[narayans80]

At Attibele (7km from Hosur), you can go below the bridge take a right. From here you can do TVS Factory-Kelamangalam-Rayakottai-Palacode-Dharmapuri. This way you'll avoid the full Hosur mess altogether. The route was done by a friend recently and is reported to be good.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by narayans80

At Attibele (7km from Hosur), you can go below the bridge take a right. From here you can do TVS Factory-Kelamangalam-Rayakottai-Palacode-Dharmapuri. This way you'll avoid the full Hosur mess altogether. The route was done by a friend recently and is reported to be good.

Thanks for the tip but isn’t that a 2-lane road for both sides of the traffic? Would this route be of any advantage over the 4 lane road via Krishnagiri?

I am still a bit confused over the route from Bangalore to Palakkad. This is the one we have in mind right now:

Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Mettur - Bhavani - Avinashi - Palladam - Pollachi - Palakkad

We are bypassing Salem, Erode and Tiruppur. Is this alright? Or is there a better route?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Thanks for the tip but isn’t that a 2-lane road for both sides of the traffic? Would this route be of any advantage over the 4 lane road via Krishnagiri?

I am still a bit confused over the route from Bangalore to Palakkad. This is the one we have in mind right now:

Do you plan to halt in Bangalore? And do you plan to start from Bangalore on weekend? If yes, then start very early the next day. Else have a regular start and stick to the conventional 4-lane. Not necessary to take Mettur road. Go via Salem. (BLR-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Salem-Avinashi-Mangalam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad)

We are bypassing Salem, Erode and Tiruppur. Is this alright? Or is there a better route?

As I explained, be on 4-lane till Avinashi. Then on the Avinashi bypass, take the second exit to Mangalam. That road would take you to Palladam and from there to Palakkad via Pollachi.

The route Narayan mentioned was to bypass the madness that happens between Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri during long weekends. If you have planned not to get caught in that vortex, you are good.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by ampere

Do you plan to halt in Bangalore? And do you plan to start from Bangalore on weekend?

Nope. No halt at Bangalore in any case. We will be starting from Hubli on he second day morn around 5 AM and bypass Bangalore.

Originally Posted by ampere

Go via Salem. (BLR-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Salem-Avinashi-Mangalam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad)

Alrighty then. We shall stick to the route you have indicated.

Originally Posted by ampere

As I explained, be on 4-lane till Avinashi. Then on the Avinashi bypass, take the second exit to Mangalam. That road would take you to Palladam and from there to Palakkad via Pollachi.

That would be this route then - https://goo.gl/maps/GlsWy

Originally Posted by ampere

The route Narayan mentioned was to bypass the madness that happens between Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri during long weekends. If you have planned not to get caught in that vortex, you are good.

Nope this isn't on a weekend. This would be on a Wednesday (10th September). So I hope there wouldn't be much blocks.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Nope. No halt at Bangalore in any case. We will be starting from Hubli on he second day morn around 5 AM and bypass Bangalore.

5AM Hubli means you cross Bangalore by about 12/2PM.

That would be this route then - https://goo.gl/maps/GlsWy

Yes. Just take the 4-lane. 2-lanes will really slow you down.

Nope this isn't on a weekend. This would be on a Wednesday (10th September). So I hope there wouldn't be much blocks.

This should be OK. Because working day after noon, traffic should be manageable on the Bangalore-Hosur sector. In fact after Hosur itself you should fly on the 4-lane. Most of the works are complete barring a few diversions here and there. Beyond Krishnagiri, it should be a runway to Avinashi.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by ampere

5AM Hubli means you cross Bangalore by about 12/2PM.

Damn! So Palakkad around 8-9 PM?

Originally Posted by ampere

Beyond Krishnagiri, it should be a runway to Avinashi.

Awesome! Looking forward for it.

As for the GPS, although I am able to configure the above route in Here maps online via PC, I can’t seem to send this configured map to my device. I will have to key in the destinations every time and drive.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Damn! So Palakkad around 8-9 PM?

Ideally you should be there by 11AM (I think) with a 5AM start. 12 is just is max. Its about 6 hours I would say. Add 1 hour for NICE road.

So my take: You should be in Palakkad by 6/7.

Also make sure: After you pay the Nelamangala toll for the elevated road, please stay on the left most lane. The exit to NICE road is just 5-8km and the sign-gauge comes just at the exit point. You wont have prior indication to change lane and take an exit.

I meant this stretch: Route Link

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Thanks for the tip but isn’t that a 2-lane road for both sides of the traffic? Would this route be of any advantage over the 4 lane road via Krishnagiri?

Will save time at the Hosur mess. Yes its a 2-lane section, but it doesnt see traffic much.

Only the Attibele-Hosur section sees some messy traffic otherwise take the route ampere mentioned Avinashi-Mangalam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad.

[Gannu_1]

*phew*

We did it!

