[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by suresheadala

I suggest Hyd - Raichur - Sindhanur - Gangawati - Koppal - Hubli - Goa route.
If you choose this route for return journey, I suggest you to start early in Goa so that you can cover Raichur - Jadcharla stretch in day light.

Is the whole Raichur - Jadcherla road in bad shape with pot holes or is it only the stretch from the Krishna river bridge to the border which is in bad shape?
Thanks!

[suresheadala]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

Is the whole Raichur - Jadcherla road in bad shape with pot holes or is it only the stretch from the Krishna river bridge to the border which is in bad shape?
Thanks!

Not the whole road between Raichur and Jadcherla.
As you said river bridge to border and few small stretches. Even these stretches not in bad condition, but few potholes here and there.

[enragz]

Thank u suresheadala / gajadonga for such a detailed and quick response.

Originally Posted by suresheadala

I went to Goa recently(27th Sep - 2nd Oct).

Forward Route -Hyderabad-Zaheerabad-Humnabad-Gulbarga-Jewargi-Bijapur-Athani-Chikodi-Gandiglaj-Ajra-Amboli Ghat-Sawantwadi-Calangute(North Goa).

I intend to be in North Goa for the first few days and hence am considering the above route or the route through Solapur - Kolhapur.

The route you mentioned is about 715 km (Google Maps)

If I go through Solapur - Kolhapur and then Gandiglaj-Ajra-Amboli Ghat-Sawantwadi then the map says it will be 720 km. There are two reasons this route is tempting me:
- I recently went to Mahableshwar and Humnabad to Solapur stretch was pretty good. In fact it took me 3.5 hrs from Hyderabad to get to Solapur.
- I am thinking since Solapur to Kolhapur is a NH (204) this might be in better condition. Of course that cannot be taken for granted, but let me post a query and see if we get a response on that.

Originally Posted by gajadonga

Hyd - Raichur - Sindhanur - Gangawati - Koppal - Hubli - Karwar - Goa route.
This route is a good route and I use this when going to Goa

Last couple for days we plan to be South Goa. Am thinking that this route would be good for the return journey. Map say that this route will be about 721 KM, so that will work well.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by enragz

The route you mentioned is about 715 km (Google Maps)

If I go through Solapur - Kolhapur and then Gandiglaj-Ajra-Amboli Ghat-Sawantwadi then the map says it will be 720 km. There are two reasons this route is tempting me:
- I recently went to Mahableshwar and Humnabad to Solapur stretch was pretty good. In fact it took me 3.5 hrs from Hyderabad to get to Solapur.
- I am thinking since Solapur to Kolhapur is a NH (204) this might be in better condition. Of course that cannot be taken for granted, but let me post a query and see if we get a response on that.

Solapur-Mangalwedha-Sangole Circle-Sangli-Kolhpur should be your route if you decide on this route.Would take you around 4-4.5hrs for the 230kms.From there to Mapusa-Candolim would take you another 4-4.5hrs via Nipani-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Mapusa.

On your return for a stress free drive I would suggest you stay at Hubli and start from Hubli the next day morning

[pow3r2dawh33ls]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Solapur-Mangalwedha-Sangole Circle-Sangli-Kolhpur should be your route if you decide on this route.Would take you around 4-4.5hrs for the 230kms.From there to Mapusa-Candolim would take you another 4-4.5hrs via Nipani-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Mapusa.

On your return for a stress free drive I would suggest you stay at Hubli and start from Hubli the next day morning

Folks - am planning a drive next weekend to North Goa and have short listed this route as well. Would it be okay to take this up in one shot? I.e. no stays but short breaks for lunch / coffee?

I will have my wife and 9 year old with me, are experienced highway trippers and will be driving in a Rapid.

[enragz]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Solapur-Mangalwedha-Sangole Circle-Sangli-Kolhpur should be your route if you decide on this route.Would take you around 4-4.5hrs for the 230kms.

Ranjit, how is this stretch. Road Conditions ? Traffic ? I was looking around for info and it appears that Sangli to Kolhapur, the traffic is really bad !

Now i am thinking about Solapur Bijapur and then get back on the documented track.

Looks like we are spoilt for options !

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by enragz

Ranjit, how is this stretch. Road Conditions ? Traffic ? I was looking around for info and it appears that Sangli to Kolhapur, the traffic is really bad !

Now i am thinking about Solapur Bijapur and then get back on the documented track.

Looks like we are spoilt for options !

Roads are average nothing of the expressway or the gq conditions.Speeds of 60-80kph.Sangli to NH4 at Kolhapur is just about 45kms and even with worst traffic conditions shouldnt take more than 60-80mins,not much of a delay this timing iMO.If you are going via Bijapur why would you go to solapur at all?You have the good Homnabad-Gulbarga-Bijapur-Nipani route which is also good.For an overnighter you have Hotel Pearl at Bijapur(strictly budget)

[enragz]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

If you are going via Bijapur why would you go to solapur at all?You have the good Homnabad-Gulbarga-Bijapur-Nipani route which is also good.For an overnighter you have Hotel Pearl at Bijapur(strictly budget)

suresheadala says in an earlier post "Bridge under repair near Gulbargs, traffic diverted. Did 30-40 km of offroading. Took more then One and half hours to cover that distance. "
Was wanting to avoid this patch. He traveled through this route on 27th Sep, so not that far back.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by enragz

suresheadala says in an earlier post "Bridge under repair near Gulbargs, traffic diverted. Did 30-40 km of offroading. Took more then One and half hours to cover that distance. "
Was wanting to avoid this patch. He traveled through this route on 27th Sep, so not that far back.

