Thats a good route, am planning a ride during the same time just for 3 days, starting on 27th and would be back by 30th the latest, planning to touch Kanyakumari and return, am looking at riding the entire day and not looking at visiting any places as such...

calicut-ramanattukara is around 15-20kms and the NH part of it is narrow road with buildings/shops on either ends. the road i mentioned is more scenic

haven't been along the route for a couple of months now... but from ramattukara to around kuttipuram, the roads are awesome. The roads from kuttipuram to edappal (about 10km) were pathetic for the last 4 years and i think it still is. (nothing changed in 4 years. so there's very less probability of it having become better ). After that roads are really awesome. The roads widen up as you go south The roads are awesome till around ernakulam. Dunno after that.
Beware of the buses in the calicut-thrissur route though. They really have no mercy and travel at 100+ speeds.

Regarding the Calicut - Kochi route, I can only comment upon the Ponnani-Kochi routes and Kottakkal - Edappal - Trichur Kochi routes.

The kottakkal - Valanchery- Kuttippuram - Edapppal - Trichur route is simply splendid now. When I drove down that route a month ago there was only a single stretch of about 1 km under construction. Rest is in excellent condition. From perumpilavu it is worth to take the Pannithadam by road to Kechery which has decent roads and lax traffic. The road from there to Trichur is in good condition but with very heavy traffic. Construction is going on at several stretches in Trichur - Kochi NH47 but overall it is a good road.

The Edappal - Ponnani Road is in pathetic condition, it would be better to reach Ponnani through the road to the right immediately after the Bharathapuzha bridge near Kuttipuram. The NH17 is heavenly to ride with decent roads and low traffic from Ponnani till Kodungalloor from where the traffic gets progressively heavier and road gets steadily worser until you reach the nadir in road conditions at Paravur and Edapally.

Coorg-Wayand-Ooty

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of a trip to South with my group.
The plan is :

Day1: Pune to Goa
Day2: Goa stay
Day3: Goa to Udupi/Mangalore via NH17
Day4: Udupi/Mang. to Coorg
Day5: Coorg to Wayanad
Day6: Wayanad to Ooty
Day 7: Ooty stay
Day8: Ooty to Chitradurga
Day9: Chitradurga to Pune

Can someone update about the road conditions in Mangalore, Coorg, Wayanad, Ooty??

Thanks buddy,
Its always good to have some feedback on the roads so that we can change tracks when required.
Take care,
Cheers

Thanks Gokul for the update. Just trying to keep track of the road conditions on our planned route so that we don't waste time stuck on lousy roads.
Take Care,
Ride Safe

Thanks for the info buddy, and all the best for your trip!! Do keep us updated on how it went!! We will be going for the Christmas weekend!!


Thanks a lot for all the info bro!! I thought only in Kochi bus drivers were bad!! Any idea on the Mysore-Gudalur-Nilambur-Perinthalmanna-Pattambi-Chavakkad route?? I heard this is the closest to go through Guruvayur, is this true??

there are two routes which you can take from mangalore to Madkeri(coorg).One through Puttur-Sulya-Sampaje-Madkeri .The last time(about an year) i had been on that route ,it was pretty bad stretch from puttur to sampaje,not aware of its conditions now.The second via Uppinangadi-gundya-Bisle-Somwarpet-Kushalanagara-Madkeri.The roads are pretty rideable till about 10 kms from bisle, about 15kms of very bad roads and the rest are good country roads.

From Madkeri it is advicable to take Madkeri-Mysore-gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery. Other alternate routes are madkeri-Hunasur-nagarahole-kutta-kaatikulam-manathvadi and Madkeri-Hd kote-Kabini-kaatikulam-Manathvadi. The Nagarahole stretch is available in only parts if you are on 2 wheels.Some stretches are not open for bikes and there is the problem of timings when the vehicles would be allowed, unaware of which it would cause some inconvenience. Regarding the second alternative its been a long time since i had been on this route, so no idea of its condition now.

In wayanad the roads are pretty good and scenic. To reach ooty you can take Sulthan bathery-meenmutty falls-Gudalur-Ooty. The roads are in good condition with scenic views all through.

Ooty-kalhatti ghat(36 hair pin bends)-Masinagudi-Bandipur-gundlupet-Mysore-Bangalore-tumkur-Chitradurga ,the roads are good past chitradurga to just before raanebennur its a bit of problem.Once you cross raanebennur the roads are silky smooth upto pune.

hope i am of some help budddy.
happy riding

@vkcage.Thanks buddy. Will keep you guys posted as and when possible. Meanwhile enjoy the holiday season.

Merry Christmas !!

