[Fauji]

I heard that the BLR - Kanakapura - Chamarajnagar - Gundlupet road is being widened and the road is not worth taking. Is this true. It has been a long time since we went on this stretch. Can someone help with latest update? Thanks

[tharian]

Originally Posted by Fauji

I heard that the BLR - Kanakapura - Chamarajnagar - Gundlupet road is being widened and the road is not worth taking. Is this true. It has been a long time since we went on this stretch. Can someone help with latest update? Thanks

I just came back via this route yesterday and it is fine.

A couple of towns , they are widening and concreting the road between Bangalore and Malvalli were you may loose some time. Apart from that, the whole stretch is good tarmac.
The usual route via Nanjangud is good too if you go via Mysore. They have completed the road works and it is breeze from Mysore to the forest check post .

[kala]

Originally Posted by Fauji

I heard that the BLR - Kanakapura - Chamarajnagar - Gundlupet road is being widened and the road is not worth taking. Is this true. It has been a long time since we went on this stretch. Can someone help with latest update? Thanks

Widening work around Kaggalipura is now complete and there is no diversion in the return direction.

Work is active for about 2 kms around Harohalli, so the main highway is a one way towards the Kanakapura road side. Return traffic is being redirected via the BWSSSB service road for about 5-6 kms. Hardly any room to overtake in case you get stuck behind a slow vehicle on this alternate stretch.

Similarly there is road widening happening in Halagur as well (between Kanakapura and Malavalli) for about 1 km in the town center. Expect slow progress here since the traffic in both directions have to go through one half of the road.(The open portion is quite wide, but half of it gets eaten up by haphazardly parked vehicles)

Expect your overall driving time to go up by about 10 to 15 minutes between Bangalore and Malavalli (in either direction).

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by tharian

I just came back via this route yesterday and it is fine.

Originally Posted by kala

Widening work around Kaggalipura is now complete and there is no diversion in the return direction.

Thanks Guys. It still better than going through misery of driving on Bangalore - Mysore road.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Fauji

It still better than going through misery of driving on Bangalore - Mysore road.

That is very context sensitive. I was of the same opinion and always tried to avoid that route in the past 3-4 years but had a good experience recently.
We had a family trip and decided to stick to the Mysore route, started at 6:15 am on a Sunday and with a 45 minute stop for breakfast we reached Mysore before 9:30.
Return was decent too, with a 5pm start we reached NICE Road junction by 7:30 pm, but city traffic was indeed bad so took NICE road to bypass city.
If one is with family, this route gives lots of family friendly options, one just needs to choose the time of travel correctly. And, most of the crazy speed breakers are gone now. It's just the intermediate town traffic that slows you down, again it's a function of the time and day chosen.

*Try to avoid Nanjangud & Chamarajanagar during the post election counting​/results period. It can become slow and painful due to police stops and checks.

[Rajeevraj]

Similar opinion as NPV. I did a Coorg trip last weekend and hit Mysore Road at 7am on Saturday morning. I was dreading the drive but since we we traveling as a group, had to look at the preference of everyone and hence had to take Mysore Road with a 6.30am start.

It was surprisingly not too bad, there was quite a bit of traffic but was moving relatively smooth. The stress levels were higher due to the random style high speed driving a lot of folks follow, but time wise it was as usual.

I think with the number of humps greatly reduced , traffic is flowing more smoothly.

Still probably will not take this route on a long weekend evening. But in general, if one can time the drive, it's not as bad as before in my opinion.

[Niel@Figo]

Hi everyone,

Planning a road trip from Bangalore to Wayanad on 30th Apr with return on 3rd May. Two route options as I understand from the readings above and google maps:

1. Bengaluru - Channapatna - Mysuru - Humpapura - Nisna - Kalpetta

2. Bengaluru - Kanakapura - Harohalli - Nanjangud - Gundlpeta - Sulthan bathery - Kalpetta

We are planning to start at 7am on sunday morning, so kindly suggest which one would be better from time, drive, food and scenic point of view.

