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Just did that route yesterday, 16th Aug.

Onward Journey to Kerala was taken on 13th Aug on: Salem->Dindigul->Thirumangalam->NH208->Kollam.
Road conditions on that route were perfect.

Visited in-laws at Ranny, and took:
Erumely->Kumily->Cumbum->Theni->Dindigul->Salem route.

From lower camp till Batlagundu, the road conditions are either very good or very bad, especially if you are taking a sedan or a hatchback. Every now and then, there would be a culvert construction across the road and the detour and approach and trailing roads are in bad condition. Took me about 4 hours to cover Kumily to Dindigul. Avg speed was nothing to boast about, thanks to incessant rains and a nasty traffic jam at Batlagundu.

Thanks Guys. I will be taking this route (Chennai-Dindigul-Theni-Kumily) this friday. Since my destination is Kanjirappally, I prefer to take this route, rather then fight with rashly driven buses/trucks on the busy NH47.

I did another trip to Kerala from Bangalore mid July. We are able to consistently cover the journey in 8 - 9 hours from what used to be 10 - 11 hours. That too after starting at around 8 - 9 PM ish.

This time around, most of the roads in Ernakulam have gone for a toss thanks to the rains. Noticed that major junctions are getting laid with concrete interlocking tiles. I hope this is for the longevity of the roads and this pays off.

At night, I have seen traffic getting diverted thru paravoor while going from Ernakulam to the airport by the Kochi Metro folks. The roads thru which we were diverted were good though.

Hi, I am planning to drive down to Ernakulam from Mumbai on 21st Aug. Planning the usual route Mum-Pune-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Palakkad. Just wanted to check if someone has been through this route recently? The last time I took this route, Coimbatore-Palakkad stretch was riddled with potholes and bad roads
Wanted to check if the Coimbatore Palakkad roads are any better now? Or is still Pollachi-Dindidul the most preferred route? Any information will be helpful. Many thanks in advance

Most recent updates indicate that this route is good now upto Vadakkencheri barring a few work in progress sections that are also doable.
After the Coimbatore L&T bypass about 10 Km or so may be a little rough but if you time it well, should not be a cause for concern, especially as you're heading to Palakkad.

Also, for Palakkad, why Pollachi-Dindigul ? :)

Your alternative route could be NH47 (usual coimbatore route from Salem) upto Avinashi bypass, then turn left towards Mangalam-Palladam-Pollachi-Palakkad or even Coimbatore L&T bypass-Pollachi-Palakkad

Thanks NPV, this is helpful. I think i will stick to NH47 all the way upto Palakkad. Sorry I meant Pollachi-Palakkad, not Dindigul

As mentioned in the previous posts, the stretch from where L&T by pass ends till Walayar border is in pretty bad shape. But at certain stretches, the service roads are laid new, so try to get on a service lane as soon as you spot one.

Roads from Walayar are pretty good. Kuthiraan is still a single lane affair. Otherwise, its pretty good.

You can check the last couple of pages for the latest updates on the Coimbatore-Palakkad stretch. Since your destination is Ekm, you can take the Avinashi-Mangalam-Pollachi-Vadakkenchery-Mannuthy detour for a smooth sail end to end. However, do note that unless there are no hold-ups at the Walayar checkpost, the Pollachi route won't offer you any advantage in terms of reduced travel time. But the route is scenic and the roads are mostly in excellent condition. Not sure why you mentioned Pollachi-Dindigul, as that'll be rather circuitous

You could also do Panvel-Pune-Hubli-Hiriyur-Chikkanayakanahalli-Huliyar-Turuvukere-Nelligere-Melkote-Pandavapura-Mysore

Mysore-Gundlupet-Nadugani-Nilambur-Wandoor-Perinthalmanna-Pattambi-Kulappully-Shoranur-Wadakancheri-Thrissur-Kuttanellur-EKM.

How is the situation expected to be at Walayar on Onam eve? In the past, have read about major blocks during the festive season. With the 4 laning work all complete, is this a thing of the past?

Need to drive to Tirur on Thursday. In the recent past, I have taken Salem-CBE-Palakkad-Pattambi-Tirur.

Not too keen on the Gundlepet-Nilambur route due to the road work between Mysore-Gundlepet and also the horrible Theppakadu Gudalur stretch. Doing Kanakpura-Chamrajnagar also means hitting the bad Theppakadu stretch.

Manathavady-Calicut-Tirur is going to take even longer, but would still prefer it if the situation at Walayar is expected to be bad.

You haven't explicitly ruled out Ch. Nagar > S. Bathery > Calicut > Tirur. If you are worried about Calicut city (needn't be, with the bypass) then you could try Thamarassery > Arekkode > Manjeri > Tirur.

The Walayar crossing could be messy during Onam, with KL government planning to enforce food safety checks to identify farm produce with dangerous levels of pesticides and TN-based farmers and distributors opposing it.

The other border crossing into Kerala, Coimbatore > Anakkatti > Attappadi > Mannarkkad is supposed to have terrible roads and generally unsafe to drive on.

As of today, there are no issues at Walayar Check post. If not for the poor traffic management, there should not be any problems, basically, even during the days of heavy lorry traffic!

Madukkarai-Walayar stretch has already been updated by silversteed a few posts back - very doable, albeit a bit slowly

Does anybody know the current condition of Dindigul - Kumily stretch. I am planning to go to Pathanamthitta from Bangalore on 26th evening, around 4:30 PM. Let me know if anybody has taken this route recently. Would this be safe for night drive?

Just scroll up a few posts above, or go to the previous pages. There is some major road rebuilding going on between Theni & Kumali. Every culvert is getting rebuilt, and the roads are not good in this sector. Roads other wise (including the four lane highway) are good, even in the small ghat section from TN to Kumili border. The roads in Kerala state also seems to be good. I had made the trip a month and a half back.

Update from my Blr-palakkad trip:Waiting time at the 2nd toll after Salem towards Avinashi (close to chengapalli ) has increased, had at least 10 vehicles ahead of me. Observed the same on the way back. Road conditions remains the same. At least 3 kms of dual carriageway is open after Kg Chavadi. Walayar was free at 12 noon on a weekday.Durning my return trip at 10am on Saturday(today), noticed that both lanes were blocked by trucks, hence vehicles had to drive on the opposite side.