[sharanramesh]

I got back from my marathon trip to thalassery last night. look out for some details below.


Route: Bangalore --> Mysore --> Gundlupet --> Suthanbathery --> Mananthavady --> Koothuparamba --> Thalassery

Departure: 5:30 am 31st January 2009 - Bangalore

Bangalore - Mysore -

As i left bangalore i was still a little groggy and so i opened up a can of Red Bull, this always gets me going. I had to wait for a few friends of mine who were on Bikes and parked up outside RV College and waited for them. While i was waiting i started arranging the music and downloaded the music from my laptop to the ipod and in the order which i would like to hear it. Soon my friends arrived and we left RV Coll on Mysore road at about 6:00 am. This was the best time to drive as mysore road normally chock a block with traffic had hardly any commuters on it. i reached maddur in about an hours time and realised that i should capitalise on the empty road and try to queeze better FE figures from the car, from there on i coasted at 70kmph to mysore. Little has to be said about this road that hasnt already been said its a great road with an annoying number of speed bumps on it and i really wish they would build a bypass around all the towns especially Mandya.

I parked up outside mylary hotel in mysore by about 8am.We all sat down for a nice plate of dosa and then proceeded. For those who are not aware of Mylary Hotel this is a must try. Great dosas indeed.

Departure: 9 am Mysore

Mysore - Gundlupet
I slowly travelled towards Gundlupet, very uneventful stretch this is, the road is a single carriageway hardly interesting to write about. i stopped at a coffeeday outlet jus before gundlupet. It was around 10:15 am. I was getting restless and wanted to grab a cup of coffee and relax and click a few pictures of the car. i found this coffeeday has a considerably sized parking lot and it was empty. so i used it to all of my creativity and clicked a few pictures of the car.

Departure - 11am coffeeday Gundlupet

Gundlupet - Sulthanbathri

This is lovely stretch of road, absolutely empty and its truly amazing to drive on. i have a bunch of pictures of this road which i will post up soon. This stretch has 2 parts.

1. The Plains - Lovely vegetable fields all around with farmers markets strewn in between and fresh produce being sold on the road. Do watch out for the occasional potholes. They appear out of no where and really hurt your ride.

2. The Forrest - This signifies the begining of the ghats and the border between Karnataka and Kerala. The roads through the forrests were painfully pretty with a good layer of tar on them, this meanders all the way to sulthan batheri. Reached SulthanBathery by about 12:30 pm.

From here on i took a little detour and went over to see Edakkal Caves. This is a 15 km journey from sulthan batheri. This is a site for neolithic carvings & rock etchings. Surely worth a look, the climb can be a little arduous.
We had packed some food along for lunch knowing that we would be somewhere in between towns and we found the parking lot at edakkal caves to be an ideal campsite for lunch.


Departure - 3:30pm, Edakkal Caves.

SulthanBatheri - Manathavady

This is a short ride of about 30 kms which would set the pace for the remaining journey to thalassery, the roads are quite narrow and an average speed of 60kmph is significant considering the errant KRSTC drivers. This route takes you through Wayanads Tea plantations and is quite scenic. We reached mananthavady by 4:30pm

Departure - 4:45 pm, Mananthavady

Mananthavady - Koothuparamba

Where do i begin, is it the sheer views that nature threw at us or the amazingly curvy roads with banking on every turn or is it the view of the ocean in the distance. Wow, that one word sums up this stretch. I was very tempted to really throw the car into the corners but the 2 bikers would have found it hard to keep up, so i jus maintained a healthy 50kmph and went through this stretch. it is one helluva journey to the coast from this point on. The roads will leave you breathless. i am not going to say that stretch is very well tarred, i will say that it is decently tarred with a few pothholes every now and then but the sheer number of turns and the angle of the banking in every corner is just amazing. all through this ride you will see dense forests around you and the sea at the horizon. i love this stretch and will want to do it again sometime.

Let me let you in on an evil secret, on my way back i clocked the distance from thalassery to gundlupet in all of 3 to 3.5 hours and i make a killing of it on the curves and i loved it to bits. i was being cautious but yes i did go considerably quicker on my way back to bangalore than on my way to thalassery. i will strongly recommend this stretch to anyone with an inclination to drive on some of the best roads india has to offer. This stretch is a lot better than the stretch from masinagudi to ooty. there are not that many hair pin bends on this stretch though, but the road will leave your intestines in a knot after you gotten past it. i reached koothuparamba by about 5:45pm

Departure - Immediately, Koothuparamba

Koothuparamba - Thalassery

This is all of 18 kms and you will do it not to quickly as the traffic starts to build significantly. Reached thalassery by 6:15 pm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stayed at the Sharara Plaza, decent accomodation and average service. i took a quick wash and went to mahe (pondicherry state) abotu 8 kms south of Thalassery for a few drinks, the alcohol is really cheap being a union territory. i got back into thalassery and went over to Paris Presidency for a plate of biryani. This is very different and surelky worth a try. It does taste amazing.

