The art of travelling between Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

Hi, I travelled to Udupi last week Wednesday.
The road condition is bad from Yashwantpur to Nelamangala (some 15+ KMs) and Hassan Bypass (3-4 KM), BC Road to Surathkal (some 35-40KM)
Nelamangala to Kunigal bangalore bound traffic would be high especially one is travelling in the morning (6-8 AM). Surathkal to Udupi would be again good amount of traffic plus local buses driven by ex-F1 drivers.

Traffic will be high on any road leaving bangalore during the start of the weekend. Yeshwantpur-Nelamangala road is no exception. It will be the same thing again at the end of the weekend (Sunday night or Monday morning).

Mangalore-Udupi road is one of the busiest sections of the NH17. It is almost like city traffic. You are spot on with your assesment of the local bus drivers. They surely have some experience in F1.

[lohithrao]

Offlate am not enjoying NH48 cause of the increased traffic, can expect lot of them till Hassan but once you get down the ghat it gets decent again if the truck traffic is high then it would be a pain!

On the bus drivers i guess they were like this for a long time, i remember as a kid traveling from Udupi to Mangalore and used to love the bus ride used to ask my parents that we take ONLY "Express" hehe

Now i drive/ride i know the pain, most of these guys dont like to be overtaken and they make sure they do everything to get the lead

Also if you are driving to interir place like Karkala/Mudbidre.. make sure that keep a watch as these roads are narrow and the buses come blazing at you. luckily not many buses on these routes.

[ash_blore]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Also if you are driving to interir place like Karkala/Mudbidre.. make sure that keep a watch as these roads are narrow and the buses come blazing at you. luckily not many buses on these routes.

I remember driving there with the civic. These buses come so fast and they dont even slow down. Its up to us to move to the side of the road to ensure they have sufficient place.

[Samurai]

I don't know why, but generally bus drivers don't hassle me much on NH-17 between Kundapur and Mangalore eventhough I travel very often. I am more bothered by truck drivers who don't let me pass them.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I don't know why, but generally bus drivers don't hassle me much on NH-17 between Kundapur and Mangalore eventhough I travel very often.

That must be the subliminal reason why you are reported to never have smiled before

[GSMINC]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I don't know why, but generally bus drivers don't hassle me much on NH-17 between Kundapur and Mangalore eventhough I travel very often. I am more bothered by truck drivers who don't let me pass them.

Maybe because you are a localite, they may glance at you car number & realise that you are one of us.

[lohithrao]

Got to learn from one of my relative that Charmadi has been widened and the road is in good condition, so i guess this is an good alternative! anyone has updates on this?

[Glifford]

Got back last Wednesday. Sorry for a delayed post. Thanks to this thread I took the Shiradi route and the Magadi road.

Started an hour and a half late at 05:30! Took Magadi road from behind Majestic. Absolutely beautiful road with only a handful of bad stretches. Some places freshly laid. You can smell the tar and median is not remarked! Even milestones are not marked. But beautiful and easy. Like Hassan - Belur stretch! joins 7 km before Kunigal! Only one 30 m stretch is bad, rest is perfect.

Hassan got bypassed quickly and then Sakhleshpur and then hit Shiradi. By then the (LPG-Bullet) Tanker Traffic had increased exponentially. Yes they are big and cumbersome and hard to overtake in traffic. But are driven by level headed quys who guide you with overtaking as they can see much further. Also saw a couple (more actually) of spilled tankers (no gas leaks tho) across the way, and all were manned by police who was helping traffic! One was right outside Kamat's blocking the road completely.

Even though we were doing good speeds, our aim of reaching Mangalore by 11:00 ish was way off target. (Mainly due to the late start and waste of time at Kamat's).

Shiradi was a joy! Almost fully done up and no issues what so ever (relatively). Of course look out for stones left behind by former breakdowners.

