[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by csentil

For a buffet breakfast on the higher side, try the Renaissance Inn just after Hosur.

Just near Chinnar, 25 kms from Hosur is a BP with Adyar Ananda Bhavan.

After descending the ghat section you have another couple of hotels on the right side around 10 kms from Krishnagiri.

Dharmapuri has 2 decent hotels. One is Saravana bhavan (not the original one). Don't remember the other one.

Wouldn't suggest anything in Mettur. There is a small but decent one near Bhavani bus stand.

I'm not sure onwards from there.

Hi Senthil I assume you are referring "Hotel Rama's", there is another new hotel which has come up, Meenakshi Bhavan on the left hand side after you cross the junction, which has clean toilets as well.

The taste is as good as Rama's, I would suggest Meenakshi Bhavan taking into account the better toilets.

If one does not mind taking a small detour, you could opt for Hotel Tamil Nadu which is about 4 kms from the NH7 & NH46 junction towards Chennai in the NH46 section, its got both Veg & Non Veg.

Just a thought,may be Senthil can clarify, would you think its better to go all the way to Gobichettipalayam via Mettur, Ammapettai, and then onto Tiruppur via Kunnattur, Peramanallur. From Tiruppur we can go directly to Udumalaipettai via Palladam, by the look of it as per mapmyindia.com its very similar in terms of distances. But this would allow us to avoid the riskier Bhavani - Perundurai route. I dont know about the road conditions from Gobi to Tiruppur which is about 40 kms, but considering that I had recently done Gobi - Andhiyur via some backroads in Bungalowpudhur which was pretty decent I think they should be good enough.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by csentil

...Dharmapuri has 2 decent hotels. One is Saravana bhavan (not the original one). Don't remember the other one...

That would be Meenakshi Bhavan; it has a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian restraurant, both are located on different floors.

EDIT: pypkmsrikanth was faster! He has already answered! :-)

[csentil]

Yes, Meenakshi Bhavan. I've not been there yet but seems to have a lot of good reviews on that place, atleast for the toilets. :-)

srikanth, the route through Ammapettai - Athani - Gobi - Thirupur is nice. But since its only the Bhavani - Perundurai sector which is about 20kms or so, it should be ok. Well if someone is interested in exploring alternative routes then it would definitely be a great drive.

[SureshS]

Hi,

I was initially thinking of going to Sringeri - Hornadu etc but decided instead to go to Munnar / Thekkady during end of this month. I will probably have 3 days to spend in Munnar or Thekkady. Would like to know which is the best route to get to Thekkady. Is it doable in around 12 hrs from Bangalore?

S.Suresh

[hvkumar]

To get to Thekkady without touching Munnar, go on NH47 to Angamali (via Bhavani, Perunthurai, Avinashi, Coimbatore, Palakkad, Trissur, Chalakudy, Angamali, (turn off NH47 into M C Road) Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, Palai, Kanjirapalli, Mundakayam, Peeremede, Vandiperiyar. Difficult to do in 12 hours.

If you go via Munnar, Thekkady is 117 kms away via Poopara, Vanadnamedu, Nedumkandam.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

To get to Thekkady without touching Munnar, go on NH47 to Angamali (via Bhavani, Perunthurai, Avinashi, Coimbatore, Palakkad, Trissur, Chalakudy, Angamali, (turn off NH47 into M C Road) Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, Palai, Kanjirapalli, Mundakayam, Peeremede, Vandiperiyar. Difficult to do in 12 hours.

If you go via Munnar, Thekkady is 117 kms away via Poopara, Vanadnamedu, Nedumkandam.

Would'nt it be better to do Bangalore - Thekkady via Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Mettur - Bhavani - Perunthurai - Kangeyam - Palani - Sembatti - Vattalagundu - Theni - Cumbam - Kumily. Possibily the straight route would be via Salem - Namakkal - Karur - Dindigul. But the route via Palani might be longer by about 20 kms but should avoid the bad stretches between Salem & Namakkal.

As you rightly said Thekkady - Munnar would be via the High Range roads

[SureshS]

Thanks hvk and srikanth.

Srikanth: If I were to take the Palani - Teni route, will it be doable in 12 hrs time?

S.Suresh

[akroy]

Originally Posted by SureshS

Srikanth: If I were to take the Palani - Teni route, will it be doable in 12 hrs time?

Yes, make sure you start at 4AM from bangalore. Try to avoid Hosur Road till Hosur instead take Sarjapur - Attibele route.

Abhi

[SureshS]

Thanks Abhi.

