[NPV]

In January I'd seen some widening work being done on the Chitradurga-Hospet section of NH 13. Today's newspaper carried details of a formal inauguration of the 4-laning work - here

Source:Indian Express, Bangalore 29 March 2016

[kashd]

Will be travelling from Mumbai to bengaluru via manipal from 10th June onwards. From bengaluru will go to hampi and stay at Orchid. My queries:-

1. Hows the road condition from chitradurgh to hospet
2. Any idea about Orchid specially whether car parking is good
3. From Hospet will be travelling to Belgaum. So hows the road condition from Hospet to Hubli - belgaum

[astrono_me]

Originally Posted by kashd

1. Hows the road condition from chitradurgh to hospet

I traveled twice on that route two weeks ago. A lot of road-widening work is going on in that route. However, the usable part of the road is still two lane, with no divider in between. There aren't too many bad patches. But that route sees a lot of lorry traffic. On my onward journey, I traveled after 8 pm and was stuck behind huge (and sometimes long) lorries for most part. Overtaking is tricky as there are vehicles from the opposite side. A car with good pick up will definitely find it easier to overtake.

On my way back, it was past 3 pm when I was driving on that route. The traffic was comparatively lighter, and driving in daylight was easier.

Watch out for unmarked speed breakers, especially if driving at night.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by kashd

My queries:-

1. Hows the road condition from chitradurgh to hospet
2. Any idea about Orchid specially whether car parking is good

Chitradurga-Hospet was fine when I traveled in January, few speed breakers at regular intervals and truck traffic wasn't too bad between 10am-1pm.
*As @astrono_me has mentioned, road widening work is in progress on this stretch but I'm not sure how bad it is, if you still get 2 usable lanes, then it should be fine.
I would also suggest you to avoid late evening/night drives on this route.

We stayed at Royal Orchid, they have sufficient parking, shouldn't be an issue.

To reach Royal Orchid - just after the TB dam view point on the highway, you will enter the tunnel. Soon as you exit the tunnel, take the left ramp and you will be on the way into Hospet town. Just go straight till end of the road, reach a T-junction and turn left. About 1Km or so later you will see a temple almost acting like a median between 2 roads, here keep to left, take next right and left at next T-junction and head straight past Shanbhag circle.
You will see a canal on either side of the road and a road on the right - this is the road to Hampi. Just ahead of this turn off you can see Royal Orchid.

[kashd]

Is it advisable to take route 63 from hospete to hubli or better to return to chitradurg and take NH4 ?

Also a query for NPV: shall i take my car for hampi tour or hire a car as parking in various sites may be a problem

[condor]

Originally Posted by kashd

Is it advisable to take route 63 from hospete to hubli or better to return to chitradurg and take NH4 ?

Also a query for NPV: shall i take my car for hampi tour or hire a car as parking in various sites may be a problem

You can take Hospet-Hubli directly. The road is fine, but just that speed will be slower than on a NH. If you go to Chitradurga, you will spend time getting there + time from Chitradurga to Hubli.

You can take your car for the Hampi tour. Unless it is a peak tourist day, you will find parking at the locations. In case you hire a guide for the day, then he will show you the routes.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by kashd

Also a query for NPV: shall i take my car for hampi tour or hire a car as parking in various sites may be a problem

We took our car and did not find parking to be a problem.
Also note that it tends to get very warm by 10:30am, so start early, say 8am each day else sight-seeing will drain you out.
Hiring a guide definitely helps.

Also note - when going towards Hampi, before you reach Kamlapur you will see an arch on the left with a Daroji Bear sanctuary board next to it, turning left here will take you directly near Sasuvekalu Ganesha and Virupaksha temple and this way you can start your tour of the ruins from there. Alternative is to go straight towards Vittala temple, complete that and take the main entrance towards Hampi from near Kamlapur, in which case Virpuaksha temple is your last visit.

From the Kamlapura circle, turning right takes you towards the ASI museum and Pattabhirama temple. Look up the threads here on TBHP and you will find all the relevant information

*The arch before Kamlapur has a Daroji bear sanctuary board next to it but turning left here doesn't take you to the bear sanctuary (goes towards Virupaksha temple as I've mentioned above), it's just a tourist ad/informational signboard. The right turn at Kamlapur circle towards ASI museum & Pattabhirama temple is also the route towards Daroji bear sanctuary

[Red Liner]

Thinking if Hampi this weekend. So the route is bangalore tumkur Chitra durga Hampi. Guess with a 4.30 am start I should be in Hampi by 10 am atleast?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Thinking if Hampi this weekend. So the route is bangalore tumkur Chitra durga Hampi. Guess with a 4.30 am start I should be in Hampi by 10 am atleast?

Where are you planning to stay ? Hospet/Bellary ?
Assuming you are staying at Hospet (Royal Orchid/other hotels)...
It takes about 3 hours to reach Chitradurga and then about 3 hours (given there may be truck traffic and also presence of speed breakers to slow down progress) to Hospet so you should be able to reach by 10.30-11am with a short break included.

