Riding Mumbai to Munnar. Need advice

500modder · 10th September 2010, 17:33

A friend and I are planning a 5-6 day motorcycle trip: Mumbai - Goa - Cunoor - Coimbatore - Munnar - Kochi.

Need some advice on which route to take:

1) From Mumbai to Goa.
Is the NH4 or NH 17 preferable, or a combination of both?
Anyone know what the condition of the Sankeshwar to Sanwantwadi road is like now?

2) Goa to Cunoor:
Where should we branch off NH17? At Honavar, Mangalore or further south?

Interested primarily in good riding roads i.e.: well surfaced and scenic. Also interested to know how long each route would take.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

mantrig · 10th September 2010, 18:03

Mumbai to Goa - The link below might be helpful :-

Royal Enfield | Royal Enfield presents Tour of NH 17

500modder · 27th September 2010, 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by mantrig

Mumbai to Goa - The link below might be helpful :-

Royal Enfield | Royal Enfield presents Tour of NH 17

Thanks Mantrig. Did you go on this ride? Any idea which hotel they stayed at on the Amboli ghats?

hvkumar · 27th September 2010, 23:56

NH17 is in a bad shape currently, in south MH and coastal KA.
Sankeshwar-Sawantwadi via Amboli road is OK.
I would prefer Nh4 till Hubli, NH63 to Ankola and then NH17. However, NH17 around Bhatkal is also bad.
I would suggest you take off NH17 at Kannur, and go via Kuthuparamba to Mananthavadi, Gudalur & Ooty. Alternatively, you can go off Nh17 at Mangalore and go via B C Road, Puttur & Madikeri to Manathavady and Gudalur-Ooty.

COUGAR · 28th September 2010, 03:55

NH17 is a fun ride especially the Turtle Bay area.

Hows about this route plan: Mumbai-Belgaum-Hubli(NH4)-Ankola-Mangalore-Kannur (NH17) - Kochi-Munnar-Kodai-Coimbatore-Ooty-Gudalur-Mandya-(NH4)Tumkur-Hubli (NH4) - Karwar - Palolem - Arambol - Chiplun - Mumbai (NH17).

You could probably include Coorg as well in your iten on the way back, going off the highway near Gundulpet towards Coorg and from there going to Belur and thence to Chitradurga on NH4 bypassing Bengaluru completely. You will get to do Coorg, Halebidu and Belur as well as the fantastic biking terrain around BD hills since they all come on this sector.

This way you will be describing roughly an 8 on the map of Southern india with the centre on Hubli and never crossing the same road twice. Only disadvantage: parts of NH17 are in bad shape. But what the heck: you are on a bull!

Check this for reference.

500modder · 2nd December 2010, 18:16

Thanks for the great advice everyone. HV we took your inputs and routed our trip through mangalore and Madikeri to Gudalur. The route was rough in patches, most notably NH17 from Honnavar to Mangalore and some stretches in Coorg, esp Ponnampet to Kutta. But overall I'd recommend this route for the amazing scenery and great places it takes you through.

Here is our final route and some pictures from the ride.

10th September 2010, 17:33	#1
500modder BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: mumbai Posts: 76 Thanked: 12 Times	Riding Mumbai to Munnar. Need advice A friend and I are planning a 5-6 day motorcycle trip: Mumbai - Goa - Cunoor - Coimbatore - Munnar - Kochi. Need some advice on which route to take: 1) From Mumbai to Goa. Is the NH4 or NH 17 preferable, or a combination of both? Anyone know what the condition of the Sankeshwar to Sanwantwadi road is like now? 2) Goa to Cunoor: Where should we branch off NH17? At Honavar, Mangalore or further south? Interested primarily in good riding roads i.e.: well surfaced and scenic. Also interested to know how long each route would take. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
	() Thanks

10th September 2010, 18:03	#2
mantrig BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 456 Thanked: 179 Times	Mumbai to Goa - The link below might be helpful :- Royal Enfield \| Royal Enfield presents Tour of NH 17
	() Thanks

27th September 2010, 23:56	#4
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,368 Thanked: 3,467 Times	NH17 is in a bad shape currently, in south MH and coastal KA. Sankeshwar-Sawantwadi via Amboli road is OK. I would prefer Nh4 till Hubli, NH63 to Ankola and then NH17. However, NH17 around Bhatkal is also bad. I would suggest you take off NH17 at Kannur, and go via Kuthuparamba to Mananthavadi, Gudalur & Ooty. Alternatively, you can go off Nh17 at Mangalore and go via B C Road, Puttur & Madikeri to Manathavady and Gudalur-Ooty.
	() Thanks

28th September 2010, 03:55	#5
COUGAR BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Delhi Posts: 548 Thanked: 94 Times View My Garage	NH17 is a fun ride especially the Turtle Bay area. Hows about this route plan: Mumbai-Belgaum-Hubli(NH4)-Ankola-Mangalore-Kannur (NH17) - Kochi-Munnar-Kodai-Coimbatore-Ooty-Gudalur-Mandya-(NH4)Tumkur-Hubli (NH4) - Karwar - Palolem - Arambol - Chiplun - Mumbai (NH17). You could probably include Coorg as well in your iten on the way back, going off the highway near Gundulpet towards Coorg and from there going to Belur and thence to Chitradurga on NH4 bypassing Bengaluru completely. You will get to do Coorg, Halebidu and Belur as well as the fantastic biking terrain around BD hills since they all come on this sector. This way you will be describing roughly an 8 on the map of Southern india with the centre on Hubli and never crossing the same road twice. Only disadvantage: parts of NH17 are in bad shape. But what the heck: you are on a bull! Check this for reference. Last edited by COUGAR : 28th September 2010 at 04:03.
	() Thanks

2nd December 2010, 18:16	#6
500modder BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: mumbai Posts: 76 Thanked: 12 Times	Thanks for the great advice everyone. HV we took your inputs and routed our trip through mangalore and Madikeri to Gudalur. The route was rough in patches, most notably NH17 from Honnavar to Mangalore and some stretches in Coorg, esp Ponnampet to Kutta. But overall I'd recommend this route for the amazing scenery and great places it takes you through. Here is our final route and some pictures from the ride. Last edited by 500modder : 2nd December 2010 at 18:17. Reason: rearranged pictures
	() Thanks