Drive from Bangalore to Kuruva Island Wayanad

sdp1975 · 9th November 2009, 17:28

Did blr->wayanad(kalpetta) over the last 3 days in my punto, returned today a short while ago.

Went by route A, returned by route C. Route C is definitely far better in terms of overall road conditions than A, I saved about 1.5 hrs while returning. Distance wise, both are approximately the same, ~300km.

gadadhar · 10th November 2009, 11:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Did blr->wayanad(kalpetta) over the last 3 days in my punto, returned today a short while ago.

Went by route A, returned by route C. Route C is definitely far better in terms of overall road conditions than A, I saved about 1.5 hrs while returning. Distance wise, both are approximately the same, ~300km.

You are right. If you are going to Sulthan Bathery/Kalpetta side option C is the best. I took Hunsur -> Nagerhole -> Kutta option since I was staying near Kuruva Island. Very sorry if this was not clear in my travelogue and caused you inconvenience. Any update on the HD kottey road maintenance?

deepakhon · 10th November 2009, 11:21

@gadadhar,

Thanks for your review on PGV. I have booked there from 27th to 29th of Nov. Will check your post prior to travelling for the route.

rajesh1868 · 10th November 2009, 14:29

^
In case you are staying in bamboo made tree top houses, please be careful. there are lots of rats. and as per PGV manager this is something natural that you can expect when there is too much of bamboo. He also said that this was predicted (his reaction was more in the line of "prophecy came true" rather than putting a formal apology).
we stayed for 3 nights . fortunately rats made their entry only during the last night. otherwise the place is good

@gadadhar, i wanted to write a travelogue but couldnt do it till now. I mentioned tbhp and they didnt take any tax. Thanks for the initiative

sdp1975 · 10th November 2009, 16:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadadhar

You are right. If you are going to Sulthan Bathery/Kalpetta side option C is the best. I took Hunsur -> Nagerhole -> Kutta option since I was staying near Kuruva Island. Very sorry if this was not clear in my travelogue and caused you inconvenience. Any update on the HD kottey road maintenance?

No problems at all gadadhar, in fact the journey via Nagarhole forest was a different experience altogether. Travelling along route C twice would've been boring. Your travelogue was indeed very helpful in planning my journey. The only spoilsport was the rain. I wish it had been sunnier.

Not sure about the HD Kottey road conditions, I guess they're bad as ever.

I stayed in Woodlands, and was quite satisfied with the hotel and it's staff. Non a/c rooms were at 780/- + 15% tax. They also have two separate restaurants - one veg and the other non-veg , food was pretty decent as well.

gadadhar · 10th November 2009, 17:11

@deepakhon - Enjoy you trip. Rains are best enjoyed in Wayanad. Read roads are bad when you approach Kattikulam due to recent rains and heavy traffic (night traffic ban in other stretch). Try to get an update from other BHPians and PGV manager

@rajesh1868 - I have stayed twice in the bamboo house and didn't face issues with rats, may be a recent development? I will mail to Capt Saju the resort owner about this (has become a good friend after frequent visits, guess he is sailing now). Hope to see your travelogue soon.

@sdp1975 - Good to know you enjoyed the route. Forests would have been at its greenest in rains, but it upstes all outing plans. Don't understand why it is taking so long for HD Kotte road. It would have given us another travel option

rajesh1868 · 10th November 2009, 18:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadadhar

@rajesh1868 - I have stayed twice in the bamboo house and didn't face issues with rats, may be a recent development? I will mail to Capt Saju the resort owner about this (has become a good friend after frequent visits, guess he is sailing now). Hope to see your travelogue soon.

May be recent. This was my first time there. Infact in the first 2 days there were noise from the roof. But then they started coming inside the room. As per the manager, bamboo environment is a stimulant for rats to mate.So may be its population is increasing. When we visited, Capt. was sailing

deepakhon · 1st December 2009, 11:28

I just came back from PGV yesterday evening. First things first, no rats

I guess there is no need to say much about the resort, as everything has been covered in this thread.
We went on a safari arranged by Mr. Sunno, and it was indeed good. We spotted quite a lot of elephants, at very close quarter. A good experience that one was!

