[CJ78]

After lot of deliberation on where to go in the month of December’23, we finally decided to go to Kerala but there’s always an obligation - whenever we decide to travel, we take the road trips. As the destination was decided the research on road conditions and maps started. Now which road should we take from Pune to Kochi, the options suggested were Coastal Road, Mysore Road or Salem Road. I asked many of my Keralite friends, checked YouTube, Google and checked few blogs and finally we decided to take the scenic route and started on this epic journey.

#Route map for quick reference -


Day1 – 800 Kms
Kicked off at 5.00am in the morning and the first halt decided was at Tumkuru, we wanted to avoid the traffic and the diversions from Karad to Kolhapur hence started early. Since we started early reached Kolhapur at 9.00am; had breakfast at Kamath hotel on the highway and continued our journey ahead. There were a lot of diversions on the entire stretch from Karad to Hubli but you are able to manage momentum once you past Kolhapur.
We had our lunch around 2pm on the highway and reached hotel on the highway in Tumkuru around 5pm, so we covered approx. 800kms in 12hrs, this included regular small breaks after stretch of 3hrs of driving and the lunch break of 45mins.
Nothing much to say about the Pune – Bangalore stretch, but overall once you cross Maharashtra border the road condition and the diversions are bit neatly managed

Day2 – 600+Kms
Next day we travelled from Tumkuru to Kochi, again there were two routes from here one via Mysore bypass and other via Salem road, google map had suggested Mysore bypass and when we knew that it was a scenic route quickly jump onto to take this route. Map showed 645 kms via Mysore to Kochi. Started at around 5.30am and post leaving the Tumkur MIDC, it was time for sunrise and what we could see on both sides of road were beautiful ponds, coconut and banana trees and huge farmlands. There were many small shops of fruits and flowers around built with bamboo and banana leaves.
Reached Kochi via Kunigal - Mysore - Banri - Coimbatore - Avinashi – Palladam. On the way to Mettupalayam, Bandipur forest area was truly magical. We lowered our windows, turned off the radio and experienced the natural air and calming sounds of fauna. We saw few snakes a Giant squirrel, and Monkeys on the way which was one of experience to see them in their natural habitats. The journey was really thrilling but it did slow down the overall speed as we took many breaks during the scenic journey. Reached Kochi at around 4pm and realized we crossed the borders of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states in 2 days covering a distance of approx. 1300+kms.
To reach Fort Kochi area we had to take Jetty ride which was a different experience as these are packed with 2wheelers and 4wheelers, you don’t even get chance to come out of your car, you need to remain seated on driving seat, turn off your engine and reach the other end
The roads in Kerala especially highways are maintained but there were many tolls and the speed limit was kept at around 60kms/hr which was bit annoying and there are cameras placed at regular intervals
#Adding few pictures of the Forest trails we followed -




Day3 –
Kochi, the largest city in Kerala it has an international shipment terminal here. This beautiful city with numerous coconut trees and the companionship of the sea all along have Arab, Dutch, Portuguese, Jewish people leaving their mark here. The Dutch style houses here are spectacular. On the first day we saw Fort Kochi, Marine Drive, Santacruz Cathedral, Mattancherry Palace, Zoo Market, Synagogue, Harbor Bridge, Ernakulam Backwater Boating with Chinese Fishing Net, Mangrove Forest. It was a beautiful to see the colourful houses, hotels, restaurants near Fort Kochi, it was a lot of fun to walk along clean streets and enjoy the local cuisines.
The experience of boating in the backwaters of Ernakulam was pleasant, surrounded by urbanized in-between creeks, coconut groves, banana groves, mangrove forest along the creeks and many other birds near the water bodies due to this natural wealth. We visited Kerala Folklore Museum, it is built in the traditional Kerala style, it houses various styles of stone and metal idols from Kerala and regions of South India, as well as 5th and 6th century idols, ancient lamps, paintings, animal masks, images of gods and goddesses and many more this all gives us a brief history of South India.
Later in the evening we visited the Kathakali Centre. Kathakali is a stunning presentation of acting, dancing, drama, singing in different styles. Dances of mythological tales are performed by individuals with the coordination of eye expressions, hand postures. It is definitely a must and it kept me thinking - we should promote our culture and art so that it crosses national boundaries

#Snap taken at musuem in Kochi


Day4 and 5 100+Kms
Today we were going to cover 126 km from Kochi to Munnar, Munnar means 'Heaven'. A pleasant environment with bushes, waterfalls, small houses, tea plantations and winding roads and the temptation to stop and take photos at every turn on these winding roads is irresistible. Munnar has tea plantations on every hill. In addition to the cultivation of tea, they cultivate spices as well. Every place to see is spectacular, but Top station, Mattupatti Dam, Kundla Dam, Eco Point, Elephant Mountain, Attukad Waterfall, Tea Museum, Flower Garden are worth seeing.
The experience at the top station was captivating

Adding few pictures -
#top station view

#Munnar Tea plantations and views





Day6- 100kms
The next day we started the journey to Thekkady and upon discussing with locals took Puppara road. This journey was also very beautiful, numerous picturesque locations and selfie points to capture nature at its finest. The journey that should have not taken more than 3 hours took 5 hours to reach the destination, since we were stopping at each and every point.
Periyar Tiger Reserve is around the Periyar river. The Maharaja of Travancore had recognized this forest as a protected area. Govt run Boats are available here to see the surrounding forest, because of its biodiversity many animals and birds live here. Fortunately got to see a family of elephants and deer’s roaming around. While boating, wildlife is not necessarily seen, but the pleasure of seeing the forest from a boat is something else. I had a conversation with the forest officer, he said in his service of 30+ years, he has seen tigers thrice and was fortunate enough to capture them during his last sightings.
#Elephant family captured in Periyar


Day7 – 200kms
Started our journey from Thekkady to Thiruvananthapuram.
About 25kms before reaching Thiruvananthapuram, we stopped to see the Jatayu Earth Center. In 2018, the Jatayu Earth Center was opened for tourism. The famous sculpture of the Jatayu here is recognized as the largest bird sculpture in the world. You can go to this mountain by cable car, the cable car charges, entry fee is bit high, but everything is well maintained. The beautiful big sculpture of Jatayu on the top is almost twelve hundred feet above the sea level.
After seeing the Jatayu sculpture within an hour, we reached Thiruvananthapuram and took some rest and in the evening left for Padmanabha Swamy Temple. This temple is believed to have been built 5000 years ago and one of the 108 temples of Lord Vishnu. The temple is built in Kerala and Dravidian style. The idol of Vishnu is in the form of Anant Shayan and there are three doors opened to see Lord Vishnu, you cannot see it in one glance. The first door depicts the head of Vishnu, the second door depicts the lotus blossoming from the navel and the third door depicts his feet.
The premise of this temple is very large and there are numerous small and big beautiful temples in the entire premises. The carvings, stone idols, stone pillar murals in the temple are worth seeing.
We visited this temple in the evening, and the whole temple was illuminated by oil lamps. It was unique and remarkable experience.
#Temple pic taken in the evening

#Rubber plantation on the way to Trivandrum


Day8 – 200kms
Started our journey to Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari, about 90 km from Trivandrum, this is the southernmost tip of India. The statue of Vivekananda's memorial Thiruvalluvar and the temple of Kanyakumari Devi were major attractions. It is a great pleasure to observe the panoramic view of the water of all three seas in different colors, this contrast is more noticeable by eyes than by mobile cameras. The roads being national and state highway were still in very pathetic condition and not at all maintained.
#My car taking rest near seashore


Day9 – 150+Kms
We left for Alleppey the Venice of India. Alleppey is a large lake formed by the back water of the sea and river, so numerous canals have been constructed here. This lake further reaches Ernakulam. Alleppey is surrounded by paddy fields, every house has its own boat, and there are many hotels on these shores, which offer day trips through these canals by houseboat or shikara boat.
After seeing this beautiful natural beauty, it was the time to start our return journey next day.
#Beautiful sunset



Day10 – 590+ kms
From Alleppey to Bangalore, this time instead of taking the scenic road we took Salem Road (Panvel-Kochi-Kanyakumari highway) which is normal highway throughout the journey and good for cruising miles. Journey took us approx. 13 hrs with breaks at regular intervals to avoid fatigue

Day11- 850+kms

Started at 8 in the morning and reached Pune at 10pm. This journey was more of soaking into the experiences we had all these days and cherishing the moments.

Overall drove more than 3500kms in a span of 12days, crossed 4states, had to spent 18K in fuel and 4.5k in toll. I got fuel economy of approximate 18KMPL which seem to be much efficient.

Seltos Diesel Auto is mile muncher, it did provide comfortable long-distance rides and the benefit of ventilated seats was a boon in the hot humid climate. The engine did not sweat at all through-out the journey was always ready to revv on highways.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[subie_socal]

Hope you had a pleasant journey in Kerala. I think you should've explored more of North Kerala too. Its really beautiful.

