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Yes there are issues from safety and food point of view. Till you reach Chamarajanagar, you don't have decent hotels where you can take a break. While descending down the dhimbam ghats, say an upcoming truck breaks down, you will be stuck in the traffic jam that will soon follow suit.

Stick to NH7 and NH47 for night journeys. if you wish to experiment with NH209, then plan to leave bangalore by say 4 AM

Noted: I shall stick to the AH7/47 route! I thought there would be some time savings. However about via Gudalur, Nilambur & Shoranur? Would this be worth while?

Early mornings are the best time for you to experiment be it Via NH209 or Nilambur. You would save time by motoring along NH7/NH47 but be prepared to shell out money on toll.

Can any one help to find out the best route from Guruvayur - Thirunavaya Temple and Calicut.

Route options as per google are,
1. Mammiyur - Chavakkad - Ponnani - Chamravattom Bridge - Thirunavaya
2. Mammiyur - Perumpadappu - Marancheri - Chamravattom Bridge - Thirunavaya
3. Mammiyur - Changaramkulam - Edappal - Kuttipuram - Thirunavaya
4. Mammiyur - Kunnamkulam - Changaramkulam - Edappal - Kuttipuram - Thirunavaya

and from Thirunavaya, via Puthanathani to Ramanattukara, calicut. Please suggest the best out of this .

I am travelling from Bangalore and will be taking Salem - Coimbatore - Thrissur route as I have to pickup my Parents from Thrissur Rly station. Also please let me know if I wanted to reach Thrissur Rly stn by 02:30pm, what time I should start from Bangalore (Bommanahalli)

Thanks
Rajesh

I think route 4 is the best. Others can comment.

As for Thirunavaya-Calicut, just get to BP Angadi (commuter town of Tirur) and then Tirur-Parappanangadi-Chettipadi-Chelari-Ramanattukara-Calicut is the shortest with good quality roads.

Thanks a lot, I hv travelled via Tirur-Parappanangadi-Chettipadi-Chelari-Ramanattukara almost a decade back. It was too crowded during day time. I will be driving in day time here. Is the condition improved now..?

The forest checkpost at Gudallur is closed for all vehicles (except a few buses of the two KSRTCs that have special Forest Pass) between 9 o'clock at night and 6 o'clock in the morning. In the event that you cross the checkpost at dusk, the risks associated with the Sathyamangalam route apply here too.

Since you're sticking to the NH-7 and NH-47 route, a 05:30hrs start would take you to Thrissur Railway station by 14:30hrs, with a sedate drive and a couple of breaks.

My last trip was in November (to Mangalam and back; which follows the same route till BP Angadi) - the roads were relaid and good then. The last missing piece was an under construction railway overbridge between Tirur and Tanur; it was thrown open to traffic few weeks back (the event was reported here). The junction at BP Angadi itself is bad (just crushed gravel, no road) but that is a very short stretch and might have been fixed already as part of the "election service".

As for crowd - is there a road in Kerala which is not crowded? Irrespective of the route you take, your final approach is going to be via NH 17 from Thenhipalam to Calicut city - penance for all your sins.

Just adding to that, the truck traffic in this route in the night time is very high as compared to daytime. Lot of trucks takes this route to avoid paying the toll. Best to stick to the conventional NH7/NH47. In daytime, I recommend Kanakapura-C'Nagara-Sathy route if you are ok with winding 2-line roads.

Route 2 is the best option. Good Roads and minimal traffic. I took this route from Tirur in Feb. Only challenge is that there are a few lefts and rights and it is easier to get lost. It is easier when going towards Guruvayoor as there are signboards, when returning it is a little more confusing. But google maps should be able to guide you correctly. It would take approx 1 hr-1hr 15 min. If not this, then both route 1 and 4 should be some what same.

From Tirunavaya, the Tirunavaya-Puthanathani road is a narrow/twisty one. Should be good condition though. So Puthanathani-Edarikode-Chelari-Ramanatukara should be a good option since you will not have to touch Tirur town. The other options you have are via Tirur-Parappanangadi, Tirur-Edarikode. As Binand mentioned, it should not make much of a difference which ever route you take. Good roads, heavy traffic and several towns/mini towns

I second that too...
Just travelled this route couple of days back till Tirur Rly Station. The Mangalam route has been reworked & is in a very good condition and the work is still in Progress near Alathiyur.
The route between chamravattom bridge - Alathiyur is excellent now as well.clap:

Option 4 if not travelling at Peak time.
Option 1 for a stress free drive with less traffic, but couple of bottle necks at chamravattom junction, BP Angadi..etc, though not something to worry about.

From Thirunavaya it should be best to reach Puthanathani & stick to the NH as it's best to avoid the usually busy Tirur / Tanur stretch

Finally inorder to Reach Trichur by 2.30 via CBE I guess an early start at 5am should be fine with couple of breaks. The last time I did this route it took me 8 hours with 30 mins stoppage for dinner

Though I've regularly travelled to Bangalore from my native Kerala as a Bachelor, am planning a road trip to Bangalore with my wife and kid for the first time during Good Friday weekend. Wanted to know what's the road condition (it's been a year since I drove) and what is the best time to start from Palakkad to reach Bangalore which will be comfortable for an infant. Any suggestions on good child-friendly stopovers for food will be appreciated. What would be an ideal time to start back from Bangalore too to reach by Monday evening?

Should I stick to the NH47/NH17 route or take the NH 209 via Sathyamangalam?

Thanks in advance!

Stick on to NH47-NH7 all the way. There are many eateries on the way and budget for some 6-7 hours drive max.

Since you mentioned that you're travelling with an infant, I would suggest NH47 & NH-7 (it's not NH17) all along. With a relaxed cruise, it would take you about 7-8 hours, including breaks. The timing is applicable only until Silk Board. Beyond that, your progress greatly depends on the traffic in the city.

There are quite a few pit-stop points all along. I'll list down a few that I've tried. The first one you would see, is a Hotel Aaryas on the left side, a little after Avinashi. They were renovating the hotel area 2 weeks ago, and serving food in the Marriage hall attached to the building. The next one would be Saravana Bhavan Classic, again, on the left. It's about 30km before Salem. Travel about 5km ahead, and you'll see Sree Saravana Bhavan. There're also small clothes stores and an Axis Bank ATM in the same compound. The next pitstop that I make is at Shoolagiri. You have a Cafe Coffee Day, McD, and a veg hotel. This is attached to an HP fuel station, where I tank up.

For your question on what time to start, I am leaving it to you/your other half, because you would know the sleeping pattern and plan accordingly. On the return, I would suggest that you leave at 5-6 in the morning, so you can be home for lunch.

I would suggest you to stick to NH7 and NH47 all the way. You have plenty of options to eat especially around shoolagiri like Kamat, A2B, McDonalds etc.
Since you are travelling with your kid, i would advise you to leave early for both the onward and return trips so that even after taking numerous breaks you reach your destination by noon/evening.

Since it happens to be a long week end, be mentally prepared for traffic jams at the tolls.

Happy Journey