Munnar-Kumarakom Drive from Bangalore

pramod · 9th June 2008, 14:21

Hey Guys!
My first post on this forum and its my First Post-Wed road trip

We planned to visit Munnar and Kumarakom backwaters and did numerous surveys on the best resorts in these 2 locations. Finally picked Siena Village in Chinnakanal, Munnar and Kumarakom Lake resort in Kumarakom.
Both the resorts were supremely luxurious and stood out for their Hospitality and nature around.

Trip Total distance : 1550 Kms
Car : Ford Fiesta 1.6 Fida Edition Zxi , Panther Black

Route:
1. Bangalore to Munnar ---> Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Thiruppur - Bhavani - Udumalpet - Chinnar - Marayoor - Munnar - Chinnakamal. (485 Kms to Munnar, 20 Kms to Chinnakanal from Munnar)

Chinnakanal has CLub Mahindra too... but found it too expensive for the accom they provide, but believe me, their property has the best views!

2. Munnar to Kumarakom ---> Munnar - Anamali - Thodupuzha - Pala - Kottayam - Kumarakom (170 Kms)

the roads are well laid and feels like a corsica rally but is a bit narrow... Driving the fiesta 1.6 on Ghat roads is absolutely brilliant!

3. Kumarakom to Bangalore --->
day1 : Kumarakom - Kottayam - Thrissur (NH47) - Guruvayoor - Feroke - Kozhikode (NH17) - Kalpetta (NH212). (355 Kms)
day 2 : Kalpetta - Sulthan Bathery - Gundlupet - Nunjingudu - Mysore - Mandya - Maddur - Bangalore. (290 Kms)

Stayed at Hotel GreenGates in Waynad (Kalpetta). Decent Accomodation.

We drove from Munnar to a view point called Top Station, Mattupetty Dam and Echo point, which i award "THE BEST MOTORABLE ROAD" in South India!! It has a Kashmir look to it and also reminds me of the Colin Mcrae Rally France

Ppl r free to comment on this incomplete travalogue Wil post snaps very soon.

snaronikar · 9th June 2008, 14:58

Ummm...your travelogue does not contain the required ingredents. Pls provide the same like pictures, how was your driving experience, how were the roads etc. It will help others to udnerstand. Secondly, the route from Mysore is said to be good. Why didn't you try that?

hvkumar · 9th June 2008, 16:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by pramod

2. Munnar to Kumarakom ---> Munnar - Anamali - Thodupuzha - Pala - Kottayam - Kumarakom (170 Kms)

.

A quick clarification - I presume that you mean "Adimali" above? Did you turn off NH49 at ADimali or Neriamangalam to go to Thodupuzha? How good was this road?

vnabhi · 9th June 2008, 16:30

Pictures please!! How was the FE, Pramod, considering that you drove on ghat sections?

snb77 · 10th June 2008, 10:55

Hi Pramod,

I'm planning to visit Munnar during this month end. How are the roads from Udumalpet to munnar. I'm planning to stay in "Autumn Trees".

How much does "Siena Village" costs per day? How was the resort? Is the food costly there and how is the food.

akroy · 10th June 2008, 11:59

Initially I though to be Route Query section rather than a travelogue section. Anyway, please post some pics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pramod

Route:
1. Bangalore to Munnar ---> Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Thiruppur - Bhavani - Udumalpet - Chinnar - Marayoor - Munnar - Chinnakamal. (485 Kms to Munnar, 20 Kms to Chinnakanal from Munnar)

How come Tiruppur between Salem and Bhavani. I think it is after Bhavani. After Bhavani there is a place called Vijaypuri from where you take left for Tirupur.

Or did you mean Thoppur? In that case, it should come before Salem.

