Wayanad and I didn't see any rush or stoppages for people entering Kerala via Muthanga. With elections over and X'mas and New Year rush around the corner, the district administration may bring back the stricter checks at the border.

[ccnarayanan]

I drove from Bangalore to Calicut with family on 26-Dec and thought of sharing some observations / experiences:

Left Bangalore at 06:26. Stopped at Shivalli, Channapatna (the one on the north side of the highway) for breakfast at around 08:30. There was no crowd (but saw a lot more crowd at the Shivalli restaurant on the south side of the highway towards Mysore). They had only self-service for breakfast. Very clean washrooms with non-contact taps.

Bangalore-Mysore is more of diversion with occasional straight patches of road (and not the other way round), but the diversions do not affect the driving speed much.

Stopped at CCD, Gundlupet for a snack / lunch at around 11:30. Quite disappointed with the cleanliness of the washrooms. Since it was the last rest area before the border, we somehow managed it and had food sitting in the outdoor area. Felt like old school restaurants such as Kamat have beaten CCD in terms of cleanliness.

Muthanga border crossing was a breeze. A couple of policemen were there and one of them asked where we were going and whether that is our native place. No recording of any sort. No checking of any documents. He asked whether there is "anything" in the trunk and I asked him to check if he wants and he let us go.

I had planned to stop at CCD near Kalpetta. Google maps took us through Kalpetta bypass (this road has some bad patches) and we couldn't find the CCD in the place where the map said it is (may be I will check more thoroughly on the way back to Bangalore).

Interestingly, there was a traffic jam in the ghat section (the ghat section road was in very good condition) with huge number of vehicles in both directions (of various number plates - KA, KL, TN, HR, DL, ...).

Reached Calicut at 16:33 after getting lost a bit from Koduvalli. Google maps are now strongly offering to take to the city through mini-bypass or the bypass (NH-66). Navigation is perfect if one listens to it carefully.

The condition of the roads is a bit better in Kerala - well paved with better road signs and lane markings. I saw many place where they have interceptors to check the speed of vehicles.

I remember paying tolls in 2 or 3 places (between Mysore and Sultan Battery) - all with Fastag working perfectly. Only NICE Road in Bangalore area doesn't accept Fastag.

Visited Kappad beach with family and we were the only one on the sands. The beach was very clean. Tried to visit Calicut beach but it was overflowing with families and cars, so we decided not to get down.

Mask compliance seemed more once we crossed the border into Kerala ... Haven't seen a single person on the road without mask (some taking a break with mask hanging from their necks in the humid weather, but prompt in wearing them properly as you approach them)!

[ccnarayanan]

Returned from Calicut to Bangalore today (30-Dec). Left Calicut at 08:00 and reached Bangalore at around 19:00 with 3 stops taking away about an hour.

There was no checking of any sort upon leaving Kerala or entering Karnataka.

Traffic was normal throughout the journey, particularly in Mysore-Bangalore section. Mysore-Bangalore section has become a 150-km diversion with occasional patches of road (however, the driving time didn't get impacted much because of diversions). Big boys (slow-moving trucks and rental taxis) drive quite rashly.

Driving on NICE Road in the evening was a revisit of good old times where two trucks driving at 20 kmph and 21 kmph trying to overtake each other and cars of speed anywhere from 60 kmph and 120 kmph+ wriggling through the shoulder and median! They still don't accept Fastag, so the queues are long at toll booths!

[sachinpk]

NOTE: This post is more of a rant, but I thought I would put it in here any ways so that others may gain some value out of it.

On 29th Dec 2020 we started our journey from Bangalore to Perambra, Kozhikode Rural Dt, KL. As is the practise we decided to stick to the usual route for Bangalore-Mysore-HD Kote-Kaattikulam-Mananthavadi-Perambra route. The journey towards Mysore was exactly like how @ccnarayanan has described. We reached the Nagarahole forest reserve by around 1100Hrs. Saw the first wild elephant pretty soon. It was a lone male elephant; which means it generally will have the urge to attack. We only slowed down due to a hump, and even then the elephant made a loud noise and charged towards us. The only thing which slowed down its movement was a deep trench between the road and the forest.

