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Wow, quite an eventful journey. Glad to hear it ended ok.

That 'unofficial hartal' was a new low in Kerala's infamous hartal culture. Hard to believe that a few messages floated via social media without any proper backing was good enough to paralyze several parts of North Kerala.

I was in Calicut that day and even the city was impacted quite a bit with half the shops closed and lesser number of buses and vehicles on the road. My brother in law's bank was also forcefully shut down.

Hope strict action is taken against the perpetrators. Otherwise this can become the norm.

My cousin who was on her way to Kozhikkode in a KSRTC bus had a few terse moments when the highway was blocked at Perinthalmanna and some miscreants broke the bus' windshield. However, the cops were swift to react and ensured the block was cleared (and the rogues handled appropriately). She continued her journey uneventfully in another bus that arrived half an hour later.

It's hard to believe that the 'unofficial hartal' was actually not pre-planned. There are enough hints that some vested interests were fishing in murky waters.

My wife is from Kozhikode Dt, and it was the day after Vishu. If I had not gone via her home after Vishu there would be severe L&O problems (and harthal) inside my vehicle itself :eek:.

One thing I liked was that the police has now said that none of the perpetrators are going to get a favourable "Police Clearance Certificate". In this area many semi-literate and not-so-bright chaps heavily rely on low profile jobs in the Middle Eastern countries. If they don't get the PCC, their employment prospects gets lowered further. And off course this event would certainly have an impact on the political situation in the state (which is any way off topic for this forum).

It was pre-planned, but the difference was that there was no political organisation openly involved, or leadership clearly identified. In other instances the police naturally would know which leaders to reach out to, and warn them on what they can do, and what they should not. The only good part is that the 'vested interests' have got identified now. Within 1 hour after this "road block protest" started strict messages had gone out to the police. Disperse the mob, identify ring leaders in each gang and pick them up, and put an FIR and lodge cases. In the cases of normal political protests and harthals the political outfits are generally given some leeway.

kindly excuse if I sound silly

I am from Kochi but now residing abroad. When on holidays here, a couple of times I had to travel to the North - Kannur, Kozhikode etc. And each time I found that I got a quick route when I travelled from Kochi to the North - somewhere after Chavakkad (exactly I dont rememeber) - some Bypass, i guess.

But each time on the way back to south (Kochi) I missed that and instead I had to traverse a couple of toll booths, a long bridge across Bharatapuzha (I guess) and then joined the end of this Bypass.

Question is - where did I miss the bypass when I started from Kannur side.

Sorry if I sound vague - I didnt rely on navigation either.

Any guess??

Maybe you are talking of the Chamravattom regulator-cum-bridge. To take this bridge, you go from Chavakkad towards Ponnani, take the bypass (?) towards Kuttipuram and then take a left turn at Chamravattom (I myself missed this turn last time I took the bridge; had to return for a couple of kms).

The other bridge that you talk of could be the Kuttipuram bridge, then. You basically follow NH 66 and immediately after this bridge, take a right turn towards Ponnani-Chavakkad (left goes to Edappal-Thrissur). The toll booths probably are the ones in Tirunavaya (which is an avoidance route for the traffic mess at Valanchery town) for the railway overbridge there. I don't think there are any other toll booths in this area.

It is then possible that your onwards route is Chavakkad-Ponnani-Chamravattom-Alathiyur-Thiruvavaya-Puthanathani and the return route is Puthanathani-Thirunavaya-Kuttipuram-Chamravattom-Ponnani-Chavakkad.

[It is then possible that your onwards route is Chavakkad-Ponnani-Chamravattom-Alathiyur-Thiruvavaya-Puthanathani and the return route is Puthanathani-Thirunavaya-Kuttipuram-Chamravattom-Ponnani-Chavakkad.]

exactly :thumbs up

I will try the next time not to miss this on the return route

Haha, I now get the picture!
Would have been a serious issue indeed :uncontrol

The turn-off from Puthanathani to Thirunavaya is tough to locate. Take a look at this map, a zoomed-in version of the town's CBD:



The road to Thiruvavaya is towards the bottom left edge of the screenshot (left after V brand gallery). But you can't take the obvious right turn at Palachottil cafe because that road is a one-way. You have to come till Canara Bank ATM and then take a 150-degree right turn. This turn is easy to miss because you are turning off from a national highway into an ill-signposted, small district road.

How is the road condition from Pala to Thekkady?

many thanks for the detailed explanation and the map:thumbs up. Will sure try the next time. I have always wondered how did I miss.

Dear All,

We (Me, wife, 3 boys, dad and mom) are planning to drive down to Goa (south) from Angamaly on the 28th and come back on 3rd May. We will be driving a XUV 500. I have read through several threads, most of which suggest the Bangalore Goa route.

As per Google maps, Kochi - Mangalore- Goa is about 750 km and Kochi - Bangalore - Goa is about 1100 km however, the travel time is almost the same.

May I request you to kindly provide your valuable advice on the best route and and ideal stopover.

Thank you.

Hi friends,

Am planning a trip from Calicut to Chikmagalur in May.

Route No. 1

Calicut-Mysore-Hassan-Chikmagalur

What would be the best route from Mysore to Hassan , in terms of good
roads and easy driving ?

Route No. 2

Calicut-Koothuparamba-Irritty-Virajpet-Medikeri-Hassan-Chikmagalur.

This has been chosen for the scenic drive. Here again, need to know the
best route from Medikeri to Hassan.

I would appreciate it if any of you who have used the above routes in
the near past, can provide some feedback on the above queries.

Thanks

Driving in the Kochi-Mangalore-Goa is a very stressful job. The roads are narrow with a very high density of traffic. The private buses are notorious for tailgating and trying to push you off the road, and after overtaking, stop suddenly to pickup passengers. I drove this route to Goa in Dec 2015 and had very near misses several times. Once you cross over to Karnataka, the situation is better. While returning we took the Honovar-Jog Falls - Hasssan-Bangalore route and it was definitely better.
It would be very difficult to drive this stretch in one day, so you have to break up the journey in between.

I agree with this. I drove to Payyanur a few months back, and google shows about 7 hrs, but it took me around 10.5 hrs, as stated, its was very stressfull to say the least. You will encounter all kind of jokers. The alternate route is longer but it would be peaceful. All the best.

I would vouch for Kozhikode-Kalpetta-Mananthavady (can be bypassed via Koyilery-Payyampalli road)-Kattikulam-Tholpetty-Kutta-Nagarhole- Hunsur- KR nagar- Holenarsipura- Hassan- Chikmaglur. Good roads almost the entire way except the forest stretch inside Nagarhole.
No need to touch Mysore at all.

Gmaps link here : https://bit.ly/2Jlv60b