Abhi

pramod · 10th June 2008, 12:13

The link to the pictures is here --

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...2AaMmbJk4YsniA

Yes, it is Adimali on NH49. I drove till Neriamangalam. In the same town, u have a sign board on the left side to Thodupuzha. This is a narrow road but gets very interesting. The road surface is brilliant. This road takes u to Pala all the way and the sign boards and milestones are well marked on this road. There is 4-laning work going on near thrissur and guruvayoor. But it doesnt slow down the travel pace on any way. Calicut to Bangalore is in top condition, except small sections near gundlupet and nanjingud.
I saw a few posts on team-bhp to decide which route to take to Munnar.. I still am not sure, which is the best route to Munnar, both in terms of distance and road surface.
The Ford Fiesta 1.6 returned 13.2 Kms/Litre of Normal unleaded petrol over the 1550 kms route. It returned 17 over the Gundlupet-bangalore section. Driving the Fiesta 1.6 over the ghat was exhilareting, expecially in 3rd gear revving through the numerous hairpins. I feel, Fiesta 1.6 is a bit under rated compared to its peers for no good reason... My friends here on this forum have to reason it out!

I have driven Verna, Fiesta and NHC and feel, for ghat roads and fast rolling curves, it makes more sense to drive a Fiesta, just because of its well weighted steering and slightly softer shocks. At higher speeds, i believe, having a heavier steering makes more sense... More reasons to call the fiesta a highway vehicle. There is a slight lag in the second gear in inclinations. The solution to bypass this power lag is to press-release, press-release the accelerator. Is this a known issue with Fiesta 1.6??

The only unwanted incident on this trip was... a lorry was parked on the centre of the road near dharapuram with a few big stones to mark its boundries.... i cautiously avoided the stones... There was this one stone which looked small and thought the car would cross over it... but unfortunately, the engine bay got pivoted over this stone and the car stalled! Solution :: took out the jack... jacked up the vehicle, cleared the stone from the under chassis, carried on.... Then i mistook the AC water dripping to be some leakage. Then , called up the FOrd Bangalore, and they asked me if the water was colorless or pink in color. If its pink in color, then it would be the coolant leakage which could be hazardous. But fortunately it was the AC water dripping which is common.

pramod · 10th June 2008, 21:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by snb77

Hi Pramod,

I'm planning to visit Munnar during this month end. How are the roads from Udumalpet to munnar. I'm planning to stay in "Autumn Trees".

How much does "Siena Village" costs per day? How was the resort? Is the food costly there and how is the food.

Siena village costs 14600 including taxes for 3N-4D for a duplex deluxe accomodation. Food is the best part of staying there.
Wrt the road condition from Udumalpet to Munnar... i dint come across even a single pot hole... Good condition, i must say.

9th June 2008, 14:21	#1
pramod BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 480 Thanked: 323 Times View My Garage	Munnar-Kumarakom Drive from Bangalore Hey Guys! My first post on this forum and its my First Post-Wed road trip We planned to visit Munnar and Kumarakom backwaters and did numerous surveys on the best resorts in these 2 locations. Finally picked Siena Village in Chinnakanal, Munnar and Kumarakom Lake resort in Kumarakom. Both the resorts were supremely luxurious and stood out for their Hospitality and nature around. Trip Total distance : 1550 Kms Car : Ford Fiesta 1.6 Fida Edition Zxi , Panther Black Route: 1. Bangalore to Munnar ---> Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Thiruppur - Bhavani - Udumalpet - Chinnar - Marayoor - Munnar - Chinnakamal. (485 Kms to Munnar, 20 Kms to Chinnakanal from Munnar) Chinnakanal has CLub Mahindra too... but found it too expensive for the accom they provide, but believe me, their property has the best views! 2. Munnar to Kumarakom ---> Munnar - Anamali - Thodupuzha - Pala - Kottayam - Kumarakom (170 Kms) the roads are well laid and feels like a corsica rally but is a bit narrow... Driving the fiesta 1.6 on Ghat roads is absolutely brilliant! 3. Kumarakom to Bangalore ---> day1 : Kumarakom - Kottayam - Thrissur (NH47) - Guruvayoor - Feroke - Kozhikode (NH17) - Kalpetta (NH212). (355 Kms) day 2 : Kalpetta - Sulthan Bathery - Gundlupet - Nunjingudu - Mysore - Mandya - Maddur - Bangalore. (290 Kms) Stayed at Hotel GreenGates in Waynad (Kalpetta). Decent Accomodation. We drove from Munnar to a view point called Top Station, Mattupetty Dam and Echo point, which i award "THE BEST MOTORABLE ROAD" in South India!! It has a Kashmir look to it and also reminds me of the Colin Mcrae Rally France Ppl r free to comment on this incomplete travalogue Wil post snaps very soon. Last edited by Technocrat : 9th June 2008 at 14:31. Reason: Only two similies per post allowed
	() Thanks

