Hyderabad to Mysore - Can I avoid NH7 (partially or fully) and do it in a day?

[Bigzero]

Hi friends,

I am scheduled to drive to Calicut from next week, and am planning to take a break at Mysore ( didnt want to stretch too much as I have my family with me ).

The car is a 2003 Santro Xing. She has done her share of long drives, and 3-4 Hyd-kerala trips.

I had been looking forward to hitting NH7 now that the it is in a better shape ( at least partially ) with the four laning etc., the only thing I needed to sort out was to byepass Bangalore quickly and painlessly.

However, the recent developments with Telengana issue have given me some additional headaches to consider. To start with, I am not all that confident whether I will get a free run till the AP-KA border through the NH7, with the kind of disruptions happening in Ananthapur etc . I have been hearing that road blockades have been happening here and there on the NH7.

So I am trying to work out an alternate route ( to avoid the non-Telengana part of NH7), and have been going through the various route queries in team-bhp and also trying out options in google maps etc.

Here is one option I could find.

1. Hyderabad- Mehboobnagar - Raichur - Hampi - Chitradurga - Mysore

Looks okayish, and the stretch in AP is relatively short - only upto a bit beyond Jadcherla. I got a feeling from the various threads that the roads are by and large ok, with a few rough stretches in between. Google maps tells me that the distance is around 760 km.

Queries on this route:

• How do you go from Chitradurga to mysore? Do I take the short route Google maps shows ( any suggestions here? ) or do I take the longer but supposedly better option of Chitradurga - Nelamangala - NICE road - Mysore road? Any suggestions on this will be most welcome.
• Google maps shows the time as 13 hours. Is it possible in a Santro? I dont want to take too many risks, but I usually keep the highway speeds (in good roads only ) at between 100 and 110 kph. I usually start around 5.30 or so, and dont want to do a lot of night driving at the fag end of a long drive..

The next option I could think of is Hyderabad - Homnabad - Gulbarga -Bijapur - hospet - chitradurga - mysore, but that route is much longer, and I dont know how it is going to work out in terms of driving time, thought for a good part the roads are supposed to be better.

Some more questions :

• is there any alternate option for a break other than mysore? I dont want do keep too much for the second day as I am targeting to reach calicut if possibly by lunch time.
• Maybe outskirts of Bangalore, on the mysore road? Are there decent hotels to stay overnight?
• Any suggestions for a place to stay in Mysore? nothing too fancy, but comfortable and can accommodate three kids :-) Maybe around 2K or so?

Help/suggestions will be greatly appreciated! I will update the thread with the travel experience, after I complete the journey.

Of course if the situation improves over the next few days I will be more than happy to do the regular Hyd - Blr stretch on NH7 and possibly deviate via doddaballapur etc to touch the NICE road.

[Bigzero]

Any thoughts folks? Sorry for bumping this up.

[bblost]

I did Hyderabad - Mysore - Ooty in January this year.
Hyd - Mysore is definitely doable in a day.

National Highways are always my preferred roads.
But given the crazy country we live in, what can we do but pray.

[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by bblost

I did Hyderabad - Mysore - Ooty in January this year.
Hyd - Mysore is definitely doable in a day.

National Highways are always my preferred roads.
But given the crazy country we live in, what can we do but pray.

Sorry to point out...
But, january did not have the same situation as faced today by the residents of the state currently called AP.

Bigzero,
sticking to NH7 will be the best you can do as it's the shortest & tested route. All other alternatives will add to your driving time & fuel costs!
By next week, things will cool down and there's not much to worry!

cheers.

[hvkumar]

I think the fastest and best route to Mysore is via Bangalore. Interior roads in KA are terrible.

Your first route plan of going via Hampi is bad, terrible roads in that region and a cracked up NH13 from Hospet to Chitradurga.

But if you want teh route, it will be as follows:
Hyderabad-Raichur-Hospet-Kushtagi-Harihar-Honnali-Shimoga-Tarikere-Channarayapatna-K R Pet-Srirangapatna-Mysore
or
Hyderabad-Kurnool-Anantapur-Penukonda-Challakere-Chitradurga-Channagiri-Hollalkere-Bhadravati-Tarikere-Channarayapatna-K R Pet-Srirangapatna-Mysore

[kutlee]

don't think twice. take the NH7 and will reach mysore in say 13-14 hours. do not take diversion at chikballapaur even if someone advises you. not worth the trouble.

[Bigzero]

Thanks for the suggestions folks!

