[ash_blore]

Thanks guys for the response. I will visit one while going and one while coming back.
Am already looking forward to the trip

[drkumarmp]

Originally Posted by ash_blore

I am off to Kodai on 18th morning. Planning the following route

Blore - krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Salem - Namkkal - Karur - Dindigul - Vattlagundu - Kodai

Planning an early start 5AM. I think I can reach Kodai by around 3 PM.
I think the road till Salem is good and after that there is some 4 lane work going on (as per Ajmat).

I have never done this stretch before so is there anything to watch out for? Also I want to know where is a good place to stop for breakfast and lunch. Also recommendations for restaurants will be great.

I just returned from a trip to Kodai from Bangalore, since you are leaving tommorow morning I will give the brief summery now & post a detailed travel log later, as you have guessed correctly the NH7 after Salem is undergoing plenty of face lifts & all the direction/destination/mile stone boards have been removed, very difficult to navigate at junctions & very hard to find someone to ask for directions at 2 AM, I had planned as follows, we left in my Innova at 11PM on 12th May, all went well till Salem & I was very slow planning to reach Kodai @ the check in time of the resort which was 1030 AM, after Salem I had taken the wrong roads twice & had to find a 24 Hrs petrol pump to get directons & back track to the junctions I had over shot & reached dindigul @ 7 AM having done 367 KM from Bangalore, once again @ Dindigul there is a flyover with no direction board the shoots off towards Madurai, You have to take a right diviation to palani road that goes to Vathalagundu which is spelt Bathalabundu all along on the mile stones, the directions are good from there, then you reach a intersection showing palani to one side & Kodai the other, reached kodai @ 1000 Hrs & while returning on the 15th we had to go to palani so left at 9 Am & came to palani, stayed till 5 PM & while leaving we were advised of the alternate route to Bangalore which is a state highway & it is really great considering the NH 7, you can take this route to & from Kodai, it is Darapuram, Kangayam, perundurai, Bhavani, Mettur & Thopur, at Thoppur you join NH 7 while comming from Kodai or take diviation from NH 7 at thoppur to take the route to go to Kodai, nice high way, stright roads, no pot holes, few speed breakers all marked well, this thoppur comes in between Dharmapuri & Salem to the right, in case you miss it there is a nother chance to diviate at Malur & head to Bhavani to reach Kodai, stay away from NH 7 after Salem at all cost, its horrible,

we stayed at Villa retreat on coakers walk & is the best place I had seen in kodai, but you have to book well in advance, give it a try if you havent already made arrangements (which I doubt would be the case), try to leave a bit earlier than 5 AM, incomming traffic can be avoided, usually those who want to avoid night driving start by 3 AM to reach Kodai to make some use of the day, if you reach @ 3 PM it will be late for lunch & too tierd to visit any place with enthusiasm. hope you see this post before leaving & make use of it.

Have a safe journey, Drive Safe, Buckelup always, never abuse Highbeem.

[drkumarmp]

Originally Posted by sandeep3in

Friends could you please share any good hotels/resort for accommodation in kodakanal. The budget would be in range of 1500 -2500 Rs. I have searched google which gave a couple of hotels.Just wanted a review from someone who had been to Kodai.Please share the name and rates of the hotel.

Thanks

Just returned from Kodai on 15th May, stayed at Villa Retreat on coakers walk, net booked well in advance, standard room is 1688/- best location, wonderful service, breath taking view from the lawn.

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by drkumarmp

I just returned from a trip to Kodai from Bangalore, since you are leaving tommorow morning I will give the brief summery now & post a detailed travel log later, as you have guessed correctly the NH7 after Salem is undergoing plenty of face lifts & all the direction/destination/mile stone boards have been removed, very difficult to navigate at junctions & very hard to find someone to ask for directions at 2 AM, I had planned as follows, we left in my Innova at 11PM on 12th May, all went well till Salem & I was very slow planning to reach Kodai @ the check in time of the resort which was 1030 AM, after Salem I had taken the wrong roads twice & had to find a 24 Hrs petrol pump to get directons & back track to the junctions I had over shot & reached dindigul @ 7 AM having done 367 KM from Bangalore, once again @ Dindigul there is a flyover with no direction board the shoots off towards Madurai, You have to take a right diviation to palani road that goes to Vathalagundu which is spelt Bathalabundu all along on the mile stones, the directions are good from there, then you reach a intersection showing palani to one side & Kodai the other, reached kodai @ 1000 Hrs & while returning on the 15th we had to go to palani so left at 9 Am & came to palani, stayed till 5 PM & while leaving we were advised of the alternate route to Bangalore which is a state highway & it is really great considering the NH 7, you can take this route to & from Kodai, it is Darapuram, Kangayam, perundurai, Bhavani, Mettur & Thopur, at Thoppur you join NH 7 while comming from Kodai or take diviation from NH 7 at thoppur to take the route to go to Kodai, nice high way, stright roads, no pot holes, few speed breakers all marked well, this thoppur comes in between Dharmapuri & Salem to the right, in case you miss it there is a nother chance to diviate at Malur & head to Bhavani to reach Kodai, stay away from NH 7 after Salem at all cost, its horrible,

Have a safe journey, Drive Safe, Buckelup always, never abuse Highbeem.

Thanks for the info. Great info. Do you know which SH it is that deviates from NH7 at Thopur? Is there any change in the total distance?

regarding hotel, I have already booked Grand Palace at 2700/night (b/f + dinner included)

[rd_maverick]

hi guys!!

i am planning a trip to munnar and periyar wildlife sanctury around 23rd of this month..would it be a good time to visit? i will be travelling with my mother and my sis so what would be the best way to travel, my starting point would be bangalore. how are the roads, is it safe in a car like santro/getz(plan to hire) or should i use train/flight?

how would the weather conditions be? any other places if the above is not feasible, u could suggest off?

[drkumarmp]

Originally Posted by rd_maverick

hi guys!!

i am planning a trip to munnar and periyar wildlife sanctury around 23rd of this month..would it be a good time to visit? i will be travelling with my mother and my sis so what would be the best way to travel, my starting point would be bangalore. how are the roads, is it safe in a car like santro/getz(plan to hire) or should i use train/flight?

how would the weather conditions be? any other places if the above is not feasible, u could suggest off?

Best route would be upto salem on NH 7 & diviate to NH 47 at salem towards Avanashi take left diviation onto a SH towards Munnar through Palladam, Udumallaipettai, as far as the NH are concern I am sure they are good upto Avanashi, the SH not very sure but considering the parallel SH (Bhavani, Kangayam & Dharapuram ) it must be good, you can also take this route (Bhavani, Kangayam & Dharapuram ) upto Palani then take NH 209 till Udumallaipettai & reach Munnar, considering the present weather it must be rainy up there too, Santro should do fine, (considering Hiring a car the cost to convinience ratio would not workout I suppose) plan your trip as 50 Km for each hour of driving, irrespective of your speed the average will end up there, so plan well, keep the ghats at day light, enjoy the drive, we are not trying to set records & "break" them (Just an advice I have always tell myself on highways) nearby Munnar the only alternative is Kodai, must have started raining there too. I use google directions (maps.google.com/), its really very helpfull.

Originally Posted by ash_blore

Thanks for the info. Great info. Do you know which SH it is that deviates from NH7 at Thopur? Is there any change in the total distance?

regarding hotel, I have already booked Grand Palace at 2700/night (b/f + dinner included)

That would be SH20 from thopur to Bhavani via Mechcheri & Mettur.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

[arindamray]

Originally Posted by drkumarmp

you can also take this route (Bhavani, Kangayam & Dharapuram ) upto Palani then take NH 209 till Udumallaipettai & reach Munnar,

From Dharapuram you can travel straight to Udumallapetai and don't have to go via Palani.

[bullinb]

Originally Posted by drkumarmp

Best route would be upto salem on NH 7 & diviate to NH 47 at salem towards Avanashi take left diviation onto a SH towards Munnar through Palladam, Udumallaipettai, as far as the NH are concern I am sure they are good upto Avanashi, the SH not very sure but considering the parallel SH (Bhavani, Kangayam & Dharapuram ) it must be good, you can also take this route (Bhavani, Kangayam & Dharapuram ) upto Palani then take NH 209 till Udumallaipettai & reach Munnar,

Did Bangalore-Munnar two weeks back - my suggestion would be to avoid Salem altogether. NH7 is still unfinished in patches between Toppur and Salem. From Salem to Bavani, the construction is in full swing - in other words a zillion diversions en route.

Take the Toppur - Mettur- Bhavani - Avanashi - Palladam - Udumalaipet route. Roads are awesome and very less traffic.

[drkumarmp]

Originally Posted by bullinb

Did Bangalore-Munnar two weeks back - my suggestion would be to avoid Salem altogether. NH7 is still unfinished in patches between Toppur and Salem. From Salem to Bavani, the construction is in full swing - in other words a zillion diversions en route.

Take the Toppur - Mettur- Bhavani - Avanashi - Palladam - Udumalaipet route. Roads are awesome and very less traffic.

Originally Posted by arindamray

From Dharapuram you can travel straight to Udumallapetai and don't have to go via Palani.

both the suggested routes are the best ones as I had posted in my original trip log post, the other two were alternates in case anyone wanted to stay on the NH and avoid going in and out of small towns/villages, but considering the bad state of NH & the smoothness of this toppur - kangayam route its worth the trouble.

[rd_maverick]

sorry for the late reply, have been travelling.
Thanks for the response guys!! will clearly keep it in mind when i do the trip.