9th June 2008, 14:58	#2
snaronikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 2,845 Thanked: 29 Times View My Garage	Ummm...your travelogue does not contain the required ingredents. Pls provide the same like pictures, how was your driving experience, how were the roads etc. It will help others to udnerstand. Secondly, the route from Mysore is said to be good. Why didn't you try that?
	() Thanks

9th June 2008, 16:30	#4
vnabhi Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: DC -> DC Posts: 5,958 Thanked: 2,393 Times View My Garage	Pictures please!! How was the FE, Pramod, considering that you drove on ghat sections?
	() Thanks

10th June 2008, 10:55	#5
snb77 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 36 Thanked: 0 Times	Hi Pramod, I'm planning to visit Munnar during this month end. How are the roads from Udumalpet to munnar. I'm planning to stay in "Autumn Trees". How much does "Siena Village" costs per day? How was the resort? Is the food costly there and how is the food.
	() Thanks

10th June 2008, 12:13	#7
pramod BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 480 Thanked: 323 Times View My Garage	trip snaps link updated The link to the pictures is here -- http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...2AaMmbJk4YsniA Yes, it is Adimali on NH49. I drove till Neriamangalam. In the same town, u have a sign board on the left side to Thodupuzha. This is a narrow road but gets very interesting. The road surface is brilliant. This road takes u to Pala all the way and the sign boards and milestones are well marked on this road. There is 4-laning work going on near thrissur and guruvayoor. But it doesnt slow down the travel pace on any way. Calicut to Bangalore is in top condition, except small sections near gundlupet and nanjingud. I saw a few posts on team-bhp to decide which route to take to Munnar.. I still am not sure, which is the best route to Munnar, both in terms of distance and road surface. The Ford Fiesta 1.6 returned 13.2 Kms/Litre of Normal unleaded petrol over the 1550 kms route. It returned 17 over the Gundlupet-bangalore section. Driving the Fiesta 1.6 over the ghat was exhilareting, expecially in 3rd gear revving through the numerous hairpins. I feel, Fiesta 1.6 is a bit under rated compared to its peers for no good reason... My friends here on this forum have to reason it out! I have driven Verna, Fiesta and NHC and feel, for ghat roads and fast rolling curves, it makes more sense to drive a Fiesta, just because of its well weighted steering and slightly softer shocks. At higher speeds, i believe, having a heavier steering makes more sense... More reasons to call the fiesta a highway vehicle. There is a slight lag in the second gear in inclinations. The solution to bypass this power lag is to press-release, press-release the accelerator. Is this a known issue with Fiesta 1.6?? The only unwanted incident on this trip was... a lorry was parked on the centre of the road near dharapuram with a few big stones to mark its boundries.... i cautiously avoided the stones... There was this one stone which looked small and thought the car would cross over it... but unfortunately, the engine bay got pivoted over this stone and the car stalled! Solution :: took out the jack... jacked up the vehicle, cleared the stone from the under chassis, carried on.... Then i mistook the AC water dripping to be some leakage. Then , called up the FOrd Bangalore, and they asked me if the water was colorless or pink in color. If its pink in color, then it would be the coolant leakage which could be hazardous. But fortunately it was the AC water dripping which is common.
	() Thanks