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

Quote:

Originally Posted by smsrini (Post 1049984)

Any feedback on the following route:

hospet-->Gangawati-->sindhnur-->Manvi-->Raichur-->Shaktinagar-->Mahbubnagar-->Hyderabad ?

road conditions. This route is on SH29-SH23-SH20-SH13-SH56-NH-7
Hotels/Restaurants on the way ?

thanks
Srini

Update:

Bangalore to Chitradurga road condition is pretty good, and you can average 100+kph.

about 30kms after chitradurga towards hospet is bad with a lot of potholes and broken road surfaces. Thereafter roads are pretty good till about 20kms before Hospet, where you start to see the lines of mining trucks lined up.

Hospet to Hyderabad: I believe there are 2 routes to Gangawati. Unfortunately I took the road via Hampi-->Gangawati, which turned out to be a nightmare. the 35kms took almost 1.5hrs to complete.

There is another route which you can take. Head towards Badami instead and about 5kms out of hospet, there is a Y fork leading towards Gangawati. I am not sure about this road, but assume it should be much better than the one via Hampi. Updates on this road appreciated.

After Gangawati, upto Raichur the roads are pretty good. After you cross the Raichur Thermal Power Station, the roads are bad upto Manvi if I recollect. Thereafter the roads are very good all the way upto Mahbubnagar.

Corrections welcome, if anyone's done this stretch more frequently. We crossed Raichur around lunchtime and I was not paying particular attention after a good bellyfull of lunch :)

Will be driving back to Bangalore on NH7. will update that route info next year!

cheers!
Srini

Quote:

Originally Posted by smsrini (Post 1109308)

......
After Gangawati, upto Raichur the roads are pretty good. After you cross the Raichur Thermal Power Station, the roads are bad upto Manvi if I recollect. Thereafter the roads are very good all the way upto Mahbubnagar.
cheers!
Srini

Hey Srini,

How much is the distance from Raichur TPS to Manvi? How long did that stretch take? What was the total time from Hampi to Hyd?

Quote:

Originally Posted by smsrini (Post 1109358)

Hampi to Hyderabad took us 8hrs driving time.

I dont remember the exact time for the Raichr TPS Manvi stretch, but assume its an hour+

cheers!

Thanks,
But I just visited maymyindia and found that Manvi comes before Raichur. So are you sure you got the name right? As per the map, Shaktinagar comes between Raichur and Mehbubnagar. So were you referring to Shaktinagar?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nagvasireddy (Post 1502440)

I need 2 rooms (standard, King Size or doulble bed, preferably air-conditioned) in Hampi or Hospet for 3 nights (Oct 1-3, 2009). Can some one please advise options in the range of Rs. 1500-2500 per night per room?

Hotel Malligi is a decent one at Hospet.0839 4228101.not sure of their present tariff.

The best place to stay and best base for exploring Hampi is at the Hotel Mayura (KSTDC) at Kamalapur. Its bang on the ruins, and the ASI Museum is nearby (within 500m).
Do visit the ASI Museum to see the scale model of the sprawling ruins of Hampi, and to get a free brochure that maps out all the important spots...

Quote:

Originally Posted by nagvasireddy (Post 1502440)

You can stay in KSTDC's Hampi Mayura. It will be well within your budget. Though their rooms or service was nothing to write home about, but as lancer has mentioned, it is right next to the ruins, in Kamalapuri. Whereas Malligi is bit away from Hampi, at Hospet, and within the town.
Mayura contact no. is 08394 241574 (as on dec., 2007) and hope it has not changed. When I called them they had blocked a room for me. You can try with them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9tMax (Post 1502480)

Absolutely agree,just that service & cleanliness is really the pits(just like any of the other KSTDC hotels).Pity,if KSTDC wanted and if the attitude was in the right place,this place would have done wonders,instead its doing wonders at the other extreme:Frustrati

I've stayed at Malligi on Sep 26th-27th and found it to be really nice. A double AC room cost Rs 1600 incl tax. We'd booked 2 rooms as we were 5, and he gave the extra mattress free of cost. They accept credit card payment.
They also has double rooms that cost Rs 2800 which have better linen and carpets, and they show those rooms first. But if you indicate your budget, they show you the lower cost rooms, which are quite good IMO. They have a cable TV in each room, and a good and clean bathroom. They also have a small fridge in each room that we put to good use.
Their restaurant is good and has decent options---north and south Indian, and Chinese too. My kids put their swimming pool to good use. They have a good fountain in the nights that is very attractive---makes you feel like its raining, unless you peep out of your room.
Their car parking is quite spacious too---most of the other hotels like Shine and Shanbagh International do not have private parking---you gotta park your car on the road in the designated parking place. Hampi is around 14 kms from Malligi, and the dam is about 7 kms away.

The distance would be about 320KM. Also if every one in in family travelling to Hampi is grown up, the best way to explore is to hire a bicycle for a day and go about this place. Its one of the best experiences that I had in Hampi. For this, you need to stay in KSTDC hotel. Because if you stay in Hospet, you need to come to Hampi which is about 25 Km.

If one is bag-packing for this trip, he can actually hire rooms provided by villagers in Hampi itself. This is also an experience in itself. Rooms are barely to manage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhar24 (Post 1587865)

Reading all the posts above i came to know the route, but can anybody tell me whats the distance from Bangalore to Bellary.

I was in Hampi in the midst of the floods on 2nd October weekend. The place is absolutely mind blowing.

I suggest you avoid the usual NH-4 - Chitradurga - NH-13 route. NH-13 is worse beyond recognition. You'll encounter an endless 176km queue of trucks moving at 20kmph and it sure will get on your nerves with potholed roads to boot. Instead take the SH 19 through Challakere to Bellary. The road is a thousand times better. Watch out for those car sized craters from Bellary to Hampi, but the distance is a manageable 40 odd km.

I stayed at KSDC Mayura and it is the most convenient option. You can book online before you leave. They have decent sized clean rooms bang in the middle of the ruins. Nothing can be as convenient. The place is so calm and quiet, it is an experience just staying there. Highly recommended.

You can hire a guide on your first day of visit and on the remaining days, revisit the monuments you liked the most. Pay a bit more for the license guides - they are worth it.