Drive safe.Cheers

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by drkumarmp

I just returned from a trip to Kodai from Bangalore, since you are leaving tommorow morning I will give the brief summery now & post a detailed travel log later, as you have guessed correctly the NH7 after Salem is undergoing plenty of face lifts & all the direction/destination/mile stone boards have been removed, very difficult to navigate at junctions & very hard to find someone to ask for directions at 2 AM, I had planned as follows, we left in my Innova at 11PM on 12th May, all went well till Salem & I was very slow planning to reach Kodai @ the check in time of the resort which was 1030 AM, after Salem I had taken the wrong roads twice & had to find a 24 Hrs petrol pump to get directons & back track to the junctions I had over shot & reached dindigul @ 7 AM having done 367 KM from Bangalore, once again @ Dindigul there is a flyover with no direction board the shoots off towards Madurai, You have to take a right diviation to palani road that goes to Vathalagundu which is spelt Bathalabundu all along on the mile stones, the directions are good from there, then you reach a intersection showing palani to one side & Kodai the other, reached kodai @ 1000 Hrs & while returning on the 15th we had to go to palani so left at 9 Am & came to palani, stayed till 5 PM & while leaving we were advised of the alternate route to Bangalore which is a state highway & it is really great considering the NH 7, you can take this route to & from Kodai, it is Darapuram, Kangayam, perundurai, Bhavani, Mettur & Thopur, at Thoppur you join NH 7 while comming from Kodai or take diviation from NH 7 at thoppur to take the route to go to Kodai, nice high way, stright roads, no pot holes, few speed breakers all marked well, this thoppur comes in between Dharmapuri & Salem to the right, in case you miss it there is a nother chance to diviate at Malur & head to Bhavani to reach Kodai, stay away from NH 7 after Salem at all cost, its horrible,

Have a safe journey, Drive Safe, Buckelup always, never abuse Highbeem.

Thanks for the tip. Took the palani route to kodai. Absolutely great with no problems. Was sort of forced to take the NH7 route back to bangalore. This made me appreciate the palani route even more.

[drkumarmp]

Originally Posted by ash_blore

Thanks for the tip. Took the palani route to kodai. Absolutely great with no problems. Was sort of forced to take the NH7 route back to bangalore. This made me appreciate the palani route even more.

I wish I had taken similar advise from this site, I thought the maps & google directions will do until I returned & saw the post in the forum, that’s why I wanted to start contributing my experiences here, glad to hear that you had a nice safe trip, hope you will post some pictures later.

[sriswe]

Hi,
Its been 2 months since I returned from Japan and till now busy with hectic schedules. Now got a chance to go for a vacation for 9 days ( from 26th Sept - 4th Oct, with 3 days leave applied). Somehow convinced my wife to do the trip in our Indica. This will be my 2nd long drive ( 1st drive travelogue has been presented in tbhp, but not able to complete it fully) on Highways and will be first on Ghat Roads. On a high level , the route plan is

Hyderabad - Bangalore - Kodaikanal - Munnar - Ooty - Mysore - Bangalore - Hyderabad

Car is Indica DLS with 4 Adults and baggage. Driving will be only in day time ( 5 AM to 7 PM). Plan is to spend 2 nights in Kodai, Munnar and Ooty and 2 nights in Blr ( one while going and one while coming back) .

Spent the last 3 days researching on TBHP. And I know this is the place where I can get the correct advice. Please let me know the following:

1. This will be my fist Ghat Road driving, Can I drive without any issues to above hill stations. ( My wife is a bit concerned on this) Some of my friends who had been to Munnar and Ooty updated that the Ghat roads will be very difficult to handle for a first time driver and it is better to hire a driver. Are the ghats that steep ?

2. Can Indica with 4 ( or may be 5) ppl with baggage handle the Ghats without any issues? From other threads in the forum, I know that some guys had even made it in Alto, but me being a first time driver don't know how Diesels perform on Ghats.

3. Can I book accomodation online in sites like Yatra.com, makemytrip.com ,etc..I mean is it safer to book online or is it better to book in the hotel sites directly, but not many hotels offer online booking. My budget for stay is around 1000-1300 per day.


I am relying on Team BHP's advice. Does the above plan makes sense? Eagerly waiting for your inputs

[frequentflyer]

If one changes the gears at the right time and not lose momentum on the climbs one can make it. A diesel Indica is a bit sluggish though. Keep your hand brake ready and climb in second or third if you gather speed. I am heading for Munar too end September with five people and luggage in Ford Fusion petrol so have sufficient power I hope. Hotels are avilable online. You can check Keral Govt's touism site (ktdc) or Karnataka (search karnataka tourism) and Tamil Nadu tourism (not a very good site)> here you will get phone numbers of hotels and some of them have web sites too so you can browse and call them and book.

[ravibhat]

I have travelled to these places in my Petrol Innova (few occassions 6 adults onboard + tons of luggage) and Alto as well, 2 adults and 1 kid and experienced driver and lot of luggage (minimum 60kgs) even with Ac on in few ghat sections. Car behaved very well we never felt in any place we lost power.

Only point to remember in ghat section is make sure you drive slowly and don't hesitate to engage 1st gear in few curves.

If you ask me it won't matter a lot if it is big (petrol innova) or small (alto) vehicle as per my expereince to climb ghat section. Make sure you drve with good control.

Less bad roads you can see in these areas you are visiting. But control your speed since lot of traffic is expected from next week(holiday season).

Regards,

Ravi.