Kerala trip

Thought of writing about our recent kerala trip during last week of December, 2010 (December 24, 2010 - January 2, 2011).

Places covered : Munnar, Thekkady, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Cochin and Guruvayur.

Let me start with route taken :
To Munnar (Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Salem - Tiruppur - Udumalapettai - Marayur - Munnar) - Almost till Tiruppur it is all 4 lane toll road(Beyond tiruppur they are still widening road to coimbatore, so better to avoid it). There are lot of toll booth, but road is worth what you pay. Beyond tiruppur, road is mostly double lane in drivable condition. In my view, it is best to split it over two days. There are decent hotel in Tiruppur if you plan to stay here.

Munnar - Thekkady : There is a pretty straight route. Road is two lane but well maintained. Being ghat route, it will take time even though distance is just 110 kms. But it is pretty scenic route.

Thekkady - Alleppey : You will be surprised that this route curves all the way to Changanassery. So it will take time as there is good amount of traffic on this route + two lane road + curves all the way. Beyond Changanassery, you can drive fast as road is really very good. Road throughout was in decent condition except few patches.

Alleppey - Kumarakom : They are pretty close by but road is in poor condition. In any case, it won't take much time.

Kumarakom - Fort Kochi : Road till cherthala is in poor condition, but beyond that it is four lane.

Fort Kochi - Guruvayur : Road is two lane, but in a very good condition. But traffic is bit too much on this route, and being two lane it is difficult to overtake.

Guruvayur - Bangalore : Guruvayur to Thrissur is dangerous drive. Too much traffic + bus driver tring to overtake every now and then. Thrissur to Palakad road condition was pretty bad. May be due to recent rains. Palakad to Coimbatore is very good road, though two lane. Coimbatore - Tiruppur takes time as road widening is going on. But beyond that it is a awesome drive.

Even route via valparai is an option from Fort Kochi to Bangalore if you want to cover Athirapally waterfalls on the way.

More later ....