[xoom]

Originally Posted by ajitkumarlb

I am heading to Wayanad finally!

Here is where I have booked my stay http://kudajadridrizzle.com/ did not find any posts about it on TBHP however good review on holiday iq http://www.holidayiq.com/Kudajadri-D...el-416854.html

I have two routes in mind one for onward and one for the return, need to make up mind on which to take when:

Bangalore -> Mysore -> Nanjangud -> Gundlupet -> Sulthan Bathery -> Kaniyambetta

Bangalore -> Mysore -> Hunsur -> Nagarhole National Park -> Kaniyambetta

Second one is the route posted by sbala and updated by kala.


Anything else to watch out for?

We did the same route in Aug this year - onward via Bandipur and return via Nagarhole (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...d-wayanad.html). The Nagarhole National Park gates close at 6PM - so plan accordingly.

[floyd.bell]

Why isn't anybody talking about the Kabini route i.e. Mysore-Kabini-Mananthavady? Wouldn't that be shorter than going via Nagarhole? How's the road condition on this stretch?

[kala]

Originally Posted by floyd.bell

Why isn't anybody talking about the Kabini route i.e. Mysore-Kabini-Mananthavady? Wouldn't that be shorter than going via Nagarhole? How's the road condition on this stretch?

Would love to have suggested that route because it is indeed the shortest and very scenic too.

But there is a 15 km stretch on that road that was simply unfit for anything other than an SUV or a Jeep (Used to take about 1 to 1.5 hours to traverse). Apparently that stretch is being repaired now, but that work is expected to be complete only in another 6 months or so. Until that stretch is done up, I wouldn't really recommend a drive through SH33.

[polopm]

Completed the Wayanad trip yesterday successfully and the road from Kerala border till Kalpeta is not good. Just too many pot holes and ruins the whole driving experience.

Road to Suchipara from the main road is also bad. The other roads are good however.

Met Ajitkumarlb at Green Gates when he was checking out. Saw so many TBHP cars once I stepped into Karnataka and that was very nice to see too !

[sbala]

Originally Posted by sbala

Thanks a bunch Kala for this detailed information. Appreciate it a lot. Will go as per suggestions and definitely will come back here to provide an update to other folks.

Happy New Year Folks..

Just back from an Awesome relaxing trip at Wayanad.

Route Taken:
Bangalore -> Madur -> Mandya -> Mysore Ring Road -> Hunsur -> Nagarhole -> Mananthavadi -> Kalpetta

Bangalore to Mysore was decent. There was good amount of traffic due to New Year Eve. Mysore Ring Road was in pathetic condition. Roads to Hunsur/Nagerhole Forest Check post was Ok/Decent. Roads inside Nagarhole are very narrow and broken in many parts. But was manageable. In this route roads in Kerala was better. Right after Nagarhole exit, roads were good till Kalpetta.


Kalpetta -> Sulthan Bathery -> Muthanga WLS -> Bandipur WLS -> Gundulpet
-> Nanjunkud -> Mysore Ring Road -> Bangalore

Kalpetta to Sulthan Bathery is good. Newly laid roads in most of the places. From Bathery till Kerala check post was really bad. This was the worst stretch that we encountered during the trip. Once you enter Karnataka border, roads were butter smooth. Really amazing roads inside Bandipur forest. Just that you will have to watch out for unidentified speed brakers. Gundelpet -> Nanjangud-> Mysore Ring Road was decent.

Overall, had good fun. Thanks a lot guys for your suggestions. Appreciate it.

[RoadTripper]

Hi All

Planning on a Madras-Ooty-Wayanad-BLR trip.

Please advise on the route from Ooty to Wayanad and Wayand to BLR, especially road condition, considering my car has a very low ground clearance.

AFAIK Ooty-Wayanad (though not a 100% sure): Ooty-Gudalur-Sultan Bathery-Kalpetta? (alternatively via Masinagudi Ghat)?

What is the estimated driving time from Ooty-Wayanad and Wayanad to BLR?

Look forward to your inputs. Thanks and Have a super weekend!

Cheers

Road Tripper

[ampere]

Originally Posted by RoadTripper

AFAIK Ooty-Wayanad (though not a 100% sure): Ooty-Gudalur-Sultan Bathery-Kalpetta? (alternatively via Masinagudi Ghat)?

No. Its good to go via Gudalur.

Ooty-Gudalur-Meppadi-Kalpetta.

Its amazing route to take.

