[jphukan]

Originally Posted by Resfeber

Hello,

Planning to visit Ooty this weekend. Have a couple of Questions.

Is the 36 hairpin bend route open and is e-pass required?

Thanks.

36 hairpin bend route -> not open till end of January 2022, not sure if situation has changed in last couple of weeks

e-pass -> was not checked when I travelled end of Jan; but better be safe than sorry.

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by jphukan

36 hairpin bend route -> not open till end of January 2022, not sure if situation has changed in last couple of weeks

e-pass -> was not checked when I travelled end of Jan; but better be safe than sorry.

In the uphill direction (towards ooty), it was alway open. I travelled in Dec'21 and Jan'22. However downhill, they were not allowing any vehicles, except those registered in Nilgiri district of TN.

[Resfeber]

Originally Posted by manjubp

In the uphill direction (towards ooty), it was alway open. I travelled in Dec'21 and Jan'22. However downhill, they were not allowing any vehicles, except those registered in Nilgiri district of TN.

Yeah downhill traffic of Non-TN43 vehicles were stopped long ago. Heard that even uphill traffic was stopped last month. Hence my doubt. Thanks anyways

[jkrishnakj]

Onwards to Ooty, you can still go via those hair pin route. You’ll rarely find someone coming from the opposite side.

No e-Pass required.

I’ve been taking my Crysta AT and found it very joyful to climb up. So, ‘crusading monk’, have fun with your CRV. Also, the Blr-Mysore highway is still ok for weekdays, despite the constructions. Most stretches are smooth and the diversions aren’t too bad either.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by CrusadingMonk

Hi,
-
1) We are driving a CRV (All new CR-V Petrol 2019 AT model). We would like to take the masinagudi route to reach Club Mahindra, Ooty. Would the ride be safe & comfortable given the no of hairpin bends on this route? I am a decent driver & have been driving for around 25 years now.
2) While our car is almost 2.5 years old, we have driven only around 10K km's till now. Need advise on which gear (D/S/L) should we use while driving uphill? Thanks

It will be a breeze for your CRV AT, and should be be easily doable in the normal drive mode unless you want to be sporty at the curves.

I have done it multiple times on my Fortuner AT. I took the Masinagudi route for downhill with the Fortuner AT on a working day while the entry was not manned, but that was taxing for the break pads since you hardly get any engine breaking support in the old model Fortuner AT

[shantanumishra]

Friends - Planning to drive to Ooty this Friday (25 Feb), I live near Sarjapur and Google is showing 2 routes, 1 via Coimbatore and other one is the normal BLR-MYS-Ooty,

Any suggestions..

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shantanumishra

Friends - Planning to drive to Ooty this Friday (25 Feb), I live near Sarjapur and Google is showing 2 routes, 1 via Coimbatore and other one is the normal BLR-MYS-Ooty,

If your destination is Conoor, then Salem is not bad option. (Salem-Avinashi-Mettupalayam-Conoor). You dont need to go to Coimbattore.

But if your target is Ooty then yes, Salem is a longish option.

Now the only problem going via Mysore is how you can beat the traffic till Kanakpura when you start from home. You cant start very early simply because of the many diversions till Kanakpura. But you are in the clear (say you time this section to be here around 6AM) you can breeze to Mysore ORR in 3.5 hours (Via Malavalli/Bannur). And then its the usual route via Nanjangud/Gundlupet.

[shantanumishra]

Originally Posted by ampere

If your destination is Conoor, then Salem is not bad option. (Salem-Avinashi-Mettupalayam-Conoor). You dont need to go to Coimbattore.

But if your target is Ooty then yes, Salem is a longish option.

Now the only problem going via Mysore is how you can beat the traffic till Kanakpura when you start from home. You cant start very early simply because of the many diversions till Kanakpura. But you are in the clear (say you time this section to be here around 6AM) you can breeze to Mysore ORR in 3.5 hours (Via Malavalli/Bannur). And then its the usual route via Nanjangud/Gundlupet.

How much ever early I try to make it, its tough to start before 5:30-6 AM due to small kids.

I have done BLR-Mys-Ooty almost 4-5 times, but my last visit on this route was in Dec 2016, nothing after that. Have heard a lot about the under construction BLR-Mys stretch, hence, worried

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shantanumishra

How much ever early I try to make it, its tough to start before 5:30-6 AM due to small kids.

