[gypsyFreak]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

... Looks a good option, if the roads in the last stretch are decent. I do have some time in front of me ( the trip is two months away ) to make a call :-)

I drive regularly between Mysore to Belur cross on this route, that is about 90-95 KMs and road is good.

I will be taking Hiriyur - Mysore on my return leg from Goa. Will update you on the condition.

[gypsyFreak]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

Looks a good option, if the roads in the last stretch are decent. I do have some time in front of me ( the trip is two months away ) to make a call :-)

As mentioned in my previous post, took this route on last Saturday (Oct 29).
Started from Hubli at 11:15 am and reached Hiriyur by 2:45 pm (3.5 hrs for 265 KMs) with detours into Ranibennur and Chitradurga.
From Hiriyur reached my in-laws place in Mysore by 6:30 (3 hrs and 45 mins for 220 Kms) with just 1 break for 5 mins.

Road conditions between Hiriyur to Mysore is good with few freshly laid sections. However, road conditions inside towns like Chikkanayakanhalli and few others is bad. Also, you need to watch out for occasional pot holes between Huliyar and Turvekere.
But you can cruise comfortably at 80. Since i drive regularly on this route i was cruising at 100s.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is absolutely no good hotel between Hiriyur and Srirangapatna.

[Bigzero]

Thanks Gypsyfreak. this is very useful! If I budget 4 hours from Hiriyur to Mysore I think my overall drive will be around 14 hours from Pune ( a rough approximation ). Which means that if I start at 4 am I can reach Mysore by nightfall.

[raj.barcode]

Bangalore and pune will be solid 10 hours drive for sure, I drive belgaum-bangalore very often and it takes me 5.5 to 6 hours,(530 km) from my house to belgaum. I did travel in i20 crdi (its very comfortable car) this time around but road from hubli to pune will have more traffic on highway if i am not wrong.

Better stay in kengeri or outside Bangalore, there are some good lodging and boarding facilities there for a night. Most important is to have a peaceful,safe journey

[spiritofdriving]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

Thanks folks for the help!
gypsyfreak, thanks for the options given. Yes the Hiriyur option looks the most logical from a distance perspective in the map... if the 220 km stretch is good then I will possibly take a chance with it. I think if I leave Pune at 4 am, I should be in Hiriyur by around 2 pm. If everything goes well, I should hit Mysore between 7 and 8 pm.
Looks a good option, if the roads in the last stretch are decent. I do have some time in front of me ( the trip is two months away ) to make a call :-)

Hello GypsyFreak,

I am also planning to drive from Pune to Calicut - Me and my friend travelling - most of the driving has to be me because my friend just learned driving.

Please do post your travel experience in this route (Pune - Hubli - Hiniyur - Mysore - Calicut)

My friend wants to visit Mookambika Temple (Kollur) hence on a dilemma whether to take pain of driving through NH 17 or skip Mookambika plan altogether because of bad road conditions?

My car is Fiesta 1.6 SXi - although filling Petrol isn't a major issue, understand that lots (a large number of - emphasizing to indicate am fine with potholes here an there or moderate traffic) of traffic/potholes will significantly reduce my otherwise bad mileage even worse! so this is the core of my NH17 worry.

Any suggestions including alternate route plans are welcome.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by spiritofdriving

Hello GypsyFreak,

I am also planning to drive from Pune to Calicut - Me and my friend travelling - most of the driving has to be me because my friend just learned driving.

Please do post your travel experience in this route (Pune - Hubli - Hiniyur - Mysore - Calicut)

My friend wants to visit Mookambika Temple (Kollur) hence on a dilemma whether to take pain of driving through NH 17 or skip Mookambika plan altogether because of bad road conditions?

My car is Fiesta 1.6 SXi - although filling Petrol isn't a major issue, understand that lots (a large number of - emphasizing to indicate am fine with potholes here an there or moderate traffic) of traffic/potholes will significantly reduce my otherwise bad mileage even worse! so this is the core of my NH17 worry.

Any suggestions including alternate route plans are welcome.

Kollur-Calicut,budget for a 10-12hour drive.Kollur-Kundapur: 1hr.Kundapur-Mangalore:3hours.Mangalore-Calicut:7hours.NH17 is a mess between mangalore & kasargod and even between kannur & kozhikode is no better either.Be prepared for a long haul if you do end up driving the stretch.

[spiritofdriving]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Kollur-Calicut,budget for a 10-12hour drive.Kollur-Kundapur: 1hr.Kundapur-Mangalore:3hours.Mangalore-Calicut:7hours.NH17 is a mess between mangalore & kasargod and even between kannur & kozhikode is no better either.Be prepared for a long haul if you do end up driving the stretch.

I have to no escape I guess.

I had driven on NH17 from Kozhikode to Vadakara in August'11 and absolutely hated it. I was in my Polo and was extremely worried that Ill scrape its front bumper extension (at the bottom of the bumper). Took me more than 2.5 hours to reach Vadakara which is about 60-70 kms. I went Thamarassery - Koyilandy - Vatakara. So sounds like the road is still the same.

I will await BigZero's experience on the other road and his timing end of December to finalize my stoppages and route.

[kala]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Kollur-Calicut,budget for a 10-12hour drive.Kollur-Kundapur: 1hr.Kundapur-Mangalore:3hours.Mangalore-Calicut:7hours.NH17 is a mess between mangalore & kasargod and even between kannur & kozhikode is no better either.Be prepared for a long haul if you do end up driving the stretch.

