[anilntny]

I am planning a road trip with kids, from Kochi to Mysore. Please advise me about best and preferably shortest route. Any idea about nilambur gudallore road condition?

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by anilntny

I am planning a road trip with kids, from Kochi to Mysore. Please advise me about best and preferably shortest route. Any idea about nilambur gudallore road condition?

The best route is Kochi - Coimbatore - Satyamangalam - Chamarajnagar- Mysore. Used by my family members regularly.

Roads are very good, you do have to go through Dimbham Ghat section/ Satyamangalam - this stretch needs to be done during daylight.

[a.zahid]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

The best route is Kochi - Coimbatore - Satyamangalam - Chamarajnagar- Mysore. Used by my family members regularly.

Roads are very good, you do have to go through Dimbham Ghat section/ Satyamangalam - this stretch needs to be done during daylight.

I am planning a Kochi - Mysore trip with my family this Onam. I do not trust Google maps and the information on Team BHP is super useful.

Can someone please clarify the route to be taken from Coimbatore to Satyamangalam?

I am assuming that one has to touch Satyamangalam town and then onto Bannari hairpin curves (Annur- Puliampatti-Satyamangalam).

The Google map suggests a route which does not touch Satyamanamangalam but goes via Bhavanisagar. i am not what you would call an expert driver. My longest drive has been to Kodagu from Kochi through Irrity.

I plan to leave for Mysore at around 3:00 AM from Kochi. What is the best way to pace this drive and the route to take from Coimbatore onwards.
Thank you.

[a.zahid]

So, I did this Kochi to Mysore Road trip with my family. Having tanked up my Seltos HTK+ IMT the previous evening (43 Litres petrol @ Rupees 107.61) we left Kochi at 3:30 AM on a Sunday. We had a great drive all the way to Mysore City. We had a pitstop at Ananda Bhavan, 235C+97R, near Hindustan petroleum, L&T bye pass for breakfast at 6:35 AM. Took a 45-minute break for Masala Dosa and poori which was great. I must also add that the toilets were clean for both men and women. I am out sure it was because we were among the first customers that morning. From there on it was a beautiful drive all the way to Mysore. Please note that I had added Satyamangalam as a waypoint as Google maps was showing the shortest route which did not pass through Satyamangalam which had better roads. It is advisable to mark waypoints on Google maps to avoid roads which pass through small towns/villages bypassing the main arterial roads.

Don't miss the exit into the service road towards Kamanaikenpalayam- Annur road and then turn sharp left to Kamanaikenpalayam - Annur Rd/Somanur Rd. The roads are all great and you will be passing through beautiful landscapes and village life you are the kind who enjoys it. However, we did not take any break apart from the one at Ananda Bhavan. Next, we passed through Annur, Puliampatti and Satyamangalam )where we had placed a waypoint on Google maps. (To add a waypoint on Google map all you have to do is add a destination marker)

At Annur Googler maps directs you through a shorter route no matter what you do. Avoid that road as it is a Single Lane one-way which has been barricaded as a no entry. Skip that deviation to the barricaded road to the right and travel ahead and you will reach a point where the road merges. Here you will have to take the sharp right turn which is Sathy Road/NH 948).

The roads again are excellent and after Annur you will pass through Puliampatti. At Satyamangalam, the road curves to the left and stay on NH 948 after which you pass through Bannari staying on NH 948. Here you will come across the first Forest Check Post as you enter Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve. After about 110 metres you will come acorss the first hairpin bend. You will have to pass through 27 hairpin bends in total On the way you will come across two viewpoints for selfie enthusiasts- one at Talamalai viewpoint and the other one at Dhimbam viewpoint (For which you will need to take a diversion off the main highway). We decided not to stop and move forward. After you cross the Dhimbam Forest Check Post you reach Hasanur all the while passing through beautiful scenery.

The nest two towns you cross before you reach Mysore are Chamrajnagar and Nanjangud where you will encounter some traffic on the way. The roads are wide and excellent again.

So, in brief-
KOCHI-PALAKKAD-COIMBATORE BYPASS- ANNUR- PULIAMPATTI-SATYAMANGALAM-BANNARI (27 HAIRPIN BENDS)-DHIMBAM-HASANUR-CHAMARAJANAGAR-NANJANGUD-MYSORE.

We reached Mysore at 12:30 PM sharp having left at 3:30 AM from Kochi. We had lunch at Mysore after checking into a hotel. Took a nap and went to see the Mysore Palace Sound & Music show which is there after 7 PM. Do note Mysore gets very crowded on weekends. We had dinner at Ruchi mess, which is a fantastic little place for mutton loving carnivores. It is located in a very small by-lane, and you will have to park the car in the main road and walk the last distance.

Next day we went to tour inside of the Mysore Palace, Mysore Zoo and Brindavan gardens.

