[ampere]

So what was route you took from Calicut to Nilambur?

[ajithbr]

Calicut->Ramanattukara->Kondotty->Manjeri->Edavanna->Vadapuram->Nilambur->Vazhikkadavu

Usually takes a maximum of 2 hours (Manjeri byepass almost center in this route both time-wise and distance-wise) to cover this 90 kms upto the foothill of the Nadugani ghats. There are many shorter routes from Calicut to Nilambur depending on your starting point but I feel this would be the fastest.

[ampere]

Any reason why that route, rather than the standard 212?


Whatever said and done, Nilambur is awesome place to view around while on a drive!
Especially the railway station!

[ajithbr]

Reasons that come immediately to mind are:
1) Nilambur falling enroute and the views, esp. the tea estates and waterfalls at a distance as you approach Gudalur (and the overall climate in the area gives you a free sensation of being in Ooty without actually being there)
2) No hair-pin bends at all, esp. the damaged ones, where you can take revenge on your car
3) Much better road conditions till Vazhikkadavu as compared to the road till Adivaram on NH-212
4) Very less traffic, esp. the private buses and KSRTC buses coming in the opposite direction when you are driving towards Bangalore in the morning
5) No need to cross crowded towns of Kalpetta and Sulthan Bathery where jeeps and autos can slow you down
6) No massive jams in the checkposts as seen in NH-212, esp. in the early mornings when people start crossing the forest when the gate reopens at 6 AM
7) No need to cross Calicut city (and any of the damaged roads inside city) as we start near the southern end of Calicut
8) The additional distance as compared to NH-212 is only less than 10 kms for us. Also, Nilambur route takes lesser time and offers a relaxed drive.

Not sure whether anyone remembers the old conditions (narrow stretches/curves, some sections made one-way etc.) of Thamarassery/Wayanad Ghats before becoming NH-212. Nilambur route was heavily used then for personal/family drives. KSRTC buses always preferred Bathery route (NH-212) because of their major depot there. Whereas, private buses and taxis ignore Nilambur route because of additional state tax as we need to be in Tamilnadu roads for some distance while on this route.

[kala]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

Calicut->Ramanattukara->Kondotty->Manjeri->Edavanna->Vadapuram->Nilambur->Vazhikkadavu

Usually takes a maximum of 2 hours (Manjeri byepass almost center in this route both time-wise and distance-wise) to cover this 90 kms upto the foothill of the Nadugani ghats. There are many shorter routes from Calicut to Nilambur depending on your starting point but I feel this would be the fastest.

Was just going through my trip logs for my drive from Calicut-Bangalore via Nilambur that I did at the end of last month. I took a slightly different route (went through Mavoor Road) and seem to have reached Vazhikkadavu in about 1 hour 40 minutes and Gundlupet in about 3.5 hours. Here are the relevant portions of the trip log :

2.55 PM - Start from Mavoor Road Bus stand (0 kms)
3:03 PM - Calicut Medical College (6 kms) - Take right fork towards Mavoor (Left fork goes to Karanthoor (NH-212) )
3:15 PM - Cherooppa (16 kms) Take right turn to Areekode road ( Straight goes to Mavoor )
3:21 PM - Cross Kavanakkallu bridge, Turn left at T junction after bridge (20 kms) - Toll for bridge 3 Rs
3:30 PM - Pass Edavannappara town (26 kms) - Go straight
3:42 PM - Pass Areekode Town (36 kms)
3:45 PM - 1.6 kms from Areekode (37.6 kms) road forks - take left fork to Edavanna, (right goes to Manjeri)
4:02 PM Edavanna - T junction (51.3 kms) turn left for Nilambur (Right goes to Manjeri)
4:17 PM Nilambur town (63 kms) go straight towards Vazhikkadavu/Gudalur
4:29 PM Edakkara (74 kms) - Proceed straight
4:35 PM Vazhikkadavu (78 kms) - Continue straight
5:07 PM Nadugani T junction (98 kms) - Take right to Gudalur (Left goes to Meppady / Kalpetta) - Toll of Rs 20 about 2 kms before this
5:25 PM - Gudalur T Junction (110 kms). Take left for Gundlupet/Mysore (Right goes to Ooty)
5:26 PM - 0.3 kms ahead road forks - Take right fork to Gundlupet, left goes to Sulthan Bathery via Devarshola
5:50 PM - Theppekkad Junction (127 kms) Proceed straight (Right goes to Masinagudi/Ooty)
5:58 PM - Cross TN/KA border (132 kms)
6:05 PM - Pass Bandipur (139 kms)
6:13 PM - Exit Bandipur WLS (144 kms)
6:26 PM - Gundlupet Town (158 kms)

Calicut-Gundlupet is approx. 155 kms through Kalpetta-Bathery, so the extra distance is only 3 kms. In the current condition of the Thamarassery ghats and with rough roads around Muthanga it would be very difficult to reach Gundlupet in 3.5 hours if you travel that way.