We took the route via Nagarhole, the one that is detailed on their website while going. The route gets really bad after Nagarhole forest range.

While coming back, we took this route: Bavali-HD Kote-Mysore-Bangalore. The stretch between Bavali and HD Kote is really bad. The rest of the road is wonderful.

Another route is to go via Sulthan Battheri. This is a long route, though, I heard is good.

All in all, the roads go from very good to very bad. So, be prepared for bad roads. Especially, the 5 km stretch connecting the highway to PGV is really bad. I heard that the Govt is planning to take up that work from Jan. Till then, it is bad. And, you can not avoid this road.

Mafioso · 1st December 2009, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakhon

I just came back from PGV yesterday evening.

Thanks for the Update Deepak, we are travelling this weekend and though the initial plan was to drive down on friday night through hunsur - gonikuppa route we went against it because of the bad road conditions updated by fellow bhpian's!! Is this stretch between bavali and HD kote open in the nights? The safari you mentioned is arranged by the resort guys? how much are the rates?

deepakhon · 1st December 2009, 12:43

From what I know, the Bavali stretch is not open during night. I might be wrong here. You could call the resort up and talk to them.

The safari is arranged by resort guys. They have their vehicle to transport you either during early morning or late night. I opted for early morning as I was told it is a bit risky during night, and I did not want to do that with my 4 year old daughter. They charged us Rs. 500 for the Safari.

Dhanu@DJ · 7th December 2009, 21:39

Don't really no much about kuruva island as it was pouring down in entire kerala and waynad when i went there... There is another very good resort near Vythiri (Vythiri Resort Wayanad - Nature Resorts North Kerala - Eco Hotel India)... Very nice place enjoyed the stay and food... I drove from Mysore-Gundlupet-Kalpatta to vythir and returned via Thirunelli Temple, Kuruva island and the nagarhole through Kutta - Hunsur road... lot off sighting of wild animals... very scenic route... an elephant cahsed me when i was taking a picture of getting down from my car

gadadhar · 14th December 2009, 14:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dhanu@DJ

an elephant cahsed me when i was taking a picture of getting down from my car

Its a very risk stuff that you did. Couple of months back one Dutch lady was trampled to death by a cow elephant near Masanagudi while she was filiming after stepping out her vehicle. I was on the way to ooty that day.It's a strict NO to stepping out of your vehicle in forest area.

Dhanu@DJ · 15th December 2009, 13:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Its a very risk stuff that you did. Couple of months back one Dutch lady was trampled to death by a cow elephant near Masanagudi while she was filiming after stepping out her vehicle. I was on the way to ooty that day.It's a strict NO to stepping out of your vehicle in forest area.

Yep realized it later when i saw a heard of them with a baby elephant. It actually stopped after seeing the hazard lights flashing while i was reversing. Lucky i had a free way behind.

REMU · 16th December 2009, 17:37

Lucky you Dhanu. Elephants with calf are quite violent. We were once struck in the same spot with a bull elephant, but luckily the guide first checked the wind flow direction and he did not move when the elephant showed symptoms of charge.

Gandhi · 17th March 2010, 00:50

Sorry for bumping up an old thread. How is the weather in Wayanad these days? We are planning to visit Wayanad in first week of April. Will it be too hot?

9th November 2009, 17:28	#46
sdp1975 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,700 Thanked: 1,273 Times View My Garage	Did blr->wayanad(kalpetta) over the last 3 days in my punto, returned today a short while ago. Went by route A, returned by route C. Route C is definitely far better in terms of overall road conditions than A, I saved about 1.5 hrs while returning. Distance wise, both are approximately the same, ~300km. Last edited by sdp1975 : 9th November 2009 at 17:33.
	() Thanks

10th November 2009, 11:21	#48
deepakhon Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,441 Thanked: 65 Times	@gadadhar, Thanks for your review on PGV. I have booked there from 27th to 29th of Nov. Will check your post prior to travelling for the route.
	() Thanks

