[nairrk]

Hai
I returned last night from my chennai drive (1500kms total).

@Rajesh - No I did not take the irrity-virajpettah road, eventhough the road was open (it is open only for 4 or 5 days from last friday due to some temple festival nearby) that time. I reached Irrity, the turning where the virajpettah road begins and checked with local people about the road condition but they advised that condition of the road is not good(only metals laid on the road and the work is still going on).
Then I took the route, from iritty, kottiyur, plachuram ghat, mananthavady, kattikulam,kutta, mysore (kutta-mysore forest road, need to take a diversion after
driving about few kilometres because the road work is still going on for some portion in between the road. Also there are plenty of speed-breakers have been erected and
the driving along the route is not at all pleasant (its all newly erected speed breakers and no white cross marking so you will see the breaker only once you come close to it and possibilites that you will hit the bottom of the car unless very cautious).
The diversion itself too very tiring and lot of potholes along the village route. You will find all kind of livestocks standing on the road and staring you?

While coming back, I took (from mysore) the outer ring road (you can see the route marked as Calicut/Ooty) and drove via nanjugad, gundlepet, sultanbattery, meenangadi, mananthavady, -palchuram - kottiyur - panamaram-irrity-sreekandapuram- Taliparampa - Payyanur.

[RajeshK]

Originally Posted by nairrk

Then I took the route, from iritty, kottiyur, plachuram ghat, mananthavady, kattikulam,kutta, mysore (kutta-mysore forest road, need to take a diversion after
driving about few kilometres because the road work is still going on for some portion in between the road. Also there are plenty of speed-breakers have been erected and the driving along the route is not at all pleasant (its all newly erected speed breakers and no white cross marking so you will see the breaker only once you come close to it and possibilites that you will hit the bottom of the car unless very cautious).

So, back in town..!! Hope you have enjoyed the drive.

I hope u didn't took the Kutta - Nagarhole - Hunsur road..right? Instead, from Kattikkulam, you might have went straight and reach Bavali, then crossed the ghat to touch HD Kote and then Mysore..is it?

But if you reach up to Kutta, then there are only 2 possibilities, either to go to Gonikkuppa then Hunsur or reach Hunsur via Nagarhole. The Nagarhole road is already laid but there are many road humps within the 2 gates of the National Park.

Thanks
Rajesh

[nairrk]

@Rajesh

I think Kutta is the small junction (after kattikulam )with one road going straight and another one little left which goes through the forest. The roads were recently laid up but some portion, towards the other end is still under work. There are so many fresh speed breaker all along the road (may be I can say spead breaker in every km) and it is just laid up hence no painting done or any markings given to caution the motorists. And one can see many tyre marks near the speed breaker which is evident that people are suddenly seeing the breaker and applying sudden brake?).

I think this is the complete routing - ..Kattikulam - Tholpatty - Kutta - Nagarhole - Hunsur - Mysore ???

[RajeshK]

Originally Posted by nairrk

@Rajesh

I think Kutta is the small junction (after kattikulam )with one road going straight and another one little left which goes through the forest. The roads were recently laid up but some portion, towards the other end is still under work. There are so many fresh speed breaker all along the road (may be I can say spead breaker in every km) and it is just laid up hence no painting done or any markings given to caution the motorists. And one can see many tyre marks near the speed breaker which is evident that people are suddenly seeing the breaker and applying sudden brake?).

I think this is the complete routing - ..Kattikulam - Tholpatty - Kutta - Nagarhole - Hunsur - Mysore ???

To reach Kutta, you need to take left turn at Kattikkulam checkpost. This road also goes to the Thirunelli temple. At kutta you need to take a right turn (almost an "U" turn) to get the road to Nagarhole. The road after Kerala check post to Kutta is in very bad shape. The road in Nagarhole Park is laid couple of years back itself.

Most probably the road which you have mentioning is Bavali - HD Kote Road, which is still under repair. I heard from one of my friend that the road work is almost completed except a few KMs in the exit, also there is lots of new road humps. So I belief, you might have taken this road. In this route also, you will get the gates of National Park and the road is not open for night traffic.