Any plan to visit Chitradurga Fort ? With a 4am start, you can visit the Fort, have breakfast and then head to Hospet.

*If you're staying at Hyatt, Toranagallu, the Hiriyur route may be a better choice.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Thinking if Hampi this weekend. So the route is bangalore tumkur Chitra durga Hampi. Guess with a 4.30 am start I should be in Hampi by 10 am atleast?

Not sure what the current road condition is due to the 4 lane work going on. I had driven Bangalore - Hiriyur - Chellekare - Bellary - Tornagalu - Hampi in Feb as I was staying at Hyatt and found this route to be much better than the Chitradurga - Hampi route, which I used on the return leg. Much lesser truck traffic in the mornings - Did Hiriyur - Chellekare - Bellary at 9.30 am but has some monster speed breakers which could a problem for a low GC car.

Return leg was Hospet - Chitradurag in the afternoon and the truck traffic on the road made it a real mess to drive on.

Check my thread for more details.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by NPV

Where are you planning to stay ? Hospet/Bellary ?
Assuming you are staying at Hospet (Royal Orchid/other hotels)...
It takes about 3 hours to reach Chitradurga and then about 3 hours (given there may be truck traffic and also presence of speed breakers to slow down progress) to Hospet so you should be able to reach by 10.30-11am with a short break included.

Any plan to visit Chitradurga Fort ? With a 4am start, you can visit the Fort, have breakfast and then head to Hospet.

*If you're staying at Hyatt, Toranagallu, the Hiriyur route may be a better choice.

hey thanks. I am staying in Hampi proper... Right next to the virupaksha temple (is that Hampi proper?) . So I will head straight into Hampi. Am not into forts so I will skip Chitra durga Fort and make it straight to Hampi.

Originally Posted by procrj

Not sure what the current road condition is due to the 4 lane work going on. I had driven Bangalore - Hiriyur - Chellekare - Bellary - Tornagalu - Hampi in Feb as I was staying at Hyatt and found this route to be much better than the Chitradurga - Hampi route, which I used on the return leg. Much lesser truck traffic in the mornings - Did Hiriyur - Chellekare - Bellary at 9.30 am but has some monster speed breakers which could a problem for a low GC car.

Return leg was Hospet - Chitradurag in the afternoon and the truck traffic on the road made it a real mess to drive on.

Check my thread for more details.

Thanks will go through your thread.

I will be riding a bike. So what is the consensus now? Which route?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

hey thanks. I am staying in Hampi proper... Right next to the virupaksha temple (is that Hampi proper?) . So I will head straight into Hampi. Am not into forts so I will skip Chitra durga Fort and make it straight to Hampi.
...
I will be riding a bike. So what is the consensus now? Which route?

My vote is still for Chitradurga route. The truck traffic and speed breakers are manageable, also the road widening work still hasn't reduced the available road width as per a recent report here.
Also, this route is the easiest approach to access Hampi.

Since you're headed to a place near Virupaksha temple:
When going towards Hampi from Hospet on SH49, before you reach Kamlapur you will see an arch on the left with a Daroji Bear sanctuary board next to it, turning left here (onto SH131) will take you directly near Sasuvekalu Ganesha and Virupaksha temple. Nice two lane roads (SH131 route) via villages and fields take you directly to Virpuaksha temple.

Alternative is to go straight towards Kamlapur and turn left (SH49 route to Kamlapur)- this is the standard tourist route.

*Note that SH131 is a loop connecting SH49 at the arch and again at Kamlapur.

[creative420]

So we, better-half and I, are going to Hampi this weekend. And we're actually putting up at Hyatt Hampi, which is quite far from ruins. Well, anyone stayed in this hotel recently? If yes, then what should be the route? Also, need to know what good eateries can we stop at if we're leaving from Bangalore early morning?

[procrj]

Originally Posted by creative420

So we, better-half and I, are going to Hampi this weekend. And we're actually putting up at Hyatt Hampi, which is quite far from ruins. Well, anyone stayed in this hotel recently? If yes, then what should be the route? Also, need to know what good eateries can we stop at if we're leaving from Bangalore early morning?

Check my post above for the route I had taken in Feb when I stayed at Hyatt. Best bet for good food options is just before/in Tumkur or Kamat near Sira. Also if you plan to drive from Hyatt to Hampi in your own car, take the route via the bear santuary - good roads. Ensure that you dont have to drive post sun down in the Hampi - Hyatt stretch as its a 2 lane road with loads of truck traffic and you will only get massive dose of 'high'light

[NPV]

Originally Posted by creative420

Also, need to know what good eateries can we stop at if we're leaving from Bangalore early morning?

Hiriyur route is what you can consider as you're going to Hyatt.
As for eateries, look at this post too - here

*Ignore the eateries in Chitradurga if you take Hiriyur route.