For stay at any Indian Class B / C Cities, try www.stayzilla.com. I used them twice so far and they are fairly accurate in their ratings, customer service and follow up.

I did Bandipur to Nagara Hole few years back via HD Kote. This is an awesome stretch though the roads may not be at its best. There are lot of Home stays and resorts enroute which have come up over last 1-2 years. You could check them out for stay.

Since you have not said anything about how long is your stay at Bandipur / N Hole, its hard to suggest a route which includes a scenic drive and mix of guided tour.

For those who have SUVs, Nagarahole Forest Dept now allows you to drive deep inside with one of their guides at an escalated tarrif. I did this with my Scorpio and its fun. If you can take care of this guide, you could spend some extra hours for animal sighting as well as some good photography.

If you are not in a too much of hurry, try the route from Bandipur via Waynad, Thirunelly, Nagarahole. You have good places for eating through out this stretch.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shimshumara

For stay at any Indian Class B / C Cities, try www.stayzilla.com. I used them twice so far and they are fairly accurate in their ratings, customer service and follow up.

On NH4 (Tumkur/Chitradurga) on searching for hotels, I see one site consistently showing up.

http://naveenregency.com/

Has anyone tried? The site also says they are starting a new hotel at Davangere as well.

[hvkumar]

I would stick to NH4 via Bangalore instead of taking the Hiriyur-Srirangapatna shorter route - the latter having poor signages, being single road all the way & having poor facilities.

It is not difficult to reach Mysore the same day, but that will be a minimum 15 hour journey, not counting breaks.

If you decide to go through Bangalore, you can stay at HOtel Naveen Regency on Tumkur bypass - as ampere has already suggested.

If you decide to go via Mysore, please remember that there are no hotels till you reach Mysore. Before turning off NH4, you may have to stop earlier at Chitradurga itself which has the same Hotel Naveen Regency and also Hotel Ravi Mayur, both on the bypass (but do not take the elevated road Chitradurga bypass).

HUnsur-Nagarahole-Kutta road closes at 6 pm & has wildlife crossings.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I would stick to NH4 via Bangalore instead of taking the Hiriyur-Srirangapatna shorter route - the latter having poor signages, being single road all the way & having poor facilities.

+1. Thats the very reason, I also did not want to suggest that route for first timers. Simply because, if one gets delayed on the route, there just no way he can easily find a place for the night. For that reason alone, taking NH4 is way better. There are towns like Chitradurga, Davangere, Tumkur etc, where one can break journey.

Unless of course one is confident of the route through the 2-lanes.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I would stick to NH4 via Bangalore instead of taking the Hiriyur-Srirangapatna shorter route - the latter having poor signages, being single road all the way & having poor facilities.

It is not difficult to reach Mysore the same day, but that will be a minimum 15 hour journey, not counting breaks.

If you decide to go through Bangalore, you can stay at HOtel Naveen Regency on Tumkur bypass - as ampere has already suggested.

If you decide to go via Mysore, please remember that there are no hotels till you reach Mysore. Before turning off NH4, you may have to stop earlier at Chitradurga itself which has the same Hotel Naveen Regency and also Hotel Ravi Mayur, both on the bypass (but do not take the elevated road Chitradurga bypass).



HUnsur-Nagarahole-Kutta road closes at 6 pm & has wildlife crossings.

Small typo corrected. In the Para above, where Mysore is highlighted, please read as Hiriyur-Srirangapatna.

If I were to drive from Mumbai to visit Nagarahole / Bandipur I would consider taking the West Coast Road all the way from Mumbai to Mangalore (NH17) and then go South East towards Coorg / Madikeri. Nagarahole is just ~1200 kms, which is almost the same as if you drive via NH4( via BLR or otherwise).

I have not driven Mumbai to Panjim / Vasco, but rest of the stretch is beautiful and the road condition is good. You have ample places to stay through out the this course. Approx distances: Mumbai-Mapusa : 540kms, Mapusa - Mangalore:400, Mangalore - Madikeri: 140, Madikeri - Nagarahole: 90. Total 1170.

You could then go to Bandipur and return via Mysore / Bangalore if you like. By doing this you would not be retracing your path and getting the best of the scenic routes of KA.

