[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Shashidl

Hello,

i am planning to travel to goa on my bike with my wife this 19th. i came to know from about this route 'Nipani-Uttur - Ajara - Amboli-Sawantwadi' could someone throw some light on how safe the road is. I had done a ride via gagan bavda in the past (riding solo) but found that it was too deserted. also if i could get the exact kms for this route it would be very helpful

Warm Regards,
Shashi

No problems with safety on any of the routes to Goa
1.Nipani-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi
2.Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj-Amboli-S'wadi
3.Belgaum-NH4A-Londa-Ponda-Panjim
4,Kolhapur-Radhanagari-Phondaghat-Phonda-Kankavli-NH17-S'wadi

Take any route and the distance from Panjim to Kolhapur is roughly about 220kms-250kms.NH4A would be the one with most traffic as this is the route the buses take,so you could stick to that.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by Shashidl

i am planning to travel to goa on my bike with my wife this 19th. i came to know from about this route 'Nipani-Uttur - Ajara - Amboli-Sawantwadi' could someone throw some light on how safe the road is.

I think you should take sankeshwar-gadhinglaj-ajra-amboli route.

Though there is no problem with nipani-uttur route, in case of any puncture with your bike, you will be stranded as there are no villages or shops on uttur route.

[Bullitt]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

I think you should take sankeshwar-gadhinglaj-ajra-amboli route.

Though there is no problem with nipani-uttur route, in case of any puncture with your bike, you will be stranded as there are no villages or shops on uttur route.

+1 to this.

When I and my family travelled to Goa last year on the occasion of Mahashivratri (using our WagonR) for our annual pilgrimage, we enquired with the cabbies there about the best route for the return journey from Goa to Pune. One of them recommended this same route to us, in the opposite direction. We voiced our concern about bad roads, loneliness etc. but he insisted that there are no issues, and that he regularly does this route, always doing a constant 60 kmph in his Indica. True to his word, the road was very good; there are a few slightly bad patches on and off, but nothing that an alert driver can't handle.

Now that an year has passed, with one monsoon season to boot, things might have changed a bit. But the good part is that the route is decently populated, and you can see a lot of ST buses plying at regular intervals.

One of the things I observed is that taking this route reduces the Goa-Kolhapur travel time considerably, as opposed to the Kolhapur-Gaganbawda-Vaibhavwadi-NH17-Goa route. I say this because that was the route we took on our way to Goa last year (we had taken an overnight halt at Kolhapur). Also, the road between Gaganbawda and Vaibhavwadi was pathetic, with road-widening work going on in a lot of places, and sugarcane lorries and tractor-trolleys posing a major menace.

I am planning to travel to Goa again this Mahashivratri, and will probably take the route Ashish mentioned.

EDIT: I travelled the Ponda-Londa-NH4A-Belgaum route once, about 3 years back I guess. I found the dumpers (courtesy the flourishing mining industry in that belt) on that route to be a major menace. There are literally hundreds of them plying that route in certain sections, and they drive like maniacs who own the road. Also, because of the constant flow of dumper traffic, the road had developed lunar size craters. The suspension of my Wagon-R took multiple hits, and I also scraped the bottom a few times. The red dust everywhere only makes things worse. The dumpers leave a billowing thick cloud of red dust everytime they pass you, making it impossible to see ahead. I am not sure if things have changed now, but I would suggest that this route is best avoided, especially on a bike.

- Bullitt.

[Darryl.Burke]

Originally Posted by mmxylorider

Yep! That's the one. I will be driving the Xylo which takes bumpy roads well, but am not hardpressed for time either. I don't mind the longer route if the road is devoid of potholes. What do you suggest?

Timewise, there's hardly any difference. The section of NH-4A between Londa/Ramangar and Anmod is a mix of good surface and deep sharp-edged potholes, mostly avoidable if oncoming traffic permits, but across the entire road in a few places.

db

[CANPUSH]

I agree with Ashishpallod. Going via Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj-Ajra is safer. Sankeshwar Gadhinglaj section is broken surface but Uttur road is no different. In fact it is narrower and you may have to get down off tarmac to give way to occasional oncoming trucks and buses. I have traveled on both routes in last week of December.
Belgaon Anmod road surface is better but if you get tangled in Dumper traffic it will be bad.

[SAHIR.KITTUR]

I would still advise all to take the Kolhapur - Belgaum - Sawantwadi - Goa route.
Even for people heading for south Goa, This will be the best. it would seem a little longer, but It will defenatly make you feel shorter.

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by SAHIR.KITTUR

I would still advise all to take the Kolhapur - Belgaum - Sawantwadi - Goa route.
Even for people heading for south Goa, This will be the best. it would seem a little longer, but It will defenatly make you feel shorter.