1st Feb, 2009 -

I woke up bright and early at 7 am and went to a colleagues wedding in an auditorium near by. ate some lunch as well, and then proceeded to muzhappilangad beach. this is a drive in beach and is located at about 8 kms north of thalassery. this is an empty beach with about more than 1 km of hardened sand to drive over. i took my car to the waters edge and clicked a whole bunch of pictures with my tripod . this is a great place to park up near the shacks and eat a few fried fish snacks looking at the beach and knowing that youve jus driven over it. its truly a must see while you find yourself in thalassery.

i left the beach at about 1:30 pm and headed towards bangalore. i reached gundlupet at exactly 5pm with a little bit of spiritted driving. those who have done this stretch will agree with me that it jus wonderful to drive on. there was a block on the nanjangud to mysore strech so the police had diverted traffic to a small road which had caused a significant traffic jam on a village road and it would have taken a good 2 hours to clear. i managed to locate a mud track which i saw a few jeeps take. i decided to take my car over it. and at one point the jeeps with their big ground clearance made way over this track really quickly and i was lost as a fork in the road and got out of the car and saw only flat ground all around me with no other car in sight. i decided to use a little common sense and take the track which would head towards the main road from which i had diverted, and voila in 45 mins i had cleared the section and thus got into mysore at exactly 6:30pm. my friends who were about 20 kms behind me decided not to be as adventurous and drive through the jam, they reached mysore at 9pm.

i made it back to bangalore in quick time and was home by about 8:30pm for dinner.

i must admit, covering 400kms in 6:30 hours is surely hard but i did do this stretch with little discomfort only because of my palio. i respect for this car has only increased. no other car would have taken those curves so well. i hated the body roll but never for a moment hoped to be in my ikon or my uno as both would have faltered miserably on poor roads.

Some pics will be put up soon...

[arindamray]

Nice one sharanramesh. Waiting for pics.

How did you find the Edakkal cave?

I am planning for Wayanad shortly. If you have maintained a log, can you please upload, definitely be very helpful for me.

[sbraj]

If I skip Edakkal caves and proceed straight to Thalassery, I would be reaching Thalassery by 4pm. Is this a fair calculation?

Route: Bangalore --> Mysore --> Gundlupet --> Suthanbathery --> Mananthavady --> Koothuparamba --> Thalassery

Bangalore 0530
Mysore 0900
Gundlupet 1100
Sultan Bathery 1230
Mananthavady 1430
Koothuparamba 1530
Thalassery 1600

How much is the total distance between Bangalore and Thalassery on this route - 400 KMs?

[arindamray]

Originally Posted by sbraj

If I skip Edakkal caves and proceed straight to Thalassery, I would be reaching Thalassery by 4pm. Is this a fair calculation?

Route: Bangalore --> Mysore --> Gundlupet --> Suthanbathery --> Mananthavady --> Koothuparamba --> Thalassery

Bangalore 0530
Mysore 0900
Gundlupet 1100
Sultan Bathery 1230
Mananthavady 1430
Koothuparamba 1530
Thalassery 1600

How much is the total distance between Bangalore and Thalassery on this route - 400 KMs?

The times you have kept is much more than needed (I have travelled till Mananthavady last week-end in this route), the drive time will definitely be less than that, the 'breaks' will depend on you. For me Bangalore (Sarjapur Ring Road) to Mysore (Palace) took 2 hour 20 minutes in early morning, 4:00 am start.

You can also try the alternate routes Bangalore - Mysore - Hunsur - Gonikoppal - Kutta - Mananthavady - Koothuparamba -Thalassery

or

Bangalore - Mysore - Nagarhole - Mananthavady - Koothuparamba -Thalassery (Have not travelled so not sure about the road condition, heard not good, but the shortest).

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by arindamray

You can also try the alternate routes Bangalore - Mysore - Hunsur - Gonikoppal - Kutta - Mananthavady - Koothuparamba -Thalassery

When you cross the wildlife sanctuary and enter into the Karnataka check post (from KL side), roads were horrible and I have returned back after Kutta market. This was in early Jan’09

[nitzien123]

Drive from Thalassery to Mysore (and then Bangalore) via Heggadadevanakote was very scenic and traffic free. Road condition - little bumpy only for about 15km. Rest very good. FYI
Mysore to Thalassery via Gonikoppal was a pain due to heavy traffic, narrow bridge and road works.

[mm_shen]

Hello fellow Bhpians.

Planning to attend a family wedding in Thalaseery this Sunday (17th March 2024) and will be back the same day. Due to some pet commitments at home, I cannot travel early and come back late. Need to be back in Bangalore the same day.

Wanted to know a few things.

1. I need to reach thalassery by 10 AM. If I leave at 4 AM, can I reach by 10 AM? I can drive continuously. May be a break of 15 min in between!
2. How are the roads overall?
3. There seems to be a smaller road from Gonnikoppa to Kerala, without touching Virajpet. Or should I go to Virajpet takin the main highway?
4. Any good vegetarian breakfast options near Gonnikoppa or later?

Thanks for your advice in anticipation!