At around 1130Hrs we crossed over to the KL border at Bavali. I was having a relaxed drive as so far in this stretch of forest (between Bavali and Kaatikulam) I have not noticed much wild life movement. Suddenly I saw a two wheeler going in front of making a U turn, and the car in front of us stopping and planning to reverse. Around 150 mts away was another lone male elephant on the road. It seems to be unsure of what to do next use the road or move into the forest. I started reversing and got the vehicle in position to do a U turn. On the opposite side was a bus and a taxi car. The elephant slowly moved out of the road, and in that quick time the bus and taxi car blared their horns and just sped past. The elephant was not very pleased with that, I guess.

The elephant was around 20 mts away from the main road and it was rubbing itself against trees. The car in front of us slowly moved forward, and me too followed. If we too can just increase the speed and quickly get away like the bus and the taxi it would be really good. What happened next makes my blood boil even today. The vehicle in front of me was a KA based car - KA06 xxxxx, and it had three male idiots inside. When both of our vehicles was really close to the elephant (10 to 15 mts away) the KA06 vehicle stopped right on the middle of the road. The three idiots were planning for a photo shoot, right next to a lone tusker completely blocking my escape route as well. It was only quite late that I realised that the idiots have decided to stop the vehicle. Some how I could swerve my vehicle and drive past that car with a wild elephant a few meters away. I had my wife and daughter in the vehicle, but this time I could not control myself and abused the three in the best possible Malayalam words I knew (as I drove past their vehicle).

My sincere request to travellers on this forest roads; especially to people who have been more of city dwellers. Wild male elephants, especially loners; are DANGEROUS. The elephants though big are fast runners as well. And if there are suicidal tendencies or the urge to do photo shoots with wild animals at least park the vehicles out side the road so that others can at least try to make a speedy exit.

[pms]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

NOTE: This post is more of a rant, but I thought I would put it in here any ways so that others may gain some value out of it.

On 29th Dec 2020 we started our journey from Bangalore to Perambra, Kozhikode Rural Dt, KL. As is the practise we decided to stick to the usual route for Bangalore-Mysore-HD Kote-Kaattikulam-Mananthavadi-Perambra route. The journey towards Mysore was exactly like how @ccnarayanan has described. We reached the Nagarahole forest reserve by around 1100Hrs. Saw the first wild elephant pretty soon. It was a lone male elephant; which means it generally will have the urge to attack. We only slowed down due to a hump, and even then the elephant made a loud noise and charged towards us. The only thing which slowed down its movement was a deep trench between the road and the forest.

Scary experience. Just 2 months back I took the same route BLR to Mananthavady and return as well, felt it was a relaxed drive through the forest, only saw hordes of deers crossing the roads. Lone elephants are always dangerous, cant predict what they will do plus we dont have enough space to do a U turn and escape considering the narrow road width in these sections.

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

[ccnarayanan]

Did a Bangalore-Calicut-Bangalore.

Bangalore-Calicut:
Went via Mandya, Hunsur, Virajpet, Iritty, Vadakara. The primary reason was to have lunch at a restaurant other than CCD Gundlupet (which has deteriorated quite a bit in terms of options of food, cleanliness of washrooms, and price). Had lunch at Coorg Gate near Virajpet and it was quite good in quality and quantity. There was only one word to describe NH-66 Chombal (near Mahe) to Calicut: horrible (in terms of traffic). Every town was a nightmare and it took about 3 hours to cover this distance of 60 km.

Calicut-Bangalore:
Good old route - Kalpetta, Sulthan Bathery, Gundlupet, Mysore. This time, left Calicut at around 13:00, stayed overnight at Mysore, and continued the journey the next day morning. The drive was pleasant throughout primarily because we avoided Mysore-Bangalore on an afternoon.

Absolutely no police to check for entry or exit.

[mpksuhas]

Did Bangalore - Calicut - Bangalore last week.

