NH 85
Kochi–Munnar–Madurai Highway
Also known as National Highway 49 (old numbering)
379 km
Open
2 states
National Highway
Route
NH 85 runs 379 km from Maradu, Kerala to Thondi, Tamil Nadu.
Crosses Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Through Maradu, Kochi, Adimali, Munnar, Andipatti Jakkampatty, Thirupparankundram, Madurai, Kalaiyarkovil and Thondi.
Why it matters
Kerala and Tamil Nadu are separated by the Ghats and only a few roads cross them. This one carries the tea and spices of the high range down to Kochi's port, and it is the main tourist route to Munnar.
History
National Highway 85 runs from Kochi on the Kerala coast up through Kothamangalam and Adimali to the tea country at Munnar, over the Western Ghats into Tamil Nadu at Bodinayakkanur, and on through Theni to Madurai and the coast at Thondi. It is the classic Kerala–Tamil Nadu hill crossing: rubber and spice plantations on the way up, tea estates at the top, and the dry Vaigai plain on the far side.
Good to know
- Climbs from sea level at Kochi to Munnar, at about 1,600 metres, in under 130 km.
- Munnar's tea estates were laid out by British planters in the 1870s and 1880s.
- It crosses the Western Ghats at one of their narrowest points between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- Used to be numbered NH 49 before the 2010 renumbering.
- Madurai, on the Tamil Nadu side, is home to the Meenakshi Amman temple.
On the road
The climb from Adimali to Munnar is steep, narrow and slow, with heavy weekend tourist traffic. Fog is common in the evenings at the top. Landslides can close the ghat in the monsoon.
More details
- Lanes
- 2 lanes, ghat section throughout the middle