Anyway, what ever be the road, its nice to hear that you had an enjoyable drive..!!!

Thanks
Rajesh

[nairrk]

Yes, you are correct. I didnt took any U turn at kutta.
Next time I will try the Nagarhole route (if virajpetta road is open and good for traffic then that will be better for people like me)

Yes, indeed I enjoyed the drive well !

[nairrk]

There is a news in the local news paper today:
Makutta Road is nearing completion (last phase work is now going on).

Out of the 26 kms distance from Kuttupuzha to Virajpetta, the repair work is undertaken for 16kms stretch from Makuttam to Oattakolli. The work includes construction of two long bridges and 82 small bridges. Big bridges works is completed and only 10 small bridges work is pending. Tarring work also in progress.

Authorities anticipate the Road will be opened for traffic by April 30th 2010.

[VKM]

Planning a trip next weekend from chennai to kannur and back. Any updates on the route and road conditions?
Thanks!

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by VKM

Planning a trip next weekend from chennai to kannur and back. Any updates on the route and road conditions?
Thanks!

Was about to say Chennai-Salem-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Calicut-Kannur. But then checked Google Maps and it recommends CHennai-Bangalor-Mysore-Hunsur-Virajpet-Iritty-Kannur.

Looking at the time estimates, this looks the best route. Road conditions are pretty much excellent through out. Depending on your timing, traffic on Bangalore-Mysore Road can be on the higher side.

You can by-pass Bangalore via the NICE Road.

Only concern is that it is 12 hrs of driving and you will be hitting the ghats and the heavy traffic stretches at the end of your journey, so can be tiring.

[RajeshK]

Take Chennai-Bangalore - Mysore - Hunsur - Gonikkoppal - Iritty - Mattanur - Kannur. Road is in good condition throughout. Use NICE road to byepass Bangalore and expect day time traffic in the Mysore road.

[VKM]

Did the same route this weekend. Roads were good throughout, as mentioned the Bangalore to Mysore traffic was a dampener. what is it with all the speed breakers & collapsible partition like thingies on this road? could do only 40km/hr average while crossing Karnataka.

[ranjithpd]

Originally Posted by RajeshK

Take Chennai-Bangalore - Mysore - Hunsur - Gonikkoppal - Iritty - Mattanur - Kannur. Road is in good condition throughout. Use NICE road to byepass Bangalore and expect day time traffic in the Mysore road.

Planning a trip from Kannur to Chennai tomorrow, will this route be a good bet or should I take the one via Coimbatore? Any quick pointers in terms of road conditions and if this is safe for an overnight journey would help please.

[loco-motor-007]

Hello to all members!

I have been following TeamBHP for around 5 years and got my membership approved last month (in my 2nd attempt). I love the enthusiasm of the members and the experiences shared in this forum. I would also like to extend my thanks to the admins of the forum for ensuring that the content stays within defined guidelines and true to the spirit of the group.

Prologue:

I have been driving cars for around 18+ years and I have never driven in the night as it was a strict no-no from wife and parents. Also, I never felt that confident to drive the small cars (Hyundai i10) in the night with oncoming bus and lorry traffic on non-divided highways and state roads.

Fast forward to 2021 (post Covid and relocations from onsite) I sold my mildly used i10 (mainly due to maintenance costs) and purchased a brand new Toyota Innova Crysta (2.4, 7 seater V Model, diesel, manual). After the Innova joined our family, the trips have increased and the driving experience has been great. I have done 30K KM so far (I do not drive it for work. It is only for trips).

The Onward Drive:

One of my close friends got engaged and the marriage was to be held in Kannur, Kerala. I currently live in Chennai (I’m from Chennai but have lived in Hyderabad, Bengaluru for 10+ years and the i10 was my companion in those places along with my trusted Bajaj “hoodibaba” Caliber 115. That is a topic for a different time). I refused to book train and flight tickets and after lot of drama, got permission from family for driving with my wife and 3 year-old kid on a road trip to Kannur.