Thanks in advance

[binand]

Originally Posted by Niel@Figo

We are planning to start at 7am on sunday morning, so kindly suggest which one would be better from time, drive, food and scenic point of view.

On the time & food fronts, Bangalore-Mandya-Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery-Kalpetta wins outright. There isn't much scenery till you reach the forest (about 16 km beyond Gundlupet) though. As for the drive - Bangalore-Mysore is known to stress out most drivers.

This is with the assumption that your ultimate destination is Kalpetta. Since you are driving out on the second day of a three-day weekend, traffic on Bangalore-Mysore might not be an issue.

[gurupalani]

Hello all.
I'm planning a road trip to wayanad between 29-Apr and 1-May.
Since we'll be staying near Mananthavady, I'm guessing the route via Mysore will be better. We plan to leave at around 5 on saturday morning from Bangalore from E-city. Am I correct in assuming that the usual Bangalore-Mysore traffic won't be there much on saturday morning?
The return may be a hectic drive as I plan to return on 1st May (holiday) afternoon. Should I avoid taking mysore route?
I'm booking a car from Myles for the trip. Does anyone know how much and where I have to pay tax as I will be crossing the state border in a yellow board vehicle?

[binand]

Originally Posted by gurupalani

Hello all.
I'm planning a road trip to wayanad between 29-Apr and 1-May. [...] Am I correct in assuming that the usual Bangalore-Mysore traffic won't be there much on saturday morning?

Well, it is a three-day weekend, so there definitely will be traffic. If you can start a bit earlier you'll beat the worst of it I imagine.

Originally Posted by gurupalani

The return may be a hectic drive as I plan to return on 1st May (holiday) afternoon. Should I avoid taking mysore route?

I think if you can manage to be on BM Road by 3 PM you will be fine.

Originally Posted by gurupalani

I'm booking a car from Myles for the trip. Does anyone know how much and where I have to pay tax as I will be crossing the state border in a yellow board vehicle?

The RTO checkpost is in Kattikulam, about 6 km inside Kerala. It is near the junction where the Mysore-Bavali-Mananthavady and Hunsur-Kutta-Mananthavady roads merge.

The amount might be available on http://www.keralamvd.gov.in. Maybe they even have e-payment facility.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by Niel@Figo

Hi everyone,

Planning a road trip from Bangalore to Wayanad on 30th Apr with return on 3rd May. Two route options as I understand from the readings above and google maps:

1. Bengaluru - Channapatna - Mysuru - Humpapura - Nisna - Kalpetta

2. Bengaluru - Kanakapura - Harohalli - Nanjangud - Gundlpeta - Sulthan bathery - Kalpetta

We are planning to start at 7am on sunday morning, so kindly suggest which one would be better from time, drive, food and scenic point of view.

Thanks in advance

Route no. 2 is any day better. Post Gundlupet you will cross the Moolehole forest which is quite scenic.

[akhil_007]

Planning to visit wayanad during April end. Have shortlisted the following resorts.
1. Wayanad Silver Woods
2. Green Gates Hotel
3. Wayanad Cybele Hill Resort

Any feedback on which of the above is good?

Please suggest if there are any other good resorts that you would recommend

[binand]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Route no. 2 is any day better.

Kanakapura-Nanjangode is better??

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by binand

Kanakapura-Nanjangode is better??

Correction. I meant Kanakapura-Malavalli-Kollegal-Yellandur-Chamarajanagar-Gundlupet-Bathery (the standard route to Wayanad). Thanks for the pointer

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Correction. I meant Kanakapura-Malavalli-Kollegal-Yellandur-Chamarajanagar-Gundlupet-Bathery (the standard route to Wayanad). Thanks for the pointer

With the new Mysore ring road( the left ring) and the excellent Mysore - Nanjangud- gundlepet stretch, the kollegal - chamrajnagar route does not have any significant advantage any more. Even if one needs to avoid Mysore road, Kanakapura - malavalli - Bannur- Mysore - Gundlepet is the better choice. Things may change once the toll collection starts on the Mysore- Bandipur stretch.