[SureshS]

My sincere thanks to Abhi, hvk and other BHPians. I did a trip to Munnar and Guruvayoor from 30th Aug to 3rd Sept. Here are the details:

5:00 am - Bangalore (Uttarahalli Road) start
6:15 am - Adayar Anand Bhavan - Stop for coffee 68.9kms
9:30 am - Bhavani (Hotel Saravana Bhavan for Breakfast) - 239 kms (Stop for 30 mins)
1:00 pm - Udumalaipet (Stop for fuel and lunch at Hotel Nalarams) - 360 kms (Stop for one hour)
4:40pm - Munnar Town (444 kms)

Though I started a 5 am, the lorry traffic was heavy till around 20 kms after Hosur. Got a good free stretch of road after Adayar Anand Bhavan. The hotel did not have breakfast ready at 6:30am. So if you are targetting breakfast here, plan to be there around 7:00 am. The road from Krishnagiri till Palladam is a bit of a pain. The road surface is fine but there is 4 laning going on and there is lot of lorry traffic. It is not very easy to pass.

The route I took was Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Bhavani - Perundurai - Tirupur - Palladam - Udumalaipet - Chinnar - Maraiyoor - Munnar

I initially intended to go via Dharapuram as was suggested here. A driver in Bhavani told me that it was better to take the Tirupur route as the road was good. The road was no doubt very good but you need to pass thru Tirupur which is a bit of a pain.

The road from Palladam to Udumalaipet was great with lot of windmills around. After Udumalaipet the Chinnar sanctuary starts and therein starts a lovely journey. The weather was good and it drizzled a bit adding to the overall ambiance. The roads are good. Reached Munnar town at 4:40pm.

Next couple of days, visited the Eravikulam National Park and saw the famous Nilgiri Tahr. Also visited the Mattupetty and Kundale dams and the Top Point, from where you get to see a couple of Tamil Nadu towns. Lovely view. You need to walk down for some time to get to this point but it is worth it. You need to take the Kodaikanal road from Munnar town to get to these points. The roads are uniformly good and it is a pleasure to drive here.

After staying in Munnar for two more days I went to Guruvayoor. The route I took was:
Munnar - Perumbavoor - Angamali - Kaladi - Trichur - Guruvayoor

It took me more than 5 hours to do this more than 179 kms stretch. Till Kaladi the traffic is fine. From Kaladi, it is typical Kerala traffic and you can't do much but follow the lorries in front of you. It is a big pain and tests your patience.

Contrary to what I was told, there was no crowd at the Guruvayoor Temple. Had a nice darshan. Also visited the Elephant camp of the Guruvayoor temple.

Given the experience with traffic I decided to do the drive back to Bangalore via the route which will probably be less crowded. The routes suggested to me were via Coimbatore or via Kozhikode. I didn't take either of them but decided to come via Nilambur. Here are the details:

6:30 am - Start from Guruvayoor (Meter Reading : 786.8 kms)
10:10 am - Reach Gudaloor (Meter Reading: 931.4 kms)
12:30 pm - Reach Hotel Dasprakash in Mysore (Meter Reading: 1041.3 kms)
Break till 13:40pm
15:55 pm - Reach Residence at Uttarahalli (1175 kms) (After a short break for coffee at Kamat Yatri Niwas)

The route taken was Guruvayoor - Kunnamkulam - Perinthalmana - Nilambur - Gudalur - Mudumalai - Bandipur - Gundlupet - Mysore - Bangalore

Good roads and a lovely drive. You get to cover the curvy ghats between Nilambur and Gudalur. You also get to pass through Mudumalai and Bandipur. What more can you ask for !! The only pain is the road between Bandipur and Gundlupet. In some places there is no road at all !!

The roads on the Kerala side of the ghat between Nilambur and Gudalur is excellent. It deteriorates once you enter the Tamil Nadu side but it is not too bad.

Saw some deers and a peacock in the Bandipur forests. Also a couple of trained elephants, which we initially mistook for wild ones.

My car is an Innova Diesel G3. The initial mileage I got was around 11 kms per hour. I haven't computed the final mileage yet

Will post some photos soon.

