[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by fast_elegance

Planning a quick drive to Manjeri for a marriage on Mar 30th and returning on 31st from Bangalore. Need recommendation for the route.

Tried looking for recent updates, but did not find any post that mentions Manjeri.

The most ideal option would be Mysore-Gundlepet-Gudalur-Nadugani-nillambur-Manjeri. The Nadugani ghat was said to be in poor state after last year's floods. I assume should be ok now.

The above route has a forest road closure 9pm to 6am. In case you plan to leave towards evening , the closure may impact.

The other route would be Salem-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Perinthalmanna- Manjeri. This is 100km longer. Only advantage is that you get 4/6 lane all the way to Palakkad and no closure issues.

[venkyhere]

Bangalore to kollam (aryankavu route)
I am confused on which of the two choices to make for the undivided section between madurai and TN-KL border.

1) madurai bypass-tirumangalam-rajapalayam-puliyangudi-tenkasi bypass-TN-KL border (2) madurai bypass-virudhunagar-kovilpatti(little beyond)-switch from NH to SH-kalugumalai-sankarankovil-puliuyangudi-tenkasi bypass-TN-KL border.

My only concern is road surface, duration spent on undivided roads is lesser in option 2 ; however, if its surface is poor, doesn't make sense choosing it over 1. Can anyone help me decide which of the two options to choose ?

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Bangalore to kollam (aryankavu route)
I am confused on which of the two choices to make for the undivided section between madurai and TN-KL border.

1) madurai bypass-tirumangalam-rajapalayam-puliyangudi-tenkasi bypass-TN-KL border (2) madurai bypass-virudhunagar-kovilpatti(little beyond)-switch from NH to SH-kalugumalai-sankarankovil-puliuyangudi-tenkasi bypass-TN-KL border.

My only concern is road surface, duration spent on undivided roads is lesser in option 2 ; however, if its surface is poor, doesn't make sense choosing it over 1. Can anyone help me decide which of the two options to choose ?

I have driven both routes. I would prefer option 1 as it is shorter.

[fast_elegance]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The most ideal option would be Mysore-Gundlepet-Gudalur-Nadugani-nillambur-Manjeri. The Nadugani ghat was said to be in poor state after last year's floods. I assume should be ok now.

The above route has a forest road closure 9pm to 6am. In case you plan to leave towards evening , the closure may impact.

The other route would be Salem-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Perinthalmanna- Manjeri. This is 100km longer. Only advantage is that you get 4/6 lane all the way to Palakkad and no closure issues.

Thanks Rajeev. Will be leaving early morning so should not have issues with forest road closure. The plan is tentative at this point in time.

Has anyone taken the Nadugani ghat recently?

[mykal shoemaker]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Bangalore to kollam (aryankavu route)
I am confused on which of the two choices to make for the undivided section between madurai and TN-KL border.

1) madurai bypass-tirumangalam-rajapalayam-puliyangudi-tenkasi bypass-TN-KL border (2) madurai bypass-virudhunagar-kovilpatti(little beyond)-switch from NH to SH-kalugumalai-sankarankovil-puliuyangudi-tenkasi bypass-TN-KL border.

My only concern is road surface, duration spent on undivided roads is lesser in option 2 ; however, if its surface is poor, doesn't make sense choosing it over 1. Can anyone help me decide which of the two options to choose ?

Rajapalayam one is the better one. There were few road maintenance works in progress near to Thenkashi. Other than that, its the perfect road ,as of now.

[joe]

Hello has anyone driven from Kannur to Panjim,Goa recently?. Need inputs on the road condition. Thanks.

[binand]

Did a quick return trip to Calicut (out on Wednesday, back on Thursday).

Since I have a pathological dislike of the traffic and road sense on BM Road, I, as always, chose to return via Kozhikode-Palakkad-Salem-Bangalore. And since I absolutely love driving in the eastern side of Kozhikode/Malappuram districts where greenery is abundant, terrain is hilly and roads are wonderfully curvy, I mapped a route that went Kozhikode-Arekode-Wandoor-Pandikkad-Mannarkkad-Palakkad.

Step wise:

* Turned off the Calicut bypass at Pantheerankavu roundabout towards Perumanna (a commuter town of Calicut made famous by a popular comedian). Beyond Perumanna crossed the Chaliyar river via the Oorkkadavu bridge. Then onwards till Arekode. Barely any traffic, but road is narrow-ish (7m?).

* At Arekode joined the Thamarassey-Edavanna KL SH. Followed it till Edavanna. Good quality, 15m Kerala SH. No complaints at all. Last time I went this way was in October, when this road was in shambles following the floods of August. It sees quite a bit of traffic, given that it allows bypassing Calicut city from afar.

* At Edavanna turned towards Nilambur and immediately onto Wandoor Road. This is very narrow at the beginning but widens a bit once out of town limits. Traffic thins to a trickle, and a surprising dual carriageway greets you as you near Wandoor.

* At Wandoor turn right onto the Nilambur-Perinthalmanna KL SH. Another great road but traffic is quite high, given that it is the main connecting road from Nadugani entry to Kerala to the central districts of the state. Thankfully I had to follow this only for about 15 km to reach Pandikkad, where I took the bypass (missed it first, U-turned) towards Melattur-Mannarkkad.