Yeah. the nilambur route is much shorter than the wayanad-calicut route. But no idea about the road conditions though. Also beware of the check post at gundlupet. The close at around 6 or 7 in the evening and don't allow anyone to pass through until morning.
Kochi bus drivers are way better... atleast from my experience from inside and outside the bus

Thanks buddy, it'll be of great help for us

Bangalore-Madikeri-Manipal, as of 14/12/2010

How fresh is this update? Well, I just got back about 5 hours ago

Rating roads on the following parameters:
a) Road surface
b) Aesthetic appeal
c) Traffic density

Route, in detail was as follows:
While going:
Bangalore-Mysore-Hunsur-Kushalnagar-Madikeri-Sampaje-Suliya-Puttoor-BC Road-Moodbidri-Karkala-Manipal

While coming back:
Manipal-Udipi-Mangalore-BC Road-Puttoor-Suliya-Sampaje-Madikere-Kushalnagar-Hunsur-Mysore-Bangalore

Ratings:
Bangalore - Mysore:Getting out of/in to Bangalore, is still a pain up until Bidadi. After that, it's either very boring (if you're me) or very nice (if have a stronger need for speed).
a) Road surface: 8/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 0/10
c) Traffic density: 8/10

Mysore - Hunsur:Nicer, than Bangalore-Mysore. Still a lot of hamlets. Reasonable amount of traffic, for some distance outside of Mysore. After that, hold it at 80, and take it easy.
a) Road surface: 8/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 5/10
c) Traffic density: 6/10

Hunsur - Kushalnagar: Sweet ride. If you're hungry, shortly before Hunsur, there's something called Cafe Coorg, which appears to be a Coffee Day rip off, but they serve full-on breakfast, lunch and dinner. Saw a couple of KA-12s parked there, so I took the chance. Grub's not bad. No traffic to speak of.
a) Road surface: 9/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 7/10
c) Traffic density: 4/10

Kushalnagar - Madikeri (Mercara):Beautiful. Lift up the visor and smell the green things growing. Warnings: the stretch through Kushalnagar town itself, is under construction. But that's just about 3 to 5 km. Secondly, just before you hit Mercara, the road turns to shit.
a) Road surface: 9/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 9/10
c) Traffic density: 3/10

Madikeri - Sampaje: If the road up to Madikeri is heavenly, the road down the other side to Sampaje, is paved with good intentions. You can definitely manage if you're on a bike. If you've got the wife riding pillion, you might want to take a considerate overnight halt at Mercara - East End hotel is reasonable, and has good grub - and then push on to the coast. (You want more luxury, check out Club Mahindra, or Orange County - approx: 8 to 10k per night.) Despite the lack of a decent surface, the route is beautiful. (And road repairs, have begun.) Note: Given a choice between this route and and Shiradi Ghats, assuming that both have been equally hammered by the rains, take this route - much, much less traffic.
a) Road surface: 2/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 9/10
c) Traffic density: 3/10

Sampaje - Suliya - Puttoor: Some rough stretches, but a nice little country road. Lot of road work going on around Puttoor - you'll find alternate halves of this 2 lane road, closed off. Makes for traffic jams, when two buses try to go past simultaneously.
a) Road surface: 4/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 7/10
c) Traffic density: 3/10 to 10/10

Puttoor - BC Road: Pretty much par for the course for a decent NH. Run into the private tourist buses again. BC Road stretch has some sort of flyover being built, that's half done. Can cause traffic issues.
a) Road surface: 7/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 5/10
c) Traffic density: 6/10

BC Road - Moodbidri: Road surface not the best, so speed goes down. But it's only a 25 km stretch, and there's hardly any traffic. And the greenery still makes it preferable to having to ride to Mangalore and then brave the traffic on the Mangalore-Udupi stretch.
a) Road surface: 4/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 7/10
c) Traffic density: 3/10

Moodbidri - Karkala - Manipal: Beautiful country road. Smooth, until you hit the outskirts of Manipal. Lots of little towns along the way. Not a lot of traffic. Hold it at 80, easy. And enjoy the view. So much better than the NH stretch of Mangalore-Udupi.
a) Road surface: 10/10
b) Aesthetic appeal: 7/10
c) Traffic density: 3/10

Hope this helps.

Which leaves me with just this to say: if you're heading out, ride safe.

madikeri - sampaje ghats

sampaje - madikeri ghats will be closed for cars from 20 dec due to road repairs (widening)but bikes will be allowed as per localsources .

Hey Thanks a lot for the detailed info

We'll be taking Kumta-Murudeshwar-Mangalore-Puttur-Sulya-Sampaje-Coorg

Are the roads from Kumta to Mangalore good on this route?? I've heard there are a lot of potholes open on the NH17 route... Is there any other better roads other than the one shortlisted above?

And how about the roads from Mangalore to Wayanad?

Thanks for the help

That's really helpful of you
Thanks buddy...