[NPV]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

I did a solo drive to Shanivarasanthe yesterday through Channarayapatna - Holenarasipura - Arakalgud. I took the direct route through SH-8 from Channarayapatna to Holenarasipura which has that dreaded 2 km stretch. So I decided to experiment with the Agrahara route while coming back and I must say its a fantastic route. It just adds 2-3 kms to the normal route but I reached Channarayapatna within no time through this fantastic road. Hence I highly recommend everyone to take this route to avoid the dreaded 2 km stretch near Holenarasipura.

Thanks for this detailed update
This is a great way to avoid that moon surface near the Government Polytechnic at Holenarasipura.
I will thank my friend who told me about the Agrahara route when I speak to him this weekend

If I remember correctly, he also mentioned that on this route there are places from where you can get beautiful views of the wind turbines/wind mills. Did you see them ?

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by ampere

Great update! To see the new road, look at satellite view in Google. I think we can see it (if its the same one you are referring to). Google should update it quite soon.

I can spot this road on the open street maps!

Yes Ampere, the satellite view shows that dead straight road which I took. Google should update it soon. If you zoom enough, it indeed shows this as SH-121.

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks for this detailed update
This is a great way to avoid that moon surface near the Government Polytechnic at Holenarasipura.
I will thank my friend who told me about the Agrahara route when I speak to him this weekend

If I remember correctly, he also mentioned that on this route there are places from where you can get beautiful views of the wind turbines/wind mills. Did you see them ?

Yes, we should thank your friend for informing about this route. The windmills are situated between point C and D on SH-102. There are few spots which can be used to photo shoot a car with the backdrop of these windmills

Now my next target is to explore the length and breadth of SH-102 and SH-121. Both these SHs looked that great . SH-121 looks very short though on the maps.

[reignofchaos]

Just to reconfirm, I took the recommended route above. It is fantastic all the way.

[guyfrmblr]

Folks driving between Sampaje - Sullia, watch out for the newly installed rumbling strips after crossing Kallugundi (from Sampaje side). I was doing good speeds on this newly laid road and was suddenly taken aback by these monster rumbling strips which appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't there when I was driving towards Sullia the previous day and was installed overnight. Had a nasty jump but nothing went wrong.

[Voyager-1]

Did Bangalore-Bekal over the last weekend. Here is the summary of road conditions.

Bangalore-Bekal:
NH48 till CR Patna - 4 lane bliss, with 4 tolls (20+41+41+35).

CR Patna - Holenarsipur through SH121 (not the regular SH8) - This is very scenic, with freshly laid black roads, along with windmills for company. Do not miss this refreshing stretch.

Holenarsipur-Arakalgud-Shanivarasanthe- Excellent roads, except for a few kms of slightly broken roads around Shanivarasanthe, but nothing to bother.

Shanivarasanthe-Somwarpet-Madikeri- Excellent hill roads with lots of sharp twists and turns. This stretch is a narrow two lane road. No steep climbs or hairpin bends. If you/your family are bothered with too much of hill driving or have motion sickness, then see my return route.

Madikeri-Sullia-Jalsoor-Chengala-Chattanchal-Bekal- Till Jalsoor, it is the wide highway, enjoyable to drive. Watchout for a small left turn at Jalsoor towards Chengala, it will have a small checkpost. The rest of the roads till Chengala are excellent, but narrow two lane. The last stretch to Bekal is very good and has two full lanes.

Started at 4:15 AM in Bangalore (Hebbal), reached Madikeri at 9 AM. Took a 30 min break in CCD at Madikeri, and reached Vivanta Bekal by 12:45 PM.

Bekal-Bangalore:
Bekal till Madikeri, it is the same route.

From Madikeri, I took the Kushalnagar-Konanur-Ramanathapura-Arakalagud route. This stretch is mostly on plains, wide and is in excellent condition. Only down side is the numerous speed breakers between Kushalnagar and Konanur.

From Arakalagud, it is the same route to Bangalore.

Started at 10:30 AM from Bekal, took multiple breaks (for almost 2 hours) and reached Bangalore (Hebbal) by 8:30 PM.

Additional inputs:
In case, you have to venture into Kasaragod for any reason, the Kasaragod-Bekal road is having lot of construction activity, including a bridge. Roads are non-existent in at least 3 stretches, with only muddy surfaces.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by Voyager-1

From Madikeri, I took the Kushalnagar-Konanur-Ramanathapura-Arakalagud route. This stretch is mostly on plains, wide and is in excellent condition. Only down side is the numerous speed breakers between Kushalnagar and Konanur.

Did the stretch between Konanur - Ramanathapura - Arakalagudu had fresh tarmac? Had seen bad reports of this stretch before. If its in such a nice condition, its a good alternative for folks who don't want to take the twisties between Shanivarasante - Somawarapete. The distance is however same with both the routes.

[Voyager-1]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Did the stretch between Konanur - Ramanathapura - Arakalagudu had fresh tarmac?

Yes, this stretch had fresh tarmac, but without any lane markers. It also did not have any speed breakers, and less traffic which is good.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Did the stretch between Konanur - Ramanathapura - Arakalagudu had fresh tarmac? Had seen bad reports of this stretch before. If its in such a nice condition, its a good alternative for folks who don't want to take the twisties between Shanivarasante - Somawarapete. The distance is however same with both the routes.

Originally Posted by Voyager-1

Yes, this stretch had fresh tarmac, but without any lane markers. It also did not have any speed breakers, and less traffic which is good.

This stretch of road (Arkalgud-Ramanathapura-Konanur) was in the worst condition for more than a decade. Glad to know that this has been re-laid

This is probably the best alternative to the Mysore-Madikeri route now given that the Shanivarasanthe-Somwarpet-Madikeri road is a lot slower because of the winding roads.

