[procrj]

Originally Posted by madhav

Nelamangala - Kunigal - Holenarasipura - Bylakuppe - Sullia - