[911er]

Hello everyone!
I'm planning a trip in May, Mumbai - Bandipur - Nagarhole - Mumbai. I had initially planned to drive to Bangalore on the first day and head to Bandipur (~220KM) the next morning. But I was told that I didn't need to drive all the way to Bangalore but instead divert to Mysore (taking the golden quadrilateral?) and continue from there.

Which would be a better route, via Bangalore, Mysore or some place else? Also, it's my first trip to South India and I'm not too keen on driving in the night, so is reaching any of these two cities possible before sunset? I'm ok with leaving at 3AM-4AM.

Also how are the roads from Bangalore/Mysore to Bandipur and from Bandipur to Nagarhole? How long would the drive be?

Please help!

[kala]

Originally Posted by 911er

Hello everyone!
I'm planning a trip in May, Mumbai - Bandipur - Nagarhole - Mumbai. I had initially planned to drive to Bangalore on the first day and head to Bandipur (~220KM) the next morning. But I was told that I didn't need to drive all the way to Bangalore but instead divert to Mysore (taking the golden quadrilateral?) and continue from there.

Which would be a better route, via Bangalore, Mysore or some place else? Also, it's my first trip to South India and I'm not too keen on driving in the night, so is reaching any of these two cities possible before sunset? I'm ok with leaving at 3AM-4AM.

Also how are the roads from Bangalore/Mysore to Bandipur and from Bandipur to Nagarhole? How long would the drive be?

Please help!

For Mumbai to Mysore routing, please refer to the following threads :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...te-option.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...e-options.html

The Mysore-Bandipur road is excellent. To get to Nagarahole from Bandipur, the shortest may be Gundlupet-Begur-Sargur-HDKote-Nagarahole, but I'm not sure of the road conditions - roads may not be in great shape. The alternate route via Kerala (Bandipur-Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery-Mananthavady-Kutta-Nagarahole) may perhaps be the better option.

[Figopian]

You have a couple of options
1. Go straight to Bangalore on NH4, take the NICE road to Mysore - Very good road, peace of mind drive
2. Take a right from Hiriyur and take the internal road to Shrirangpattana, Mysore. Depending on how fast you can drive you may save time and distance. The only thing is this is a single road with lots of very high speed breakers and almost no options to eat.

From Mysore to Bandipur the road is nice. Refer the first thread that kala suggested above for more details

[911er]

Originally Posted by kala

For Mumbai to Mysore routing, please refer to the following threads :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...te-option.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...e-options.html

The Mysore-Bandipur road is excellent. To get to Nagarahole from Bandipur, the shortest may be Gundlupet-Begur-Sargur-HDKote-Nagarahole, but I'm not sure of the road conditions - roads may not be in great shape. The alternate route via Kerala (Bandipur-Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery-Mananthavady-Kutta-Nagarahole) may perhaps be the better option.

Thank you so much! So driving via Mysore is a better option than Bangalore? Also, while checking online for the Bandipur-Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery-Mananthavady-Kutta-Nagarahole route, it says it'll take around 3.5 hours. Is it so or will it take more time?

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by 911er

Thank you so much! So driving via Mysore is a better option than Bangalore? Also, while checking online for the Bandipur-Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery-Mananthavady-Kutta-Nagarahole route, it says it'll take around 3.5 hours. Is it so or will it take more time?

Yes 911er, driving via Mysore is better and the from Bandipur to Nagerhole drive will take around 3.5 - 4 hours. Its very scenic as well.

[kala]

Originally Posted by 911er

Thank you so much! So driving via Mysore is a better option than Bangalore?

I think the option of deviating off the National Highway at Hiriyur will save you about 100 kms in terms of distance, so may save you some time. If you prefer driving on 4 lane all the way, you can take the NICE road to bypass Bangalore, but beware that the Bangalore-Mysore SH17 though 4 lane sees heavy traffic and has a lot of speedbreakers also.

Also, while checking online for the Bandipur-Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery-Mananthavady-Kutta-Nagarahole route, it says it'll take around 3.5 hours. Is it so or will it take more time?

3.5 hours may be slightly optimistic since a lot of the road passes through Bandipur , Wayanad , Tholpetty and Nagarahole wild life sanctuaries and you wouldn't want to drive too fast on these roads (And there are a lot of speed breakers too). I'd think 4 to 4.5 hours may be a more realistic estimate.

[911er]

Originally Posted by Figopian

You have a couple of options
1. Go straight to Bangalore on NH4, take the NICE road to Mysore - Very good road, peace of mind drive
2. Take a right from Hiriyur and take the internal road to Shrirangpattana, Mysore. Depending on how fast you can drive you may save time and distance. The only thing is this is a single road with lots of very high speed breakers and almost no options to eat.

From Mysore to Bandipur the road is nice. Refer the first thread that kala suggested above for more details

Thanks, I'm just going through that thread. Lot's to read. I'll be taking a Fiesta so speed would be at the most 110-120 on the highways. But since I read about the speed breakers and you mentioned them too, I'm guessing speeding is out of the question on the interior roads but that's ok.

One question though, I'm not to keen on driving at night, so is it possible to reach Mysore latest by 8PM if I leave from Mumbai (Western suburbs) at 4AM? If not, what would be a good place to stay the night?

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Yes 911er, driving via Mysore is better and the from Bandipur to Nagerhole drive will take around 3.5 - 4 hours. Its very scenic as well.

Thank you. I was hoping it wouldn't take more time. If everything works out, we'll be well in time for the evening safari.

Originally Posted by kala

I think the option of deviating off the National Highway at Hiriyur will save you about 100 kms in terms of distance, so may save you some time. If you prefer driving on 4 lane all the way, you can take the NICE road to bypass Bangalore, but beware that the Bangalore-Mysore SH17 though 4 lane sees heavy traffic and has a lot of speedbreakers also.

Thank you so much, will keep this in mind. Even on the other thread I read about deviating from Hiriyur so I guess this is the route of choice.

3.5 hours may be slightly optimistic since a lot of the road passes through Bandipur , Wayanad , Tholpetty and Nagarahole wild life sanctuaries and you wouldn't want to drive too fast on these roads (And there are a lot of speed breakers too). I'd think 4 to 4.5 hours may be a more realistic estimate.

4.5 hours is good too. Just need to be there in time for the evening safari. But since the road goes through wildlife sanctuaries, I think the route itself would be a joy to drive on.

Thank you so much for all the help! Really appreciate it.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by 911er

One question though, I'm not to keen on driving at night, so is it possible to reach Mysore latest by 8PM if I leave from Mumbai (Western suburbs) at 4AM? If not, what would be a good place to stay the night?

If you are not able to make it to Mysore, I would say break at Tumkur. And the next day start early and go via NICE and Mysore road.

[911er]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you are not able to make it to Mysore, I would say break at Tumkur. And the next day start early and go via NICE and Mysore road.

Thanks. Just what I needed to know. Could you suggest a good hotel near the highway, please?

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you are not able to make it to Mysore, I would say break at Tumkur. And the next day start early and go via NICE and Mysore road.

+1.

If at all you decide to stay at Tumkur, another option is to travel via Kanakpura>Malavalli>Kollegal>Chamarajanagara>Gulde pet>Bandipur. There are absolutely no humps, road is scenic and much faster.

[Figopian]

Originally Posted by 911er

Thanks, I'm just going through that thread. Lot's to read. I'll be taking a Fiesta so speed would be at the most 110-120 on the highways. But since I read about the speed breakers and you mentioned them too, I'm guessing speeding is out of the question on the interior roads but that's ok.

One question though, I'm not to keen on driving at night, so is it possible to reach Mysore latest by 8PM if I leave from Mumbai (Western suburbs) at 4AM? If not, what would be a good place to stay the night?



Thank you. I was hoping it wouldn't take more time. If everything works out, we'll be well in time for the evening safari.