If you were to chose NH17, some of the places you could visit with a stop over of 15-20 mins are - Karwar Bridge @ Sadashivgad, Unexplored beaches of Karwar right in the town, Murdeshwara (10kms towards the sea), Maravante Beach @ Kundapura, where you have a stretch of 2 kms with sea on one side and river on the other, lots of beach till you reach Mangalore which are just 5-6 kms off the NH, a nights stay at Madikeri will surely be memorable, as its referred to as the Switzerland of South India. You got lots of homestays you could explore. the stretch from Mangalore towards Madikeri and to Nagarahole is all one huge chunk of Forest area, and the drive is very scenic.

I am suggesting this if and only if you do not want to retrace your path back to Mumbai on the same NH4.

[911er]

Originally Posted by shimshumara

For stay at any Indian Class B / C Cities, try www.stayzilla.com. I used them twice so far and they are fairly accurate in their ratings, customer service and follow up.

I did Bandipur to Nagara Hole few years back via HD Kote. This is an awesome stretch though the roads may not be at its best. There are lot of Home stays and resorts enroute which have come up over last 1-2 years. You could check them out for stay.

Since you have not said anything about how long is your stay at Bandipur / N Hole, its hard to suggest a route which includes a scenic drive and mix of guided tour.

For those who have SUVs, Nagarahole Forest Dept now allows you to drive deep inside with one of their guides at an escalated tarrif. I did this with my Scorpio and its fun. If you can take care of this guide, you could spend some extra hours for animal sighting as well as some good photography.

If you are not in a too much of hurry, try the route from Bandipur via Waynad, Thirunelly, Nagarahole. You have good places for eating through out this stretch.

Thanks for the website. We're planning an 8 day trip, Bandipur for 3 nights and Nagarhole for 2 nights and 3 days for travel. The only reason I'm not considering home stays is because there might be a problem with booking safaris and some of the resorts I saw are out of my budget.

The Bandipur NP website says they only have 15 vehicles and we'd like to do both safaris every day so that's our priority.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I would stick to NH4 via Bangalore instead of taking the Hiriyur-Srirangapatna shorter route - the latter having poor signages, being single road all the way & having poor facilities.

It is not difficult to reach Mysore the same day, but that will be a minimum 15 hour journey, not counting breaks.

If you decide to go through Bangalore, you can stay at HOtel Naveen Regency on Tumkur bypass - as ampere has already suggested.

If you decide to go via Mysore, please remember that there are no hotels till you reach Mysore. Before turning off NH4, you may have to stop earlier at Chitradurga itself which has the same Hotel Naveen Regency and also Hotel Ravi Mayur, both on the bypass (but do not take the elevated road Chitradurga bypass).

Hunsur-Nagarahole-Kutta road closes at 6 pm & has wildlife crossings.

Thanks for the headsup about the signages and the wildlife crossing. I had no idea and would've been in trouble otherwise. I was earlier planning to drive to Hubli but now I'd like to go further. Does stopping at Tumkur make sense? I'd like to complete a major chunk of driving on the first day and reach Bandipur by lunch the next day and for that Tumkur seems to be the best option.

Originally Posted by ampere

+1. Thats the very reason, I also did not want to suggest that route for first timers. Simply because, if one gets delayed on the route, there just no way he can easily find a place for the night. For that reason alone, taking NH4 is way better. There are towns like Chitradurga, Davangere, Tumkur etc, where one can break journey.

Unless of course one is confident of the route through the 2-lanes.

I'm ok with driving on a 2 lane road but if their aren't adequate signages on the road nor places to stay the night, I don't think it's a good idea since I've never driven those roads before. How about I stop the night at Tumkur and continue the next morning?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by shimshumara

If I were to drive from Mumbai to visit Nagarahole / Bandipur I would consider taking the West Coast Road all the way from Mumbai to Mangalore (NH17) and then go South East towards Coorg / Madikeri. Nagarahole is just ~1200 kms, which is almost the same as if you drive via NH4( via BLR or otherwise).

More than the beauty of the road, 2-lane drive can tire you out too. Off course if you want to enjoy places on the way its a different deal. But if you are looking at end destination; 4-lane is the fastest. South of Ankola/Honnavar roads are not all that great. Add to it traffic on the 2-lane increases quite a bit beyond that point.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by shimshumara

If I were to drive from Mumbai to visit Nagarahole / Bandipur I would consider taking the West Coast Road all the way from Mumbai to Mangalore (NH17) and then go South East towards Coorg / Madikeri. Nagarahole is just ~1200 kms, which is almost the same as if you drive via NH4( via BLR or otherwise).

