Team-BHP - All Roads to Kerala

Quote:

Originally Posted by gurminder_81 (Post 5490723)

The roads are all 4 / 6 lanes from the Kerala border till your Hotel which is inside the city.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gurminder_81 (Post 5490723)

2. Anything that I should be careful about driving this late on Coimbatore-Kochi stretch: bad road conditions, or any other threat of anti-social elements being active there. I will be travelling with my wife and daughter.

Normally Kerala roads are very safe. There is no issue with the road conditions except that speed limits on Kerala roads vary drastically between 40 & 100 on this stretch so be careful about that.

At this time typically you should find zero traffic.

You may experience some traffic on the stretch between Coimbatore & the Kerala border especially on the L & T Bypass which is 2 lane.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gurminder_81 (Post 5490723)

1. All roads from Coimbatore till Kochi city are at least 4/6 lanes and there are no single lane roads all across. Gmaps seems to showcase that it is indeed the case, but would rely on information here.

2. Anything that I should be careful about driving this late on Coimbatore-Kochi stretch: bad road conditions, or any other threat of anti-social elements being active there. I will be travelling with my wife and daughter.

Based on the above, I can make a decision to either halt at Coimbatore or make the full run to Kochi as a preferable option.

I drive this route frequently and at around the same timings as you mentioned (late afternoon start from Bangalore, post-midnight arrival in Kochi). Alone and with family. We have never had any trouble in these journeys.

From the far end of Coimbatore bypass (Madukkarai) all the way till Kochi you have minimum 4-lane dual carriageway road (it is 6-lane between Vadakkancherry and Mannuthy I believe). The problem is a series of signalled junctions that start as soon as you enter Kerala. Be aware of cross traffic and you should be fine.

Palakkad-Thrissur can look a bit lonely late in the nights. It is about 70 km and you should cover it in an hour. Don't plan any stops in this section.

Thrissur-Ernakulam is just a glorified city arterial road - it passes entirely through urban areas. Mostly it is well-lit and you will find some people movement at your journey times also.

Watch out for a long-running flyover construction within Chalakudy city limits. One carriageway is blocked off and the surface on the other was terrible last time I went.

In general you will find ample police presence throughout the route.

There will be traffic - but it will be of the disciplined long-distance trucks/buses type. The irritants that are Kerala private buses, autos, tippers and two-wheelers all will be mostly off the road. Because if this I find it easier to drive within Kerala post 9 PM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey (Post 5490767)

The roads are all 4 / 6 lanes from the Kerala border till your Hotel which is inside the city.
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Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5490815)

Thank You folks for the insights and they are really helpful in building the confidence. I will be careful around the cross-sections and since it is a late night drive, so, I will be keeping the speeds in check to have a relaxed drive.

I traveled Kerala to Bangalore last Sunday. Usually I take the Coimbatore Salem route but this time opted for the Nilambur-Bandipur route for a change. Since it was after along gap, I felt roads on Kerala side was better than my previous trip. But I was in for a shock after crossing TN border. The roads on the ghats are in pathetic conditions. At many places there no roads and it's like doing an off roading. Low GC vehicles will surely scrap under bellies how much ever you go slow. If taking this route, pl be careful and factor additional time to cross the TN stretch.

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Originally Posted by Rangy62 (Post 5490830)

Hello, I am planning a drive to Thattekad(near kothamangalam) and then on to Munnar. Any recommendations on route to Thattekad are welcome.

Take the Kothamanglam bypass towards Munnar, bypass will join the Bhothethankettu - Thattekkadu road, you have to continue on the same road towards Thattekadu (don't take the 2nd leg of the bypass towards Munnar)

There is an option to drive to Munnar from Thattekadu through Mamalakandam. keep in mind that it is a narrow forest road, you can search on youtube to view videos about this route

Did Calicut -> Coimbatore trip yesterday.

Upto Jubilee Road, it was regular Kerala roads & traffic. From Jubilee Road end till Mundur, road expansion work is going on. At some places it is complete. But there are a plethora of uneven surfaces & incomplete joints; if you are driving in the night take care.

Looks as though the Mannarkad route is better, as many were opting that road from Mundur.

Palghar to CBE was as usual, traffic was lesser due to Sunday?

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Originally Posted by vrprabhu (Post 5494818)

From Jubilee Road end till Mundur, road expansion work is going on.

Looks as though the Mannarkad route is better, as many were opting that road from Mundur.

I had posted this update a few pages previously.

If your destination is beyond Palakkad towards TN, then the best route from Perinthalmanna now (with the Kongad-Mundur road going through widening works) is:

Perinthalmanna > Cherpulassery > Varod > Lakkidi to hit the Pattambi-Palakkad state highway, and then split off it at Mankara to go via Kottayi > Kuzhalmandam and join NH 544 there.

Hi Guys

Have to travel Kochi - Kozhikode - Kochi end of this month; let me know the best route to reach (to and fro).