Some information I would wish to share about the whole trip but before that, hat-tip to amp, rakesh and narayan for all the valuable tips. They were immensely helpful for the trip. Now here goes:

1. Total distance traveled - 1694 km

2. Total no. of tolls (as per no. of receipts collected) - 28

3. Toll amount paid for tolls - Rs. 1774

4. Total fuel filled - 87 L.

5. Total amount paid for fuel - Rs. 5620

6. We started from Surat at 3:30 AM (9th Sept., Day I) and reached Ghodbunder road entry (Hotel Fountain) at 7 AM. Since we were intending to take the Airoli-Navi Mumbai route to reach the Mumbai-Pune expressway, my chauffeur took over and I was using the phone to guide him with the GPS. The last time, we did a big blunder and went via Mumbra! Experienced some heavy showers en route but the traffic was minimal and we touched the expressway around 9 AM.

7. The 4-lane road from Pune (after MPEW) to MH-KA border were in bad shape ridden with potholes and road diversions due to flyover constructions.

8. Roads after entering KA were just fabulous! A mix of concrete and asphalt roads but in very good shape, lush greenery around, straight stretches, good road manners all round. We loved this part of the journey the most.

Some snaps:







9. We reached Hubli around 6 PM just as we had planned and halted at SBI's holiday home. Had dinner from a restaurant nearby and crashed. Woke up the next day at 4:30 AM, quickly had our showers and hit the road at around 5:15 AM.

At Davangere around 7:30 AM, we experienced heavy fog for a small stretch. The toll booth located 50 m away was barely visible:



10. After Chitradurga, we were bypassing almost all the towns through the flyovers and couldn't spot a single restaurant by the side of the road! Since we had left Hubli around 5:15 AM, we were feeling hungry (it was 8:45 AM) and being helpless, called up HVK. Kumar Sir instantly gave us the directions to a restaurant (Kamat Upachar) located at Sira, barely 5 km from where we had called him. After reaching the restaurant, we called him, thanked him profusely, tanked up our tummies and left.

Kamat Upachar at Sira:



Innards:



The hotel has clean rest rooms and the food served was very good. We had pongal, poori-masala, idli-vada and tea.

11. We reached NICE road around 10:20 AM and spent close to 90 minutes to get out of Bangalore due to the rush hour traffic. Got stuck at a few traffic signals as well.

12. From Bangalore to Dharmapuri, narayans80 suggested taking the Rayakottai-Palacode road bypassing Hosur and the traffic during noon. But our experience on this road was bad. Not only was this road a regular narrow 2-lane road, it was rather curvy, the road passed through the centre of 2 towns (Rayakottai and Palacode) which slowed us down even further, there were trucks and state RTC buses plying through this road which wouldn't bother giving way to the trailing vehicles (as such the road is narrow; why would they get off the road to give way to others?!). The only favorable thing is this road has no tolls so you save up about 90-100 bucks. But that's about it. This was a stupid decision and we wasted 2 hours on this road. I guess the 4-lane road via Krishnagiri was way better. We will know during our return leg of the journey.

13. After entering TN, the 4-lane road continued almost until Coimbatore wherein we entered the L&T bypass road. But construction wasn't complete and there were small humps and undulations atop these flyovers and the vehicles had to slow down. We pay a toll fee of Rs. 31 for a single journey for the entire bypass but the road isn't any good.

14. We bypassed Walayar from the road opp. Amrita college, Ettimadai that goes to Athicode via Velanthavalam. The road is very narrow but there aren't any buses/trucks on this route. A few cars and bikes but that's about it. We joined the NH-47 at Kootupatha. Glad we didn't take the Palladam - Pollachi route; saved some 40 km. We reached home (near Mercy College, Palakkad) around 7:30 PM.

15. Diesel prices - Rs. 65.43 (GJ), Rs. 64.22 (KA), Rs. 63.31 (TN), Rs. 62.XX (KL).

All in all, we had a fantastic trip! We will return to Surat from Palakkad on October 1st and it will be a 3-day trip since my wife would be with us this time and we may have to drive a bit sedately. That's all.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

All in all, we had a fantastic trip! We will return to Surat from Palakkad on October 1st and it will be a 3-day trip since my wife would be with us this time and we may have to drive a bit sedately. That's all.

- If you asked breakfast point earlier, many would have mentioned that place. Thats the only place you get their. There used to a Kamat at Davanagere, but its closed now Good; at you could it before you crossed it. (Another reason, why you should stock yourself with eatables whether you plan to eat a hotel or not). Also this part of 4-lane has only Kamats!

- As I mentioned to you the Hosur/Rayakottai option may be good for seasoned guys who know about it well. When you are in a cross country mode, that idea may not work

- What happened to Avinashi-Palladam-Pollachi-Pallakad? (You actually missed the best part of the 2-lane drive within TN! )

Nice journey surely! (Esp the fact you could hit the road so early the second day).

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by ampere

- If you asked breakfast point earlier, many would have mentioned that place. Thats the only place you get their. There used to a Kamat at Davanagere, but its closed now Good; at you could it before you crossed it. (Another reason, why you should stock yourself with eatables whether you plan to eat a hotel or not). Also this part of 4-lane has only Kamats!