Also, what route did you take on your voyage towards the south (to Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari)?

Originally Posted by CJ78

Day3 –
Kochi, the largest city in Kerala.

I believe that title belongs to Trivandrum, mate.

[CJ78]

Yes, have plans for special trip to cover only North Kerala next time. Kochi was big city in past

From Thiruvananthapuram, passed Kovalam and then Panvel-Kochi- kanyakumari highway

[WhiteKnight]

Kudos to you for the long travel. You did do some unusual routes.

--Mysore<> Avinashi route was a surprise. Any reason for choosing it?
--My thought is that you could have finished kerala and then targeted Kanyakumari. From Kanyakumari, it is a relaxed drive to bangalore via NH44.

Wish you more such travels

[CJ78]

Mysore road was selected since it went through the forest land and was very scenic... I usually take such roads rather than 4 lane highways with nothing to see around
Agree... but Kanyakumari was not in the travel list earlier

[efgritesh]

Great travelogue! congratulations on completing your trip safely and successfully.

I am considering a similar trip for our year end trip this time. I have some flexibility this time in terms of adding a few more days.

May I request some feedback on roads condition inside Kerela and my itinerary. Also, if you can please share some more details on places where you stayed, as that might be helpful. Thanks in advance

[CJ78]

Road conditions are good except the Trivandrum to Kanyakumari stretch in some parts. Beware of bus drivers in Kerala who fly their buses instead of driving them.
Also, you could go to Kanyakumari directly from Munnar and cover Trivandrum and Alleppey while returning since there's good highway connecting both.
Note: Trivandrum to Alleppey road is undergoing expansion and there is heavy traffic almost entire stretch

[Kkumar]

Congratulations on the successful completion of an epic journey. Planning a similar trip in the near future. Can you please share the details of your stays and your ratings of the same. Thank you. Keep on munching miles.

[RoadTripLover_]

I am considering a similar trip from Pune to Munnar with wife and 2 kids in second week of May this year. My family enjoys road trip.
some information about me - I do not drive very fast, prefer to keep it within 80-100 km/h and also avoid driving in night

I am taking one week off from work and below is the plan for each day.
Friday - finish work early and travel from Pune to Kolhapur by 9pm
Day 1 - Kolhapur to Salem (800 km). early start at 4am from Kolhapur and reach by 8pm.
Day 2 - Salem to Munnar. Start at 8am and reach by 4pm or so considering breaks in between.
Day 3 and 4 - In and around Munnar
Day 5 - leave Munnar in morning after breakfast and reach Ooty
Day 6 - Ooty
Day 7 - Leave Ooty and reach Chitradurga by evening
Day 8 - Chitradurga to Kolhapur
Day 9 - Some shopping in Kolhapur and then travel to Pune

Can you pls suggest if this plan looks good or should I make some changes to it ? Should I try some other route ?
Day 1 driving of 800Km - could it be tiring considering I am the only driver ? I have driven 600km in past in a day. (Pune to Indore, Pune to Goa etc)

[AbiS]

I am planning during the same time but I was planning on Murudeswar -> Udupi->Mangalore -> Coorg and maybe back. Otherwise I think it might be hectic. Please DM , maybe we can plan.

[noopster]

I happened upon this travelogue about a couple of weeks after booking my own Christmas vacation to Kerala and was struck at how similar our itineraries are! Only difference is I am not making it a road trip from Pune, despite having the same car (down to the colour and variant) as yourself!

We are flying in and out of Kochi instead and have hired a car with driver for the whole trip. While I do love driving and seriously considered a self-drive rental instead of this, the price differential was not that much and it allows us to get some much-needed rest & relaxation this way.

Maybe in a few years when work is a lot more flexible, a road trip like this would be possible for me as well

[RoadTripLover_]

I am planning a road trip from Pune to Kerala/TN for 2 weeks starting from next week.

This is the plan -
21/12 - Pune to Davangiri
22/12 - Till Salem
23/12 - To Madurai
24/12- 25/12 - Poovar Islan
26/12 - 27/12 - Varkala/Trivendrum
28/12 - Kaniyakumari
29/12-30/12 - Rameshwaram
31/12- Coimbatore
1/1 - 2/1 - Ooty
3/1 - Mysure
4/1 - Pune

But weather app is showing rain in TamilNadu and Kerala.
Can somebody help to share the latest status in these areas. specially in Poovar and Rameshwaram ?
could it be risky to drive due to rainy season there ?