The art of travelling between Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by CaliAtenza

i was in the shiradi ghat 2 days ago...its beat to hell. All the tarred sections are pretty much torn up in the bulk of the ghat section, but the cement sections have held up well. The constant rain isnt helping as well the seemingly endless stream of tanker trucks.

How bad are the Traffic jams? Road condition is one thing and these truckers cause another headache of breaking down and causing big jams.

More than the road condition, its the traffic that makes it look like Real Hell

[lohithrao]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

How bad are the Traffic jams? Road condition is one thing and these truckers cause another headache of breaking down and causing big jams.

More than the road condition, its the traffic that makes it look like Real Hell

Actually the tanker traffic is a big pain, most of them are very slow...many of them are Lonnng and yes some of them break down..

last year during monsoon had a tough time over taking....i remember of overtaking 30+ of them and when i found some more in front of me i gave up and drove behind them:(

best part after overtaking a big gang of them i dint ant to stop at all, not even to take a leak

Guys anyone knows about the "Charmadi"?? i feel that will be a better option...

[dkamath]

Airavats take about 9 hours to and fro M'lore, even via. the Madikeri route. The roads are undoubtedly in bad condition and there's no way the drivers can avoid riding over potholes. Also, the Airavat i boarded during the return trip came along the Thokkottu - Melkar route, to touch NH48. Not sure if it was our bus alone or all other Airavats are avoiding the Pumpwell->BC Road in their return trips.

[sgiitk]

The advice I got from a local - DO NOT! As simple as that.

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Guys anyone knows about the "Charmadi"?? i feel that will be a better option...

Charmadi might have choked to landslides(Though I don't have concerete information), it's raining like anything there.
My option as of now to travel towards Mangalore is BLR-HASSAN-BELUR-MUDIGERE-KOTTIGEHARA-KALASA-KARKALA-PADUBIDRE-MLR
Even Sringeri route is submerged (ref today's Deccan Herald)

[sumirish]

As our Son was joining Manipal University, we recently drove from Chennai to Manipal and back . Chennai to Bangalore on Day 1 was a breeze. On Day 2 we hit the Bangalore –Nelamangala-Hassan Bypass – Sakleshpur - to the Mangalore NH17 junction. This was one of the worst motoring experiences ever. The roads were horrible in the Shiradi ghats and we were crawling between miles of truck traffic. The drive took 11 hours to reach Manipal and it took all the fun out of driving. I decided never to attempt this stretch again. On the way back from Manipal to Bangalore, we took the Agumbe-Shimoga- Arisikere-Tumkur route and this was a much better option. Although the distance was much more than the Sakleshpur route and the time taken to Bangalore was still about 10 Hours, it was a far more enjoyable and relaxing drive.

My car was a Ford Ikon Flair and I got excellent fuel consumption at 18 Kms/ltr in the long flat stretches.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

Charmadi might have choked to landslides(Though I don't have concerete information), it's raining like anything there.
My option as of now to travel towards Mangalore is BLR-HASSAN-BELUR-MUDIGERE-KOTTIGEHARA-KALASA-KARKALA-PADUBIDRE-MLR
Even Sringeri route is submerged (ref today's Deccan Herald)

. I recently saw some news about Charmadi in some website (i forgot the name). It seems they are widening the roads by cutting into the mountain and strengthening the bridges. Not sure how true it is though.

The best route to Mangalore would be via Hsn-Mudigere-Kudremukh-Karkala. The roads are in good condition except for a few kms between Kottigehara & Kalasa.

@sushrutha, Where exactly is the route submerged?

[lohithrao]

addy, i think the road connecting to Sringeri is submerged...link to Mlore from Kudremukha should be fine..

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

. I recently saw some news about Charmadi in some website (i forgot the name). It seems they are widening the roads by cutting into the mountain and strengthening the bridges. Not sure how true it is though.

The best route to Mangalore would be via Hsn-Mudigere-Kudremukh-Karkala. The roads are in good condition except for a few kms between Kottigehara & Kalasa.

@sushrutha, Where exactly is the route submerged?

[rajshenoy]

Today one of my Relative drove to Udupi(Hasan-belur-chickmaglur-aldur-sringeri-agumbe-udupi) and said the road was great except some stretch near sringeri and agumbe ghat.

I am starting tomorrow morning and Until now i was thinking of shiradi. Now i am giving it a serious thought because of the truck traffic. Is it so horrible ?

any latest news ? how bad would be the traffic jam ?

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

The advice I got from a local - DO NOT! As simple as that.

This info is for which route ? I guess you are mentioning about Charmadi

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

The advice I got from a local - DO NOT! As simple as that.

For some reason, I am reminded of this scene from Ace Ventura - Pet Detective.

Do Not Go In There...!



Watch from 1:00 in this video:

YouTube - Ace Ventura part 5

[funda2max]

Any latest update on the road conditions to Mangalore from Bangalore?

[dkamath]

Drove back to B'lore via Madikeri. The fun part was getting to drive through thick mist, which was a first-time experience. Madikeri to Bylukoppa is not good for a hatch at this time, as the mud has turned into slush and it's hard deciding which crater to drive into. Anyways, not as bad as Shiradi in any case.

[rajshenoy]

Guys i am back from my trip to Udupi yesterday

While going i took the Shiradi route(NH48) and i feel the road is holding up well(keep your eyes open and avoid waterfilled craters as they might be pretty deep)

Another problems are the mud slides(couple of places) and fallen trees(3-4 places) but luckily it happened previous night and some gentlemen had already cleared it

I Started early at 4:30 and manage to climb down Shiradi by 9:45 in the morning. To my bad luck there was a huge traffic jam running few KMs (Which is what i was very skeptical) and it was due to partial flooding of the road due to rains

There were these truckers and Tankers on both side of the road and from both sides as well and it was a total mess

Luckily the rains had stopped and water was receding so managed to drive through the water filled stretch and escape from the mess(as per some peoples version the water was 4 feet deep and trucks were stuck in water, but luckily it turned out to be abt 1 feet only,as the water levels had dropped by the time i had to cross) Still saw a dozen Omni's breaking down due to water in spark plug

Overall i feel the roads are good but it is the heavy traffic that makes this road unpredictable(i spent 2 hrs in traffic) so better to avoid or try your luck

While returning i took the Agumbe-sringeri-jayapura-balehonnur-aldur-chikmaglur-belur-hasan-bangy route and the road is great(just few km of bad stretch but can be done fast) and very very scenic

For those travelling to Udupi side i recommend this anyday

[lohithrao]

Raj, good to know shiradi is still in shape but the traffic jam bothers me

The truck traffic has multiplied over the years and this is what causing so much of issue..

Here are few pics taken by my bro while he was driving down to Mlore from Shimoga and all the pics are taken around Agumbe..

apparently all the pics where taken around 12ish and the fog is so strong, i wonder how it would be in the early mornings and during the nights...