[knightrider_7]

Planning to drive from iritty to Bangalore in two weeks time. Wish is to start early in the morning around 4-5AM. Is the ghats safe enough to drive with family during this time?

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by knightrider_7

Planning to drive from iritty to Bangalore in two weeks time. Wish is to start early in the morning around 4-5AM. Is the ghats safe enough to drive with family during this time?

That’s a perfectly ok time to start. Closer to 5 would be better.

[W@SIM]

Did BLR-MYS-Virajpet-Kannur and back on 26th/27th Jan
Timings Onward - started 415am and reached at 1130 am. this included breaks of about 75 mins
Return - started 845pm and reached 230am (Included 10 mins tea break)
Excellent roads overall, just some unmarked speed breakers around forest area and very few potholes near virajpet.
Some good Food recommendations
Breakfast stop was https://maps.app.goo.gl/xuY6iN4tJWejWgXk6
Dinner - https://maps.app.goo.gl/KtTyrSsyhUcebAK59
Midnight Tea break at columbia asia junction Mysore.
Hope it helps - thanks

[cheeku]

Originally Posted by W@SIM

Did BLR-MYS-Virajpet-Kannur and back on 26th/27th Jan
Timings Onward - started 415am and reached at 1130 am. this included breaks of about 75 mins
Return - started 845pm and reached 230am (Included 10 mins tea break)
Excellent roads overall, just some unmarked speed breakers around forest area and very few potholes near virajpet.
Some good Food recommendations
Breakfast stop was https://maps.app.goo.gl/xuY6iN4tJWejWgXk6
Dinner - https://maps.app.goo.gl/KtTyrSsyhUcebAK59
Midnight Tea break at columbia asia junction Mysore.
Hope it helps - thanks

Thank you for the brisk summary of your trip. It helped keep things simple during our family trip.

We completed a Bangalore - Kannur - Kozhikode - Bangalore trip during 6-9 April.

Onward journey towards Kannur:

- Started at 5:30 a.m from East Bangalore, reached Aashirvad grand by 8:30 am. Since it was a Saturday and with the election season going on, random barricades had been placed on the mysore highway which led to unexpected congestion as early as 7:30 a.m.

- Next stop was Coorg gate, nice little place just after the checkpost before starting the downhill journey. Some shopping and early lunch and then off to Kannur.

- The biggest irritant in this trip was the last 40-50 kms, starting at Irrity (no pun intended ), it took us a good 90 minutes due to random congestion spots, erratic bus drivers.

- Reached our location near Kannur University by around 4 pm.

Road condition: Pretty smooth throughout. As mentioned earlier, around 8-10 spots in the ghat, but nothing major. Just some loose gravel around small potholes and not the crater kind. Can be easily done.

Mention about the downhill drive after Coorg gate: Very gradual drop, roads being a bit narrow but sparse traffic and one can enjoy the drive thoroughly. We only spotted private cars on this route, there were no larger vehicles.

All in all a great drive but would suggest keeping an eye on the last patch from Iritty to Kannur and maybe decide breaks accordingly to not encounter heavy traffic.

[sudeepg]

Did Bangalore - Kannur yesterday.

Starting time: 6:30 AM

Exit out to Srirangapatna after the last toll on the Mysore Bangalore Highway
Used Google to get to the Yelwal road.
The roads after this stretch are mostly alright but patchy after Hunsur town. You can still drive at reasonable speeds.
There was traffic at Gonikoppal town and it slowed me down.
The road section from Gonikoppal to Perumbady (start of ghat section) is patchy and potholed here and there.
The ghat section roads are not in great shape, although they are still good enough in most parts. There are several rough patches and the roads are narrow and dusty. I advise caution when on this section.
As soon as you enter Kerala, the roads become excellent. The drive all the way to Kannur town was smooth and I was able to maintain decent speeds.

Arrived in Kannur at 2:30 PM

[sandsun7]

Update on food options around Hunsur
Two new restaurants are now open on the Mysore-Hunsur stretch.

1. Sri Krishna Cafe
location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/U6CKm9kPrM8S9FBBA
Typical udupi style veg hotel . Lot of seating, and plenty of parking. Food was decent. Clean restrooms.

