Team-BHP - All Roads to Kerala

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5582605)

I read the Kunnamkulam-Thrissur road is also in bad shape, but you should be able to reach Thrissur in one piece.

I confirm this road is in poor shape all the way till punkunnam (2KM short of Thrissur city). I heard the alternate way around kunnamkulam via akkikavu - Pannithadam - Kechery is also in bad shape. I'd rather take a train if I'm travelling within god's own country.

Quick update.

The exit from the Thrissur-bound tunnel at Kuthiran is diverted for about half a km. The 6-laned stretch between Vadakkenchery and Mannuthy has developed potholes, some of them quite deep to bend/break a rim or two. Keep your speeds in check.

MC Road surface remains good till Kottarakkara. After say 9 o'clock in the night, the MC road through Changanassery and Tiruvalla towns were better than the respective bypass roads.

Driving from Salem to Thrissur. We are travelling with kids. Had a few questions on the local roads. Help would be appreciated.

Day 1
We will probably leave Salem at around 8 am and try to reach Thrissur by 1:30 pm - It looks like the road from Palakkad to Thrissur is all four lanes now. Once we reach Thrissur, we plan to drive down to Thiruvithuvakodu, near Pattambi, in the evening. Which is the ideal route to drive from Thrissur? Google Maps shows some internal roads. I would appreciate it if anyone could give the ideal route. Also, is it okay to come back in the night? If we leave at 4:00, could we come back by 8:00? There were a couple of other temples in that line that we wanted to go to.

Day 2
I plan to do Kalady from Thrissur the following day - it looks like four-lane roads all the way to Angamaly. Should I try finishing Kalady Day 1 after arriving at Thrissur and do Thiruvithuvakodu in the daytime? On this day, we will be returning to Guruvayoor. Are the roads from Kalady to Guruvayoor good?

Day 3 - I will be driving back to Coimbatore.

Any input would be appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sentra26 (Post 5591393)

Once we reach Thrissur, we plan to drive down to Thiruvithuvakodu, which is near Pattambi, in the evening. Which is the ideal route to drive from Thrissur? Google Maps shows some internal roads. I would appreciate it if anyone could give me the ideal route. Also, is this route okay to come back in the night? Assuming we leave at 4:00, could we come back by 8:00?

Those internal roads are through paddy fields and can feel lonely - but in Kerala, you never are.

Four hours sounds reasonable, yet - you should budget for Thrissur city's traffic and food breaks. If you are apprehensive, cross the Pattambi bridge over the Nila and take the state highway towards Palakkad, turning off for Shornur > Thrissur at Kulappulli. This busy arterial route connects the northern districts of Kerala to its south.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sentra26 (Post 5591393)

I plan to do Kalady from Thrissur the next morning - it looks like four-lane roads all the way to Angamaly. Should I probably try and finish Kalady Day 1 after arriving at Thrissur and do Thiruvithuvakodu in the daytime?

Depends on what you want to do in Kalady. Even beyond Angamaly, it is Kerala's SH 1 (MC Road) and is well-maintained. The unknown is the weak Periyar bridge at Kaladi and the traffic pileup it may cause. Your driving time budget should be 90 minutes each way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sentra26 (Post 5591393)

This day, we will be returning to Guruvayoor. Are the roads from Kalady to Guruvayoor good?

There are multiple routes for this, each with its own drawbacks. The canonical one is to backtrack your way to Thrissur and take Thrissur-Guruvayur SH. But others have reported that roads from Thrissur to Guruvayur are all in bad shape. When I drive northwards from Perumbavoor, I prefer deviating from the NH at Puthukkad (just before Paliyekkara toll) and going via Puthukkad-Urakam-Thriprayar to connect to NH 66 from Thriprayar it is a short drive to Chavakkad which is a gateway town to Guruvayur. But with NH 66 also undergoing redevelopment, it is tough to take a call now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5591606)

If you are apprehensive cross the Pattambi bridge over the Nila and take the state highway towards Palakkad, turning off for Shornur > Thrissur at Kulappulli.

