[ampere]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

I need to attend a marriage at Palai on 27th Dec. What would be the best way to return to Bangalore? I am used to Palghat route but no idea about Dindigul route. Please advise route and road conditions.

Its definitely worth taking the Dindigul/Theni option, if you need to go anywhere near Kottayam.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by kavu75

Anytime the second option seems to be better.
I think one more option is
Dindigul -> Madurai -> Rajapalayam -> Tenkasi -> Punalur -> Pathanapuram -> Adoor. May be some 30-40 km more than Kumily route. But you may get excellent road till Rajapalayam/Tenkasi. But i don't have any idea about Tenkasi -> Punalur route.

Since Adoor is the destination, I would say that route via Tenkasi may be a better option. As per recent updates, NH208 has been relaid and widened.

Originally Posted by mykal shoemaker

NH208 is in very good shape as road widening and other works have been performed around last 6 months.

[kala]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

I need to attend a marriage at Palai on 27th Dec. What would be the best way to return to Bangalore? I am used to Palghat route but no idea about Dindigul route. Please advise route and road conditions.

From Pala the shortest route would probably be via Thodupuzha-Munnar-Marayoor-Udumalpettai-Dharapuram-Kangeyam-Perundurai-Salem-Bangalore, but the road between Thodupuzha and Oonnukal (where you join the Ernakulam-Madurai NH49) is quite narrow, so it might take you a while. The roads after you reach Udumalpettai are excellent.

Alternatives are (a) Pala-Thodupuzha-Munnar-Theni-Dindigul-Salem-Bangalore or (b) Pala-Erattupetta-Kanjirappally-Kumily-Theni-Dindigul-Salem-Bangalore.

Either of these 3 routes would be more or less the same distance as the Palghat route (or may even be slightly shorter since you're starting from Pala) and should take less time than going via NH47 which is in bad shape inside Kerala, and rather slow till Avinashi due to four laning work.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by jeevmenon

Can we split the "Current Road Conditions into Kerala" (a great thread but everything is put into the mix and difficult to sieve through what one wants) into atleast three?

Yeah, you are right. There are multiple threads existing, in addition to the master thread.

Karnataka-Malabar.

1. Kasargod
2. Kannur
3. Kozhikode
4. Guruvayoor

Coimbatore-Palakkad/Kochi/Malabar.

5. Kochi

SouthTN-Kochi/Trivandrum.

7. Munnar
6. Kottayam
7. Trivandrum
8. Kanyakumari (though technically not part of Kerala, thread discusses the route)

Originally Posted by jeevmenon

We need a moderator for Kerala roads

Moderating the Kerala route queries would be some task. Despite of all these threads existing, queries keep coming on the master thread.

I hope the Kerala government does something for the roads. Otherwise the moderator has his hands full.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by kala

From Pala the shortest route would probably be via Thodupuzha-Munnar-Marayoor-Udumalpettai-Dharapuram-Kangeyam-Perundurai-Salem-Bangalore, but the road between Thodupuzha and Oonnukal (where you join the Ernakulam-Madurai NH49) is quite narrow, so it might take you a while. The roads after you reach Udumalpettai are excellent.

Alternatives are (a) Pala-Thodupuzha-Munnar-Theni-Dindigul-Salem-Bangalore or (b) Pala-Erattupetta-Kanjirappally-Kumily-Theni-Dindigul-Salem-Bangalore.

Either of these 3 routes would be more or less the same distance as the Palghat route (or may even be slightly shorter since you're starting from Pala) and should take less time than going via NH47 which is in bad shape inside Kerala, and rather slow till Avinashi due to four laning work.

Thanks Ampere & Kala !!
I am planning to start from Palai at about 3pm and familiar with Oonnukal-Munnar stretch. How safe is the route beyond Munnar and is there any restrictions for traffic during night?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Thanks Ampere & Kala !!
I am planning to start from Palai at about 3pm and familiar with Oonnukal-Munnar stretch. How safe is the route beyond Munnar and is there any restrictions for traffic during night?

Its a tricky situation. Thats why I did not suggest Munnar. Not sure how it is.
However I have read many posts saying its pretty safe. But I was not sure I did not suggest it. Its better to drive to Kanjirapalli and there on.

I think distances almost same (~600). So better to go via Kumily. Less ghats to cover.

[hvkumar]

The road from Punalur to Adoor via Pathanapuram is one of the worst ones I have driven in recent times, a real spring-breaker.

[kavu75]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

The road from Punalur to Adoor via Pathanapuram is one of the worst ones I have driven in recent times, a real spring-breaker.

Oh, that is bad to know.
Thanks hvk sir for the update.
What i thought was, just to avoid the bad stretch in and around Kumily.

