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Did this quick all-day trip yesterday. Reached Attibele toll at 11:58 pm, just 2 minutes ahead of the day pass toll we'd taken in the morning :D

Once we reached Gobichettypalayam, was told by locals that going back towards Chithode/Changepally is a detour so just continued in the Sathy direction and turn off at Kunnathur towards Perumanallur. Both these State Highways are in excellent condition (2 laned). No problem crossing these small villages/mini towns. Just a couple of intersections where some minor road work was in progress.
At Perumanallur, it intersects NH47 (bridge above) and going straight below the bridge takes one directly into one part of Tiruppur.:thumbs up

Good to note this part. I was not sure if crossing Perumanallur would be a pain. Hence suggested Changepalli. So looks like pretty much all roads around this region are decent. And also crossing Perumanllur is easier than I thought.

I am planning a drive to Cochin sometime tomorrow. Wondering if the Palakkad - Mannuthy stretch has improved? Saw a snap some days ago on a bus getting stuck in mud, hence the query. So, should I take the Pollachi - Kollengode route or the regular Walayar - Palakkad - Trichur route?
Also - Solo drive. So if anyone is without a ticket and needs to travel to Kerala, pls PM :)

Glen, the only fly in the ointment on the NH7-NH47 route is the stretch between Madukkarai and Walayar. You can easily do Walayar-Vadakkanchery in as many minutes as the number of kilometres, unless you hit this stretch at the peak hours - it's completely 4-laned.

Vadakkenchery-Mannuthy is also decent. Not sure if last couple of days' rains (if any) had caused significant damage!

You might want to post your ride in BlaBlaCar :)

Till vadakkencheri,road is perfect.

VKI-Mannuthy,road shoulders are bad(in fact hardly any shoulder at most places).I would suggest you do this stretch before it gets dark,after dark its pure misery.

Checked gmaps again - my destination in Gobi was Pallipalayam so I was already on SH-81, so at the junction ahead I had the option of going right towards Kunnathur (which I took) or continue straight towards Chengapalli.
But the Kunnathur option takes one via Perumanallur almost directly to Tiruppur compared to the Chengapalli option where one needs to drive further on NH47 for Tirupur. Yes, if those towns were crowded it would have taken more time :)

I had not suggested NH47. I had suggested to cut through NH47 at Changepally and head straight to Uthukuli and then turn right to Tiruppur. But then I guess it also depends on where in Tiruppur you need to go. I remember @luvurride (and I think @ajitbr) mentioning, Tiruppur being notorious for one ways and hence the choice of entry to town can help save quite some time in commute within the town.

I'm not sure where in Tirupur the Uthukuli road leads to. But yes sir, there are several roads each leading to a different part of Tirupur so it will help to know which road will take you to the destination fastest :)

Our destination was near the Railway station and the roads around it include some 1 ways so it was almost like going around an island :D

Hence we took the road going from Avinashi town to Tiruppur and on the return leg we took the road from Tirupur to Perumananallur to head back to Gobi.

Traveled yesterday from Bangalore to Cherthala. Started at 5:15 AM from Marathahalli and reached home by 1:15 PM with a single stop for breakfast near Palakkad exactly after 400KMs and 4.5 hours of drive.

The best part is - there are no more speed-breakers (humps) on the way that were present earlier between the entry to L&T by-pass and the previous tollbooth :thumbs up.

Work has also started to mark the white travel lanes on the above stretch clap:. It was a pain without this driving in the nights.

Had a question. Any family friendly places to stop for lunch in the section between Avinashi and Palakkad? Looking for something on the highway, with parking and good restrooms.

Am aware of the A2B's and the other restaurants on the Salem-CBE section, but don't recall seeing any decent places post the Chegampalli toll booth. Don't recall reading about any recently in this thread also.

There used to be a 'Chanakya' (or similar name) just before the Chandranagar Jn at Palakkad, Does that still exist?

There are two Saravana Bhavans (on both sides of the highway, facing each other) at some where near Karumathampatti. Then there is one just after the road from CBE city joins NH47. And then there is a Hotel Malabar or some thing similar just 1-2 kms after Walayar check post.

We have had lunch couple times at the Ananda Bhavan near Avinashi bypass, it is on right side when going towards Coimbatore. Found the food to be good, lots of space for parking and decent rest rooms at the side of the building. More details here

Few km ahead of this place there is a Saravana Bhavan also (not the Chennai based original one!), saw this recently but no idea how the place is, again it is on right side when going towards Coimbatore.

The Aaryaas near Chandranagar, Palakkad is also decent but not great restrooms.
This is at the place the highway curves to left towards Alathur/Thrissur.

1. There's an Aaryas (I think) and some other shops, basically an NHAI Amenity centre (like the one at Vaigundam) a little after the Chengappalli toll booth (the Rs.50 toll). It's on the right side, while driving towards CBE.

2. Hotel Gowrishankar, behind a Reliance fuel station, about 3-4km after the Karumathampatti toll gate (the toll booth is not functional now). Again, on the right side, while driving towards CBE. So you have to go under the flyover and turn around. The Reliance bunk sells good diesel, had tried it a week ago. There's also a Bharat Benz showroom right next to it, with very prominent hoardings.

3. A little further ahead, before the NH splits into the L&T bypass and Avinashi road (leading to CBE city), there's a good veg hotel on the left side. Can't recollect if it's Anandabhavan or Saravana Bhavan. But, we'd tried it a few months ago, and was decent.

4. After the L&T toll booth at Madukkarai, on the left side, Gowrishankar. This has been there for ages, and they're good. You'll also get some KFC-look-alike chicken stuff in a small eatery nearby. That's also decent.

5. Ootupura, after Kanjikode. But that's not accessible from the highway as there's a flyover now. You have to take the service road.

These are the hotels I can recommend. If you only need a bio-break and a tea/coffee for refreshment, then pull over into one of those Jeyankar or Divya Bakes bakeries that dot the highway. Have tried at least 3 of them, all of them had clean wash-rooms and well lit parking space.

Yes, they're still open, and at the same place. Their entrance and a portion of the building had to be demolished for widening the highway, so it looks different now.

Hi folks,

I need to travel from changanacherry to Bangalore next month and was thinking to take the Theni route. However I haven't yet taken this route, so unaware.
Requesting your inputs on driving directions and a good restaurant to halt for breakfast.

For breakfast in Theni you can try Meenakshi Bhavan which is adjacent to a Bharat Petroleum pump campus. There is also a bigger hotel called Western Gatz with lodging, etc but haven't tried the place or their restaurant.