[mobike008]

Originally Posted by WhiteHorse

Hi folks, planning a trip to Goa from Hyd. Is this still the best route?

Are you travelling before August 11th? If yes, please do share your detail route feedback after you return

I'm driving on August 11th to Goa and will be driving back on August 15th

Anyone else from Hyderabad in Goa during this time-frame?

I plan to take Amboli Ghat while going and return via. Chorla Ghat with destination being North Goa

Appreciate if someone can share a detailed route plan for drive to Goa from Hyderabad as last I visited in Monsoon was in Aug'14

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Are you travelling before August 11th? If yes, please do share your detail route feedback after you return

I'm driving on August 11th to Goa and will be driving back on August 15th

Anyone else from Hyderabad in Goa during this time-frame?

I plan to take Amboli Ghat while going and return via. Chorla Ghat with destination being North Goa

Appreciate if someone can share a detailed route plan for drive to Goa from Hyderabad as last I visited in Monsoon was in Aug'14

Hyd-Chevella-Manneguda-Parigi-Kodangal-Sedam-Gulbarga-Bijapur-Bagalkot-Belgaum-Amboli-Goa.

Baga-Sanquelim-Chorla-Belgaum-Bagalkot-Bijapur-Gulbarga-Sedam-Parigi-Chevella--Hyd

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Hyd-Chevella-Manneguda-Parigi-Kodangal-Sedam-Gulbarga-Bijapur-Bagalkot-Belgaum-Amboli-Goa.

Baga-Sanquelim-Chorla-Belgaum-Bagalkot-Bijapur-Gulbarga-Sedam-Parigi-Chevella--Hyd

Awesome Ranjit. Any clue about the road conditions for both options even thought I see the route is same until Belgaum?

Main purpose to choose Amboli route is to enjoy the "Fog, Waterfalls and Vada Pav"

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Awesome Ranjit. Any clue about the road conditions for both options even thought I see the route is same until Belgaum?

Main purpose to choose Amboli route is to enjoy the "Fog, Waterfalls and Vada Pav"

+1 to that. Amboli route rocks for many such reasons !

To put it simply, Belgaum-Amboli is a good road all through. Don't forget to visit ''Kavlesaad view point'' just before Amboli town. Its a highly scenic view point with ''reverse waterfall''

Check my most recent update on Belgaum--Amboli road condition -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post4016766

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Awesome Ranjit. Any clue about the road conditions for both options even thought I see the route is same until Belgaum?

Main purpose to choose Amboli route is to enjoy the "Fog, Waterfalls and Vada Pav"

Road is all average to good.Nothing much changes on the hyd-goa routesstill a 13-15hr drive!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Road is all average to good.Nothing much changes on the hyd-goa routes. still a 13-15hr drive!

Ranjit, you are forgetting I did this route (Chorla) way back in 2014 in 10 hours in my Cruze but, now I have a car that is no less by any means

Just kidding, this time car will be loaded with women folks and kids so I will be taking a chill pill and enjoying the journey and take them through the scenery

[ratna23]

Always great to see active participation to help fellow BHPians plan trips!

I am traveling from Hyd to Goa on 29th July and back on 1st Aug in a Santa Fe. Had a route query.

I see that most of the people have suggested the Chevella - Gulbarga - Bijapur - Bagalkot - Belgaun route. I have been on this route partly and know that its a narrow road with a lot of villages. Have any of you been on the Shamshabad - Gadwal (Via Bangalore Highway) - Raichur - Lingsugur - Bagalkot - Belgaun route? Was just thinking it is best to maximize time spent on Bangalore highway though it adds 20-30 kms to the journey. Mainly looking for details about the stretch from Gadwal - Raichur - Lingsugur - Bagalkot. Would really appreciate your feedback.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by ratna23

Always great to see active participation to help fellow BHPians plan trips!

I am traveling from Hyd to Goa on 29th July and back on 1st Aug in a Santa Fe. Had a route query.

I see that most of the people have suggested the Chevella - Gulbarga - Bijapur - Bagalkot - Belgaun route. I have been on this route partly and know that its a narrow road with a lot of villages. Have any of you been on the Shamshabad - Gadwal (Via Bangalore Highway) - Raichur - Lingsugur - Bagalkot - Belgaun route? Was just thinking it is best to maximize time spent on Bangalore highway though it adds 20-30 kms to the journey. Mainly looking for details about the stretch from Gadwal - Raichur - Lingsugur - Bagalkot. Would really appreciate your feedback.

Its a good route,no problems with the route.However now with the bridge on the river kirshna closed,my guess is that there would be quite a bit of traffic on this road especially between Gadwal and Raichur as Raichur bound traffic from Hyderabad would take this route.Not aware of present conditions though,took the Lingsugur route many years back and it was good.

