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I did this route in August and it was in good condition. The road is single lane, and narrow, but you can do decent speeds.

I did not have any issue in navigating from Pollachi towards Palladam. I relied on mapmyindia, but also checked with traffic cops to be sure.

Kottayam-Manarcaud-Kidangoor-Marangattupalli-Uzhavoor-Koothattukulam is the route I normally take in order to avoid MC road between Kottayam and Koothattukulam.

If starting from the westerns parts of Kottayam town and starting early, you could take Kottayam-Ettumanoor-Kidangoor instead of going via Manarcaud (The road condition between Kottayam and Ettumanoor is OK, but it has heavy traffic which may not be an issue in early mornings)

Vadakkencherry-Nenmara-Kollengode-Meenakshipuram-Pollachi is the recommended route to avoid the bad Vadakkencherry-Palghat-Coimbatore stretch of NH47. Road is in good condition though a bit narrow at some places. Passing Pollachi may not be a big issue if you're using some navigation gadget. When I passed that way last Sunday the route that Google Maps showed to Pollachi was blocked at Uthukuli (about 2-3 kms before Pollachi) and I had to take a left turn there and get on to the Palghat-Pollachi Road and a right turn from there to get to Pollachi town. If you aren't using a GPS device, it is better to look it up in a map early to avoid confusion.

Hi,

My uncle arrived a bit eventfully!

He started from Ernakulam by 1pm on 1st and arrived at Bangalore by 1:30AM.

It was a pretty long drive for him due to the single carriage way though the traffic was moderate.

He hit a dog somewhere near Paravur, slightly damaging the front grill and then there was a tire burst when the car fell into a pothole, somewhere between Kalpetta & Muttil.

He was trying to negotiate the curves and though could see the pothole, avoiding one would make your car land in three of them!:)

It was around 8pm and pretty dark. Out of nowhere came a couple of young boys, in a bike and helped change the tire using the spare tire. Soon, two other boys joined to help as well.

The surprising fact was that when everything was over, they simply shook hands and went away! Came from somewhere and went somewhere... My uncle would have been stuck for quite sometime were it not for them.

His strong suggestion is to pass that stretch (between Calicut to Gundulpet) in broad daylight, whether you're going from Ernakulam or coming from the Bangalore side.

As Kala mentioned in his post there is a construction work going on near the level cross before Uthukulli. If you have a vehicle with good ground clearance then you can cross the railway line with some effort.
My suggestion is to ignore your navigation device at Pollachi and ask for directions to Palakkad with some local residents and once you cross Uthukulli then you can stick towards Thrissur / Vadakencheri.
Moreover crossing Pollachi isn't a tedious one at all.
Cheers!

Friends, can anyone suggest a decent hotel with safe parking near or in Trichy.
Budget is <Rs.1500/-.
I have checked Hotel Royal Sathyam online. Any idea?
I will be travelling with family tomorrow morning from Thiruvalla to Chennai via Kumily, Dindigul, Trichy.
Thanks in advance.

Try Hotel Ajanta Trichy. Pretty decent hotel with parking and close to train station, bus stand etc. Even the tariff should be in your budget. cheers

Hotel Maayas is a good option with ample car parking. Around 2000/_ including breakfast

Drove from Kottakal to Mangalore on 4th. Spotted 4 cars with Bhp stickers en route.

Got stuck in Koyilandy in traffic jam for 45 mins.The kerala cops had no idea what was goin on. No accident, no road work, just a chaotic traffic jam. There is barricade in Koyilandy just before the bus stop and makes you to shift roads. Really fail to understand what was need for it. That was causing the block and adding to all this were local buses who were trying to squeeze in whatever place was available, only to add to the traffic. The police were useless.

Kannur had a similar picture. Took me 3hr 35mins to reach Kannur. Sunday being bakri Eid only added to traffic.

Condition of roads is good until you reach a place called Vellur in Kannur. The road condition there is bad.

Patch work has been done in Kasargod, but for 32 kms before the city. But still the roads are in Kasaragod are much better than 2 weeks back.

Arrived at Bangalore through Vadakkencherry > Pollachi > Palladam > Avanashi > Vaikuntam > Konganapuram > Omallur > Palakode > Rayakottai > Hosur Inner Ring road > TVS Factory > Athibele route. Excellent roads for most parts. Highly recommended to have a break from crazy traffic around Walayar, Salem and Krishnagiri. Link is given below.

Thrissur > Bangalore

Guys, thanks a lot for your suggestions.
I finally settled for Hotel TamilNadu located near Trichy bus stand. AC double bed room for one night @ Rs. 1045/- including taxes. Hotel has secure parking area.

I followed almost the same route except that I skipped Hosur by going through Kelamangalam and reached Attibele directly. Excellent empty roads all the way!

Lost some time in Thoppur ghat, where one lane was closed for some work.

One more alternative route would be Pollachi-Palladam-Kangeyam-Erode-Sankagiri-Omalur and then the Rayakottai option. It is a treat to drive on Kangeyam-Palladam stretch.

Did Thrissur ~ Bangalore this morning and sticked with NH 47, it's been almost a year I've been on NH47 between Thrissur and Coimbatore and the decision wasn't a wise one.
Luckily the traffic was minimal since I left Thrissur at 3:00 AM. Pollachi will remain the best alternate for few more months.
Cheers!

Hi, Plan to do Thaliparamba to Bangalore, via Melkote tomorrow morning (6th Oct).

Doubt: Google suggests Sreekandapuram-Payyavoor-Vallithode-Gonikoppa

But I had come by Gonikoppa-Irikkur route.
Which one should I take?

Quick update from my return trip today: Edappally -> Bangalore

Route: Edappally - Vadakkencherry (NH47) - Pollachi - Somanur - Karumathampathy - Annur - Sathy - Chamarajanagar - Kollegala - Kanakapura - Home (Bannerghatta road)

Distance around 515 KM. Left Edappally by 5:15 AM and reached Home at 3 PM. ETA of 2:15 PM was looking good but then had to drop pace significantly after Malavalli.

Stops: Near Pollachi for breakfast (packed from home) and fuel 20 mins, Sathy for coffee 10 mins, Nijaguna residency for coffee 25 mins, random road side stop 5 mins

Traffic was very thin on all stretches (except Mannuthy - Vadakkencherry). Pollachi - Somanur - Annur - Sathy - Dimbam - C. Nagar was super. Some protesters (couldn't figure out the agenda) were lining the highway on the Annur - Sathy stretch and there was some police presence too. Dimbam ghats didn't pose any hold ups, roads were good except a few rough patches around a couple of U bends. During my journey to Edappally a few days back I had mentioned that Malavalli - Kollegala seemed to be the best stretch on that sector, but on my return journey it didn't seem so! Maybe it is two-faced - early morning feel and early noon feel :-) Passed a major accident involving at least a tempo traveller and a white BMW on the Kollegala - Malavalli stretch. It must've happened only about 15 - 20 minutes before we passed through but there was already a lot of crowd action providing help.