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Hi,

Had driven to Kollam from Bangalore and back last week. Route taken was Bangalore-Hosur-Salem-Madurai-Rajapalayam-Tenkasi-Thenmala-Punalur-Ayur-Paripally-Paravur.

Except for some bad stretches in Thenmala, rest of the route was a breeze. Took 6 hours to Madurai and 5 hours to Paravur.

Thanks to Ranjit for some 11th hour assistance

Cheers

Vindy

Fellow T-BHPians,

Need a help if possible. I need to travel from Coimbatore to Trivandrum coming Sunday. Typical route I take is Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Ernakulam - Alappuzha - Kollam - Trivandrum. But since this is a monsoon season and roads are usually in bad shape, I am little concerned. People who have traversed through these roads recently, could you give me some idea about the road condition? Would it be wiser to take Tamil Nadu route instead (though longer) - Coimbatore - Dindigul - Madurai - Tirunelveli - Nagercoil - Trivandrum ? Appreciate your advice/suggestions.

Thanks

I'm travelling in the opposite direction. I'm told the Kollam to Alapuzha stretch of the NH is in pretty bad shape after the rains. Even though its longer I plan to go through Nagercoil, Madurai, Dindigul.

I would advise you to take the longer route via nagercoil .Last month i travelled from tvm to cbe and it took me more than 9 hrs to reach.mind you that was before the monsoons .The roads must be horrible now.I had decided that time it was always better to take the nagercoil route, even though lengthy it would make sense.

Has anyone taken the Bangalore- Calicut-Edapall-Kochi Route recently? I am leaving today.

Starting for Calicut from Bangalore in another hour or so - family emergency. Taking Kanakapura-Chamarajanagar route. Saw in the Mathrubhumi that NH212 is in bad shape between Sulthan Bathery and Kalpetta - anyone with first-hand experience? Plan to start at around 10 and reach before 5.

Has the monsoon been so severe that the roads have become bad on this stretch ?
Last I traveled in April the roads were fine, in fact a small stretch from the Kerala side of forest check post till outskirts of Bathery was being relaid, rest of the road work all the way upto Kalpetta was completed and in good condition. Thamarassery ghat was also in pristine condition.

The roads were in pristine shape 2 weeks ago (22nd June) when I drove that way. Difficult to imagine it becoming terrible in such a short time - but then who knows, the monsoon has been pretty heavy this year and one never knows how good the recent road work has been.

The direct road to Mettupalayam through Karamadai is decent except for few bumpy stretches. I had taken this route 20 days back. For close 13Kms from Coimbatore till Narasimhanaickapalayam, it's four laned.

There is also a detour to Ooty from Karamadai via Manjur. I'm not sure about the road conditions. Fellow BHPian RSUDARSANAN would've done this route on 6th July. Have look at his post1 and post2.

Nice to know that, hope you had a nice journey.

Thanks gkrishk and vindrider2626 for your advice. I took the following route and it took me nine hours to reach Trivandrum including a 45 mins break.

Coimbatore - Palladam - Dharapuram - Oddanchathiram - Dindigul - Madurai - Tirunelveli - Nagercovil - Trivandrum

It took 520 kilometers to reach home. Road till Kavalkinaru near Nagercovil was a breezer as usual. After that, because if rains, the roads were not that great, especially after Kaliakavilai. From Nagercovil to Trivandrum took almost 2.5 hours, on a Sunday, to cover 65 kilometers. On the whole pretty nice journey.

Thanks

Ok, so I started from Bangalore at 10:30 AM and reached Calicut at 6:30 PM.

The Mathrubhumi report is correct - there is precisely one location, just before you enter Kalpetta town, where the Bathery-Kalpetta lane has simply crumbled under the pressure of the running rain water. One just waits at the edge of this zone, wait for traffic to clear in the other direction, and then drive on.

Beyond that, there are several economy-sized potholes on the road all the way from maybe Thamarassery town to Calicut. These if unattended will certainly destroy the road. In particular, the junction at Karanthur (where the "other" approach road to Calicut via the Medical College splits off the main NH212) looks like someplace the BWSSB practiced their pipe-laying skills at.

Per reports, monsoons in Kerala is double the usual.

According to wikipedia the traffic on the Coimbatore Kochi strech can be very heavy. Any suggestions on the best time to be on this stretch, so as to avoid traffic? Towards Kochi and Towards Comibatore?

Traffic is moderate-heavy during day time. To avoid traffic, hit this stretch at the dead of the night, say after 11 o'clock.

Coimbatore-Madukkarai is a toll road, but the surface is nothing great. And it's a 2-lane road. Madukkarai-Walayar is hopelessly bad after the rains. Walayar-Vadakkenchery is relatively better, but don't expect a comfy ride. Vadakkenchery-Mannuthy stretch which houses the Kuthiran, has always been a nightmare. Unless you are on an SUV, it's better to avoid this stretch. From Mannuthy onwards it's a 4-lane road. The surface is good, but watch out for speed guns and speed cameras.

The expansion of NH47 between Palakkad and Thrissur is still going on? Last December when I travelled home, I had to take the Shornur route to avoid the bad roads and of course, the Limited Stops!

How about the route from Mysore > Wayanad > Thrissur. Are the roads in good condition?

I see construction equipment in action between Walayar and Alathur. At some places, the so-called highway is just wide enough for two cars to pass abreast. Not to mention the potholes. The Limited Stops are let loose as before, and they are maniacal to say the least.

Not so sure about that route. If you must travel beyond Palakkad, a good idea is to go via Pollachi-Alathur-Chelakkara-Wadakkanchery-Thrissur