Idea is to find amazing locales enroute and also if possible great eateries (esp. fish) and more importantly if there are any good cafe's or places of interest / significance which will make the journey memorable and worthwhile.

Looking forward to hearing from those who've travelled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5494840)

Perinthalmanna > Cherpulassery > Varod > Lakkidi to hit the Pattambi-Palakkad state highway, and then split off it at Mankara to go via Kottayi > Kuzhalmandam and join NH 544 there.

How broad is this road i.e. enough for two vehicles? And, does it go through lots of towns? These are two things I am mindful of apart from maniac bus drivers!

Any inputs will be appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vrprabhu (Post 5495367)

How broad is this road i.e. enough for two vehicles? And, does it go through lots of towns? These are two things I am mindful of apart from maniac bus drivers!

It is made of sections from many different roads.

Perinthalmanna > Thootha bridge > Cherpulassery turn-off - KL SH 53. You know this one already.
Cherpulassery > Lakkidi - An MDR. Wide enough for two buses but little else.
Lakkidi > Mankara - Section of the Pati Bel road. Among the top state highways of Kerala. Very high on traffic, comparable to NH 966.
Mankara > Koottayi - this is a near-zero traffic, narrow road. 1 bus + 1 car wide. Only potential for delays is the level crossing across the Palakkad-Shoranur main line (sometimes they close this one for multiple trains in one go).
Koottayi > Kuzhalmandam. Another MDR.

The big towns are Cherpulassery (can be bypassed) and Kuzhalmandam (can't be avoided). But the major time saver is that you avoid Mannarkkad town where roadwork has been going on for as long as I can remember. Plus the bottlenecks at Olavakkode and all the signals along the bypass in Palakkad.

Recently traveled back bangalore to kottayam.

Palakad -thrissur route see a lot of speed cameras. What is the official speed limit ? 80 or 90 or 110? Radar bot also highlights 50kmph/70kmph sometimes.

Soo confused with these speed limits, i feel these cams are only to mint money and not really for road safety.

So finally what is the real/safe speed limit within this route so that one doesnt get challaned.:Frustrati (currently i try to stick to 80)

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Originally Posted by SideView (Post 5495616)

So finally what is the real/safe speed limit within this route so that one doesnt get challaned.:Frustrati (currently i try to stick to 80)

From Walayar till Vadakkencherry, all the speed cameras have a limit of 90km/h for cars.

From Vadakkencherry till Mannuthy, there is only one speed camera as of now, which is at Vaniyampara, a kilometre before Kuthiran tunnel. The speed limit in this section is 100 for cars. There are boards mentioning this 100 speed limit at a couple of places on this route.

The confusing part is, MVD website does not mention speed limit for 6 lane national highway, which Vadakkencherry-Mannuthy section is. So not entirely sure if the NHAI who installed the 100 limit board and MVD who enforces speed limits are in agreement. So better to keep it under 90 when you reach the Vaniyampara speed camera.

Update from my last evening's travel from BLR -> Kochi

Start from Home(near Hosa Road): Thursday, 16th Feb, 4:45 PM.
Reached Kochi hotel: Friday, 17th Feb, 1:25 AM with a single break on Coimbatore bypass at Haryana Dhaba and Bakes :)

Road & traffic conditions
Electronic City Elevated Toll -> Krishnagiri Toll: 6 lanes of High traffic all around trucks, cars, buses and what not. Till Attibelle toll, the speed bumps are irritating and considerably slows one down

Krishnagiri toll -> Salem: 4 lane roads with sparse Truck traffic, but got slowed down multiple times with 2 trucks trying to overtake at minimal speed variance.

Salem -> Coimbatore: Possibly the best road section. Good tarmac, less traffic and a very peaceful drive.

Coimbatore bypass: Single road, good tarmac, multiple toll booths, lot of truck traffic, couple of cross road signals.

At the end of the bypass, unfortunately there was an accident between two trucks and there was a traffic jam as all the traffic was diverted towards a section of the service road, where RTO check post was also there. I think we lost a good 20-30 mins there for covering just 2-3 kms.

Coimbatore bypass -> Palakkad -> Thrissur -> Kochi. Excellent 4/6 laned roads. A lot of speed cameras, manageable truck traffic (being late night). We enjoyed the late night drive without much traffic but were wondering that while coming back during the day time, we will encounter a lot of traffic in Kochi-Thrissur section :(

Overall the road from BLR -> Kochi is in reasonable shape without major complaints. Traffic conditions are a different story.

The new XUV700 drove like a dream and we covered the journey of 525 kms in around 8 hrs and 15 mins of driving time. The MID reported average fuel economy was ~14.2 kmpl. Very decent for an AWD L model.

Query: I covered the speed camera laden journey just last night, so when and how should I check if was caught and given an e-challan.

Total toll cost: around 900 INR.