An amazing coastal drive from Trivandrum to Kollam, totally skipping NH47 and with lots of fantastic beaches, backwaters and very little traffic by a Fiat Punto on 13th June 2015.
Route taken: Trivandrm (Palayam) - Pettah - Chakka - Shankumugam - Veli - Thumba - St Andrews - Puthenthope - Perumathura - Muthalapozhy - Chirayinkeezhu - Anjengo Fort(Anchuthengu) - Vettoor - Varkala - Edava - Kappil - Paravur - Pozhikkara - Mayyanad - Thanni - Eravipuram - Kollam Beach - Kollam Port. (Please refer to https://goo.gl/maps/BQAJx)
Beaches/Attractions covered:
1. Shangumugam Beach
2. Veli Beach (glimpse from the bridge)
3. Muthalapozhy Beach/Backwaters
4. Anathalavattom Beach
5. Anjengo Fort
6. Aaliyirakkm beach
7. Varakala Papanasam beach
8. Varkala Hiltop/ Helpad
9. Kappil Beach/ Back waters
10. Pozhikara Beach/ Backwaters
11. Mayyanad Beach/ Backwaters (Paravur Lake)
12. Eravipuram Beach
13. Kollam Beach
14. Kollam Harbour
Timings (With breaks for clicking photos at many places):
Trivandrum Palayam – 11:18 AM
Chakka bypass – 11:27 AM
Shankumugam beach – 11:32 AM
Veli bridge – 11:50 AM
Station Kadavu – 12 noon
Puthenthope – 12:06 PM
Perumathura – 12:20 PM
Muthalapozhy – 12:23 PM
Chirayinkeezhu – 1:05 PM
Aanathalavattom – 1:10 PM
Anjego fort – 1:15 PM
Anchuthengu – 1:17 PM
Mampally – 1:20 PM
Aaliyirakkm beach - 1:35 PM
Varkala Papanasam beach – 1:50 PM
Varkala Helipad/Hilltop – 1:56 PM
Edava – 2:07 PM
Kappil – 2:14 PM
Paravur - 2:29 PM (Lunch for 20 minutes)
Pozhikkara – 2:51 PM
Mayyanad beach – 3:01 PM
Eravipuram beach – 3:17 PM
Kollam Beach – 3:27 PM
Kollam port – 3:30 PM
Road/ Traffic conditions:
Trivandrum (Palayam) to Shankumugam – Excellent road with moderate traffic.
Shankumugam to Perumathura – Thanks to the Games Village at Menamkulam, roads are butter smooth now all the way upto St Andrews. Butter smooth new tarmac ends there still the road continues to be good till Puthenthope. Between Puthenthope and Perumathura there are multiple bad patches. Road condition in this area can be considered as average. Very little traffic in this area.
Perumathura to Chirayinkeezhu – Roads are excellent and scenic between Perumathura and Azhoor. Azhoor to Manjadimoodu has good roads, the railway gate at Manjadimoodu was closed due to some work, so we took a detour thorugh Muttapalam road to reach Korani-Chirayinkeezhu road at Mudapuram. Mudapuram to Chirayinkeezhu road is in very good condition. Moderate traffic between Mudapuram and Chirayinkeezhu.
Chirayinkeezhu to Anchuthengu - Anathalavattom beach road has 3-4 really bad patches. The Poothura-Anathavalavattom-Anchuthengu road is narrow with frequent speedbreakers and some bad patches. The Anjengo fort was closed, so we clicked some photos from outside. Traffic is very less in this sector.
Anchuthengu to Varkala – Anchuthengu - Vettoor - Varakala roads are good and you can see the difference of entering a famous tourist destination. Traffic was moderate as it was noon time. Roads to Papanasam beach and helipad are really good.
Varkala to Kappil – Excellent roads with less traffic. Got stuck in railway gate near Edava for 7 minutes.
Kappil to Paravur – Roads with mixed condition in this section. Decent roads with 3-4 bad patches. Traffic was moderate.
Paravur to Thanni – The roads are good till you reach the Thanni-Pozhikkara coastal road. The coastal road has mud sections for next 1.2 kms (https://goo.gl/maps/R54xc). But wait a minute, this road goes between the Sea and the backwaters; you will end up forgetting the road conditions. Once you cross this section roads are good all the way upto Thanni junction.
Thanni to Kollam beach – Thanni-Eravipuram beach road also have lots of bad sections. Still as the beach gives constant company on our left side, we enjoyed the drive. The traffic was moderate.
(Photo & Content credit: Deepak Erancheri)
