[ravib]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

Hi Team BHPians, need your guidance on route to Munnar from Bangalore. I am travelling to Deep Woods Resort, Munnar (http://www.deepwoodsmunnar.com/) from Bangalore on first weekend of May. Which is the best route in terms of road condition for a hatchback?
GMaps, by default is showing this : Bangalore - Salem - Bhavani - Avinashi - Udumalpet - Marayoor - Munnar - Deep Woods resort.

Attachment 1743859

There are 2 more options :

1. Bangalore - Salem - Namakkal - Karur - Didndigul - Batlagundu - Periyakulam - Theni - Bodinayakanur - Munthal - Chinnakanal - Munnar - Deep Woods resort

Attachment 1743860

2. Bangalore - Kanakpura - Malavalli - Kollegal - Chamrajanagar - Avinashi - Gudimangalam - Marayoor - Munnar - Deep Woods forest

Attachment 1743861

I'll be travelling with my 2 yr old son, Wife and sister-in-law. Plan is to start at midnight and reach around lunch next day. Please mention family-friendly places to stop for food & restroom at night and in the daytime too.

Hey,

I just completed a Bangalore-Munnar-Thekkady-Bangalore trip last month between 10th to 14th Feb 2018.

I took Bangalore-Salem-Avinashi-Palladam-Gudimangalam-Udumalapet-Marayoor-Munnar route and then for return took Munnar-Thekkady-Theni-Batlagundu-Dindigul-Salem-Bangalore.

Road conditions are excellent in both sides. However, the hair pin bends and curvy roads are extremely high beyond Theni.
Marayoor Route is not as bad as the other one. Watchout for narrow roads after you cross Marayoor or Theni.

I too agree with Arjun Reddy. I strongly don't recommend a midnight start with or without family. Best is to start after 4 am after a proper night sleep. Since you are traveling with ladies and kid please reconsider your decision.


As ampere mentioned, it is best for you to take Maryoor route both ways. You have lot of options to break until Palladam. Beyond Udumalpet, there are no stop overs, but you can cover the distance and reach munnar in about 4 hours.

Don't take kanakpura road because your destination is Munnar. It is slower and not a great option for longer drives especially with ghat roads in last leg. You really have much better option with 4L roads with lot of break options.

For return, if you have lots of time and really want to try a different route, take Theni route if you and your family is willing to take innumerable winding/curvy ghat roads. Hope they don't feel dizzy

-Ravi

[mashmash]

Hey Hi,

Just back from a wonderful trip to Munnar. What a BEAutiful place it is. Every possible shade of green on those manicured mountain sides.

The route followed was as below. The road condition is Excellent. However, the last bit, the road is blocked. Infact the usual route that google maps will show is Blocked from 7:00am to 7:00pm. Your resort will inform you of this and will suggest you an alternate route. Mine did.

MaSh

[Saint_Krish]

Originally Posted by mashmash

However, the last bit, the road is blocked. Infact the usual route that google maps will show is Blocked from 7:00am to 7:00pm. Your resort will inform you of this and will suggest you an alternate route. Mine did.

Can you please elaborate on this part. Which is the last bit? How many kms in ?

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by mashmash

Just back from a wonderful trip to Munnar. What a BEAutiful place it is. Every possible shade of green on those manicured mountain sides.

The route followed was as below. The road condition is Excellent. However, the last bit, the road is blocked. Infact the usual route that google maps will show is Blocked from 7:00am to 7:00pm. Your resort will inform you of this and will suggest you an alternate route. Mine did.

Are you talking about Udumalpet-Marayoor-Munnar stretch? And is it 7.00 am to 7.00 pm or vice versa? Anyway, I thought this route is open through out the day. Since I would be taking this route on 15th, your clarification on the same is appreciated.

[yatin]

About the road closure on the Munnar route:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4378069

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by Gokrish

Are you talking about Udumalpet-Marayoor-Munnar stretch? And is it 7.00 am to 7.00 pm or vice versa? Anyway, I thought this route is open through out the day. Since I would be taking this route on 15th, your clarification on the same is appreciated.

This stretch is fine, not a problem. The other route to go to Theni from Munnar is closed due to construction, the one via Devikulam. If you want to go to Theni then it will have to be via Poopara, Rajakad and so forth.

[mashmash]

Originally Posted by Saint_Krish

Can you please elaborate on this part. Which is the last bit? How many kms in ?