Thanks for the update

[RoadTripper]

Hi All

I'm traveling from Guruvayur to Kabini in a few days from now. Can you please advise on the best route - the options below are from Google Maps?

1. Guruvayur, Tirur, Calicut, Kalpetta, Mananthavady, Kabini - 226 Km

2. Guruvayur, Pattambi, Perinthlamanna, Sultan Bathery - 246 Km

3. Guruvayur, Pattambi, Malappuram, Thamarasseri, Kalpetta, Mananthavady, Kabini - 230 Km

I'll be driving in the morning and would like a route that gets me there faster, even if it's a little longer from a distance perspective. Look forward to your inputs.

Many thanks.

Cheers

RoadTripper

[ampere]

Originally Posted by RoadTripper

3. Guruvayur, Pattambi, Malappuram, Thamarasseri, Kalpetta, Mananthavady, Kabini - 230 Km

I will suggest option 3. Roads may be narrow, but avoids the traffic prone sections of NH17. Lets wait to hear from others too as regards to current status of rains as well.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by RoadTripper

Hi All

I'm traveling from Guruvayur to Kabini in a few days from now. Can you please advise on the best route - the options below are from Google Maps?

1. Guruvayur, Tirur, Calicut, Kalpetta, Mananthavady, Kabini - 226 Km

I would recommend variation of route 1 (Default Guruvayoor-Calicut route): Kunnamkulam-Edappal-Kuttipuram-Valanchery-University-Calicut Bypass-Kalpetta-Manathavady bypass-Kabini will work out faster although longer. Mainly because the roads are good throughout and reasonably wide. If you can start a little early you can make good progress.

I have noticed the lorry traffic on the Chamravattom-Tirur-Parappanangadi-Calicut route has increased quite a bit and it is very very difficult to overtake on this stretch as it is mostly narrow and twisty. Hence I recommend against it.

On the 3rd option, again a lot of the sections are pretty narrow (Pattambi-Koppam, Malappuram-Thamarasseri). So although traffic may not be high, progress will be slow and you can end up taking equal or more time than the option recommended above.

[RoadTripper]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I would recommend variation of route 1 (Default Guruvayoor-Calicut route): Kunnamkulam-Edappal-Kuttipuram-Valanchery-University-Calicut Bypass-Kalpetta-Manathavady bypass-Kabini will work out faster although longer. Mainly because the roads are good throughout and reasonably wide. If you can start a little early you can make good progress.

I have noticed the lorry traffic on the Chamravattom-Tirur-Parappanangadi-Calicut route has increased quite a bit and it is very very difficult to overtake on this stretch as it is mostly narrow and twisty. Hence I recommend against it.

On the 3rd option, again a lot of the sections are pretty narrow (Pattambi-Koppam, Malappuram-Thamarasseri). So although traffic may not be high, progress will be slow and you can end up taking equal or more time than the option recommended above.

Hi Rajeevraj

Thanks again for your inputs.

I did take your advice and was on track until Calicut University. From there Google Maps Navigation suggested a "shorter route" option. I did reach Kalpetta via the beautiful Lakidi section. However the drive took around 5 hours and 20, distance covered was approx 240km and I think there was an error from my end.

Roads were brilliant right through. Traffic was not bad, but yeah, the bus drivers in Kerala are more than a handful.

We left Guruvayoor around 0745 and reached Kabini at 1315, including a 20 minute pit stop and 10 minutes at Lakidi viewpoint.

Route:
Guruvayoor - Kunnamkulam - Kuttipuram - Valanchery- Calicut University - Thamarasseri - Kalpetta - Mananthavady by-pass - Nagarhole Forest - Kabini resort

Headed to Ooty from there

Hope to present a Travelog soon

Thanks again and to Ampere too.

Cheers
Road Tripper

[NPV]

Originally Posted by RoadTripper

I did take your advice and was on track until Calicut University. From there Google Maps Navigation suggested a "shorter route" option. I did reach Kalpetta via the beautiful Lakidi section. However the drive took around 5 hours and 20, distance covered was approx 240km and I think there was an error from my end.

Which was this shorter route ? I know 2 options - one that will lead you to the bypass and reach near Civil station where you merge with NH212 or take the route along one end of Calicut town, reach near Baby Memorial Hospital and take the mini bypass to reach near Civil station and NH 212.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by RoadTripper

Hi Rajeevraj

Thanks again for your inputs.

I did take your advice and was on track until Calicut University. From there Google Maps Navigation suggested a "shorter route" option. I did reach Kalpetta via the beautiful Lakidi section. However the drive took around 5 hours and 20, distance covered was approx 240km and I think there was an error from my end.

Originally Posted by NPV

Which was this shorter route ? I know 2 options - one that will lead you to the bypass and reach near Civil station where you merge with NH212 or take the route along one end of Calicut town, reach near Baby Memorial Hospital and take the mini bypass to reach near Civil station and NH 212.

If not touching Calicut, the only route I can think of is this one

University-Kakanchery-Kondotty-Areekode-Mukkam-Thamarassery. :Link

It is about 15km and 25 min longer as compared to the route via Calicut, assume at that point google calculated it as a faster option.

[prasad14]

Hi,

Originally Posted by svaid

I am travelling from Bangalore to Nileshwar coming tuesday and been suggested the following route : http://goo.gl/maps/1PtsA .

Is the above still considered the best road to Nileshwar from Mysore? Anyone recently done the Madikeri-Panathur-Kanhanghad route and how is the forest road as of now?

What are the eating options for both routes?

Thanks,

Prasad