you can take the full stretch of ECR but i'm afraid it's state highway two lanes only;you can take karaikal nagapattinam ramanathapuram tuticorin thirunelveli nagerkoil and kanyakumari since i'm from tuticorin i can suggest some must watch places after tuticorin and till kanyakumari but please inform me how many days have you alloted for these places on your trip schedule btw congrats for the BMW

Thanks raja-roadster. From Kanyakumari, my next stop is Madurai. Besides, the ECR route you are suggesting would take me longer time as I am on a tight schedule. But between Kanyakumari & Thirunelveli if there is something worth seeing along the route, pls let me know. Also would the climate there be very hot & humid during that time or is it 'less warm'. Thanks

There are lots of waterfalls around thirunelveli and kanyakumari hope you will be staying in kanyakumari for the sunrise view so thiruparpur falls is the one near bye but around this time of the year dont know what the condition is as i'm in chennai(student as of now) now will let you know in a day; climate will be less warm the roads are good

I suggested Rameshwaram, Just for the beautiful off-roading section. The place would be beautiful, just another terrain your GS would love to ride on.

The Alapuzha - Kollam stretch of NH47 is a pain. As suggested by Binoy, take a devaition from Alapuzha to Changanasherry, take the MC road down to TVM. The Alapuzha - Changanasherry route is quite scenic with green fields on both sides. The MC road is very well laid and smooth and wider than the NH47, but the average speed will have to kept in 2 digits .
Regarding gear, airflow jacket and pants will do fine as long as you have a rain over coat which you can quickly put on when the occasional down pour comes.

Wishing you a safe, wonderful ride, and looking forward to meeting you and riding with you for some.....

You need not worry about anything in kerala as long as there are a couple of really good guides to guide you and a bunch of xbhpians to accompany if you wish. its better you leave NH from ekm and proceed through MC road so that you can cover many awesome places around kottayam, etc and also roads are much better.

Yeah, I plan to reach for the sunset and then catch the sunrise the next day. Sure if thiruparpur falls is near by, then will gladly visit that as well. Thanks again.

Thanks Ananth. Actually, my ride should have started on 12 Sept, but due to shipping delays, the ride schedule is shortened a little, hence shaving thru some areas so may have to skip Rameshwaram.

Thanks Lijok. I think I will take the MC road from Alapuzha. I am fine with 2 digit speeds coz anyway I am riding in India after almost 18 years and during all these years, be it Middle-East or Europe, I have only ridden on the right side of the road, hence want to take things carefully in India. So the Airflow jacket/pants will be fine. Would it be too cold in Munnar or just manageable with some light thermal inside?

Sure, it will be a pleasure to ride with you in your region as you know the roads better. I am open for an informal g2g in TVM if you guys are free at that time.

Thanks VarunRTR. Like I said in my opening post, I am taking all the suggestions from xbhp member & deciding my route. So meeting many of you on my way would be my pleasure.

@ Xbhpians from KA, KL & TN dont miss this chance of meeting/riding up with Haroon...
He is such a nice guy, down to earth - will make you feel comfortable in no time and always ready to share his knowledge on any thing related to Biking...
To top it up you get to see his fully loaded BMW , which are hardly seen on Indian roads..

@ Haroon - if your plan had coincided with my Saudi Eid vactions i would have surely been part of this ride.

Wishing you the best of luck and hoping to catch you in Bangalore before the ride..
Ride On...

Haroon, I would have joined in if I could, and if you would have me along. But I'm am off to Leh from the end of September. Will reply about your route in detail later. But seems to be a straightforward road.

Ananth's post has the detail you need. That's a pretty good route.

@ Akhil. I was just about to PM you and your post comes along. Wanted to meet you also in blr as we always keep exchanging posts online. Good luck with your trip and we shall be in touch.

@ Ajay. Thanks for the wishes (and the compliments- I am just a simple biker man)

Guess its easier to catch you in Blr than Jeddah

haroon bhai just read ur thread after recieveing ur msg at 4am hehehe
from where and how did u send that sms i thought u were on a plane!!!!!

i for one am most eager for the success of ur trip as i will be trying to follow in ur footsteps
ill try to take my ninja too the hyd-blr stretch is beautiful for driving. if u had more time we could consider it.

anyways on other hand today i met vikram and took his rusty trailer will fix it and drive over in bahrain for the eid holidays

wishing u a safe trip and an incredible journey across south india.

Sorry Haroon to notice this thread late; I'm still replying to this hoping it could be of any miniscule help

This seems to be fine

You've the answers now - Eicher maps

Since you're coming from Bangalore & going to Hassan, what you can do is, visit Belur+Halebidu & move towards Hassan & stay there overnight. If I've understood anything incorrect, help me understand pls.

Aluva to Munnar, you can follow this one
Aluva-Kalady-Perumbavoor-Kothamangalam-Adimali-Munnar. Roads are in very good condition as I did this stretch a week ago. Let me know if you need any help in this stretch. If you're interested in visiting the birth place of Sri Adi Shankara, then, you may want to break at Kalady.

Well, since you've not visited them, I would suggest you visiting them.

Yes, this is a very tight schedule; you may want to relax a bit somewhere.

Very good option suggested above;
If you need to catch up time, then Kanyakumari-Tirunelveli-Madurai-Trichy-Villupuram-Pondichery; Roads are bliss & nothing to worry especially on TN. One can do Chennai-Madurai by 7-8 hours on sane driving by car, distance of nearly 500 Kms.

+100000...

MC road is good one, but laid like a 2 decade old road; I mean, with people & no machineries. What I intend to say is, the road is not smooth like NH, is a 2 lane however no potholes. One can keep an average of 30-40 Kmph.

Just one question - From where're you planning to go to TVM? Are you planning from Munnar to TVM as per your schedule? Then why not take the Munnar-Adimali-Kottayam-TVM route? Is it that you're planning Munnar-Kumarakoam-TVM? Pls help understand. Tks.

Good Luck on the trip & looking forward to meet you in Chennai

I guess you will get enough inputs from many regarding the routes in Kerala and TN. About the route you could take till Mangalore:

I'd suggest this:
Bangalore - Magadi - Kunigal - Hassan - Belur/Halebidu - Chikmagalur - Jayapura - Kalasa - Kudremukh - Mangalore - Kasargod

and so on.. There are plenty of places in between that you could stop over,but all depends on the time you have and in the kind of places you are interesting in seeing.

Best of Luck with the trip Haroon Chetto!
Hoping you will be able to meet up with the Cochin xBhpians.will be sweet to see a KSA License plate in Kochi