[ajithbr]

I know that route but avoid it since we start from south-end of Mini bye-pass near Meenchanda. To reach Medical College, we may take about 30 minutes (traffic and bad roads in the stretch) as compared to your 8 minutes from City. How are the route conditions till "Edavanna - T junction" in your route? Please elaborate for each pair of subsequent points mentioned in your log. Next time, I will be driving to city first to drop someone near KSRTC and then proceed towards home. So, would like to know the latest conditions of the exact route you have taken.

[kala]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

I know that route but avoid it since we start from south-end of Mini bye-pass near Meenchanda. To reach Medical College, we may take about 30 minutes (traffic and bad roads in the stretch) as compared to your 8 minutes from City. How are the route conditions till "Edavanna - T junction" in your route? Please elaborate for each pair of subsequent points mentioned in your log. Next time, I will be driving to city first to drop someone near KSRTC and then proceed towards home. So, would like to know the latest conditions of the exact route you have taken.

Yes, the southern route makes sense if you're starting from Meenchanda - no point coming back to the city.

The road surface was good all through - you can do 80-90 comfortably. But the traffic on Kerala roads doesn't allow you to do that during the day, with plenty of 2 and 3 wheeler traffic in both directions which makes overtaking difficult and slows you down considerably. (Early mornings would probably be much faster)

[sijesh]

Dear All,

These vacations I drove again along the same route
Here is an update:
Onward (24/12/2010):
While going I took the route :Bangalore - Mysore - Gundlupete - Gudlur - Malappuram - Kottakal - Edapal
Update:
1. Mysore - Nanjangud : road was still bad, it was worse than I had been there before. Though there are parts patched up but some places it was just ridiculous. Seems like the patch job they are doing is not going to last long.

Originally Posted by ajithbr

Just yesterday did a Calicut->Nilambur->Mysore->Bangalore trip. The roads are much better in the ghat sections now after some repair works, esp. from the Kerala border till Gudalur town. Most of the rough patches around Nadugaani have been repaired and the potholes filled up. So, we could cover Vazhikkadavu (check post just before ghat section) to Gudalur (Hotel Harithagiri just before the forest entry) in about an hour with comfortable speed.

And seems Santa has already came with an "unexpected gift" as the long awaited repair works on Mysore->Nanjangud section has already began and is on full swing (I think about 60 to 70 % done already) after the accident of the marriage party (about 30 killed) in one of the lakes near Mysore airport on the same stretch and many protests by locals demanding an immediate repair. After a very very long time (probably, an year or so), was able to cover Nanjangud to Mysore in about 30 minutes. Crossed Nanjangud 1.05 PM sharp and was near Mysore Palace by 1.30 PM. Heard from the workers that they are asked to finish the repair works in about a week as there are some inspection before new year.
In fact, work is being done from both ends and some intermediate places where the damage is the most severe. And of course, all the patchworks near the 3 lakes enroute have already been finished.

2.Kuttippuram to Edapal much better road is 95% complete and excellent. Road markings are not there so night driving is still difficult. Hopefully it will be complete soon.
Return(02/01/2011:
While coming back I took the route : Edapal -Kottakal -Malappuram - Gudlur - Gundlupete - Chamaranagar - Kollegel - Kanakpura - Bangalore as per:

Originally Posted by kala

I travelled through the Nilambur-Gudalur-Gundlupet stretch yesterday evening on my way from Calicut to Bangalore, but I chose to go via Chamarajnagar - Kollegal - Malavalli - Kanakapura instead of the Nanjangud-Mysore-Bangalore route. My observations were similar, but I think I managed to the Gundlupet-Bangalore stretch slightly faster, thanks to the sparse traffic on the route that I took. I joined the route that you took at Edavanna, and the comparitive timings were :

