Team-BHP - Bangalore to Hampi / Bellary : Route Queries

So here's what I observed for best routes to Hampi as on date:

There are 2 routes that are good.

1. Bangalore - Hiriyur(NH48) - Challakere - Rampura - Toranagallu - Hospet/Hampi.

- Good option if you are live closer or can access Tumkur road faster.
- Deserted stretches once you turn off from NH48 from Hiriyur.
- Traffic is comparatively on the higher side on NH48 until Tumkur.

2. Bangalore - Penukonda - Anantapur(NH44) - Uravakonda - Bellary - Toranagallu - Hospet/Hampi.

- Good option if you live closer or can access the Hyderabad road faster.
- Shorter deserted stretches between Anantapur - Bellary.
- Traffic is relatively less on NH44.

As of now, there are 3 higher end hotels in the Hampi region:
1. Hyatt Place, Hampi - located in Vidyasagar Township near Toranagallu.
2. Orange County, Hampi - located near Kamalapura.
3. Royal Orchid Central Kireeti, Hospet. - on the Hospet bypass.

All these 3 can be easily accessed by the above mentioned 2 routes without much confusion.

Hope this helps!

Back from my Bangalore - Hampi trip. Took The Hiriyur - Challakere - Rampura - Ubbalagandi - Kudligi Road - Toranagallu - Hospet route, came back the same way.

My fears were unfounded; most of the Rampura - Toranagallu route was good, with more than half motorable at a decent 60 - 70 kmph. Surface was mostly good, except the initial ~ 25 km stretch from Rampura.

The Toranagallu - Hospet stretch is bad for the first 4-5 kms surface & traffic wise, then is quite good till Hospet.

We did the going route in 6.5 hours and coming back in 6.25 hours, both times inclusive of about 40 - 45 minute food breaks for us and the car. We used NICE road from and to Bannerghatta Road.

Lorry traffic is a pain only inside Challakere, and of course, outskirts of Tumkur. Coming back, NICE was painful in this respect too. Overall it wasn't bad at all.

In Hospet / Hampi it was dry, and while it was hot, what was the problem was that Hampi is widely spread out and despite using the car as much as possible, one is out in the sun nearly all the time.

Two hours for Virupaksha temple the day we reached, one full day for the rest of Hampi, plus an additional 5 hours if you are planning to visit Anjanadri Hill / Pampa Sarovar / Nava Brindavana, all three of which are on the other side of the river. I opted to drive straight from the hotel in Hospet to Anjanadri Hill on our third morning there and use my car to go to Pampa and Nava Brindavana instead of using the local autos.

I am providing GPS coordinates for the route I took; in some places, without them, one is uncertain which way to go.

To Hospet

--------Coordinates-------- km --------------Destination--------------
76.653932 E, 14.297716 N 00 HP Fuel Station - Pre-Challakere
76.780468 E, 14.884023 N 73 Way Point - Immed. Post Rampura
76.694342 E, 15.030870 N 21 Way Point - Post left turn; via Ubbalagandi
76.612947 E, 15.154258 N 21 Kudligi Road - Post right turn
76.392928 E, 15.272688 N 38 Hotel Malligi - Via Ramapura, Toranagallu

Back from Hospet

--------Coordinates-------- km --------------Destination--------------
76.658377 E, 15.202211 N 31 Way Point - Rt towards Vidyanagar
76.613224 E, 15.153611 N 08 Way Point - Left toward Rampura
76.695167 E, 15.030980 N 21 Way Point - Rt to continue on same road
76.783482 E, 14.882064 N 21 Way Point - Rt at Rampura

Sorry for the bad formatting. The forum software is removing extra spaces I put in to align the columns.

Got back from Hampi today. I took the Bangalore-Anantpur-Bellary-Torangallu-Hospet route while going. The route from Anantpur to Bellary is OK and not excellent. On my return I took the Hospet-Torangallu-Bellary-Rampura-Challakere-Hiriyur route. This route is listed as 150A on google maps and was excellent throughout. I would recommend this route to anyone traveling to Hampi . No food options though; pack your lunch at your Hospet hotel before leaving for Bangalore. One tip to get on to this route is to take a right after crossing the railway gate at Bellary.The railway crossing junction is the intersection of NH67and 150A. Google maps is pretty clear.
Hope this helps !!

The Middle Path

This thread speaks of two routes from Bangalore to Ballari. The westerly route via Anantapur, and the easterly route via Hiriyur.

There is a middle path. The middle path is well worth exploring.

Map: https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Be...15.1393932!3e0

I drove along this route today. Departed Ballari at 9am, and was home in Bangalore at 3:20pm. Took 3 breaks:
- 30 mins in Kalyandurg
- 15 mins in Madhugiri
- 30 mins for lunch on Kanakapura Road just before reaching home.

Road Surface Quality: Good to Excellent. There is one short potholed stretch of about 100m between Ballari and Bommanahal. Then, there are about 10 short patches of under-construction road, including 3 bridges. As you approach Pavagada, the road becomes international quality in terms of surface and markings. It is a joy to drive on.

What to watch out for: Unmarked speed breakers. LOTS of them between Ballari and Pavagada. Funnily enough, in one village, there are four speed breakers signs, and exactly zero speed breakers. After Pavagada, they are all clearly marked.
The one sure of way to spot a speed breaker is to watch for stones placed such that the shoulder is blocked. This is a very reliable way to know that there is a speed breaker.
There are 4 stretches of road that alternate between concrete and tar. The transition between them has dips/crests that will catch you out (it caught me out, suspension bottomed out). Slow down.

Traffic: Almost zero commercial traffic. A few State Transport buses. Mostly all 'local' type traffic - motorcycles, tractors, cows, buffaloes, share autos, goats, sheep, people, small goods vehicles, etc etc.
Traffic through the towns of Kalyandurg, Pavagada, Madhugiri and Koratagere, and all other bigger villages is bad (as would be expected).
Traffic increases between Koratagere and Dobbaspet, and once on the Bangalore-Pune highway, you will encounter the usual truck traffic.

Facilities: None whatsoever. Unless you count the restaurants in the bigger towns of Kalyandurg & Pavagada.

No pictures, sorry, I was driving alone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha (Post 4123391)

I was about to explore this route this weekend during my planned trip to Mantralaya with my new Eco Sport, thanks for venturing out into this forgotten road to Ballari. I had heard from some cabbies of Pavagada that road work is in progress, once completed this will be a good option to avoid expensive toll gates.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangaloreguy (Post 4084519)

Hi,

Planning a short trip with family (including 2 kids) to Hampi.
Is this route (road 150A) safe for night driving from BLR to reach Hampi? Are there any cafe coffe days (or any other decent place for tea/coffee or using restrooms) along the route post Hiriyur?

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by skydiver (Post 4163054)

Are there any cafe coffe days (or any other decent place for tea/coffee or using restrooms) along the route post Hiriyur?

Sira CCD is the last CCD if you plan to take 150A. There is no other decent rest stop unless you want to stop at Hyat Palace Tornagalu before getting to Hospet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deehunk (Post 4163062)

Why night driving? Start around 3.00am in the morning and reach Hampi by 9.00am. You can take a break at Challakere or Bellary for quick refreshment.

Agree. Even a 4 4.30 am start should do as you might want some light while driving on 150A to spot the speed breakers. Night driving could also mean more trucks on 150A *my guess* and hence you might be better off with an early morning start.