2. Ashirwaad Grand-
Their new unit opened last week at this approximate location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5FPFh9YpHhwpsfXp9. (It is still not marked on gmaps)

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Update on food options around Hunsur
Two new restaurants are now open on the Mysore-Hunsur stretch.
1. Sri Krishna Cafe

Was waiting for this to open for a few years now. I think Covid hit them while they were getting ready to open and afterwards it looked to be abandoned. Good to see it opened. It’s a perfect location and nicely constructed with ample parking and easy access. Ticks all boxes. I also happened to check in there for a dinner last weekend. Decent food, a bit slow service probably initial hiccups. Hope they maintain the quality.

[TM_Turbo]

Hi All,

Currently I am in kannur and will be leaving to mysore at 7pm today, can anyone please confirm if kannur - srikandapuram - hattur - gonikoppa - titimathi - hunsur - mysore route good. Is there any restrictions like not allowing to cross forest check post

Thanks

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by TM_Turbo

Hi All,

Currently I am in kannur and will be leaving to mysore at 7pm today, can anyone please confirm if kannur - srikandapuram - hattur - gonikoppa - titimathi - hunsur - mysore route good. Is there any restrictions like not allowing to cross forest check post

Thanks

No restrictions, good to go.

Where is this Hattur by the way.

It is Sreekantapuram - Payyavur - Vallithode - Koottupuzha - Makkutta - Gonikoppa

[JithinR]

Had a question for folks here : is there another route from Kannur to Bangalore that avoids the forest and it's hairpin bends?

I think I vaguely remember another member talking about a route like this.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by JithinR

Had a question for folks here : is there another route from Kannur to Bangalore that avoids the forest and it's hairpin bends?

I think I vaguely remember another member talking about a route like this.

Forest you certainly cannot avoid as there is Nagarhole Tiger reserve that comes in between Karnataka and Kannur part of Kerala. One way or the other, you have to pass through that.

Regarding avoiding hair pins, there isn't any straightforward route unless you are ok to take a long detour and go via Manathavady Kutta etc. But that quite a far detour. More over, in the usual Makkuta - Virajpet route, there isn't many "hair pin" bends, just a few. Yes it is winding and curvy but not really many hair pins. What is the concern?

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Forest you certainly cannot avoid as there is Nagarhole Tiger reserve that comes in between Karnataka and Kannur part of Kerala. One way or the other, you have to pass through that.

Regarding avoiding hair pins, there isn't any straightforward route unless you are ok to take a long detour and go via Manathavady Kutta etc. But that quite a far detour. More over, in the usual Makkuta - Virajpet route, there isn't many "hair pin" bends, just a few. Yes it is winding and curvy but not really many hair pins. What is the concern?

Thanks. Asked due to a concern from Parents on what the road condition would be like in the usual route after the ongoing rains.

I was curious to know if there were routes that went through more populated areas and avoided the forest section since in the usual route it seems that water dripping from the trees constantly was causing the road to erode away at a few spots leading to large potholes.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by JithinR

Thanks. Asked due to a concern from Parents on what the road condition would be like in the usual route after the ongoing rains.

I was curious to know if there were routes that went through more populated areas and avoided the forest section since in the usual route it seems that water dripping from the trees constantly was causing the road to erode away at a few spots leading to large potholes.

I had driven on May 20th and 22nd. The roads are more or less good except for a few rough stretches on the ghats, on Virajpet-Perumpady bypass and between Hunsur and Anechowkoor. The roads inside forest is pretty good especially after Anechowkoor check post. I don't think there is a better alternative currently that is worth it.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Forest you certainly cannot avoid as there is Nagarhole Tiger reserve that comes in between Karnataka and Kannur part of Kerala. One way or the other, you have to pass through that.

Originally Posted by sandsun7

I had driven on May 20th and 22nd. The roads are more or less good except for a few rough stretches on the ghats, on Virajpet-Perumpady bypass and between Hunsur and Anechowkoor. The roads inside forest is pretty good especially after Anechowkoor check post. I don't think there is a better alternative currently that is worth it.

Thanks guys. I actually did the trip today and I concur. The roads inside the forest were actually in good condition (kind of surprising that the rains didn't cause more damage). Another surprising fact was that the expressway and even NICE road was relatively less crowded than I expected.

Not sure if it's always like that (I have only travelled on Sundays before this) or if it's because I am one of the idiots paying the toll amount on the expressway.