Edavanna-Gundlupet : 4:02 PM to 6:26PM ( 2 hrs 24 minutes for 157 kms) - you took 2 hrs 55 minutes including a 30 minute break - which makes it 2 hrs 25 minutes

Gundlupet to NICE road-Kanakapura Rd crossing : 6:48PM to 9:44PM (2 hrs 56 minutes for 194 kms) - your timigs were 10:21AM to 2:15PM which is 3 hrs 54 minutes including a break of 31 minutes which makes it 3 hrs 23 minutes (Subtract may be 8 minutes for the NICE road stretch between Kanakapura road to Bannerghata road, still makes it 3 hrs 15 minutes)

So while we seem to drive at very similar speeds (as can be seen from the Nilambur-Gundlupet timings), I seem to have gained at least 15-20 minutes by avoiding the Nanjangud-Bangalore traffic !!!

My views:
1. this route has less traffic but on the contrary more villages and villagers and cattle, so need to be very careful with the speed as they are not used to high speed cars. On one occassion one bike guy came in the opposite direction to avoid the paddy laid on the road, and was straight in my path. I had to brake very hard and thanks to ABS I could control.
2. Road condition is good , but very narrow in some places nearing Kollegal(so narrow through a village that when a bus came from the opposite direction, I had to reverse all the way back) .
3. Time wise it almost works out the same , but i got the feeling we were quicker. Did not note down properly.
4. Important thing to note is that if you are with family /kids not advisable to take this route as the facilities like a nice restaurant with toilet facilities are less. I wasted a lot of time checking out 2 Dhabas that were extremely unclean that had to drop the idea till almost reaching Bangalore. Nearing Bangalore there is "Paul's Hut" on the left side that is super clean.
-Sijesh

[Rajesh K R]

Hi Sijesh,

Thanks for your earlier log. I took the same route while coming from GVR to BLR on 1st Jan 2011.

The route i took was somewhat like this :
Chavakkad - ponnani - edappal - kottakkal - malappuram - nilambur - gudalur - mysore - bangalore.

IT was 420 kms from Chavakkad to my residence near Ring road in Banashankari. Had lunch in KTDC Tamarind restaurant in Nilambur.

The roads were all very good & scenic. Only the road between Nanjangud to Mysore was very bad. To make matters worse, we face a major traffic jam for about 1 hour near Nanjangud.

The only problem i faced was, i could not drive beyond 60 km per hr as i did not know the roads, the turnings, and also had to ask for directions at every major junction / town. ( This being my first drive in Kerala )

[sijesh]

Hi Rajesh,

Thanks for your feedback. Oh! you drove back on 01st Jan, I cam back the next day on 2nd Jan.

Yes, at first it takes time to drive through an unknown route and especially when you have to ask the route it becomes even more difficult. But that is fine as it is better to be careful and drive slowly on new routes, I guess that is what I faced while I took the Gundlupete - Chamarajanagar - Kanakpura route.

The road near Nanjangud is a real big problem always and invariably you get stuck behind a KSRTC bus and it is difficult as there is a nakkabandi as you enter Mysore. Wonder why that and also the additional speed bumps make this whole journey a bit tiring at this point. apart from this stretch the entire route is scenic and enjoyable to drive.

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

Had lunch in KTDC Tamarind restaurant in Nilambur.

how was this restaraunt? Is the food and toilet facilties clean? I saw this at Nilambur. Did not stop for breakfast as it was too early.

-Sijesh

[ajithbr]

Originally Posted by sijesh

I guess that is what I faced while I took the Gundlupete - Chamarajanagar - Kanakpura route.

The road near Nanjangud is a real big problem always -Sijesh

Nanjangud->Mysore stretch is best taken early morning (before 8 AM) or late afternoon (2 to 4 PM).Other day timings are messy with heavy traffic and police nakabandi and night timings are bad with potholes and opposite traffic.

The C.H.Nagar route is a good alternative but with family, it is a tricky route if you need to break. The best option in this route is to drive towards Malavalli town (instead of taking bye-pass) and you will find some decent restaurants; there used to be a good Shanthi Sagar. Not much issues since on any normal day, there wont be much traffic even inside the town. You may expect some rush on sundays (because of roadside markets) and school timings though.

Originally Posted by sijesh

how was this restaraunt? Is the food and toilet facilties clean? I saw this at Nilambur. Did not stop for breakfast as it was too early.

