[unni.ak]

A friend is getting married and I need to be there to bless the pour soul!!. The marriage is happening at Punalur on Sunday (10th May) and the plan is to drive down, with a Saturday early morning start so that we can reach there by evening.

Car used will be a Fiesta, with a full load of people. Please suggest the best route from Bangalore to Punalur. I would prefer good roads over short-route.

Mods: Not putting this up in the "Current Condition of Roads to Kerala" thread, since the chances of the topic getting diluted is high.

[hvkumar]

If you prefer a straightforward drive, the best route would be to stick to NH47 till Kollam and then turn off to go to Punalur.

Other option would be to go off NH47 at Angamali and come to Punalur via Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, Thodupuzha, Palai, Kanjirapalli and Pathanapuram.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Other option would be to go off NH47 at Angamali and come to Punalur via Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, Thodupuzha, Palai, Kanjirapalli and Pathanapuram.

Unni, as you know i recently did the route which HVK has mentioned above (destination : Mundkkayam) and can vouch for good roads all along. There would be multiple twists and turns since you are on hilly territory but you should still be able to manage decent speeds.

[hellstar]

yes what HV sir has told is the most straight forward drive , another alternative would be to take Blore->Salem->Nammakal->Karur->Dindigul-> Theni-> cumbum->kumily->Kanjirapally->Manimala-> Pathanapuram-> Punalur.

Road conditions are good till Kanjirapalli , beyond that i know for a fact that the road is sceneic but am not sure about the road conditions. and the for the 75 kms from Kumily to Kanjirapally do account for about 2 hrs of travel , more if drive is during peak hours in kerala.

Another route is to Blore->Salem->Nammakal->Karur->Dindigul-> Madurai By pass -> rajapalayam-> tenkasi-> Shenkotta -> punalur. This drive if timed properly will help you reach Punalur in shortest time due to less number of towns enroute.

be warned that in the last route about ten kms around schenkottah was bad when i traveled through that area about six months back.

[unni.ak]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

If you prefer a straightforward drive, the best route would be to stick to NH47 till Kollam and then turn off to go to Punalur.

Thanks Kumarji. I did a quick look up on Yahoo Maps and the distance is about 720kms. The roads are good, only pain will be the day time traffic in Kerala.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Unni, as you know i recently did the route which HVK has mentioned above (destination : Mundkkayam) and can vouch for good roads all along. There would be multiple twists and turns since you are on hilly territory but you should still be able to manage decent speeds.

Thanks Benny. The distance I think will remain more or less the same as NH47 to Kollam route.

Originally Posted by hellstar

Another route is to Blore->Salem->Nammakal->Karur->Dindigul-> Madurai By pass -> rajapalayam-> tenkasi-> Shenkotta -> punalur. This drive if timed properly will help you reach Punalur in shortest time due to less number of towns enroute.

be warned that in the last route about ten kms around schenkottah was bad when i traveled through that area about six months back.

Thanks Anoop. This seems to be the shortest route. I've heard horror stories of bad roads in this route and also that there are chances of getting stuck at the border. Any insights?

Also, how is the 4laning work going on between Salem - Madurai?

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by unni.ak

Thanks Anoop. This seems to be the shortest route. I've heard horror stories of bad roads in this route and also that there are chances of getting stuck at the border. Any insights?

Also, how is the 4laning work going on between Salem - Madurai?

roads upto tenkasi are good from what i know from a friend who came back last month. The worst part of the road is once you enter Kerala, towards thenmala and kulathupuzha the road used to be bad but i hear that in between the road had been patched up . I am not sure about this though easiest way to check latest road condition would be to check with your friend in punalur.

From what my friend updated I get the feel that Salem Madurai 4 laning work is similar to Salem coimbatore 4 laning , you may have deviations but roads will be good otherwise.

unless you enter the area at night or in heavy rains there are less chances of you getting held up at the checkpost here.