[RoadTripper]

Originally Posted by ampere

No. Its good to go via Gudalur.

Ooty-Gudalur-Meppadi-Kalpetta.

Its amazing route to take.

Hi Ampere

Thanks a ton (again)...

What is the distance and driving tine and would you also be able to advise on the road quality?

Cheers

Road Tripper

[Adventourer]

The route to Ooty from Chennai would be via Coimbatore and Mettupalayam. The distance is around 600 kms and the time taken would be around 10 hours at a sedate pace, with breaks for breakfast/lunch. It would be ideal if you start early in the morning from Chennai - 3-4 am. You could be in Coimbatore for lunch and reach Ooty for tea.

The route from Ooty to Wayanad is through Gudalur, Pandalur and Cherambadi in the Nilgiris. It is a nice scenic drive along the ghat section with some stunning views. It would take around 3-4 hours as it not wise to race down the hills.
It is better to coast down in the same gear you would use to climb up the ghats.

There is another route which is a little more adventurous. That is via Kalhatti. You will reach Bandipur and from there you could proceed to Gundalpet.
From Gundalpet, you can either head straight to S.Battery in Wayanad or take another circuitous route via Nagarhole in Coorg and then reach Manathavadi in Wayanad.

I would take the latter road as you get almost 100 kms of jungle roads with plenty of opportunities to spot wild life. Deer, Owl, Elephants, Nilgiri Gaur...the road less taken is always the better one.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by RoadTripper

What is the distance and driving tine and would you also be able to advise on the road quality?

Ooty-Gudalur is decent. But be aware buses ply quite fast. Just allow then to pass and you should be OK. Ooty Gudalur is about 50km. You should take a max 2 hours on the ghats with slow driving. Gudalur to Kalpetta (either via Gundlupet or via Meppadi) is about 70 odd km. Another 2 and half hours max. The Meppadi route goes via nice tea plantations. So a total of 120 km you should be done in 4-5 hours. (I may be over estimating the time. )

[kala]

Originally Posted by RoadTripper

What is the distance and driving tine and would you also be able to advise on the road quality?

Recent reports about the Ooty-Gudalur stretch haven't been all that good, it seems the road is heavily pot-holed, so expect slow progress.

From Gudalur there are two routes to Wayanad. One via Devarshola-Pattavayal-SulthanBathery and the second via Nadugani-Vaduvanchal-Meppady. Both are almost equidistant, and I think the one via Vaduvanchal (The Ooty-Calicut highway) may be in better shape. This was the one that was suggested by @Ampere and @Adventourer.

The other route suggested by @Adventourer is probably better in terms of road quality. But there's some uncertainty about downhill traffic not being allowed through those ghats at certain times of the day. (I haven't quite figured out when exactly they close it, but I have been stopped a couple of times - but managed to sneak through). Also the Segur ghats are steep, and the road is quite narrow around Masinagudi (after you have descended the ghats).

By the way while that route does have a much larger proportion of forests - it isn't really 100kms. Should be around 45 to 50 kms I'd guess. Also the total distance to Kalpetta may be more by 25 to 30 kms, and the drive through the forest will naturally be slower. So expect to take more time for the drive.

[subraiyr]

Originally Posted by kala

Recent reports about the Ooty-Gudalur stretch haven't been all that good, it seems the road is heavily pot-holed, so expect slow progress.

From Gudalur there are two routes to Wayanad. One via Devarshola-Pattavayal-SulthanBathery and the second via Nadugani-Vaduvanchal-Meppady. Both are almost equidistant, and I think the one via Vaduvanchal (The Ooty-Calicut highway) may be in better shape. This was the one that was suggested by @Ampere and @Adventourer.

Which of these routes are more scenic and tougher to navigate. I remember having gone in the non Sultan Bathery one about 10 years back and at that point of time, we were the only ones on the road. The route was through some amazing tea estates and forest areas with no living beings around. It took us nearly 4 hours though to get to Gudalur from Vythri.

We are planning a holiday and will be driving to Wayanad from Blore. Most probably will take the Nagerhole road while going. On return, we are hitting Coonoor and therefore would like an idea of the best possible (read scenic ) route. Also, we are driving in a Safari Storme and therefore the route should be Stormable

From Coonoor we are planning to take the Masinagudi route to Bangalore. Are you still allowed to use that route down hill. There was a time when you could not motor down in that route.
Cheers

[RoadTripper]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

Which of these routes are more scenic and tougher to navigate. I remember having gone in the non Sultan Bathery one about 10 years back and at that point of time, we were the only ones on the road. The route was through some amazing tea estates and forest areas with no living beings around. It took us nearly 4 hours though to get to Gudalur from Vythri.