Thanks. Will do this I assume this is the road that goes to Thrissur via Shornur -> Cheruthuruthi -> Wadakkanchery

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5591606)

Depends on what you want to do in Kalady. The unknown is the weak Periyar bridge at Kaladi and the traffic pileup it may cause.

In Kalady, the plan is to go to the Ramaksirhna Ashram and the Sri Krishna temple. I think all of the spots we need to visit are on the northern side of the river so am I right in assuming we do not need to cross the bridge? Unless traffic radiates of course.

On the way back from Kalady to Guruvayoor, I understand that we will be in for some bad stretches no matter what. As you suggested will try the Paliyekkara -> Urakam -> Triprayar -> Chavakkad -> Guruvayoor road.

Thanks again for your inputs.

To folks driving down to Cochin for Onam, be careful around Kuthiran. The bridge before the tunnel towards Cochin is down to one lane, and so is the tunnel. Beyond the tunnel, the entire lane is blocked and traffic is diverted onto to the opposite lane (Thrissur-Palakkad stretch). Not much of an issue at 7 am. Just be aware of potential bottleneck.

Update: No issue at Paliyekara. Few accidents en-route. But none affected progress towards Cochin. By far the worst bottleneck near Angamaly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sentra26 (Post 5591633)

Kalady road block is very unpredictable and can get really bad if your plans are around the Onam time. You don't need to cross the river for Ashram, but it doesn't matter since the traffic snarls will start much before Kalady town and the bridge. Make sure you have maps running with destination as Ashram, and if you see RED in Kalady, take a left turn from Mattur which is around 2 kms before Kalady. There will be a lady constable managing traffic at that junction most of the time, road right opposite will be leading to the airport. Left turn will take you directly to the Ashram through inner roads skipping the Kalady town.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5611945)

Saw this press report couple of days back that they've built a new bridge across the Periyar to reduce traffic at Kaladi (among other things):

This will help people coming from the opposite direction (from Perumbavoor) to reach the airport without touching Kalady, but won't be useful while coming from Thrissur

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5591606)

But others have reported that roads from Thrissur to Guruvayur are all in bad shape.

Driving down to Guruvayur from Bangalore this weekend. How bad are these roads? Would an Octavia handle them well or should I be prepared for a stressful drive with all the extra caution?

Last time I did this was in 2017 and I remember this stretch to be in good shape and quite scenic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anandhsub (Post 5615255)

You can take the Palakkad> Ottapalam > Pattambi> Guruvayur route.

I went through this 3 weeks back and it was fine.

Drove Bangalore-Tirur-Bangalore in the last week. Both ways via Gundlepet, Gudalur, Nilambur, Manjeri, Malappuram, Kottakkal. I used to always go via Salem, Palakkad, Ottapalam, Pattambi, Valanchery/Kuttipuram, Tirur which was 100km longer but usually would take less time. With the Mysore Expressway open and the fact that roads are good all through plus the fact that Krishnagiri-Salem-Coimbatore has become slower due to increase in traffic, this route no longer make sense.

Roads via Gudalur are pretty good all through. The TN section on the Nadugani ghats which was relaid in the March timeframe has started breaking up again. Currently only a few patchy sections, but in another 4-5 months will be totally broken up if not patched.

Since I drove down on a Sunday before Onam, expected very heavy traffic once I entered Kerala. Was not as bad as expected.

Took 8h 45min of driving time both ways with a 11am start from Bangalore and a 2pm start on the day after Onam from Tirur. I remember 12-13 years back, this used to be a 8.5 hr drive with early morning start from Bangalore and could go up to 10 hrs and beyond depending on how bad the traffic on the Mysore-Bangalore stretch was. At one point with the Mysore Bangalore traffic becoming unbearable and due to the fact that the Theppakadu-Gudalur-Nadugani stretch was always in a poor state, I shifted to the Salem route.

Now roads are good, the expressway takes away an hour of driving time and we are back to the 8.30 hour ball park for the 380 km. Small mercies :)