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Expect no less a crowd in Kodai too.


Kodai has good weather. Like you said. might be worth extending the stay by a day or two just enjoy the evening chill!

Friends,

I am planning to travel to the hill stations of Kerala and TN over the next 5 days starting from and returning to south Bengaluru. The plan is to cover Wayanad, Valparai, Munnar and Thekkady. Please advice on the best route to cover all these places in a sedan. I am flexible on the order as i haven't booked hotels yet and my family (kids inclusive) will be accompanying me.

How are the road conditions between:
i. Thekkady to Munnar
ii. Munnar to Valpari
iii. Pollachi to Kalpetta via Palakkad

This is an impulsive plan as our original plan of travelling to a different place got dropped. I look forward for the suggestion of this group to make this trip memorable.

Thank you in advance!

Kerala (and I gather, Tamil Nadu too) is going through intense heatwave-like conditions. Are you sure you folks can handle temperatures in the range 38-41°C?

Also, Thekkadi to Munnar is the only one doable in a few hours window. Pollachi to Kalpetta will easily take 7 hours or more. Out of the 5 days you have, you might end up spending the equivalent of 3 days on the road in punishing weather.

Travellers to Ooty, please note

Starting tomorrow, effective till May 31st, any vehicle driving towards Ooty via Mettupalayam, have to take the Coonoor route only. On returning from Ooty, one has to take the Kotagiri route. This is enforced every summer and comes ito effect from tomorrow (27 April)
Cheers

I hope Munnar would be cooler during this period.
Considering hot weather, for road trip, would it be a good option to fill nitrogen air instead of air ?

considering above and similar suggestions, I have decided to skip Ooty and extend stay in Munnar itself.

while returning from Munnar, which route should I choose to reach Pune?
any other place you recommend on this route? I have 3 days to reach Pune.

Hi Everyone - Need some help. We are doing a family road trip in the first half of May 2024 from Bangalore to Thrissur, thru NH544, in my Kushaq. I had driven this route in March 2023 and it was pretty decent with 4 or 6 lane highways. How is this road now? Any major road repair or construction work in Apr / May 2024? Anything to watch out for? Thx guys

The easiest is via Bangalore.

Any cross-country drive, I would always suggest to stick to 4-lanes.

You can to Bodi-Theni-Didigul-Banglaore-Pune.

If you are descending via Udumalpet, then:
Udumalpet-Avunashi-Salem-Bangalore-Pune

See this thread for more details and updates:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ueries-90.html

Maybe a late reply as you may be on the trip already. This is not an itinerary doable in 5 days. You will be just spending time driving and most of it in the plains in hot weather. Suggest to fully drop Wayanad and even Valparai and just stick to Munnar Thekkady. If you have to add one more place, drive through Valparai.

I travelled this route upto Kochi in end of March. Will be doing again in May first week. Try to do an early start, the heat in the Salem-Coimbatore-Palakkad section is unbearable. Roads are good with couple of detours onto service roads for flyover contruction between Salem-Coimbatore (nothing too prominent). Rest all good. Have a safe drive.

Planning to travel to Bangalore via Thenmala/Shenkottai route. Any recommendations on break spots for food/refreshments? Plan is to start around 5 AM from Punalur.

Similar question for the return journey. Have travelled this route few times but have always found dearth of options. So was wondering whether I am missing out on some good options.

Hello Everyone!

This thread has helped me a lot in the last few years, it's about time I returned the favor.

Vehicle: Honda City 2014, Petrol, Manual.

February 2024

I had driven from Allepy to Mangalore back. had a late start and left at 9 am (I Had made sure I took ample rest before starting) took me, about 14 hours to reach Mangalore, inclusive of a One-hour break at Mahe. Roads are generally bad due to the NH 66 work and there were plenty of road diversions. I followed the Google Maps route, which led me through Kochi - Chavakkad - Ponanni - Feroke - Kozhikode (Calicut) - Vatakara - Mahe - Kannur - Bekal - Kasaragod - Mangalore
The route took me via the Kozhikode Beach road, a beautiful 12km stretch with the Arabian Sea on the left.

My return journey for this trip was via the Mysore-Coimbatore-Pallakad-Thrissue-Kochi route.
Personally, the 27 hairpin bends between Mysore and Coimbatore were the best part of the journey, but I will not take the route again due to the excessive tolls and the lack of time saved to the Gundalur-Pattambi route.


April 2024

I had taken a drive to North Karnataka from Kerala (had driven about 1100 km in about 20 hours one way).
I had taken the Kochi - Angamali - Thrissur - Pallakad - Walayar - Coimbatore route onwards till Bangalore. Surprisingly, the Kerala roads felt more comfortable to drive than the Tamil Nadu roads. This was because of the irregular road surfaces and the multiple detours in Tamil Nadu for the construction of new flyovers/overpasses. The onward journey was entirely at night (starting from home around 9 pm), while the return was during the daytime (crossed Kerala-TN border around 4-5 pm). Traffic was the same during both drives.

Other points:

• The NH66 construction is going on at full speed in the Allapuzha and Ernakulam Districts.

• For vehicles heading to the Cherai Beach area, I would recommend entering Ernakulam City and going towards the Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom church, entering Puthuvypin, and then onwards via SH63. Do note it's a single-lane carriageway/undivided highway, but the road surface is smooth.

• Until the NH66 is completed, an early morning start via MC Road is the best route to Thiruvananthapuram.

• Kottayam-Kumily highway (KK road as it is known locally) is smooth for the most part, and an early morning start should make sure you reach kumily within 3 hours (Otherwise can take up to 5 hours). Do note that the highway has multiple turns, bends, and hairpin turns, which may not be wise for people with motion sickness to travel by. Also, there are a few potholes on the left bank in many of the turns, especially in the Mundakayam-Vandiperiyar section. (I damaged a left strut and left lower arm after hitting these on multiple trips). Also, bus drivers on this route are in a hurry, but they are not as "life-threatening" as the Kozhikode-Kasaragod route.

Team, I am planning a drive from Chennai to Thrissur this Saturday. I am always looking for an opportunity to take out my new City CVT on long drives and my plan is to have a night drive. Start from my home in KK Nagar at around 4pm.

I will be driving alone, as my wife and son already reached TCR by train earlier this week. She, in-laws and my parents are dead against night drive and that too alone.

Experienced night drivers along this route may please suggest any precautions to be taken.

I generally take Ulundurpet-Salem-CBE route.

FYI, I have been regularly doing this route since 2013, but all drives have been during the day and with family.

Very excited for this drive and hope it comes true.

I've also only driven this route in the daytime, but my impression has been that it could get quite lonely in the nights. Add to that the 4PM start time that you are considering (which would be evening peak time all the way to Tindivanam at least) I would suggest hitting the regular Vellore-Krishnagiri route instead.

Thanks,
Are there any reported safety issues along this route at night? Particularly on the lonely stretch?