I have not driven Mumbai to Panjim / Vasco, but rest of the stretch is beautiful and the road condition is good. You have ample places to stay through out the this course. Approx distances: Mumbai-Mapusa : 540kms, Mapusa - Mangalore:400, Mangalore - Madikeri: 140, Madikeri - Nagarahole: 90. Total 1170.

You could then go to Bandipur and return via Mysore / Bangalore if you like. By doing this you would not be retracing your path and getting the best of the scenic routes of KA.

If you were to chose NH17, some of the places you could visit with a stop over of 15-20 mins are - Karwar Bridge @ Sadashivgad, Unexplored beaches of Karwar right in the town, Murdeshwara (10kms towards the sea), Maravante Beach @ Kundapura, where you have a stretch of 2 kms with sea on one side and river on the other, lots of beach till you reach Mangalore which are just 5-6 kms off the NH, a nights stay at Madikeri will surely be memorable, as its referred to as the Switzerland of South India. You got lots of homestays you could explore. the stretch from Mangalore towards Madikeri and to Nagarahole is all one huge chunk of Forest area, and the drive is very scenic.

I am suggesting this if and only if you do not want to retrace your path back to Mumbai on the same NH4.

While the coastal route is definitely the more interesting one, please bear in mind the following:

1. Road widening is on between Kundapura & Udupi on NH17
2. Heavy traffic on NH17 from Kundapura till Mangalore, especially during morning & evening hours
3. Bad roads between Puttur & Madikeri

[911er]

Firstly, thank you everyone for all the help. I really really appreciate it.

I quite liked Shimshumara's idea of taking the coastal road but after reading hvkumar's post about road widening work, traffic and bad roads, I felt it would be better to take that route on my way back so if I'm delayed in any way, I don't miss out on safaris.

Also, since this is my first time driving in the state, I'd prefer to take the NH4 to Tumkur rather than going for the Hiriyur-Srirangapatna route.

After taking your advice into consideration and keeping my limitations in mind, this is what I came up with.

Day 1: Mumbai to Tumkur - 926KM - 13 Hours
Day 2: Tumkur to Bandipur - 230KM - 05 Hours
Day 3: In & around Bandipur
Day 4: Bandipur to Nagarhole - 122KM - 05 Hours
Day 5: In & around Nagarhole
Day 6: In & around Nagarhole
Day 7: Nagarhole to Panjim - 594KM - 13 Hours
Day 8: Panjim to Mumbai - 592KM - 11 Hours

The route on a map

All these distances are from Google Maps and I'm considering them as approximate. For the drive times, I added 1 hour to what the estimated time was.

What do you'll think? Have I covered everything correctly?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by 911er

Day 7: Nagarhole to Panjim - 594KM - 13 Hours
What do you'll think? Have I covered everything correctly?

For the above stretch, I would say take the following:

Nagarhole - Hunsur-Holenarasipur-Hassan-Arasekere-Shimoga-Honnavar-Ankoala-Karwar-Goa.

Basically avoid NH17 down South. Take the NH206 up to where it meets NH17 at Honnavar and then continue on NH17 to Goa.
The roads via Hunsur/Hassan and around NH206 are in very good condition. They are also very scenic.

Route Link

[balan]

Originally Posted by 911er

Day 1: Mumbai to Tumkur - 926KM - 13 Hours
Day 2: Tumkur to Bandipur - 230KM - 05 Hours
Day 3: In & around Bandipur
Day 4: Bandipur to Nagarhole - 122KM - 05 Hours
Day 5: In & around Nagarhole
Day 6: In & around Nagarhole
Day 7: Nagarhole to Panjim - 594KM - 13 Hours
Day 8: Panjim to Mumbai - 592KM - 11 Hours

I presume you are staying in bandipur forest guest house. Nothing to beat it. Presently Bandipur / Mudumalai is bone dry and forest dept is filling water in tankers, unloading at the water holes and hence most of the days you have "wildlife" sightings. Especially in the evening second trips.
Nagarhole also you can book forest rest house through Mysore Aranya Bhavan at 0821 2480901. Suggest cut one day at Nagarhole and add in Bandipur.
Even if you dont see any predators, ask the safari driver to take the minister gutti road around 6:15 pm when they exit, you can see a big forest eagle owl. Check for Driver Mujeeb's van in Bandipur.
If you are into birds, then drive through the nagarhole forest along the roads during late evenings / early mornings and you can do a lot of spotting.
Personally I prefer the Bandipur - Sultan Bathery - Manathavady - Kattikulam - Tholpetty - Kutta - Nagarhole route as you can cover 3 sanctuaries in a single drive.
Making nagarhole forest guest house your base, you can cover Irupu falls, tholpetty wildlife sanctuary (closed now till April 14th), Tirunelli temple
Better follow Ampere's suggestion on the Nagarhole - Panajim route.
Best regards
Bala

[911er]

Originally Posted by ampere

For the above stretch, I would say take the following:

Nagarhole - Hunsur-Holenarasipur-Hassan-Arasekere-Shimoga-Honnavar-Ankoala-Karwar-Goa.