[Chopper]

Back from another trip to Kerala via Calicut. Route was Bangalore – Mysore – Gundalpet – Sultanbathery – Calicut.
Road till Mysore is good with usual number of speed breakers.
Once you leave Mysore the pain starts. Road till Nanjangud is really bad. Once you cross Nanjangud, road is good and it continues till the forest section. They have started patching up the road inside forest and I hope it will happen for the entire section. Sultanbathery-Kalpetta road is also in a bad shape. From there road is good till Ghat section. I can see some road repairing happening in the ghat section and I hope it will get completed in another 10-15 days. Adivaram – Calicut road is in a good condition.

[jeevmenon]

Salute! sbraj. Fantastic compilation. Precisely this is what we need. It makes life much more easier. Couple of things can be further done to take this nice lead from you a bit further:

1. Find other threads which have queries to get into Kerala.
- Direct those guys to use one of the eight threads.
- Request the moderators to merge it into one of the 8 and close the redundant ones.
Yes. This is a collective responsibility to constantly search for search for such threads.

2. Mention about the list of 8 above in the Mother-of-all-threads and encourage people to use the respective threads. Make the Mother-of-all-threads a "read-only" with the final post having the above 8 links.

We can have a "Distinguished BHPian" who is a constant subscriber/visitor of the Mother-of-all-threads to help our cause via the T-BHP moderators.

[supremeBaleno]

Any idea about the condition of the road from Kozhikode to Wayanad ? I heard it is not in good shape.

We are planning a Kollam - Wayanad trip around Xmas. Google maps says it would be 400kms. I doubt the 6-hour driving time they mention though.

How much time would it take, given that I would be driving at not more than 80kmph (new car - break-in period). Do-able in 8 hours or so ?

I have never been north of Palakkad - so new territory for me. Would appreciate if someone could plot a good route - basically good roads, dont mind a longer route, if the road is good.

This is what Google suggests. Is it good ?


Also someone mentioned that at some place (after Trishur?) taking a ferry would be a better option than road. Is this correct and if so, where is this? Thanks.

[Chopper]

Road from Calicut to Kalpetta is in OK condition. But from Kalpetta it is in a bad condition till Sultanbathery. Please see my previous post.

You might take more than 8 hours for your trip considering the road conditions and traffic. The route which shows in Google is the correct one. Another one would be EKM - TCR - KunnamKulam - Edappal - Kuttipuram - Kottakkal - Chelari - Calicut.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by jeevmenon

- Direct those guys to use one of the eight threads.

I have tried redirecting folks earlier, but after a while I end up repeating it again and again. So, I gave up. I seriously doubt how much of searching happens before posting.

I have accepted it as a fact of life that I need to subscribe to all these threads to keep myself updated on road condition.

Bringing order into chaos ... hmmmm.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

We are planning a Kollam - Wayanad trip around Xmas. Google maps says it would be 400kms. I doubt the 6-hour driving time they mention though.

How much time would it take, given that I would be driving at not more than 80kmph (new car - break-in period). Do-able in 8 hours or so ?

Google maps is suggesting Kodungallor route which is a narrow two lane for most parts till Chavakkad. I think EKM-Thrissur-Guruvayoor-Chavakkad might be faster than Kodungallur route.

Last year, it took me 8 hours of driving time to reach Guruvayur from TVM. This was with a 7AM start (via Kodungallur). During day time, it is difficult to reach speeds over 60KMPH on NH47.

[kala]

Originally Posted by Chopper

Road from Calicut to Kalpetta is in OK condition. But from Kalpetta it is in a bad condition till Sultanbathery. Please see my previous post.

You might take more than 8 hours for your trip considering the road conditions and traffic. The route which shows in Google is the correct one. Another one would be EKM - TCR - KunnamKulam - Edappal - Kuttipuram - Kottakkal - Chelari - Calicut.

Have they done some repairs to the Calicut-Kalpetta road ? When I travelled that way 2 weeks ago (Nov 27th) the ghat section was pretty horrendous and even on the plains between Adivaram and Calicut one couldn't drive at more than 60kmph or so bacause of the sudden potholes that would popup every now and then. That's the reason I took the Nilambur-Gudalur route on my way back to Bangalore.

Originally Posted by sbraj

Google maps is suggesting Kodungallor route which is a narrow two lane for most parts till Chavakkad. I think EKM-Thrissur-Guruvayoor-Chavakkad might be faster than Kodungallur route.

Last year, it took me 8 hours of driving time to reach Guruvayur from TVM. This was with a 7AM start (via Kodungallur). During day time, it is difficult to reach speeds over 60KMPH on NH47.

Yes the NH17 between Ernakulam and Chavakkad via Kodungallur can be quite slow because the road is very narrow in most places (especially till Kodungallur) and you're bound to get stuck behind some bus that is travelling at 30kmph with no overtaking opportunities. NH-47 would probably be faster.

Also if taking NH-47 to Trichur, there's no need to get back to NH-17 at Chavakkad (via Guruvayur). It is better to go via Thrichur-Kunnamkulam-Edappal to Kuttippuram where you can join NH17.