[rayygeorge]

Plan fianlised for a three days trip to Coorg (Madikkeri) in December with family.Any one who is familiar with the route ,please let me know.Am through with the road from TVM to Kochi and Trichur.Can make a halt at Kochi or Trichur.Route from Trichur onwards is not through.
Stay at Mercara confirmed with a home stay.
Car option is Scorpio.
Detailed planning after finalising the route.

[ajithbr]

Halt at Trichur would be better to save your energy and mood for the second part of the drive which would be more interesting from scenery point of view allowing you take a few more breaks for taking good snaps.

With a strong advice that you avoid Wayanad ghats (NH-212), the following are good alternatives from Thrissur, 2nd is longer than 1st for about 30 kms but could be time-saving as well as scenic:
1) Trichur->Calicut->Thalassery->Iritty->Virajpet->Madikeri
2) Trichur->Nilambur->Kalpetta->Mananthavady->Gonikoppa->Virajpet->Madikeri

Plan for about 8 hours drive in either route.

[rayygeorge]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

Halt at Trichur would be better to save your energy and mood for the second part of the drive which would be more interesting from scenery point of view allowing you take a few more breaks for taking good snaps.

With a strong advice that you avoid Wayanad ghats (NH-212), the following are good alternatives from Thrissur, 2nd is longer than 1st for about 30 kms but could be time-saving as well as scenic:
1) Trichur->Calicut->Thalassery->Iritty->Virajpet->Madikeri
2) Trichur->Nilambur->Kalpetta->Mananthavady->Gonikoppa->Virajpet->Madikeri

Plan for about 8 hours drive in either route.

Thanks Ajith,
We will make a halt at Trichur and will start the next day early morning via Nilambur .Hope we can reach Madikeri before dark.
Return we will take the Calicut route.
Any interesting places in Nilambur route.
We have already visited Mananthavadi ( pazhazi toumb, Edakal, pookotu lake etc.)

[ampere]

Please note if going via Nilambi, post monsoons the roads at Pattambi/Perinthalmanna are is real bad conditions. The ghat roads around Nilambur/Gudalur are decent/good.

[rayygeorge]

Thank you Ampre & Ajith. We made the Coorg trip on 18 th Dec and returned on 23 rd Dec.The trip was excellent.Detailed travellogue shall be posted soon .

[ajithbr]

Originally Posted by rayygeorge

Thank you Ampre & Ajith. We made the Coorg trip on 18 th Dec and returned on 23 rd Dec.The trip was excellent.Detailed travellogue shall be posted soon .

Please update with some short notes:
1) Which route you took? How was the route conditions?
2) Where did you break your journey, for food and stay, in both directions?
3) Where did you stay in Madikeri? And where all did you visit?

[dodge3p]

Friends,

I plan to travel to Coorg from Cochin this Monday. Please point whether I can follow the following route as mentioned in above post based on present road conditions.

Cochin-> Calicut->Thalassery->Iritty->Virajpet->Madikeri

I plan to return via Wayanad.

[RajeshK]

Originally Posted by dodge3p

Friends,

I plan to travel to Coorg from Cochin this Monday. Please point whether I can follow the following route as mentioned in above post based on present road conditions.

Cochin-> Calicut->Thalassery->Iritty->Virajpet->Madikeri

I plan to return via Wayanad.

Cochin - Thalassery (NH -17) - Thalassery - Koothuparamba - Mattannur - Iritty - Virajpet - Madikeri
Roads are good, but not superb at many places.

If you are planning to return via Wayanad, then Virajapet - Gonikkoppa - Kutta - Tholppetty - Mananthawady - Kalpetta will be the best route.
Roads from Virajpet to Tholppetty will be just an average, and at times below average

Thanks
Rajesh

[dodge3p]

Originally Posted by RajeshK

Cochin - Thalassery (NH -17) - Thalassery - Koothuparamba - Mattannur - Iritty - Virajpet - Madikeri
Roads are good, but not superb at many places.