We are planning a holiday and will be driving to Wayanad from Blore. Most probably will take the Nagerhole road while going. On return, we are hitting Coonoor and therefore would like an idea of the best possible (read scenic ) route. Also, we are driving in a Safari Storme and therefore the route should be Stormable

From Coonoor we are planning to take the Masinagudi route to Bangalore Are you still allowed to use that route down hill. There was a time when you could not motor down in that route.
Cheers

Hi

I haven't got much of an idea about the route from Wayanad to Coonoor (which is why I posted last week and got a few inputs). However from Coonoor to Bangalore you have 2 options:
1. Coonoor - Ooty - Masinagudi - Mysore - Bangalore, or Via Gudalur from Ooty. During my last 2 visits to Ooty (Dec'12 n Dec'11), I wasn't allowed downhill in the Masinagudi ghat, though I had taken it uphill. I heard that they allow the downhill drive, but more often than not, they don't (I was once asked by a cop at the entrance to the ghat if I've taken it downhill earlier and I mentioned I just took the route uphill the day before, but was denied passage).

2. Coonoor - Mettupalayam - Annur - Avinashi - Salem - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore
This would definitely be faster although it's about 30 km longer. But depending on where your destination is in Bangalore, it may well be a good option. The road I heard is in great condition right through - SH from Mettupalayam to Annur until Avinashi is wide and in good condition and guess the work between Avinashi and Salem in the NH is complete.

You may also need to consider that the Gudalur route may have a lot more traffic and is a slower stretch, further, my recollection of the road quality is that it had a few potholes but definitely more scenic.

Cheers

Road Tripper

[vharihar]

We are traveling Bangalore-Wayanad-Guruvayoor later this month, with a halt in Wayanad. We are driving a regular sedan, no SUV.

Which route would you recommend?

As regards the Blore-Wayanad stretch, I saw some year-old posts in this thread that suggested to avoid:
- SH33 (via Mysore-Kabini-Mananthavady) bcoz of bad roads
- The road bween Kerala check post and Sultan Bathery (via Muthanga)
- The roads inside Nagarhole NP are very narrow and broken in many parts (this route seems to have the least bad reviews)

BTW: Any reason why no one is recommending the route that Google Maps gives, viz. via Kanakpura Rd Hwy 209, Malavalli, Kollegal, Yelandur, Chamarajanagara, Gundlupet, Sultan Batheri?

And as regards the Wayanad-Guruvayoor stretch too, would appreciate some inputs.

Thanks,
Venkat

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vharihar

We are traveling Bangalore-Wayanad-Guruvayoor later this month, with a halt in Wayanad. We are driving a regular sedan, no SUV.

Which route would you recommend?

As regards the Blore-Wayanad stretch, I saw some year-old posts in this thread that suggested to avoid:
- SH33 (via Mysore-Kabini-Mananthavady) bcoz of bad roads
- The road bween Kerala check post and Sultan Bathery (via Muthanga)
- The roads inside Nagarhole NP are very narrow and broken in many parts (this route seems to have the least bad reviews)

BTW: Any reason why no one is recommending the route that Google Maps gives, viz. via Kanakpura Rd Hwy 209, Malavalli, Kollegal, Yelandur, Chamarajanagara, Gundlupet, Sultan Batheri?

And as regards the Wayanad-Guruvayoor stretch too, would appreciate some inputs.

Thanks,
Venkat

The Kanakpura kollegal is the recommended route by regulars on this stretch. Great roads, minimal traffic, scenic.On the downside it is completely 2 lane and break options are very limited. The default route would be Bangalore- Mysore- Namjangud- Gundlepet - Bathery. Roads are great. Lots of speed bumps in the forest stretch. Normally when I leave early from Bangalore I take the Mysore route.

To Guruvayoor the default and recommended route would be wayanad-thamarassery- calicut bypass - chelari- valanchery- kuttipuram- edappal- kunnamkulam- guruvayoor. Roads are great. But expect very high traffic. Most of this stretch is very curvy. If you want to try something different you can try chelari- parappanangadi- tirur- chamravattom- ponnani - chavakkad - guruvayoor. But this is narrower than the nh and traffic is also high. Plus there are quote a few towns to go through. Distance wise this is actually shorter.
Hope this helps.