Ok,but coming back to Bijapur all the way from Solapur is not a great thing that too along NH13!

[blackbeast]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

Is the whole Raichur - Jadcherla road in bad shape with pot holes or is it only the stretch from the Krishna river bridge to the border which is in bad shape?
Thanks!

This stretch is about 125 kms and can be covered in 2.5 hrs in the night. 2 hrs during the day. its been repaired sometime ago and hence in decent shape.

[Fiest@DuraTec]

Originally Posted by enragz

Hey, i am planning to drive from hyderabad to goa on 24th Oct. How did your trip go. What route did you take and how are the road conditions.

Man, I had a hard time. Here are the details:

The route I took was Hyderabad-Zaheerabad-Humnabad-Gulbarga-Jewargi-Bijapur-Athani-Chikodi-Gandiglaj-Ajra-Amboli Ghat-Sawantwadi-Calangute.

Hyderabad-Zaheerabad - Good roads, a little broken up in patches here and there because of the rain, but not a problem.

Zaheerabad-Humnabad - Bad bad patch, there is concrete all over, road is totally broken up post rains, shame its NH9.

Humnabad - Gulbarga - This is where you leave NH9 and start on NH218. NH218 overall is excellent. As 'suresheadala' has mentioned below, there is a bridge broken on this route and you have to pass through a village which is more or less like the Zah-Hum route, very narrow, broken up like hell. It took me close to 1.5-2 hrs to cover this road. This is meant to be a bypass meant for 5 kms or so of Humnabad-Gulbarga highway, so you can say I lost 2 hours because of this. If you take this out, the Humnabad - Gulbarga highway is a bliss to drive, beautiful beautiful country road...excellent tarmac.

Gulbarga - Jevargi - Again NH218, excellent tarmac, no issues at all. 45 odd kms, can be done very easily in 40-45 mins.

Jevargi - Bijapur - Same, NH218 - brilliant road, very sparse traffic. You can blast away on this route and can cover around 125 kms easily in 1.5 hours.

Bijapur - Athani - Good condition, state highway 12. Around 75 kms with some potholes here and there, can be done in 1 hr 20 mins or so.

Athani - Chikkodi - Gadhinglaj - Road is again good, look out for the diversion through NH4 for Gadhinglaj, its a little tricky. Better ask some locals.

Gadhinglaj - Gavse(ajra) - Road is not so good, broken post rains.

Ajra - Amboli Ghat - Again, road is not so good, you will sometimes see a butter smooth tarmac on this route, but don't get overexcited, after a small one, you will land in front of potholes covered with red bricks, be careful.

Amboli - Sawantwadi - Very good and very bad, both in patches. But a real beautiful drive. You must experince this if you haven't already. (Ghat roads).

Sawantwadi - Calangute - Excellent, rip across it but be careful as there is a lot of traffic here.

If you're taking this route I would suggest you to start really early, say 3 or so. I covered this route in 12 hours(driving time), started at 5, reached at 7 at my hotel after a lot of photography breaks, offroading for around 2 hours and in the end searching for my hotel for around half an hour.

Can you believe after encountering pathetic roads in patches on this route, I did not take the alternate route via Hubli - Gangawati - Raichur. Reason - Amboli Ghats !!

However, on my return journey, I sweared I would not go through that village between Gulbarga and Humnabad. I took a risk of trusting on Karnataka roads and boy I was not disappointed at all.

After reaching Gulbarga, I asked around for an alternate route to Hyderabad. I was told about Gulbarga - Sedam - Pargi which will later touch the Vikarabad highway. I took it, and rushed towards Sedam from Gulbarga. There is a toll on SH10 and dude believe me, this SH10 from Karnataka can put plenty of our National highways to utter shame. I did not encounter a single pothole, excellently marked directions and butter smooth.

Now here starts the horror, 8 kms or so of NO ROAD after it, right on KN-AP border. Some potholes are big enough to swallow an alto. A perfect place for Off roading enthusiasts, take your Thars n gypsies, you'll have fun. It seems as if Karnataka guys were trying to make fun of AP roads. Anyway, this 8 kms will take you around 40 mins or so, regular SH after that, lot of potholes here and there. NOT ADVISABLE at night, its totally dark and almost no traffic. Be careful on directions, Vikarabad highway is also broken up in patches.

Originally Posted by enragz

suresheadala says in an earlier post "Bridge under repair near Gulbargs, traffic diverted. Did 30-40 km of offroading. Took more then One and half hours to cover that distance. "
Was wanting to avoid this patch. He traveled through this route on 27th Sep, so not that far back.