[DrVjy]

Originally Posted by mm_shen

Hello fellow Bhpians.


1. I need to reach thalassery by 10 AM. If I leave at 4 AM, can I reach by 10 AM? I can drive continuously. May be a break of 15 min in between!
2. How are the roads overall?
3. There seems to be a smaller road from Gonnikoppa to Kerala, without touching Virajpet. Or should I go to Virajpet takin the main highway?
4. Any good vegetarian breakfast options near Gonnikoppa or later?

Thanks for your advice in anticipation!

1. If you started by 0400 h, you could expect to be in Gonikoppa by 0700 - 0730 h. Though you're planning driving on a weekend, starting early should help.
2. Roads are great. Had driven upto Thittimathi in Nov 2023, deviating without going to Gonikoppa.
3. Not too sure of this road.
4. Your best bet however is to check out pure veg hotels in Hunsur. Bigger the town, typically service quality is better.

Another option to reach Thalaserry would be through Kutta- Tholpetty- Mananthavady- Thalaserry. You could take Thittimathi -Balele -Nittur -Kutta in that case. AFAIK, roads are quite good till Mananthavady. GM will guide you well on this.

But, in the latter case, just be aware of wild elephant presence in Tholpetty stretch. Not to scare you, but just because forewarned is forearmed.

Wishing you a good safe drive and return.

[binand]

Originally Posted by mm_shen

3. There seems to be a smaller road from Gonnikoppa to Kerala, without touching Virajpet. Or should I go to Virajpet takin the main highway?

If you are talking of the Bittangala-Perambadi road it is perfectly motorable. No need to go till Virajpet and double back.

At the far (Perambadi) end is the last fuel station on the Karnataka side. Once you enter Kerala prices are significantly higher. So best to fill up the tank here.

[Pythonista]

Originally Posted by mm_shen

3. There seems to be a smaller road from Gonnikoppa to Kerala, without touching Virajpet. Or should I go to Virajpet takin the main highway?
4. Any good vegetarian breakfast options near Gonnikoppa or later?

I'm a regular on this route, and the smaller road is decent, we take it all the time. The road is in poor condition for a couple of kilometers, but the distance and time taken overall is lower than directly through Virajpet.

I suggest you to go to Coorg Gate, it is right before the hills in Perambadi. Food is great and has good parking too.

Happy journey

[mm_shen]

Thank you DrVj.y, binand and Pythonista. I had been to Thalaseery and back yesterday. As you people have right pointed out, the roads were good overall. I had left to 4.20 AM from Peenya, Bangalore. Reached Thalassery by 10AM. Had stopped about 25 km ahead of Gonikoppa for refueling. And had a quick breakfast at a small Restaurant, called Kamath Guruprasad, Gonikoppa at 7AM. The place reminded me of restaurants from the 80s and 90s. Very old school. The Puri Saagu was also prepared like the old school saagu, which has very little garam masala. The coffee was also quite nice.

The two hiccups that I faced was:
1. A lorry had turned turtle at the start of the Ghats. Cranes were trying to lift it and the roads were blocked for about 20 min. Due to this there was a traffic pile up, which made the drive very slow along the whole ghats. Some family friends who came a little later, were stuck upto 1.5 hours. Even though I was cursing myself at the beginning, considered myself lucky later on when I heard their ordeal. On the was back, the block had been cleared, and I saw the lorry and the crane parking itself about 200 meters before Coorg gate.
2. I did not know there were Automated speed cameras in Kerala. Expecting a few fines. I was not speeding at break neck speeds, but was touching 80-90s at few empty stretches. I do not know what the speed limit was at those stretches. If it was 40-60, I am expecting a few challans.

Return took a bit long. We left at about 4.30 pm, had a long lunch in Mysore and reached home by 11.30 pm.

[DrVjy]

Originally Posted by mm_shen

And had a quick breakfast at a small Restaurant, called Kamath Guruprasad, Gonikoppa at 7AM.

2. I was not speeding at break neck speeds, but was touching 80-90s at few empty stretches. I do not know what the speed limit was at those stretches.

Good you had a safe drive and return, though late into the night. Personally, wouldn't have likely planned to return the same day because driver fatigue can be dangerous.

2. 80 - 90 kmph I guess is over the limit on Kerala's roads. Indeed, would be risky as I've seen a cross road or two make a surprise appearance.

Happy and safe driving!

[mm_shen]

Originally Posted by DrVjy

Personally, wouldn't have likely planned to return the same day because driver fatigue can be dangerous.

2. 80 - 90 kmph I guess is over the limit on Kerala's roads. Indeed, would be risky as I've seen a cross road or two make a surprise appearance.

Happy and safe driving!

Yes, agreed! I have experienced driver fatigue before. I had to return as we had left our pet at home. Our dog doesn't behave well at pet boarding. He is only comfortable at home. To avoid fatigue I took a nap of about 1.5 hours, before I left.

Yes, you are right about the speeds. I was only touching those speeds at empty stretches, but do understand what you mean. Really appreciate the sane advise. Will try to implement it on my next drive.