Basically avoid NH17 down South. Take the NH206 up to where it meets NH17 at Honnavar and then continue on NH17 to Goa.
The roads via Hunsur/Hassan and around NH206 are in very good condition. They are also very scenic.

Route Link

Noted. Thank you.

Originally Posted by balan

I presume you are staying in bandipur forest guest house. Nothing to beat it. Presently Bandipur / Mudumalai is bone dry and forest dept is filling water in tankers, unloading at the water holes and hence most of the days you have "wildlife" sightings. Especially in the evening second trips.
Nagarhole also you can book forest rest house through Mysore Aranya Bhavan at 0821 2480901. Suggest cut one day at Nagarhole and add in Bandipur.
Even if you dont see any predators, ask the safari driver to take the minister gutti road around 6:15 pm when they exit, you can see a big forest eagle owl. Check for Driver Mujeeb's van in Bandipur.
If you are into birds, then drive through the nagarhole forest along the roads during late evenings / early mornings and you can do a lot of spotting.
Personally I prefer the Bandipur - Sultan Bathery - Manathavady - Kattikulam - Tholpetty - Kutta - Nagarhole route as you can cover 3 sanctuaries in a single drive.
Making nagarhole forest guest house your base, you can cover Irupu falls, tholpetty wildlife sanctuary (closed now till April 14th), Tirunelli temple
Better follow Ampere's suggestion on the Nagarhole - Panajim route.
Best regards
Bala

Hi, thanks for the contact number and info, I'll add it to my itinerary. Yes, I'm planning to stay at the Forest Guest House at both places. Primarily chose this as it's the safest bet to get a car for safaris.

Currently, I get 4 safaris at both parks. You feel I should do more than that at Bandipur? People did tell me that I'll get better sightings at Bandipur than Nagarhole, but I thought I'd do a couple of boat safaris there as well, hence the extra day there. Have you done those? Are they any good?

I'm going in May so I think by then the water shortage should be sorted but I'm hoping for good sightings any way, given the heat at the time.

[balan]

Originally Posted by 911er

Noted. Thank you.



Hi, thanks for the contact number and info, I'll add it to my itinerary. Yes, I'm planning to stay at the Forest Guest House at both places. Primarily chose this as it's the safest bet to get a car for safaris.

Currently, I get 4 safaris at both parks. You feel I should do more than that at Bandipur? People did tell me that I'll get better sightings at Bandipur than Nagarhole, but I thought I'd do a couple of boat safaris there as well, hence the extra day there. Have you done those? Are they any good?

I'm going in May so I think by then the water shortage should be sorted but I'm hoping for good sightings any way, given the heat at the time.

You need to book in advance with the FD to stay at their locations. And May being peak season, book exactly 30 days before the check in date when the reservations open.

Nagarhole there are 2 options. You stay with the private operators or Jungle Lodges, (All are costly and located on the Kabini dam side) then you can get the boat ride option with some resorts located right on the dam backwaters.
If you stay in the FD guest house, then you stay inside the forest, no boat safari. Both are totally different locations. Like right and left side of the huge national park
Best regards
Bala

[911er]

Originally Posted by balan

You need to book in advance with the FD to stay at their locations. And May being peak season, book exactly 30 days before the check in date when the reservations open.

Nagarhole there are 2 options. You stay with the private operators or Jungle Lodges, (All are costly and located on the Kabini dam side) then you can get the boat ride option with some resorts located right on the dam backwaters.
If you stay in the FD guest house, then you stay inside the forest, no boat safari. Both are totally different locations. Like right and left side of the huge national park
Best regards
Bala

Ok, I thought those were different locations at Nagarhole but no one till now had confirmed it. I saw some of the private resorts there, they're too expensive and for me it's a waste of money, I'd rather spend a few more days there than live in a resort. So, I'm going to give up on the boat safaris for now. If once there I find a way to take one, then I will. Tentatively I leave in the first week of May so I'll start inquiring about the reservations by next week. Thanks for the heads-up on the 30 days.