* More deep country KL roads. Well maintained, not much traffic (primarily bikes and buses). Joined NH 966 (formerly NH 213) a few km outside of Mannarkkad. Stopped for lunch at a hotel here.

I also wanted to try the Tipu Sulthan Road (Mannarkkad-Kongad) as an alternative to taking the extremely crowded NH between Mannarkkad and Palakkad, so turned off the highway. This road started off OK but progressively deteriorated. It is narrow (3m?) so you have to get off the tarmac - such as it is - to give way to oncoming traffic. These 20 km or so was the most painful part of the journey. But there is hope, since I saw raw material being unloaded and clearing of road edge in progress - so I might take it again after 6 months and see.

At Kongad I joined the Perinthalmanna-Mundur road and then onwards to Olavakkode-Walayar bypassing Palakkad. Took 4 hours including a lunch break - Google said it would take 3.5 hours via the regular Malappuram-Perinthalmanna route so I assume timewise this is comparable.

This is where had lunch: https://goo.gl/maps/5K39A4GNhqR2. Heavenly food, non-veg only, Arabian mostly (but obviously, local flavour of biryani is available).

Elsewhere, I was pleasantly surprised to see widening work happening between Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri. It was dark when I passed this area, but some sections are done (no lane markings yet though) and other sections are under construction (foundation digging, surfacing, diversions).

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by binand

... Tipu Sulthan Road (Mannarkkad-Kongad) as an alternative to taking the extremely crowded NH between Mannarkkad and Palakkad...

Posting a pic shot from a spot on the Tipu Sultan road, in December last year:



...and the exact location:

[binand]

Originally Posted by silversteed

Posting a pic shot from a spot on the Tipu Sultan road

Here's one of the road itself. This is from the early part (close to Mannarkkad) where is it good.

[TSIboy]

Did a drive from Thrissur to Coimbatore on wednesday. Left around 7.15AM and reached Vilankurichi by 10.15AM. Multiple diversions in the Mannuthy-Vadakkencherry stretch. There was light traffic at the Irumbupalam bridge at Kuthiran. Other than that, pretty smooth drive it was on NH544.

Saw a rider on a RE himalayan take a diversion at Irumbupalam bridge (going towards Coimbatore). The small unpaved road going right just before the start of the bridge must have taken him to the approach road/bridge to the tunnel if I'm right. He probably took it to bypass the block on the Irumbupalam bridge.

Not sure if its a legitimate route. The road is narrow & unpaved and leads to the construction site. Will try it the next time if I'm going on a bike.

Here's the diversion.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/psrky

[coolrats]

I had done this route few months back and there are some bridges that they were constructing after the floods washed away much of the roads. The roads are much better as I had done the route immediately after the flood as well. The route number 1 is better. The only problem is with the checking that happens on the border when they see a KA vehicle as I have seen both TN and KL vehicle cruising by with no issues. The election season will mean again much of the issues

Originally Posted by mykal shoemaker

Rajapalayam one is the better one. There were few road maintenance works in progress near to Thenkashi. Other than that, its the perfect road ,as of now.

[deathwalkr]

Going to Tuticorin from Trivandrum and wanted to know if there are any surprises i should be prepared for

The NH route is still the best option to get there i presume

[PrideRed]

Can someone tell me what is the easiest and fastest means to travel from Ernakulam to thodupuza. I will be reaching Ernakulam early morning(7:30AM) and need to go to Thodupuzha. Will be travelling with KSRTC, not sure here is the drop point in Ernakulam.

[Aditya_Bhp]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Can someone tell me what is the easiest and fastest means to travel from Ernakulam to thodupuza. I will be reaching Ernakulam early morning(7:30AM) and need to go to Thodupuzha. Will be travelling with KSRTC, not sure here is the drop point in Ernakulam.

A KSRTC Fast Passenger is the fastest and only option you have. If you are lucky, you might get a Volvo Low Floor bus. There are Thodupuzha fast passengers every 20minutes. Do not get any ordinary buses as they have stops every km on the route.
If you are arriving by train and is from north of Kochi, get down at Aluva, you will save time as you will not have to negotiate the traffic. From Aluva, there are buses to Muvattupuzha.
If you are on a bus coming from north, get down at Angamaly bus stand, where you will get multiple Super Fast buses directly to Thodupuzha or you can take a bus till Muvattupuzha and from there go to Thodupuzha.

[binand]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Can someone tell me what is the easiest and fastest means to travel from Ernakulam to thodupuza. I will be reaching Ernakulam early morning(7:30AM) and need to go to Thodupuzha. Will be travelling with KSRTC, not sure here is the drop point in Ernakulam.

Which KSRTC? In general, Ke/Ka SRTC buses that terminate at Ernakulam go to the KSRTC bus stand inside the city and the ones that go to points beyond drop passengers at Vyttila mobility hub. Don't think there is a hard and fast rule though.

Ernakulam-Thodupuzha is a frequent route. You should be able to get a bus for your onward journey quickly enough.

If you are familiar with Kerala and travelling light you might even want to consider getting off at Aluva and taking a bus from there to Thodupuzha. You might save about 1.5 hours.