If you are planning to return via Wayanad, then Virajapet - Gonikkoppa - Kutta - Tholppetty - Mananthawady - Kalpetta will be the best route.
Roads from Virajpet to Tholppetty will be just an average, and at times below average

Thanks
Rajesh

Thank You Rajesh for the updates, I had almost stick to the route you mentioned and had no surprises on road directions /conditions.

Some updates on the road condition from my trip.
Cochin ->(NH 17) Thalassery - Very Good
Koothuparambu -> Madikeri - Bad Roads, worsening at Kerala side and getting better at Karnataka Side

For the return leg, I took Wayanad route.
Madikeri -> Gonikoppa - Average Roads
Gonikoppa -> Kutta - > Single track, pothole ridden, slushy roads. Best to avoid at nights
Tholppetty -> Kozhikode - Very Good roads, with an exicting ghat section backed by great views of Wayanad Forest and 'Thamarassery Churam'.

[swiftgeorge]

Originally Posted by dodge3p

Thank You Rajesh for the updates, I had almost stick to the route you mentioned and had no surprises on road directions /conditions.

Some updates on the road condition from my trip.
Cochin ->(NH 17) Thalassery - Very Good
Koothuparambu -> Madikeri - Bad Roads, worsening at Kerala side and getting better at Karnataka Side

For the return leg, I took Wayanad route.
Madikeri -> Gonikoppa - Average Roads
Gonikoppa -> Kutta - > Single track, pothole ridden, slushy roads. Best to avoid at nights
Tholppetty -> Kozhikode - Very Good roads, with an exicting ghat section backed by great views of Wayanad Forest and 'Thamarassery Churam'.

Dear Dodge3p

Can you give timelines with respect to both routes.

I am driving down to Thrissur from Pune with 4 days halt at Madikeri enroute. I am driving a Swift and wanted to know which of these road would be better.

Thanks
George

[swiftgeorge]

Dear All

Went from Virajpet to Thalassery via Iritty - Mattanur on May 21, 2011. The road from Virajpet to Iritty was excellent. The roads from Iritty to Thalassery was rough i.e there are no potholes however the PWD in Kerala does not seem to know how to make smooth road surface hence most of the time you are rattling along on the road.

Incidently the direct road from Mangalore to Madikeri is closed for repairs. Hence anyone planning to drive from Mangalore to Madikeri has to take the Mangalore - Bangalore highway upto Sakleshpur and from there drive to Madikeri via Somvarpet

An interesting thing I noted in Coorg was that there are hardly any direction boards in English most are written in Kannada. Anyone planning a trip to Coorg hence should either know how to read Kannada or speak Malayalam which is very well understood by most people in Coorg.

Regards

George

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by swiftgeorge

Incidently the direct road from Mangalore to Madikeri is closed for repairs. Hence anyone planning to drive from Mangalore to Madikeri has to take the Mangalore - Bangalore highway upto Sakleshpur and from there drive to Madikeri via Somvarpet

Any news update on when it is expected to reopen?

[swiftgeorge]

Dear Mr. Kumar

The road is open for KSTRC buses and locals who have passes. The boards announcing the closure did not indicate any date for reopening. However locals claim that work is complete to the extent that the final coat of bitumen is all that remains for the road to be completed

Regards

George

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by swiftgeorge

Dear Mr. Kumar

The road is open for KSTRC buses and locals who have passes. The boards announcing the closure did not indicate any date for reopening. However locals claim that work is complete to the extent that the final coat of bitumen is all that remains for the road to be completed

Regards

George

Hopefully, the new road will stand the test of the heavy rains that lash the region.

[gkrishk]

Can anyone advise about the road conditions, specifically Thalassery to Virajpet?
I am considering options for a summer break next month.
Are there many speed cameras on Ernakulam-Kozhikode-Thalassery? Hopefully with the recently announced relaxation in the speed limit on Kerala highways one should be able to make good progress.