I have heard of one more route after Zaheerabad towards Sedam(diversion from NH9 just a few kms after Zaheerabad I think). It is a SH, I am not sure on the condition but if you want to bypass that situation on the Humnabad Gulbarga route, you could try this one. From Sedam, I can assure you it is a blissful drive.
Edit: You will also avoid most part of the bad patch on Zaheerabad - Humnabad road using this, but again, please ask around for its condition, I don't want you to land up on a worse road.

Originally Posted by pow3r2dawh33ls

Folks - am planning a drive next weekend to North Goa and have short listed this route as well. Would it be okay to take this up in one shot? I.e. no stays but short breaks for lunch / coffee?

I will have my wife and 9 year old with me, are experienced highway trippers and will be driving in a Rapid.

That shouldn't be a problem, but please be ready to see your rapid taking a bit of beating. The road is not so good post rains and you can cover it in 14 hours or so with a little aggressive driving(read non-stop). Your family will surely enjoy the scenery, its green all the way, a treat to the eyes who are tired of this concrete jungle.
Show your 9 yr old the windmills from a distance which you will find near chikkodi if I remember correctly
But please as I have stated earlier, start as early as possible. Try to hit NH9 post BHEL by around 4. It will give u enough time in case of any surprises. Good Luck

[Night_Hawk]

Originally Posted by Fiest@DuraTec

Humnabad - Gulbarga - As 'suresheadala' has mentioned below, there is a bridge broken on this route and you have to pass through a village which is more or less like the Zah-Hum route, very narrow, broken up like hell. It took me close to 1.5-2 hrs to cover this road. This is meant to be a bypass meant for 5 kms or so of Humnabad-Gulbarga highway, so you can say I lost 2 hours because of this. If you take this out, the Humnabad - Gulbarga highway is a bliss to drive, beautiful beautiful country road...excellent tarmac.

Thanks for the excellent update Fiest@DuraTec .

I am driving down to Gulbargah on this Friday. I will now atleast be mentally prepared in advance, to face the ordeal which you have mentioned.

I have no other choice until i have confirmed updates on the other alternate routes between Hyderabad - Gulbargah. Any updates on the alternate routes please
.

cheers
NH

[enragz]

Originally Posted by Fiest@DuraTec

Man, I had a hard time. Here are the details:
But please as I have stated earlier, start as early as possible. Try to hit NH9 post BHEL by around 4. It will give u enough time in case of any surprises. Good Luck

Originally Posted by Night_Hawk

Thanks for the excellent update Fiest@DuraTec .

I have no other choice until i have confirmed updates on the other alternate routes between Hyderabad - Gulbargah. Any updates on the alternate routes please
.

cheers
NH

Thanks for the detailed update Fiest@DuraTec. This is indeed helpful.

I am considering going through Solapur and join this route at Bijapur. Initial inquiries suggest that the Solapur - Bijapur road is good though 2 lane. I am travelling early morning on this stretch so it should be ok. Also it will be about 10 km longer, but again, anything to stay away from traffic and bad roads

Night_Hawk do share your experience as soon as you can. I plan to leave for Goa late night on 23rd.

[Fiest@DuraTec]

Originally Posted by Night_Hawk

Thanks for the excellent update Fiest@DuraTec .

I am driving down to Gulbargah on this Friday. I will now atleast be mentally prepared in advance, to face the ordeal which you have mentioned.

I have no other choice until i have confirmed updates on the other alternate routes between Hyderabad - Gulbargah. Any updates on the alternate routes please
.

cheers
NH

There are a lot of other routes for Gulbarga and the one I took in return was way better only if we keep a strech of around 5-8 kms on KN-AP border out. Once you enter the KN border, it is a bliss till Gulbarga. There are a few other routes till Gulbarga but I haven't been on them.

1. Hyderabad - Zaheerabad - Sedam - Gulbarga. (Total 232 kms) - 1st portion is good, No idea on Zaheerabad - Sedam but again, once you reach Sedam, take SH10 till Gulbarga which is awesome.

2. Hyderabad - Mahbubnagar - Sedam - Gulbarga. (Total 261 kms) - It is said to be good. Hyderabad - Mahbubnagar is no problem at all, the famous NH44. Sedam to Gulbarga again as I have mentioned, but I have no idea on Mahbubnagar to Sedam, I have heard it is good, but never tried.

3. Hyderabad - Pargi - Sedam - Gulbarga. (Total 210 kms) - Hyderabad to pargi is average, most of it on the Vikarabad highway...broken up in patches due to rain. Pargi - Sedam has sparse traffic but good and average(both in patches). Once you reach the KN-AP border, its a horrible 5-8 kms, you won't wanna go there unless you love offroading. This strech will take you around 40 mins or so.

So basically the only issue is reaching Sedam from either one of Zaheerabad, Mahbubnagar or Pargi. If you plan to choose the original route via humnabad, start early please. You should not do that strech through the village at night if you're travelling in the evening, it will take you atleast 1.5-2 hrs based on how much you love your car

[srikanthpotluri]

Hi Guys,

Planning a drive to Goa in my Punto from Hyderabad, bowenpally, will start on 22nd oct, please help me with the best route and latest conditions.

Will be traveling with my wifey and 2 yrs kiddo.