Is the Mangalore-Kundapur stretch of NH17 also that bad these days ? This distance is only 90 kms, so I'd have expected the time to be more in the range of 1.5 to 2 hours..

[Bigzero]

I am tempted to leg it to Mysore on day 1. An early - say 4 am start is required I guess. That makes the second day's drive much shorter. If everything goes well I should be in Mysore by around 7 pm.

The other option is to stay somewhere on the outskirts of bangalore - you get to distribute the driving load evenly in this case. I have a few more weeks to go before I decide :-)

I believe If I leave Pune by 4 I should be in Hubly by around 10.30 or so. from there, Mysore is 446 km via Hiriyur, and I should be able to cover it in 8 hours. all including breaks.

btw I have done Hyderabad-Calicut in a day some 3-4 times , so I am ok for longish drives -

D-date is 24th Dec, will post updates after that.

[spiritofdriving]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

I am tempted to leg it to Mysore on day 1. An early - say 4 am start is required I guess. That makes the second day's drive much shorter. If everything goes well I should be in Mysore by around 7 pm.
The other option is to stay somewhere on the outskirts of bangalore - you get to distribute the driving load evenly in this case. I have a few more weeks to go before I decide :-)
I believe If I leave Pune by 4 I should be in Hubly by around 10.30 or so. from there, Mysore is 446 km via Hiriyur, and I should be able to cover it in 8 hours. all including breaks.
btw I have done Hyderabad-Calicut in a day some 3-4 times , so I am ok for longish drives -
D-date is 24th Dec, will post updates after that.

Quite eagerly awaiting your experience on this road! I will plan mine post your experience. Hoping you will find time to post it by end of Jan which is when I am traveling.

Thanks in advance.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

...From Gudalur to Nadugani-Vazhikadavu-Nilambur-Edavanna-Areekode-Kozhikode.
...

Ranjit, if I follow a similar route what would be the best option to go to Angamaly/Kochi from Mysore instead of Kozhikkode? If family agrees, even I am planning to drive to Kerala from Pune around Christmas time (bypassing TN).

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Ranjit, if I follow a similar route what would be the best option to go to Angamaly/Kochi from Mysore instead of Kozhikkode? If family agrees, even I am planning to drive to Kerala from Pune around Christmas time (bypassing TN).

Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundulpet-Bandipur-Gudalur-Nadugani Ghats-Vazhikadavu-Nilambur-Wandoor-Pattikad-Perinthalmana-Koppam-Pattambi-Kulappully-Right Turn-Shoranur-Cheruthuruthy-Vazhacode Jn-RTO-Ottupara-Wadakancheri-Kumbalangad-NSS Vyasa College-Kurancheri-Athani-Thrissur-Kuttannellur-Join NH47-Chalakudy-Angamaly.Below is the GM route.

Mysore-Bandipur would take you around 1-1.5hours
Bandipur-Nilambur would take you around 2.5hours
Nilambur-Thrissur via this route should take you around 3-4hours.
Thrissur-Angamaly would take you around 45mins.

Nanjangudu, Karnataka to Chalakudy, Kerala - Google Maps

However this does not avoid TN as you would enter TN at the Bandipur forests and exit Tamilnadu slightly after Gudalur.Not that there are any major problems,but since you mentioned you wanted to avoid TN.

The only route bypassing TN is the one through Muthanga-Batheri-Wayanad-Thamarasserry-Kozhikode-Kunnamkulam-Thrissur-Angamaly.But please bear in mind that Thamarasserry ghats are going to be closed for heavy traffic as ghat repairs are going to resume from Jan1st week for 3 months.So I am sure its going to take you a fair bit of time even now.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

From Mysore the best option would be as follows:

Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundulpet-Bandipur-Gudalur-Nadugani Ghats-Vazhikadavu-Nilambur-Wandoor-Pattikad-Perinthalmana-Koppam-Pattambi-Kulappully-Right Turn-Shoranur-Cheruthuruthy-Vazhacode Jn-RTO-Ottupara-Wadakancheri-Kumbalangad-NSS Vyasa College-Kurancheri-Athani-Thrissur-Kuttannellur-Join NH47-Chalakudy-Angamaly.Below is the GM route.

I thought you said roads around Pattambi are pretty bad. Why not Malapuram/Kottakal?

Route via Malappuram : link

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by ampere

I thought you said roads around Pattambi are pretty bad. Why not Malapuram/Kottakal?

Route via Malappuram : link

Yes pattambi was bad,but most of it is done now.The only downside with the malappuram route is that is highly traffic prone,so might take a fair bit of time.Pattambi route the only traffic dense sector would be between Pattikad & Pattambi.Beyond that is fairly less traffic as opposed to the Malappuram route.But yes,its definitely one more good route.

[spiritofdriving]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

I am tempted to leg it to Mysore on day 1. An early - say 4 am start is required I guess. That makes the second day's drive much shorter. If everything goes well I should be in Mysore by around 7 pm.
I believe If I leave Pune by 4 I should be in Hubly by around 10.30 or so. from there, Mysore is 446 km via Hiriyur, and I should be able to cover it in 8 hours. all including breaks.
D-date is 24th Dec, will post updates after that.

Hello BigZero,
Hope am not bugging you by now - whenever you get time, please update the exact route you took, timings, break locations and an update on general condition of the road.

Since am planning for Jan end Pune to Calicut trip - I am VERY eagerly waiting for this.

Also,
Any latest update on the road conditions of NH17? Exactly how long/far is it bad? Is it bad all the way from Goa to Mangalore to Calicut?