[naveen.raju]

Here's a short report of our trip from Cochin-Munnar-Kodaikanal. Although Munnar wasnt planned initially, we decided to cover it since we wanted to try the Cochin-Munnar-Kodai route.


Started off from Cochin on 22nd April at 2PM. Roads are in a good shape but was crowded since it was the Easter weekend.


Here's the route info.


Cochin – Muvatupuzha (38kms) – Kothamangalam (50.8kms) – Adimali (101.7kms) – Munnar (133.5)
Kms represents the Odo reading


Reached Munnar at 5.30PM
As the trip to munnar was planned at the last second, we couldnt get any rooms. So opted for Marthoma Retreat Home. It was pretty decent.


Started off for Kodaikanal at 9AM (23rd April). Here's the route info


Munnar – Poopara – Theni – Periyakulam – Kodai Ghat Road to Kodaikanal
Total – 200Kms (Approx)


We had booked the rooms at “The Fern Creek” (3 nights/4 days). Heard about this resort from Trip Advisor. I should say it was one of the best holidays that I have had. As read from the Trip Advisor, excellent service and homely food. Although a bit expensive, it was absolutely mind blowing. Mr Praveen and Mr Anbu treated us really well and made sure that we enjoyed our trip.


We checked in at 1.30PM after a grand reception from the resort staff. They escorted us to our honeymoon suite. After a brief explanation by Praveen, he took us to the restaurant for the lunch.


On 23rd and 24th , Kodai was crowded and raining heavily. Went for a short drive to the Lake but couldnt step out since it was raining. On monday (25th), the climate was on our favor and sun was hot to our relief. Also since the weekend was over, it became less crowded. We decided to check out the places around the lake and the coaker's walk.


PT road is a good place to check out for some good eat outs. You have Pot Luck and another coffee shop right beside it (dont remember the name. Think it was something like “Azriel”). There are many shops here too.


Started our drive back to Cochin on 26th April at 11AM after breakfast. After leaving some valuable comments and feedback, we thanked Praveen and Anbu for the wonderful reception and hospitality that they provided.


Here's the route info:


Kodaikanal – Palani (53kms) – Pollachi (65kms) – Palghat – Thrissur – Cochin
Kms represents the total distance.
Total - 310Kms


Reached back at 4.30PM. The roads are in very good shape. The only bad section was in the 11th hairpin where they are re surfacing due to the recent landslide. Pollachi – Palani section was in a bad shape last year (patched up roads). They have resurfaced it and now it's in excellent condition. Here are the pics.

[naveen.raju]

Pics Contd from the other post:

[laluks]

Nice write up.
Good to know Palani Kodai route is Ok. That was the favourite and easiest route for us from Bangalore.

You are very right, Kodai on a weekend is a different phenomenon. Mad rush and crowd. On a weekday it is bliss. Its like Kodai mostly for yourself.

How is Palghat Thrissur NH now. I some how avoid it due to the traffic density.

[Xryder]

Excellent write-up. Kept to the point and crisp with all the relevant details and the photos act as a treat to the eyes. I think your photos have captured the essence of the cosy weather. It would be a welcome retreat for many, especially to escape the bangalore summer.

[hvkumar]

Has the Kodai-Perumlakulam-Palani road reopened after repairs? How was it?

laluks, I travelled on Palakkad-Trissur NH47 last week, road is fine except that there are some rough surfaces (but no pot holes)

[kphilip]

That was a short and crisp write up.Any way nice snaps there dude.How many hours did it take from munnar to Kodai?

[Fordmanchau]

Hey Naveen,
That was a very nice trip you had. Photos are wonderful and as everyone said, your writing has been very crisp and to the point.
Hope you have more photos to share.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by laluks

Nice write up.
Good to know Palani Kodai route is Ok. That was the favourite and easiest route for us from Bangalore.

You are very right, Kodai on a weekend is a different phenomenon. Mad rush and crowd. On a weekday it is bliss. Its like Kodai mostly for yourself.

How is Palghat Thrissur NH now. I some how avoid it due to the traffic density.