Onward - 30-Jan

Started at 04.00 AM from HSR layout, too NICE road - Kanakapura road - Mallavalli - Bannur - Mysore ring road - Gudlupet - Kalpetta bye-pass - Calicut.

Road work between Bangalore & Kanakapura seems to have slowed down again, didnt find any major differences compared to earlier drive. Past that, between Mallavalli & Bannur another speed breaker has come up.

Crossed forest check-out around 7.00 AM and reached Calicut at 10.30 AM. Did not stop anywhere enroute and also wasn't stopped for pass checking like last time.

Ghat section is broken up a bit, however due to it being morning, didn't find any traffic being held up due to that.


Return - 07-Feb

Had to plan the return trip on Sunday, something which I usually try avoid. Took the same route back too. Started from Calicut at 02.00 PM.

There was traffic jam at couple of locations at ghat sections, however thankfully was able to get out of that in few minutes. There was considerable traffic in Thamaraserry - Kalpetta section and it took 3 hours to reach Batherry. Stopped at Mint flower / Mathais bakery for around 25 mins.

Again as nearing Mysore, there was traffic but not the regular Sunday evening type. Crossed Mysore ring road by 07.15 PM and reached Hosur road NICE road exit by 10.30 PM.

Past Mallavalli, traffic was really thin. One thing which I noticed in this drive was that there was random speed breakers cropping up around towns in Mallavalli - Kanakapura section, if one is not careful you may end up damaging the suspension since most of them are without any marking and difficult to spot in darkness.


Calicut roads suddenly seems to have lot of electric autos, had not noticed them during my last trip in Oct.

Things seems to be getting back to normal at Calicut, had visited Varakkal / Bhat road beach couple of times during stay. The first weekend, there was bit of crowd and police was regulating people headed to beach. The second weekend, after the so called fake news that kids are not allowed outside, there was very less people on beach.

However, restaurants and all are crowded, saw the same at Wayanad too with lot of outstation tourists too.

[balenoed_]

Any recent update on if they are mandating the Covid -ve certificate to be shown at this border, for travelling towards Bangalore?

[mpksuhas]

My brother and friend were stopped at KA border enroute to Bangalore from Calicut today morning.

They are insisting on RTPCR report which has SRF ID mentioned, it seems not all reports does not have the same.

The reports which I took from Calicut and Bangalore couple of months back does not have this, so suppose its a new addition. I was of the impression that SRF ID is generated only for those who are tested positive.

So anyone planning on travel between Calicut and Bangalore, do make sure you are having report with SRF ID when traveling.

[mpksuhas]

Did Calicut - Bangalore drive yesterday.

Started around 11.50 AM from Calicut, there was heavy traffic till Kalpetta. The opposite lane in towns of Kunamangalam & Thamarassery had long queues at every intersection.

Ghat section is re-done almost completely, lots of new signboards too there. Kalpetta bye-pass is still in its sorry state. S Batthery took 3 hours 10 mins to reach. Stopped for bio break at Mathais bakery and continued.

It was raining just enough to dirty the a newly washed card before KA border.

At KA border checkpost , I mentioned that I have both 1st dose certificate and RTPCR, it was informed that RTPCR is required, unless you have both doses completed. This is contradictory to what was mentioned in news, about entry with single dose certificate.

Anyway, they didn't check the RTPCR, just let through when I mentioned I have it.

In the opposite direction, at KL border also. They were just noting down the details of vehicles and passengers, didnt see any strict check as such.


Mysore ring road has developed lot many big potholes with vehicles swaying left and right to avoid this. Took Bannur - Mallavalli route.

Between Mysore and Bannur, lots of stop & proceed type barricades have come up. Between Bannur & Mallavalli, there are 3 new huge speed breakers, apart from the 2 which was there earlier. Again, these are not clearly marked, will be tricky in night / rains.

Mallvalli to Kanakapura outskirts was fast, road works seems to have stopped here, no sign of any construction activity. Again, here too couple of intersections have speed breakers which came up recently.

Past Kanakapura, traffic was bit heavy as expected. Reached NICE road intersection around 6. 45 PM, and HSR by 07.30 PM.