I agree with the view that NH7 is the best bet - I hope it stays trouble-free during my trip. The route I came up with was a plan B in case NH7 was unsafe to travel because of agitations.

hvkumar, thanks for the alternate options, there seem to be many, but I guess the overall message i get is that the roads may not be of great quality in rural karnataka. As for your second option, If I can get as far as Penukonda in NH7, then I would rather proceed onwards towards bangalore and attempt to take the NICE road to connect to Mysore rooad.

kutlee - thanks for the heads-up, if chikaballapur -doddaballapur option is not that great then I suppose I should just go all the way to hebbal and take the ring road to connect to NH4 and then take the NICE road? In that case, do I have to go towards bangalore on NH4 to access the NICE road or the other way? none of the maps sites are updated to show the NICE road junction.

[bullinb]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

I should just go all the way to hebbal and take the ring road to connect to NH4 and then take the NICE road? In that case, do I have to go towards bangalore on NH4 to access the NICE road or the other way? none of the maps sites are updated to show the NICE road junction.

You go away from Bangalore (towards Nelamanga/Tumkur) on NH-4. The NICE road junction is about 7 km from the ring road. The coordinates of the NICE road NH-4 junction are (13.056118,77.476244). You'd most likely reach Bangalore by evening, so expect the ring road to be clogged up for a couple of kilometers before NH-4 and the 7km of NH-4 to be hell. It should be smooth sailing from then on.

Please avoid Bellary - Hampi - Hostpet etc. There are no roads remaining after the floods. I had a terrible time during my Hampi trip early October.

[Bigzero]

Thanks bullinb, your co-ordinates are really helpful.

Thanks for the update on road conditions too. I will keep my fingers crossed on NH7.

[bullinb]

Google maps seems to have been updated recently. The NICE road junction is clearly visible in the satellite image.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

Thanks for the suggestions folks!

I agree with the view that NH7 is the best bet - I hope it stays trouble-free during my trip. The route I came up with was a plan B in case NH7 was unsafe to travel because of agitations.

hvkumar, thanks for the alternate options, there seem to be many, but I guess the overall message i get is that the roads may not be of great quality in rural karnataka. As for your second option, If I can get as far as Penukonda in NH7, then I would rather proceed onwards towards bangalore and attempt to take the NICE road to connect to Mysore rooad.

kutlee - thanks for the heads-up, if chikaballapur -doddaballapur option is not that great then I suppose I should just go all the way to hebbal and take the ring road to connect to NH4 and then take the NICE road? In that case, do I have to go towards bangalore on NH4 to access the NICE road or the other way? none of the maps sites are updated to show the NICE road junction.

Factor in a few extra hours as an early start from Hyd would mean low visibility due to fog.I do early morning drives to the NH7 part of the city and visibility is iffy till about 530-6am.So good speeds would be a bit dicey.As for distrubances on the highway,so far nothing on the highways at Anantpur & Kurnool.Kurnool has gone cold now,Anantpur a certain few stray incidents but nothing to worry about as most of it is around the university.Stay safe & drive safe and if there is a blockade,go with the rest of the vehicles,never stray alone into the bylanes.BTW around what date are you doing the drive?The idea to drive to Mysore is tempting for me as well.

[Bigzero]

Thanks ranjitp1.

I am planning to leave at around 5.30 am or so ( if I can get the kids ready that early ) , and targeting to reach Mysore by around 7 pm if everything works well.

I am planning to leave on 23rd morning. The idea is to reach calicut by lunchtime on 24th.

[addyhemmige]

In case you take the NH7 until Bangalore I would advise you to avoid the ring road connecting Hebbal to NH-4. Better take the following route

NH-7-Turn right into Yelahanka-take right at the signal (landmark: Police Station)-IIRC you have to take left somewhere-ask for Jalahalli road-After you take the left, continue straight-MS Palya-Turn left at the circle-Jalahalli Air Force Station-Continue till you exit the Air Force Station-Gangamma Circle-Take a right here-Continue straight till Jalahalli Cross which is on NH-4-Take a right at the signal towards Nelamangala/Tumkur-Continue on NH-4 till NICE road ramp-Take left & join NICE road-Continue to Mysore road.

Even this road is not free from traffic, but it is a better alternative compared to the ring road. The only place where you have major traffic is at Jalahalli Cross where you have to join NH-4 which will be choc-a-block with traffic.

You should be fine if you reach Bangalore before 4 pm

[Bigzero]

Thanks for the suggestion, addyhemmige. I had a look at it in google maps and it appears fairly manageable.

[sree70]

dear Bizero,
Hyderabad > B'lore > mysore. Strictly NH7 & no 2nd thought. please avoid the interior roads, after the floods most of the inner roads incldg SH are in worse conditions.
During B'lore to Mysore strecth donot enter the city and the below link (in reverse direction) may be useful to you.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...bangalore.html (Drive from Mysore to Hyderabad - avoiding traffic at Bangalore)