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by hellstar

yes what HV sir has told is the most straight forward drive , another alternative would be to take Blore->Salem->Nammakal->Karur->Dindigul-> Theni-> cumbum->kumily->Kanjirapally->Manimala-> Pathanapuram-> Punalur.

Road conditions are good till Kanjirapalli , beyond that i know for a fact that the road is sceneic but am not sure about the road conditions. and the for the 75 kms from Kumily to Kanjirapally do account for about 2 hrs of travel , more if drive is during peak hours in kerala.
.

You don't have to touch Kanjirappally for that matter . You can take a deviation from Mundakkayam towards Erumeli (which is just 13 kms) and then head for Placherry > Ranni > Pathanamthitta >Punalur

The roads from Mundakayam till pathanamthitta,I can vouch for (excellent roads) and Pathanamthitta to Punalur, should be good as always.

[unni.ak]

Originally Posted by hellstar

I am not sure about this though easiest way to check latest road condition would be to check with your friend in punalur.

Thanks again Anoop. My friend is a name-sake mallu. Malayalam "kurachu kurachu ariyam" types. He is a Bangalorean.

Originally Posted by joecherian

You don't have to touch Kanjirappally for that matter . You can take a deviation from Mundakkayam towards Erumeli (which is just 13 kms) and then head for Placherry > Ranni > Pathanamthitta >Punalur

The roads from Mundakayam till pathanamthitta,I can vouch for (excellent roads) and Pathanamthitta to Punalur, should be good as always.

Thanks joecherian for the update.

[unni.ak]

Now its a toss between Bangalore - Salem - Coimbatore - Cochin - Kollam - Punalur, which is approx 720kms and Bangalore - Salem - Dindigul - Madurai - Rajapalayam - Thenkashi - Shenkotta - Punalur, which is approx 630kms.

Anybody with updates on the Madurai - Rajapalayam - Thenkashi - Shenkotta - Punalur stretch? With a difference of about 100kms, I hope some one can throw some light.

[hellstar]

100 kms in rush hour traffic can be almost three four hours, my dad did an EKM - TVM trip yesterday in the swift LDI, started from EKM at 1830 Hrs and reached TVM by 0030 Hrs that includes a 1 hrs dinner break. He kindda cruises at 100 kmph and reached TVM in usually three hours , but the traffic density is such that you can do anything.

Compare this to the 2-2.5 hrs time i take to do TVm - EKM in non peak hours ( between 0300 hrs and 0630 hrs). So which ever route you take time your travel properly. Especially sections after trichur.

[unni.ak]

Originally Posted by hellstar

100 kms in rush hour traffic can be almost three four hours, my dad did an EKM - TVM trip yesterday in the swift LDI, started from EKM at 1830 Hrs and reached TVM by 0030 Hrs that includes a 1 hrs dinner break.

So which ever route you take time your travel properly. Especially sections after trichur.

Yes, thats another of my concern. Plan is to start at about 11pm Friday. That can get postponed to 1am Saturday as well, depending on pending work at office.

[unni.ak]

Have decided on the Bangalore - Salem - Coimbatore - Cochin - Kollam - Punalur route. Any updates for this route? Will be leaving by about 10pm.

[gkrishk]

I want to do Trivandrum-Bangalore through Shencotta-Madurai so please tell us what the road is like. The Shencotta-Aryankavu-Thenmala segment of about 20 km had a very bad surface when I travelled along this route last year.

[gkrishk]

Please dont bother: I got the reply to my query from this post in a related thread-
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post1364798

[arunnn]

Originally Posted by gkrishk

I want to do Trivandrum-Bangalore through Shencotta-Madurai so please tell us what the road is like. The Shencotta-Aryankavu-Thenmala segment of about 20 km had a very bad surface when I travelled along this route last year.

did u travel by this route. if yes, pls give me the route details. I am planning to drive down to Trivandrum through the BLR-Salem-Shenkotta route.