[ratna23]

Great! Thanks a lot. Anyways we are planning on driving in the night so traffic shouldn't be an issue. Will stick to this route.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by ratna23

I am traveling from Hyd to Goa on 29th July and back on 1st Aug in a Santa Fe. Had a route query.

Hope your plan is on schedule and I look forward to a detailed feedback of the route and road conditions once you are back

I'm slated to drive on Aug 11th

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by ratna23

Have any of you been on the Shamshabad - Gadwal (Via Bangalore Highway) - Raichur - Lingsugur - Bagalkot - Belgaun route? Was just thinking it is best to maximize time spent on Bangalore highway though it adds 20-30 kms to the journey. Mainly looking for details about the stretch from Gadwal - Raichur - Lingsugur - Bagalkot.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Its a good route,no problems with the route.However now with the bridge on the river kirshna closed,my guess is that there would be quite a bit of traffic on this road especially between Gadwal and Raichur as Raichur bound traffic from Hyderabad would take this route.Not aware of present conditions though,took the Lingsugur route many years back and it was good.

I did Raichur - Mantralayam Highway - Macharla - Ieeja - Gadwal - Beechupalli on 24th July. The road from Raichur via Deosugur to either Mehboobnagar or Bhootpur is closed due to repair of the bridge on river Krishna. The road from the turning from Mantralayam Highway to TS border just before Ieeja was a disaster and perfect for off roading. Even the road within Raichur town was pretty bad. Ieeja to Gadwal was better but I would not want to use it again. Roads within Gadwal town were also bad due to an ongoing project of a flyover over a railway line. Gadwal to NH44 was superb.
And, the roads are narrower than Chevella-Gulbarga stretch.
Quantity of traffic was not much but two oncoming vehicles cannot cross each other unless at least one vehicle goes of the tarmac (the shoulders are potholed craters and not levelled mud).

[WhiteHorse]

Thanks everyone on this thread for helping me plan my Goa route. Especially ranjitp1 and hyd_traveller thanks for the detailed map you shared for the route till Jevargi.

Original plan was to leave at 23rd Sat 1AM but we left Hyd at 4PM and reached Belgavi at 1AM. Stayed for the night at Sankam Residency.

Route 1 Hyd to Goa: Gachibowli - ORR - Chevella - Pargi - Sedam - Kalaburgi - Jevargi - Vijayapura - Bagalkot - Belgavi - Khanapur - Anmod - Mollem - Margao - Cavelossim

Road conditions:

• Narrow roads upto Pargi, however roads are alright.
• Went straight at Ravulpally insead of turning right, and realised my mistake after 4 kms.
• The roads have got spoilt 5 kms after Kalaburgi.
• The roads are riddled with slight potholes for some 25-30kms between Jevargi to Bijapur.
• Neat roads from Bijapur/Vijayapura to Bagalkot.
• 5-7km stretch from Belgavi towards Khanapur had some slight repair work going on.
• Super roads after that.

For the return journey, we decided to take the Raichur route as we wanted to drive the last 150kms on the smooth NH 44 in the dark. We left on 30th Sat 930AM.

Route 2 Goa to Hyd: Cavelossim - Chinchinim - Curchorem - Shigao - Mollem - Anmod - Khanapur - Belgavi - After which all hell broke out!

We saw glimpses of a protest at Khanapur but didn't think much about it. We reached Belgavi at 12PM and raced on towards Bagalkot. However, after crossing the Airport and Air Force area we saw youth burning tyres on the roads. I still thought it's something minor and dodged them and moved ahead. However, at a junction named Nesargi, they blocked all traffic. Mostly, truck and private vehicles. They were holding stones in their hands and burning tyres and shouting slogans. Since I was travelling with my wife, I wanted to play safe and only then realized that we are in some bother.

Time 1245PM: I quickly asked other private vehicles marked MH and AP and they said it was a strike and all traffic is blocked. I looked up the Google Maps and looked for alternatives to cross this junction. We found another vehicle, a Tavera headed for Hyderabad and we decided to try out through some villages. We turned around and went to Deshnur, but that back route again almost led up to the Nesargi junction, we were getting tensed at this point as the village roads were pretty bad and we were in a Grand i10 and tensed in general because locals were looking angry. We still found a way to go past couple of hamlets and reached a Ujjanatti village, then Makalmardi village which then led us back to the Bachi - Raichur highway.

Time 1PM: We could drive only another 5kms before we reached Chachadi cross roads on the Bachi - Raichur highway. Here the crowd was even more rough, they just started to gather, mostly young kids (teens to 20s) throwing stones on the trucks and absuing private vehicles, burning logs and tyres. We decided to be calm and just stay put as there was now no way out. There were two cops, but they just ensured the crowd didn't hurt anyone. We were stuck here till 630PM. Please see the below pics (please excuse the quality of the pics), traffic built up for almost a km on either side.