Google maps suggested the route via Chennai - Bengaluru - Mysore - Virajpet - Kannur. It gave a time estimate of 14 hours. We started on a Friday morning at 5 AM and the plan was to reach Mysore by end of the day and take a break. With kid, I had to stop multiple times for him to eat and relax. The road from Chennai till Sriperumbudur was bad and Sriperumbudur till Kanchipuram was riddled with diversions due to flyover work (which has been going once since last 3 years) and from there till Krishnagiri it was good. Krishnagiri to Hosur was slow due to heavy lorry traffic and the slowness was due to the terrain as well. It was 5 PM by the time I reached Atibele. 12 hours for a distance of 370 KM. Also had stopped after Hosur for lunch in McDonald’s. Felt it was safer to have there due to hygiene worries. Then it started raining by the time I took the NICE road to bypass Bengaluru traffic and the traffic slowed on NICE road as well. By the time we got to the Mysore expresway, it was dark and the rain was even heavier but luckily the traffic thinned out and there were very less vehicles on the expressway and we had a slow drive till Srirangapatna. Couple of places we felt the Innova to hydroplane but due to the vehicle weight and reduction in speed, we were safe. We visited the Ranganatha Swamy temple in Srirangapatna and it was totally empty and had a pleasant darshan and then we reached our destination hotel at 8:45 PM located on the Mysore highway near Hebbal. They had no kitchen but there was Zomato and we ordered light dinner from a good restaurant and went to sleep. Also, the hotel had no TV so no distractions and got good rest till Saturday morning 8 AM. Got up, packed up and started to Kannur and the plan was to reach by 12:30 PM. Had a nice Mysore breakfast, filled up diesel and continued. Road started good and then slowed down as well reached the Nagarhole tiger reserve. From there the speed slowed and by the time we reached Coorg, it was 12. Then the road from Coorg to Virajpet was pot-holed and the drive was pretty slow. From Virajpet to Kerala border the ghat roads were frustrating as we had planned to reach Kannur for lunch and now we were hungry as well :. Luckily my wife had packed some tea cakes and snacks and that sustained us till Kannur which we reached at 4 PM.

The Return (Night) Drive:

Post the marriage, we started back on Monday afternoon planning to halt at Mysore and reach Chennai on Tuesday. Started post breakfast at 10 AM and tackled the Kannur traffic and the Virajpet ghat roads and Coorg and reached Mysore at 3 PM. Had light lunch and discussed with my wife what we can do rest of the evening in Mysore. Since we were not interested in roaming around, we decided that we will go till Krishnagiri and stay there and on Tuesday we will reach home earlier than expected. Found a nice spot to stay in Krishnagiri on Booking.com and made an online reservation. Filled up diesel and then started and it was my lucky day I was able to cross the expressway and NICE road and reach Atibele by 6 PM (I do not drive very fast and was within posted speed limits and used cruise mode extensively). Crossed Hosur and around 9:30 PM and we found a nice highway rest stop with 4-5 restaurants along with a HP petrol pump. Stopped for dinner and I noticed that my left rear wheel was punctured. The attendant at the HP pump was very friendly and helpful and fixed the puncture and checked and filled all tyres with Nitrogen. Me and my wife then discussed and decided to push along all the way as I did not want to take a break and start again in the morning and get caught in the traffic on the entry to Chennai and within the city. Turned out to be a good decision. I cancelled the room reservation and started at 11:30 (I took a 1 hour nap while my kid played in the McDonald’s area) and then had a nice coffee and started. My kid slept off as he was tired after playing. The road was pretty much free only with lorry traffic and again I feel it was my lucky day that I did not face the issue of lorries trying to over take each other and block all the lanes. We reached Sriperumbudur by 2:30 AM and another 1 hour to reach home via Tambaram.

Epilogue:

Got a good scream from my parents for driving at night but I felt safe in the Innova and the confidence was high.

So this is the story of me driving for 845 KM at one go (with a total trip distance of 1700+ KM) for the first time in my life. Found it enjoyable and it pissed off my brother as I now have the record of the longest trip in the family. Also, got a good fuel economy average of 14 KM/L for the entire trip.

PS: This is my first post so please excuse the length and the content. I’m not a good story teller.