One more experience was the increase in air pressure as we descended the Western Ghats down to Mangalore (from the Bangalore Plateau). The ears were getting blocked like they do in a jet plane. It was much more than what happens on a flight and took several efforts to clear. One more reason could be that we were both having a cold and blocked noses could have added to this.

We finally reached BC road. Until now the roads were bliss. At BC Road, the horror unveiled. It was a mess with road construction/widening going on. No proper signals and people using completed sections of the road (not yet opened to traffic). Took a while to clear this messy stretch. Soon we were in Padil. Then Pumpwell.

Another bad stretch is the Mangalore-Udipi one. Esp if you try to bypass innner Mangalore by going from Pumpwell-Nanthoor-KPT/Kadri-Kottara directly. The road between KPT-Kottara cross is so bad it shuddered me in a Fusion!

Suggest getting into Mangalore by Pumpwell-Nanthoor-Kadri-Bejai-Lalbagh(Corporation)-MG Road-Lady Hill-Urwa Store-Infosys-Kottara. Better despite the traffic/signals you may face.

Mangalore-Udupi is bad till Surathkal, after that decent. Of course the traffic is high, but manageable.


Besides doing Mangalore-Udipi a couple of times we also went into the villages off Kundapur. A place called Padukone .

Return was easy as well. Met some heavy rain that added to the adventure (Udupi-Mangalore stretch, before and after BC Road).

Got into Bangalore also from Magadi Road. Clue in finding it is take the right after Indo-Spanish Foods factory (on the left) when approaching Bangalore.

Was easy till we touched town and got stuck near Majestic.

Had clicked some pics, but lost them as I formatted the card without realising!

[arin_12]

I am planning to do a 4 days trip to Mangalore-Udupi-Gokarna. I dont wanna come back in the same route. Please suggest the route and the places to visit on the way. I want to have lazy drive as I am going for a vacation.

[Samurai]

If you didn't have to go to Mangalore, it can be avoided. I usually never enter B.C.Road, instead take right turn and go through Moodbidri, Karkala and Manipal. Saves me 22Kms and the roads is very good.

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by arin_12

I am planning to do a 4 days trip to Mangalore-Udupi-Gokarna. I dont wanna come back in the same route. Please suggest the route and the places to visit on the way. I want to have lazy drive as I am going for a vacation.

Please take the below mentioned route,
BLR-HASSAN-SHIRADI-MANGALORE-UDUPI-BHATKALA-KUMTA-GOKARNA.
1.GOKARNA-KUMTA-HONNAVARA-JOGFALLS-SHIMOGA-TUMKUR-BLR
or
2.GOKARNA-ANKOLA-HUBLI-HAVERI-DAVANGERE-TUMKUR-BLR
Both routes are equally good, but 2nd route is slightly high distance wise.

[pranava999]

Is the Shiradi route now popular with trucks ferrying ore ? Read today's TOI about KSRTC not using this route as it's dangerous and that the truckers park hap hazardly and hurtle through these ghats.

Here's a link to the article
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/M...ow/4632798.cms

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by pranava999

Is the Shiradi route now popular with trucks ferrying ore ? Read today's TOI about KSRTC not using this route as it's dangerous and that the truckers park hap hazardly and hurtle through these ghats.

Here's a link to the article
KSRTC to resume night bus service - Mangalore - Cities - The Times of India

Yes, Shiradi is one of the major gateway from interior Karnataka to Coastal Karnataka. As far as I know, Shiradi and Kalghatgi-Ankola ghats are the only ghat roads in Karnataka which are wide enough to take mining lorry traffic. So, lorry traffic is very high here.

[prabhusati]

What's happening TEAM-BHP'ians? This thread is silent for 15 days now. Very surprising.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by prabhusati

What's happening TEAM-BHP'ians? This thread is silent for 15 days now. Very surprising.

Maybe everyone here has finally mastered the art of traveling between Bangalore & Mangalore/Udupi