Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty Road

[blorebuddy]

It is not any toll. They take money on their own. They do not collect money if you are with family. They asked for money when I went with my friends and they asked me to go when I went with my family

[blorebuddy]

Did Blore - Ooty in Oct 1st week.
Mysore to Nanjangud (around 25 kms) is bad.
Other than that road conditions are good through out.

Taken Gudalur road and not masinagudi.

[Tempelhof]

Folks:

Need RECENT feedback on the Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty Road....which route is better (road conditions) - Gudalur or Masinagudi for a Civic?

Planning to leave Bangalore at 0600 hours.

How about safety on these roads?

Thanks for the feedback in advance.

[shankar.balan]

You will find the Mysore- Nanjangud - Bandipur stretch patchy and bad-ish. Else both routes are ok.

I would suggest the gentler drive via Gudalur. Adds about 40-45 km to the distance to Ooty but is a more scenic drive with gentler inclines.

The masinagudi sigur route is very nice too but the 36 hairpin bends requires concentration and there are some road humps to watch for.

You can do either route in your Civic. A friend of mine uses either route and there's no problem.

Both routes are perfectly safe - Ive been driving up and down them for absolutely ages.

when are you going exactly?

cheers

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Folks:

Need RECENT feedback on the Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty Road....which route is better (road conditions) - Gudalur or Masinagudi for a Civic?

Planning to leave Bangalore at 0600 hours.

How about safety on these roads?

Thanks for the feedback in advance.

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

You will find the Mysore- Nanjangud - Bandipur stretch patchy and bad-ish. Else both routes are ok.

You can do either route in your Civic. A friend of mine uses either route and there's no problem.

Both routes are perfectly safe - Ive been driving up and down them for absolutely ages.

when are you going exactly?

cheers

Hey thanks a lot....Planning to start Wednesday morning from Whitefield.

[shankar.balan]

Suggest that an early morning departure is preferable.
leave by about 5-ish-530-ish so that you avoid the city havoc and get to the open road quickly. even with a few pit stops and driving at reasonable easy speeds you should easily make Ooty by 12noon 1230pm in time for a nice lunch.
try the gudalur route - it is very scenic. Only, while you are going up there is a chance of mist and low cloud cover in this season which could obscure the sweeping views on that route.
the sigur route will get you there faster because it is shorter, so it is really upto your own priorities.
Drive slow and easy through Bandipur/Mudumalai and enjoy the scenery and maybe you will spot some of our increasingly rare wildlife on your journey as well!

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Hey thanks a lot....Planning to start Wednesday morning from Whitefield.

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Suggest that an early morning departure is preferable.!

Cool. Thanks a lot. Planning to leave around 0530. Your help is very much appreciated.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Need RECENT feedback on the Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty Road....which route is better (road conditions) - Gudalur or Masinagudi for a Civic?

Planning to leave Bangalore at 0600 hours.

How about safety on these roads?

Both roads are fine. The only bad stretch is from Mysore to Najangud (pathetic).

The Gudalur route is a tad better, but then, you have to compromise about 40kms and the thrill of driving tru ghats.

If from Gundelpet, I always prefer the Kallati way, its real feel good for me to drive tru those ghats and forests.

Regarding safety, except for animals(dangerous animals are rare), both roads are perfectly safe.

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Both roads are fine. The only bad stretch is from Mysore to Najangud (pathetic).

Thanks. In which route do the regular buses (Bangalore - Ooty buses) ply?

[kala]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Thanks. In which route do the regular buses (Bangalore - Ooty buses) ply?

Bangalore-Ooty buses take the longer and less steep Gudalur route.

[ravib]

Its almost not possible for HMV and big vehicles to take masinagudi's famous 36 hairpin bends because of too short turning radius. Even when i was driving, i saw few scorpios and Xylos need to take reverse in many hair pin bends to move forward.

-Ravi

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by ravib

Its almost not possible for HMV and big vehicles to take masinagudi's famous 36 hairpin bends because of too short turning radius. Even when i was driving, i saw few scorpios and Xylos need to take reverse in many hair pin bends to move forward.

-Ravi

Is this stretch "officially" one-way? Police stopped me on the way down last year, and left me for Rs.100, after convincing himself that I had driven down that route 4-5 times.

Prasad

[kala]

Originally Posted by prasad14

Is this stretch "officially" one-way? Police stopped me on the way down last year, and left me for Rs.100, after convincing himself that I had driven down that route 4-5 times.

I don't think there's anything official about it (like the "tolls" when entering TN at Mudumalai). I have always (i.e the 2 or 3 times I have been stopped) managed to take the Masinagudi route when coming down by telling the guys at the checkpost that we're going to visit the Kalhatty falls.

Heard a story that this "one way" business started because of pressure from Gudalur businesses who found that almost all traffic from Bangalore was going via Masinagudi after that ghat road was repaired about 10-15 years back. Don't know how much of it is true.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

Thanks. In which route do the regular buses (Bangalore - Ooty buses) ply?

I believe the buses take the Gudalur route.

Originally Posted by ravib

Its almost not possible for HMV and big vehicles to take masinagudi's famous 36 hairpin bends because of too short turning radius. Even when i was driving, i saw few scorpios and Xylos need to take reverse in many hair pin bends to move forward.

MUV's like Scorpio's and Xylo's can easily maneuver through the roads. You probably saw some inexperienced drivers.

If I recall it correctly, even some buses ply through that route, rarely. (I think its masanagudi-ooty)

Originally Posted by prasad14

Is this stretch "officially" one-way? Police stopped me on the way down last year, and left me for Rs.100, after convincing himself that I had driven down that route 4-5 times.

Prasad

Originally Posted by kala

I don't think there's anything official about it (like the "tolls" when entering TN at Mudumalai). I have always (i.e the 2 or 3 times I have been stopped) managed to take the Masinagudi route when coming down by telling the guys at the checkpost that we're going to visit the Kalhatty falls.

Heard a story that this "one way" business started because of pressure from Gudalur businesses who found that almost all traffic from Bangalore was going via Masinagudi after that ghat road was repaired about 10-15 years back. Don't know how much of it is true.

There is no official one-way through those roads, but the police do stop vehicles outside TN-43. We usually drive through without stopping.

If at all they manage to stop you, they behave worse than city muggers. 50Rs is all you need to get through.

Well, sometimes if you say you need to meet somebody in masanagudi and say its urgent, it works.

[hellstar]

There is a regular Oooty Masinagudi bus which runs this route , i usually check at the bus depot at masinagudi or at the chekpost before starting , as i do not enjoy the prospect of facing a TNSRTC bus comong barrelig down at me ...on one of these 36 hairpins.

If you are stopped at the checkpost , they might ask you questions on how will you go down , which gear will you use blah blah blah , just act like a seasoned guy and dont panic, tell them you have been through this place manytimes ... but remember these checks have been put in place for some reason ...