I started from Kolhapur at 6:00 AM and reach Mysore at 4:00 PM. Though I would say it is possible to reach before that. I was driving a Figo!
You could break your journey at Kolhapur, Belgaum or Hubli depending upon how long you want to drive in one stretch if you start all the way from Mumbai. I think Hubli (Or Dharwad) would be a good option but do not know if any good option there. If you go beyond this then I think you should go all the way to Mysore, but I will then not recommend the internal road. Not because it is risky, but its hard to locate those nasty speedbreakers and easy to miss a few turns. The GPS doesn't always work there (GPS in the smartphone)

[ampere]

As mentioned in the other thread (Pune-Mysore), if you are keen taking the 2-lanes, then as Figopian said, try to make it to Hubli by the first day.
The second day you can do Hubli-Hiriyur-Huliyar-Turuvekere-Nagamangala-Pandavpura-Srirangapatna-Mysore.

Route Link

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by ampere

As mentioned in the other thread (Pune-Mysore), if you are keen taking the 2-lanes, then as Figopian said, try to make it to Hubli by the first day.
The second day you can do Hubli-Hiriyur-Huliyar-Turuvekere-Nagamangala-Pandavpura-Srirangapatna-Mysore.

I vouch for this route. Even though the road from Hiruyur till Mysore is 1+1 lane, there is hardly any traffic and the condition of road is good; completely asphalt road, so I feel it to be better than NH4. I had driven on this route, while driving from Mysore to Pune (902 km). If you are driving alone, it will be very tiring to drive Mumbai-Bandipur stretch in a single day, as it will be over 1,200 km. You can break journey at Hubli, in case required.

[911er]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

+1.

If at all you decide to stay at Tumkur, another option is to travel via Kanakpura>Malavalli>Kollegal>Chamarajanagara>Gulde pet>Bandipur. There are absolutely no humps, road is scenic and much faster.

Thanks, will keep this in mind.

Originally Posted by Figopian

I started from Kolhapur at 6:00 AM and reach Mysore at 4:00 PM. Though I would say it is possible to reach before that. I was driving a Figo!
You could break your journey at Kolhapur, Belgaum or Hubli depending upon how long you want to drive in one stretch if you start all the way from Mumbai. I think Hubli (Or Dharwad) would be a good option but do not know if any good option there. If you go beyond this then I think you should go all the way to Mysore, but I will then not recommend the internal road. Not because it is risky, but its hard to locate those nasty speedbreakers and easy to miss a few turns. The GPS doesn't always work there (GPS in the smartphone)

Yeah, that's what even I think. Making it all the way to Mysore on the first day doesn't seem very wise. I think I'll try to make it to Tumkur as dhanushs suggested and if I feel it's going to get too late, then stop at Hubli instead.

Originally Posted by ampere

As mentioned in the other thread (Pune-Mysore), if you are keen taking the 2-lanes, then as Figopian said, try to make it to Hubli by the first day.
The second day you can do Hubli-Hiriyur-Huliyar-Turuvekere-Nagamangala-Pandavpura-Srirangapatna-Mysore.

Route Link

Thank you so much for mapping that out. Really appreciate it. I think Hubli for now seems to be the best place though I'll try to make it to Tumkur so I have to drive less on the second day. (I'd ideally like to make it to Bandipur by ~2PM.)

Originally Posted by sa_kiran

I vouch for this route. Even though the road from Hiruyur till Mysore is 1+1 lane, there is hardly any traffic and the condition of road is good; completely asphalt road, so I feel it to be better than NH4. I had driven on this route, while driving from Mysore to Pune (902 km). If you are driving alone, it will be very tiring to drive Mumbai-Bandipur stretch in a single day, as it will be over 1,200 km. You can break journey at Hubli, in case required.

Thanks. I have a friend coming with me but we're still not keen on driving all the way at a stretch. We drove to Gir last year (~950KM) and it took us 18 hours. It gets too tiring. So for now Hubli seems to be the place to take a halt.

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by 911er

Thanks. I have a friend coming with me but we're still not keen on driving all the way at a stretch. We drove to Gir last year (~950KM) and it took us 18 hours. It gets too tiring. So for now Hubli seems to be the place to take a halt.

Ananth Residency, in Hubli is a very decent place for overnight stay. Cost is very reasonable and they have a decent restaurant. I stayed there during last April once earlier as well. No complaints. They take booking over phone.