10th November 2009, 14:29	#49
rajesh1868 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: 515134 Posts: 321 Thanked: 336 Times	^ In case you are staying in bamboo made tree top houses, please be careful. there are lots of rats. and as per PGV manager this is something natural that you can expect when there is too much of bamboo. He also said that this was predicted (his reaction was more in the line of "prophecy came true" rather than putting a formal apology). we stayed for 3 nights . fortunately rats made their entry only during the last night. otherwise the place is good @gadadhar, i wanted to write a travelogue but couldnt do it till now. I mentioned tbhp and they didnt take any tax. Thanks for the initiative
	() Thanks

10th November 2009, 17:11	#51
gadadhar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,342 Thanked: 1,116 Times View My Garage	@deepakhon - Enjoy you trip. Rains are best enjoyed in Wayanad. Read roads are bad when you approach Kattikulam due to recent rains and heavy traffic (night traffic ban in other stretch). Try to get an update from other BHPians and PGV manager @rajesh1868 - I have stayed twice in the bamboo house and didn't face issues with rats, may be a recent development? I will mail to Capt Saju the resort owner about this (has become a good friend after frequent visits, guess he is sailing now). Hope to see your travelogue soon. @sdp1975 - Good to know you enjoyed the route. Forests would have been at its greenest in rains, but it upstes all outing plans. Don't understand why it is taking so long for HD Kotte road. It would have given us another travel option
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 11:28	#53
deepakhon Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,441 Thanked: 65 Times	I just came back from PGV yesterday evening. First things first, no rats I guess there is no need to say much about the resort, as everything has been covered in this thread. We went on a safari arranged by Mr. Sunno, and it was indeed good. We spotted quite a lot of elephants, at very close quarter. A good experience that one was! We took the route via Nagarhole, the one that is detailed on their website while going. The route gets really bad after Nagarhole forest range. While coming back, we took this route: Bavali-HD Kote-Mysore-Bangalore. The stretch between Bavali and HD Kote is really bad. The rest of the road is wonderful. Another route is to go via Sulthan Battheri. This is a long route, though, I heard is good. All in all, the roads go from very good to very bad. So, be prepared for bad roads. Especially, the 5 km stretch connecting the highway to PGV is really bad. I heard that the Govt is planning to take up that work from Jan. Till then, it is bad. And, you can not avoid this road.
	() Thanks

1st December 2009, 12:43	#55
deepakhon Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,441 Thanked: 65 Times	From what I know, the Bavali stretch is not open during night. I might be wrong here. You could call the resort up and talk to them. The safari is arranged by resort guys. They have their vehicle to transport you either during early morning or late night. I opted for early morning as I was told it is a bit risky during night, and I did not want to do that with my 4 year old daughter. They charged us Rs. 500 for the Safari.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:39	#56
Dhanu@DJ BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 54 Thanked: 28 Times	Don't really no much about kuruva island as it was pouring down in entire kerala and waynad when i went there... There is another very good resort near Vythiri (Vythiri Resort Wayanad - Nature Resorts North Kerala - Eco Hotel India)... Very nice place enjoyed the stay and food... I drove from Mysore-Gundlupet-Kalpatta to vythir and returned via Thirunelli Temple, Kuruva island and the nagarhole through Kutta - Hunsur road... lot off sighting of wild animals... very scenic route... an elephant cahsed me when i was taking a picture of getting down from my car
	() Thanks

16th December 2009, 17:37	#59
REMU BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Permanent Parking: KL01, Temp Parking: KA03 Posts: 61 Thanked: 0 Times	Lucky you Dhanu. Elephants with calf are quite violent. We were once struck in the same spot with a bull elephant, but luckily the guide first checked the wind flow direction and he did not move when the elephant showed symptoms of charge.
	() Thanks

17th March 2010, 00:50	#60
Gandhi BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 958 Thanked: 206 Times View My Garage	Sorry for bumping up an old thread. How is the weather in Wayanad these days? We are planning to visit Wayanad in first week of April. Will it be too hot?
	() Thanks