5:30 should be good. But do note it can easily take up to 1.5 hrs to clear out Kanakapura if you start say from Indiranagar/Koramanagala etc. That section is the bad one. Once past its easy to drive.

But do note:

• No many good places on the way to break.
• Secondly at Malavalli don't follow the usual Kanakapura. It leads to Kollegal. You need to go into town and take left towards Bannur. Do check it out in the maps.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by shantanumishra

How much ever early I try to make it, its tough to start before 5:30-6 AM due to small kids.

I have done BLR-Mys-Ooty almost 4-5 times, but my last visit on this route was in Dec 2016, nothing after that. Have heard a lot about the under construction BLR-Mys stretch, hence, worried

If starting from Sarjapur area, it makes more sense to go via Salem Annur Mettupalayam. It will probably be faster and you have plenty of break options till you exit the NH towards Annur. Roads are all good. Don't see a reason for you to come back into the city or come backwards to get to NICE to hit Kanakpura/ Mysore Road.

On a side note, Bangalore Mysore is not too bad . Yes a lot of diversions and construction. But now many of the 6 lane sections are open and the road even through the diversions are all good. You can probably try it on the return.

5.30-6am is a good time to start irrespective of the route

[bht]

Originally Posted by Resfeber

Yeah downhill traffic of Non-TN43 vehicles were stopped long ago. Heard that even uphill traffic was stopped last month. Hence my doubt. Thanks anyways

Seems the entry to the Masinagudi/Kalhatti road at the Thepkadu junction is blocked, looked like the narrow bridge there is in maintenance or something, I could see some work/digging done but couldn't figure it out because of the taxis parked there. we had to take Gudalur route on both ways this week end.

[naadopaasaka]

Originally Posted by bht

Seems the entry to the Masinagudi/Kalhatti road at the Thepkadu junction is blocked, looked like the narrow bridge there is in maintenance or something... we had to take Gudalur route on both ways this week end.

Thanks. This is probably why Google Maps isn't recommending the Masinagudi-Kalhatty route even if I add Kalhatty as a stop.

Does anybody have any more information on this?

[arindambasu13]

What is the best route from Bangalore to Kotagiri, in terms of good road conditions and easy drivability? I will be starting from Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore. I typically avoid Mysore Road due to the present state of construction etc. In any case, would be keen to know the recommended route to Kotagiri, where the resort is situated. Thanks in advance!

Edit: Will be starting early morning on a long weekend when I expect tourist traffic to be quite high, especially vehicles headed from Bangalore to the Ooty area.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

What is the best route from Bangalore to Kotagiri, in terms of good road conditions and easy drivability? I will be starting from Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore. I typically avoid Mysore Road due to the present state of construction etc. In any case, would be keen to know the recommended route to Kotagiri, where the resort is situated. Thanks in advance!

Edit: Will be starting early morning on a long weekend when I expect tourist traffic to be quite high, especially vehicles headed from Bangalore to the Ooty area.

Best Option would be Krishnagiri-Thoppur-Mecheri-Mettur-Sathyamangalam-Mettupalayam-Kotagiri. Roads are a little patchy (as of October last year) between Thoppur and Mettur. Great 2 lane roads after that.

If you prefer to keep to the 4 lane to the maximum extent possible and avoid the multiple towns on the above route, you can also do Salem-Avinashi-Annur-Mettupalayam. Should take similar time in spite of being longer.

Does not make sense to take the Gudalur Ooty route if destination is Kotagiri

[srvm]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

What is the best route from Bangalore to Kotagiri, in terms of good road conditions and easy drivability? I will be starting from Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore. I typically avoid Mysore Road due to the present state of construction etc. In any case, would be keen to know the recommended route to Kotagiri, where the resort is situated. Thanks in advance!
....

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Best Option would be Krishnagiri-Thoppur-Mecheri-Mettur-Sathyamangalam-Mettupalayam-Kotagiri. Roads are a little patchy (as of October last year) between Thoppur and Mettur. Great 2 lane roads after that.
....

I did Bangalore-Coimbatore trip in September 2021. Roads from Thoppur to Mecheri was very poor full of deep potholes.
Another option to Kotagiri would be: Kanakapura road - Malavalli - Kollegal - Chamarajanagar - Bannari - Sathy - Mettupalayam - Kotagiri. Should be more scenic now that the Chamrajanagar-Dimbham is relaid. But one must plan food/bio breaks carefully. Also, road up to Kanakapura is a mixed bag. Lots of good stretch interspersed with small bad sections.