There is an electric golf cart available at Mysore Palace to tour the outside grounds and you can also hire a wheelchair if you have elderly people with you. Sadly, it is not possible to move with a wheelchair within the Mysore Palace structure where the real history is to be seen. The layout and design inside the palace is not wheelchair friendly.as you have to manage staircases and there are no elevators for elderly or wheelchairs. This was a challenge for my mother. I hope they rectify this oversight. Mysore Zoo has a electric golf cart if you wish to take one. I advise those travelling with the elderly or challenged take this or hire a wheelchair. If you enjoy walking, do that and you will get to see a lot more and spend more time at each of the animal enclosures unlike the electric golf carts which whizz pass by with running commentary of the pilot.
The golf carts are made by Maini, one of the pioneers in the EV industry in India. I believe they were the first to launch a commercial four wheeled EV in India, the Reva which was acquired by Mahindra. Another point I would like to add here is I did not come across many EVs in Mysore unlike here in Kochi. I am not aware of the EV charging infrastructure in Mysore. I will leave that for someone else to explore.

Later that evening we visited Brindavan Gardens which is about 18-20 Kms from the city centre. It was super crowded on the Monday evening we visited probably due to Onam. parking was tough to find and jam packed. Advisable to drop your family at the entrance especially the elderly so they can avoid the walking from the parking area to the ticket counters at the entrance. The ticket counters also had long queues at 7:00 PM. We had reached late. The Gardens closes at 8:00 Pm so advisable to leave at around 4:00 PM from where you stay in Mysore as it is a 45-minute drive from the city.

Again Google maps failed us in showing us the best roads and instead it showed us the shortest route through not so good roads. Stick the KRS dam road and that is the best route to take. Brindavan Gardens is best explored lazily on foot in the evening as the cool wind blows. However as time was a constraint since we reached late and had elderly accompanying us we had to take a electric golf car which whizzed us past by for what I think was a 15-minute ride and 2 stops on us insisting the pilot to do so. So there ended our second night in Mysore.

Next day we left for Ooty at 11:10 AM via Gundulpete- Bandipur Tiger Reserve- Mudumallai Tiger Reserve and Masinagudi which was an excellent route for its scenery, hills and wildlife. We came across all sorts of deers in plenty of the, an elephant hiding in the forest and yes even a bear which was my first sighting of one in the wild. To Ooty you will have to cover 37 hairpin bends which I found challenging in my Seltos possibly because of my inexperience in covering hairpins. I found the IMT very suitable for this drive. But nevertheless, it was a beautiful drive on a beautiful day.

[sajiseb]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

The best route is Kochi - Coimbatore - Satyamangalam - Chamarajnagar- Mysore. Used by my family members regularly.

Roads are very good, you do have to go through Dimbham Ghat section/ Satyamangalam - this stretch needs to be done during daylight.

Hi,
We are planning to drive from Kottayam to Mysore in November. Is this the best route?
What about the route via Ooty? (planning to take a different route while returning)

Presume it is better not to consider the Wayanad route at this point of time.
Thanks

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by sajiseb

Hi,
We are planning to drive from Kottayam to Mysore in November. Is this the best route?
What about the route via Ooty? (planning to take a different route while returning)

Presume it is better not to consider the Wayanad route at this point of time.
Thanks

Coimbatore - Satyamangalam - Mysore is best, you can take use the other routes from a site seeing perspective but for A to B travel, this is it.

Travel Via Ooty would be alright if you are planning to stay over , otherwise your passengers will be in for a very long ride.

Keep in mind the time restrictions, best to travel in a way that you reach Bannari temple just ahead of 6 AM to ensure you wrestle your way ahead of the queue of trucks or reach a few hours afterwards so that the trucks have dispersed , you will be slowed down a bit by them afterwards throughout the journey. Google maps WILL mislead you, if you think you are following a road that does not look like a main road , stop and ask for directions.

And Mysore ring road now has AI cameras , drive safe.

[sajiseb]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

The best route is Kochi - Coimbatore - Satyamangalam - Chamarajnagar- Mysore. Used by my family members regularly.

Roads are very good, you do have to go through Dimbham Ghat section/ Satyamangalam - this stretch needs to be done during daylight.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Coimbatore - Satyamangalam - Mysore is best, you can take use the other routes from a site seeing perspective but for A to B travel, this is it.

Travel Via Ooty would be alright if you are planning to stay over , otherwise your passengers will be in for a very long ride.

Keep in mind the time restrictions, best to travel in a way that you reach Bannari temple just ahead of 6 AM to ensure you wrestle your way ahead of the queue of trucks or reach a few hours afterwards so that the trucks have dispersed , you will be slowed down a bit by them afterwards throughout the journey. Google maps WILL mislead you, if you think you are following a road that does not look like a main road , stop and ask for directions.

And Mysore ring road now has AI cameras , drive safe.

Thanks a lot, Kosfactor