Its the last 12-13 kms to the Sterling/Club Mahindra resort that the road is blocked. Infact this the starting of the road that goes all the way to Munnar Town which is closed. However, if you tell them that you are going to either of these resorts or to location close to these, you can go through as the work starts from around 18kms away. So road is good till the resort. There is an alternative route though, which is longer.

Originally Posted by Gokrish

Are you talking about Udumalpet-Marayoor-Munnar stretch? And is it 7.00 am to 7.00 pm or vice versa? Anyway, I thought this route is open through out the day. Since I would be taking this route on 15th, your clarification on the same is appreciated.

Not sure about the names, however the route vis Lockhart Tea Plantation is closed 7:00am to 7:00pm (Not a typo ). Screen Shot below.

The alternative route suggested to us by the resort was via Bison Valley and boy that one amazing route. Amazing as we were in a Scorpio, I would not recommend this route in a sedan or any low GC car.



MaSh

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by mashmash

Its the last 12-13 kms to the Sterling/Club Mahindra resort that the road is blocked.
MaSh

I would be taking Udumalpet-Munnar-Bodi route to reach Club Mahindra. Is the stretch between Munnar-Club Mahindra closed for traffic?

[yatin]

Yep. Munnar town to Chinnakanal (where ClubM is) is closed during the day for road widening work.

What is your overall plan? Bangalore-Munnar/Chinnakanal-Bangalore? The road that will be closed is the road to most of the tourist hotspots (you'd have to go north almost till Munnar town, then west). Alternate road might add an hour or more of driving time. Idyllic spots in the Chinnakanal area can be covered in under 1 day.

You could trade the Munnar hotspots off & go south to Thekkady (Pooppara route) instead? Similar drive time, different experience (from what I heard).

As was mentioned elsewhere, Udumalpet-Anaimalai/Chinnar-Marayoor-Munnar scenery is different from Theni-Pooppara-Munnar scenery. Covering both routes has that merit, but that might involve night driving in the former stretch to use the road being widened.

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by yatin

What is your overall plan? Bangalore-Munnar/Chinnakanal-Bangalore?

Since I am planning a brief stop over at Coimbatore which is unavoidable, any alternative to reach Club Mahindra while taking Chinnar route?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Gokrish

Since I am planning a brief stop over at Coimbatore which is unavoidable, any alternative to reach Club Mahindra while taking Chinnar route?

Nope, better to take Palladam-Dharapuram-Oddanchatram-Sempatti-Vathalagundu-Theni-Bodi route in that case.

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Nope, better to take Palladam-Dharapuram-Oddanchatram-Sempatti-Vathalagundu-Theni-Bodi route in that case.

There seems to be an alternative route via Pallivasal to Club Mahindra as suggested in the Trip Adviser. I will also check with Club Mahindra on this.

[Gokrish]

This is not the right time to travel to Munnar if your stay options are like Club Mahindra or Sterling or other resorts on Bodi-Munnar stretch. Travellers on this route can take a diversion at Periakanal and follow Periakanal-Muthukad-Bison Valley-Kunchithanni-Aanchal to merge with Munnar-Kochi highways and reach Munnar. Though the Munnar-Chinnakanal stretch is closed between 7am through 7pm, during lunch break between 12:30 pm & 1:00 pm and generally after 5:30 pm, traffic is allowed. As it has been raining nowadays in Munnar, it is advised to be careful while driving on this route due to mud and boulders on the route. Though, there are lot of shortcut routes (like GAP-Bisonvalley route), I seriously advise against taking these routes.

[rahulb22]

Folks,

I am planning a trip to Thekkady-Munnar in June. My idea is to cover Thekkady first going via Salem - Dindigul -Theni and return from Munnar via Marayoor - Udumalpet. I also plan to book accommodation around Anachal area to avoid the Munnar-Chinnakanal route which is under repair. Please help me with the following points:
1. Hope the route throughout (in my above plan) is in good condition?
2. Specifically, what is the best option between Thekkady and Munnar?
3. Anything else to keep in mind?

Cheers
Rahul

[ravib]

Originally Posted by rahulb22

Folks,
2. Specifically, what is the best option between Thekkady and Munnar?

Hey, i just did the other way around and you can find the route details in my post #1182.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post4359705

Ton answer your other questions,
1) Yes, the route is good.
2) Link available in my previous post #1182.
3) On the way between Thekkady to Munnar, if you have time, you can plan to cover Kalvary, Idukki dam, Cheruthoni Dam. Food options are very limited, but generally not necessary as you can do the trip in 4 hours so can reach Munnar before next meal.

-Ravi