Thanks laluks. The route is cleared up except for the small section at the 11th hairpin.
Palghat - Thrissur route is fine with no potholes but some sections are badly patched up. Some resurfaced sections took directly on my spine since my car's got low profile rubbers. Being a weekday, this section was pretty good with less traffic. After Thrissur it's crowded but thanks to the newly constructed highway, the traffic was not that dense.

Originally Posted by Xryder

Excellent write-up. Kept to the point and crisp with all the relevant details and the photos act as a treat to the eyes. I think your photos have captured the essence of the cosy weather. It would be a welcome retreat for many, especially to escape the bangalore summer.

Thanks Rohit. Yes, the weather was excellent except for the weekend. It's definitely a break from the scorching heat. The resort is highly recommended.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Has the Kodai-Perumlakulam-Palani road reopened after repairs? How was it?

laluks, I travelled on Palakkad-Trissur NH47 last week, road is fine except that there are some rough surfaces (but no pot holes)

Yes, it's reopened. I havent actually seen any heavily resurfaced sections here. I think they closed it due to the landslide. Think the 11th hairpin is an example of that. Excellent route.

Originally Posted by kphilip

That was a short and crisp write up.Any way nice snaps there dude.How many hours did it take from munnar to Kodai?

Thanks dude. It took around 5 hours from Munnar - Kodai.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Hey Naveen,
That was a very nice trip you had. Photos are wonderful and as everyone said, your writing has been very crisp and to the point.
Hope you have more photos to share.

Thanks dude. I took around 500 snaps out of which most of them are out of focus and covers the resort itself. I selected the best out of the lot.

[Antonian]

Hey naveen.
Nice write up buddy. Any comments on the trip FE.
BTW, did u see the Ayur county resort near to Club mahindra ?

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by Antonian

Hey naveen.
Nice write up buddy. Any comments on the trip FE.
BTW, did u see the Ayur county resort near to Club mahindra ?

Thanks a lot dude. I managed to squeeze around 16-17 kmpl. Yes, saw the resort and it was really crowded. Thought of checking the place but was late. Maybe next time.

[rajeev k]

Nice report. The reader gets the feeling of having done the trip himself. The superb pics adds to this effect. The rainy and fogy weather conditions convey that your journey was an exhilarating one.

[Nutty Nair]

Hey Naveen, nice write up and nice photos yaar. How was the climate? Did it rain during your stay there?

[Surprise]

I came into this thread expecting to read on ghat road + highway manners of Vento....BTW, whats your tyre profile?

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by Nutty Nair

Did it rain during your stay there?

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

On 23rd and 24th , Kodai was crowded and raining heavily. Went for a short drive to the Lake but couldnt step out since it was raining. On monday (25th), the climate was on our favor and sun was hot to our relief.

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

We had booked the rooms at “The Fern Creek” (3 nights/4 days). Heard about this resort from Trip Advisor. I should say it was one of the best holidays that I have had. As read from the Trip Advisor, excellent service and homely food. Although a bit expensive, it was absolutely mind blowing. Mr Praveen and Mr Anbu treated us really well and made sure that we enjoyed our trip.

Could you please elaborate more on the expenses part. (Entire trip too!)

Thanks.
Nice photos.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by Nutty Nair

Hey Naveen, nice write up and nice photos yaar. How was the climate? Did it rain during your stay there?

Thanks Ranji. It was raining heavily in Munnar. In kodai, it rained badly during the weekend. After that the climate was awesome.

Originally Posted by Surprise

I came into this thread expecting to read on ghat road + highway manners of Vento....BTW, whats your tyre profile?

I had taken my swift and the Vento was with us only till Munnar and was driven by my dad. Vento was literally flying after the ghat section and it touched 160 while I decided to stick with 120.
The ghat section was really good and well surfaced. At some sections, the roads are really narrow and watch out for some careless drivers flying through this section.

My Swift runs on 205/50/R15

Originally Posted by unoczar

Could you please elaborate more on the expenses part. (Entire trip too!)

Thanks.
Nice photos.

Thanks dude. Here are the expenses:

Diesel for the entire trip (Cochin-Munnar-Kodai) = 2000
Stay (Munnar) = 1600
Dinner and breakfast (Munnar) = 560
Toll at Kodai = 40
Kodai (Fern Creek) = 21437
This was the all meal plan.