I agree with you. The road from Belgaum to Ajra and then on to Amboli is quite wide and much better to drive on, than uttur-ajra or sankeshwar-gadinglaj-ajra

[SAHIR.KITTUR]

Buddy, its not Belgaum to Ajra, Its Belgaum - Chandgad - Amboli.
I am in BGM next month, just in case u wanna do that Tilari route with me!!
I am looking forward to it. Spare a day for the Tilari wonders !

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by SAHIR.KITTUR

Buddy, its not Belgaum to Ajra, Its Belgaum - Chandgad - Amboli.Spare a day for the Tilari wonders !

ooops! sorry. blame it on the hour. I meant the intersection at Gele where SH121 meets with the Ajra amboli road.
Any idea about the present condition of the tilari ghat?
I wouldn't mind passing through it actually
Cheers

[mmxylorider]

Returned back from Goa last night. Great place to unwind. Thought I'll post route related information here first before putting up the travelogue.

Pune to Goa : 4 Feb
Route : NH4 to Belgaum, 4A to Khanapur->Ramnagar->Anmod->Molem. Onwards to Kulem, Curchorem and finally Varca
Road condition :
1. NH4 is topnotch especially the stretch after Kolhapur till Belgaum. It's easy to sustain speeds of 100 kmph and upto 120-130 on really straight stretches after Kagal.
2. NH4A from Belgaum to Khanapur required city traffic to be encountered, but reasonably less to be on the way in about 20 mins.
3. Khanapur to Anmod via Ramnagar is a great road except for about a 5 km stretch which is quite broken. Repair work was on though and I believe another week should see it in better condition.
4. Anmod ghat is pretty sober and easy to drive.
5. Met quite a lot of mining traffic from Molem onwards. Average speed would be close to 40 kmph
Watch out for :
1. Khanapur-Anmod : Intermittent shade from the tree cover can give headaches. Solution is to wear sun-glasses.
2. Molem onwards : Mining traffic. It's best to keep going and dart into a gap in the trucks when you see oncoming traffic. The truckers do leave a gap every so many trucks.

[mmxylorider]

On our way to Varca, we found Goa roads especially after curchorem hard to navigate with no great directions coming from locals. We decided to take an alternate route back. In hindsight, a bad decision.

Goa to Pune : 7 Feb
Route : Varca -> NH17 to Sawantwadi. Onwards to Ajara, Gadhinglaj, Sankeshwar. NH4 to Pune
Road Condition :
1. NH17 is crowded! In addition, it is an undivided highway so progress is slow. Road opens up after Panaji and it is possible to maintain 60-70 kmph but incoming traffic will slow you down. Road surface is good. There is about a km of bad stretch after crossing Goa border.
2. Sawantwadi to Amboli is a good surface road but lot of blind turns making you keep your speed low. At this time there were plenty of sugarcane lorries lumbering along.
3. Amboli ghat is quite a test of cornering and turning skills. PLenty of truck traffic.
4. Amboli-Ajra-Gadhinglaj-Sankeshwar : Due to these small towns and lack of bypass routes, progress is slowed down here. Road surface is cracked at some places, repairs in progress.
5. Sankeshwar-Pune. NH4. No issues!
Watch out for
1. Sugarcane lorries between Sawantwadi and Gadhinglaj.
2. Road surface is smooth but the road is wavy. Not a good idea post lunch.
3. Gravel roads at some places - risky for bikers.

It took us about 4 hrs to cover the first 200 kms from Varca. Of course made good time once we hit NH4.

[Darryl.Burke]

mmxylorider, thanks for the update. I'll be driving Goa-Mumbai via Pune bypass tomorrow, hope some of that repair on the Anmod-Ramnagar stretch has materialized since the 4th! When I drove that road on 29th Jan I think the potholed stretch was more than just 5 km, so it looks like there's been good progress.

Onwards to Kulem, Curchorem and finally Varca

Ponda bypass-Arlem-Madgaon bypass-Navelim-Chinchinim highway junction-Orlem bridge-Varca might have been a better option. IMO it's easier to get past the mining trucks on NH-4A than on the narrower roads this side of Kulem.

db

[CasperRider]

I would suggest to take the Nippani route from NH 4, which is before Sankeswar if you are coming from Kohlapur side of NH4. I found this better then Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj stretch, and more scenic as well

[Darryl.Burke]

Posted a brief update on the Mumbai-Pune-Goa thread
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2251138

Would really like to know the status of that "New Mumbai Goa highway" ... even Google finds nothing relevant.

db

[subscrive]

Hi All,

My friend needs to go from Pune to Goa maximizing the run on NH17.
So planned route is Pune - Bhor - Varandha - Sawantwadi - Panji

Need to know road condition in Varandha ghaat and also options recommended by the team.
Want to avoid Tamhini as that has been done a lot of times.

Is amboli shutdown?

Thanks.