-Sijesh

KTDC Tamarind near Karimpuzha Bridge is a standard one. Heard from people in this forum that they have good lunch. We had stopped there for breakfast a couple of months back and it was good. And the toilets were extremely clean and the staff was very friendly too. You may break here just for tea or coffee as well as the air is very refreshing there and a quiet river flows just behind the compound.

[Rajesh K R]

Originally Posted by sijesh

Hi Rajesh,

Thanks for your feedback. Oh! you drove back on 01st Jan, I cam back the next day on 2nd Jan.

Yes, at first it takes time to drive through an unknown route and especially when you have to ask the route it becomes even more difficult. But that is fine as it is better to be careful and drive slowly on new routes, I guess that is what I faced while I took the Gundlupete - Chamarajanagar - Kanakpura route.

The road near Nanjangud is a real big problem always and invariably you get stuck behind a KSRTC bus and it is difficult as there is a nakkabandi as you enter Mysore. Wonder why that and also the additional speed bumps make this whole journey a bit tiring at this point. apart from this stretch the entire route is scenic and enjoyable to drive.



how was this restaraunt? Is the food and toilet facilties clean? I saw this at Nilambur. Did not stop for breakfast as it was too early.

-Sijesh

KTDC Tamarind has got good toilets, not many people thronging for lunch. They had a buffet (both veg & non-veg) on offer, but we opted for chappathis and veg kurma which was good.

There is one more restaurant within 1 km of KTDC Tamarind. Its called 'WOODBINE' or something. It is located opposite to the Teak Museum / Connolly's plot. You can also check it out.

Yes, as ajitbr has mentioned, the location of this restaurant made me stop here. Of course, bhpian Bigzero had mentioned about this place & had posted some photos of it during one of his drives.

Thanks !!

[gops2009]

Hi ,
We plan to travel - 2 families from Bangalore to Calicut tomorrow early morning , the intended start time is 6:00 Am when we leave bangalore, traditionally we take the Sultan Battery Route, this time we want to take the Nilambur route,yet we are cautious since we have 3 children in the group, Please Advice on
1) Is this route right, in this season, I mean- I know this is a scenic route, but is this tension free.
2) how do we get to this route from Nanjangaud
3)What is the road condition
4)How is the Sultan BAttery route as we intend using this on our return journey

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by gops2009

Hi ,
We plan to travel - 2 families from Bangalore to Calicut tomorrow early morning , the intended start time is 6:00 Am when we leave bangalore, traditionally we take the Sultan Battery Route, this time we want to take the Nilambur route,yet we are cautious since we have 3 children in the group, Please Advice on
1) Is this route right, in this season, I mean- I know this is a scenic route, but is this tension free.
2) how do we get to this route from Nanjangaud
3)What is the road condition
4)How is the Sultan BAttery route as we intend using this on our return journey

Hi, hope you had a safe and pleasant drive. I had done this route in the reverse order though on Aug 3rd. It was a great drive. One of the best drive and route i have ever done.

My experience is on the below link
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...e-query-7.html

Would love to know your experience too. I had my wife, 2 yr old son and inlaws with me for company.

[gops2009]

Hi Sandy,
While I could not get time to comeback later in the day to check on the inputs, I decided to ty the Nilambur route. It is really beautiful. On the onward journey, we went via the nilambur route but proceeded towards Calicut rather than turn left into Nilambur - as a result we landed up having to drive down the Wyanad ghats into Tamarashery- The roads are not in the best of shape there. That being said, the drive was beautiful through Bandipur and Mudumalai and got to see some wild life too.

The road is by and large good except for a short but terrible stretch inside Mudumalai santuary.

On the return journey, we came via Nilambur and it was even better than the onward stretch. We got to see a herd of wild elephants in Bandipur as a Bonus. Too good , a route and all these years I was using Sultan Battery route ,now I realise what I was missing out on!! and the roads are far more better, though more twisty and having more blind curves. I usually do this Calicut route 4-5 times a year and take about 7 to 7.5 hours ( Gate to Gate) but this time around I took 11 hours each way!! it was too beautiful a route to just drive past. Thanks to all BHpians who had posted comments on this route, KTDC tamarind is really good, though slow and laid back.

Road Condition by Nilambur Route: Only a few bad stretches . other wise the route is really good. The roads being narrow and having a lot of twisties means that you need to drive more carefully- but this route is highly recommended as this has lesser traffic and is better maintained apart from the breath taking scenery it offers.