Time 6PM: The cops assured the now restless traffic and travellers that we could leave, however there were folks with Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) flags and they wanted to their pictures clicked with the piled up traffic before letting us move. So they went about, climbed tankers and trucks, posed with cars and then finally let us move at 630PM.

We were pretty exhaused and unsure of how the rest of the route would be. We moved on with the traffic and at every junction saw smoke from burning tyres at Murgod, Yaragatti, Lokapur and reached Bagalkot by 815PM. We decided to eat at Kanthi Resorts which is on the Hubli highway and since I was quite tired we took the room at the same place.

Resumed next morning at 4AM.

Bagalkot (4AM) - Hungund - Lingsugur - Raichur - Ieeja - Gadwal - Jadcherla - ORR - Gachibowli (11AM)

Road conditions from Bagalkot:

• All good wide roads till Hungund.
• NH 50 for 2-3kms is like God-sent.
• From here towards Mudgal, the road is narrow (really narrow). There is space only for tight overtaking and generally with trucks you need to get to the road shoulder which is also just 5ft and a ft below the road.
• The good thing is for the first 10-15kms the roads have well marked out reflectors/cat eyes. I understood the significance of this invention on these roads.
• Loads of villages from here on till Raichur, so speed up and slow down.
• Raichur - Mantralaya road is neat.
• After you take the left towards Ieeja, don't expect much, the roads come in patches, however, this is still doable in daytime even in a small car like mine (Grand i10).
• Ieeja to Gadwal is alright after Maldakal village.
• Gadwal town has a flyover which has made the place really messy. You can attempt to take a right just before the town which will take you next to the railway track and land you near Jammichedu village. Ask the locals.
• After enduring all this, Gadwal to NH 44 is a breeze and you will treat NH 44 like it is God-sent.

My verdict on both the routes:

1. Day travel or night travel prefer route 1. Once you touch Karnataka border, it's faster and wider.
2. Use route 2 if it's day travel esp between Hungund - Lingsugur - Raichur - Ieeja - Gadwal. You will enjoy the NH 44 but before you reach there, you will have to encounter really narrow raods (seriously narrow), loads of speed breakers, and you want to test your car's off roading skills near the Kar-TS border.

[mobike008]

My drive is coming up next week. Based on Whitehorse feedback what should be my route to North Goa?

Also any further updates from folks travelling or returned this week?

Reason for asking now the trend is to visit Goa during the ID long weekend

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Hyd-Chevella-Manneguda-Parigi-Kodangal-Sedam-Gulbarga-Bijapur-Bagalkot-Belgaum-Amboli-Goa.

Baga-Sanquelim-Chorla-Belgaum-Bagalkot-Bijapur-Gulbarga-Sedam-Parigi-Chevella--Hyd

Drove to Goa and back on the Independence Day weekend. Actually reached late night yesterday

Hyd- Goa : Took some wrong turn somewhere and door to door turned out to be 765kms and overall 13 hours. It was still faster

Highlight was the experience of Amboli Ghats. It was simply fantastic. Rained all through the section and sometimes so heavy that we felt we will be swept away in that torrential rains (check the video below)

Goa-Hyd : 3 car convoy and I just followed the friend and they took so many twists and turns etc. I lost count of the route but, we bypassed Belgaum, Bijapur but, the overall route was same. We returned via. Gulbarga, Sedam and Parigi to Hyderabad

This route costed us 690kms but, again took 13 hours

This route requires GPS guidance for sure as there are so many diversion and turns you need to take and one small mistake you end up losing 1-2 hours

Also, the speed breakers are the speed killers and they really slow you down. My car took a solid beating as it was fully loaded with people and luggage as it was a 4 night trip with 5 people so imagine the load in car.

Many times it's underbelly scraped the speedbreakers and it was a sickening feeling

Alas, this still happens to be the ONLY or best route for goa

And, I'm planned to do the same route YET again next month

P.S : We crossed the Krishna River Bridge (one is super long one : another little shorter) and it was a sad sight to see many things submerged under water like trees, electric poles and assuming there used to be some small villages next to the river.

Some pictures and videos of this route

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeSD-PJrgy4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQTFXG982T4

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by mobike008

...Goa-Hyd : 3 car convoy and I just followed the friend and they took so many twists and turns etc. I lost count of the route but, we bypassed Belgaum, Bijapur but, the overall route was same. We returned via. Gulbarga, Sedam and Parigi to Hyderabad

This route costed us 690kms but, again took 13 hours

This route requires GPS guidance for sure as there are so many diversion and turns you need to take and one small mistake you end up losing 1-2 hours...

I took this route from Hyderabad to Madgaon. The only difference being that instead of going towards Chorla from Khanapur, I took the Ponda route via Anmod. 11 hours door to door. Approx 665km. The thing is a 3-car convoy is always slower than when you drive solo. Being a part of the 3-car convoy, I know the number of stops we made. Take those stops out of your calculation, and it was an 11 hour drive.