I guess I have no choice but to take the Hosur Road. I stay near Padmanabha Nagar and the only option is to go thru some of the village roads to Electronic City but I don't want to try them so early in the morning.

S.Suresh

[akroy]

Originally Posted by SureshS

Thanks Abhi.

I guess I have no choice but to take the Hosur Road. I stay near Padmanabha Nagar and the only option is to go thru some of the village roads to Electronic City but I don't want to try them so early in the morning.

S.Suresh

Ok then start before 4 AM and basically target Dharmapuri at dawn and breakfast at Mettur / Bhavani (there is a Sarvana Bhavan just after entering Bhavani)

Abhi

[SureshS]

Thanks Abhi. Will try and start by 4am or atleast by 4:30am. With two kids, there is only a limited amount of power that you can exercise)

I need another piece of information from TBHPians. I plan to come back from Munnar via Ooty. Maybe halt in Ooty for the night. How long is the drive from Munnar to Ooty? Any idea of how the roads are in this route?

[hvkumar]

Munnar-Marayorr-Chinnar-Udumalaipet 90 kms-Pollachi 30-Coimbatore 40-Mettupalayam 35-Barliyar-Conoor 30-Ooty 20.

Should take you 5-8 hours. You have to cross Coimbatore city.

[SureshS]

My sincere thanks to Abhi, hvk and other BHPians. I did a trip to Munnar and Guruvayoor from 30th Aug to 3rd Sept. Here are the details:

5:00 am - Bangalore (Uttarahalli Road) start
6:15 am - Adayar Anand Bhavan - Stop for coffee 68.9kms
9:30 am - Bhavani (Hotel Saravana Bhavan for Breakfast) - 239 kms (Stop for 30 mins)
1:00 pm - Udumalaipet (Stop for fuel and lunch at Hotel Nalarams) - 360 kms (Stop for one hour)
4:40pm - Munnar Town (444 kms)

Though I started a 5 am, the lorry traffic was heavy till around 20 kms after Hosur. Got a good free stretch of road after Adayar Anand Bhavan. The hotel did not have breakfast ready at 6:30am. So if you are targetting breakfast here, plan to be there around 7:00 am. The road from Krishnagiri till Palladam is a bit of a pain. The road surface is fine but there is 4 laning going on and there is lot of lorry traffic. It is not very easy to pass.

The route I took was Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Bhavani - Perundurai - Tirupur - Palladam - Udumalaipet - Chinnar - Maraiyoor - Munnar

I initially intended to go via Dharapuram as was suggested here. A driver in Bhavani told me that it was better to take the Tirupur route as the road was good. The road was no doubt very good but you need to pass thru Tirupur which is a bit of a pain.

The road from Palladam to Udumalaipet was great with lot of windmills around. After Udumalaipet the Chinnar sanctuary starts and therein starts a lovely journey. The weather was good and it drizzled a bit adding to the overall ambiance. The roads are good.

After staying in Munnar for two more days I went to Guruvayoor. The route I took was:
Munnar - Perumbavoor - Angamali - Kaladi - Trichur - Guruvayoor

It took me more than 5 hours to do this more than 179 kms stretch. Till Kaladi the traffic is fine. From Kaladi, it is typical Kerala traffic and you can't do much but follow the lorries in front of you :( It is a big pain and tests your patience.

Given the experience with traffic I decided to do the drive back to Bangalore via the route which will probably be less crowded. The routes suggested to me were via Coimbatore or via Kozhikode. I didn't take either of them but decided to come via Nilambur. Here are the details:

6:30 am - Start from Guruvayoor (Meter Reading : 786.8 kms)
10:10 am - Reach Gudaloor (Meter Reading: 931.4 kms)
12:30 pm - Reach Hotel Dasprakash in Mysore (Meter Reading: 1041.3 kms)
Break till 13:40pm
15:55 pm - Reach Residence at Uttarahalli (1175 kms) (After a short break for coffee at Kamat Yatri Niwas)

The route taken was Guruvayoor - Kunnamkulam - Perinthalmana - Nilambur - Gudalur - Mudumalai - Bandipur - Gundlupet - Mysore - Bangalore

Good roads and a lovely drive. You get to cover the curvy ghats between Nilambur and Gudalur. You also get to pass through Mudumalai and Bandipur. What more can you ask for !! The only pain is the road between Bandipur and Gundlupet. In some places there is no road at all !!

Will post some photos soon.

S.Suresh

[snaronikar]

Hey suresh. Thats a nice write up man. Put put this in travelogues and post some pics where others can also see this.

Pls open one more thread at Travelogues section.

[SureshS]

Will do that now. Thanks