We had some 10 Snickers bars but those wouldn't fill our tummies for sure. We should have carried some food along. Like fruits or something. But I hate carrying food along for trips.

Originally Posted by ampere

- As I mentioned to you the Hosur/Rayakottai optioned may be good for seasoned guys who know about it well. When you are in a cross country mode, that idea may not work

I really really hated this part of the drive. We were cursing ourselves for ditching the Hosur-Krishnagiri route! We will be opting for the other route during the return leg. Let's see how that pans out.

Originally Posted by ampere

- What happened to Avinashi-Palladam-Pollachi-Pallakad? (You actually missed the best part of the 2-lane drive within TN! )

Our driver said that route is a tad lengthier for no good reason. Agreed, that the roads may have been wider and better but we were getting late. We had planned to reach home by sundown so skipped this route.

Originally Posted by ampere

Nice journey surely! (Esp the fact you could hit the road so early the second day).

Terrific I'd say. We loved every bit of it esp. the KA roads. Now we are looking forward for the countryside drives. Going to Madurai tomorrow btw.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Terrific I'd say. We loved every bit of it. Now we are looking forward for the countryside drives. Going to Madurai tomorrow btw.

Palakkad-Pollachi-Dharapuram-Odanchatram-Dindigul-Madurai.


Its easier to cross Dharapuram as compared to Udumalpet.

[Gannu_1]

Forgot to update. We drove back to Surat on 1st October starting from Palakkad at 9 AM and reached Surat on the 3rd at 2:30 PM. 2 halts - Tumkur for the first night and Bavdhan, Pune for the second.

Day 1 - Left Palakkad at 9 AM, had lunch at Adyar Ananda Bhavan, Dharmapuri which is attached to a fuel station. We went via Krishnagiri-Hosur this time and there was some traffic at Hosur and Attibele toll booth. Some road diversions were also in place in this stretch. Reached Tumkur around 6:30 PM and at Tumkur, HVK helped us with the hotel bookings for 2 rooms at Naveen Regency. The hotel is located just by the side of the main highway overlooking it so we didn’t waste any time getting into the town and getting out of it. Room tariffs were slightly on the higher side but that was fine - Rs. 3080 total for 2 non-AC double rooms. Rooms were neat and clean, bathrooms hygienic. Attached restaurant served good food (including non-veg.) and breakfast in the morn.

Day 2- Left Tumkur after having tea at 7 AM sharp. Had breakfast at Chitradurga at a hotel located next to a toll booth and lunch at a dhaba at Belgaum. We reached Pune outskirts around 7 PM and halted at a friend’s place at Bavdhan.

Day 3 - Left Pune at 7 AM and hit the Mumbai-Pune expressway at 7:30 AM. We reached Hotel Fountain at the end of Ghodbunder road around 10 AM, had breakfast and reached Surat around 2:30 PM.

This time since my wife was accompanying us, we drove a bit sedately and had to break occasionally. Nonetheless it was an enjoyable drive although I admit, I loved the onward journey more. I was a bit worried if the car would break down somewhere but nothing of that sort happened. A bunch of cops stopped us at the Pune outskirts but since all the papers were in order, they let us through immediately. MH cops have a distinctive affection towards GJ registered cars.

The next time we would drive to Palakkad, there wouldn’t be a return journey. It will happen when I am being transferred down south. Until then, time to roam this part of India.

[SPDSTR]

Driving down to Coimbatore this week end. Would be grateful if the regulars or recent travelers post if there are any updates for NH4 route.

Have looked up the other threads like Bangalore - Pune - Mumbai thread and have armed myself with the wonderful information there. A Special thanks to paragsachania for the detailed info on the possible stopping and refueling options there.

Traveling with family so planned route is Mumbai - Pune- Bangalore - Hosur - Salem - Erode - Coimbatore. Will cover the distance over two days with a night halt at Hubli or Davangere. A big thank you in advance.

[SPDSTR]

Did it!!

Got a 6:30 AM start from Andheri and reached Davangiri at about 8:00 PM. Pune - Kolhapur stretch was bad and it took me the better part of 7 hours to reach there from Mumbai. Entering Karnataka, it was smooth sailing all the way to Coimbatore. In TN there were cross roads at many places cutting across the Highway so had to be careful. A 7:00 AM start on day 2 from Davangiri got me to Coimbatore at 6:00 PM.

The return journey was wonderful. A 6.15 AM start from R S Puram got me to Belgaum at 7:00 PM. Pushed hard and in-spite of several breaks. surprised myself by covering nearly 900 KM. With a good nights sleep and a late 8:00 AM start on day 2, the journey was relaxed with multiple stops. The roads on kolhapur - Pune side had been relaid and did not have markings on them. Had to deal with a few diversions but had a better and smoother drive to reach Andheri at 5:30 PM.

Approx. 19 hours of driving time , About 1700/- in tolls each direction.