S.Suresh

[SureshS]

Here are some photographs from my Munnar trip

1. Windmills in the Palladam - Udumalaipet road

2. Light Drizzle on the way

3. Winding Roads between the tea gardens

4. Misty tea gardens

5. Pothamedu Viewpoint

7. Elephant taking a bath in Guruvayoor

8. Deers in Bandipur

9. A picture from a view point

10. Picture from the Eravikulam National Park

11. The famous Nilgiri Tahr

12. Mattupattey Dam

13. Another view from a view point

14. Elephant walk


Hope you like the photos.

[trrk]

Hi Suresh,


> Munnar - Perumbavoor - Angamali - Kaladi - Trichur - Guruvayoor

It would be Munnar - Perumbavoor - Kaladi - Angamali - Trichur - Guruvayoor.

[MontyKING]

Wonderful to look at all the green pics. Reminds me of my trip to Kerala a few years back. I have fond memory of those times and these pics have rekindled all the good memories.

Thanks and please post more.

MontyKING

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by SureshS

My car is an Innova Diesel G3. The initial mileage I got was around 11 kms per hour. I haven't computed the final mileage yet

Suresh, shouldnt that have read as 11 kms per litre?
Thanks for the detailed route info.

[HappyWheels]

A detailed write up, Suresh. Thanks!

Great photos, especially the one with 3 elephants!

[snaronikar]

Good that you have posted a travelogue suresh in an appropriate section. Your pics looks good.

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by SureshS

The weather was good and it drizzled a bit adding to the overall ambiance. The roads are good. Reached Munnar town at 4:40pm.

Did you get to see any wild-life during this stretch?

Originally Posted by SureshS

Good roads and a lovely drive. You get to cover the curvy ghats between Nilambur and Gudalur. You also get to pass through Mudumalai and Bandipur. What more can you ask for !! The only pain is the road between Bandipur and Gundlupet. In some places there is no road at all !!

How is the leg between Gudalur and Teppakad? There used to be a perpetually 'as-good-as-no-road' section?

Thanks for the detailed report and pix!!!

Regards
Rex

[hellstar]

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

How is the leg between Gudalur and Teppakad? There used to be a perpetually 'as-good-as-no-road' section?

Exactly what i was about to ask ...

[SureshS]

Thanks for the comments and corrections. It was indeed Kaladi - Angamali and not as I had mentioned. It was indeed 11 kms / ltr.

The road between Gudalur and Teppakad was bad with lot of big pot holes. I didn't mind it too much as I was driving slow trying to see if I can get a glimpse of some wildlife.

In the Chinnar section, I unfortunately could not see any wildlife. When I stopped in Maraiyoor for a cup of tea, the shop lady said that there Elephants around in the morning. Maybe the rain had kept them away.

The other place I saw some Elephants was when I was driving back from the Kundale Dam to Munnar town. On the opposite bank of a river, a bit far away, there were two Elephants. A nice sight and probably a typical Kerala sight. Elephants near the water holes.

[akroy]

Nice update Suresh, and yes negotiating tirupur is a pain but the roads are good after that.

Originally Posted by SureshS

15:55 pm - Reach Residence at Uttarahalli (1175 kms) (After a short break for coffee at Kamat Yatri Niwas)

You meant Kamat Lokaruchi I guess.

Abhi

[muralisk]

Nice stuff Suresh. Nice pictures too and brings back the memories of my trip.

[kutlee]

lovely pics. That photo no 13 is classic. Great shot.

[SureshS]

Yes Abhi. The road after Tirupur, from Palladam on is a joy to drive. Infact the road via Oothukuli to Tirupur is also excellent and you can go quite fast in this stretch.The road from Palladam towards Udumalaipet has almost no traffic, nice road surface and lot of windmills around. Once you are out of Palladam into the Udumalaipet road, the best leg of the journey starts.

Yes. I did mean Lokaruchi. Sorry for the error.

S.Suresh

[akroy]

Originally Posted by SureshS

Yes Abhi. The road after Tirupur, from Palladam on is a joy to drive. Infact the road via Oothukuli to Tirupur is also excellent and you can go quite fast in this stretch.

Yes you are right !! I did this stretch at 9PM but still could do very fast (90-100kmph) thanks to the road illumination in the centre.

Abhi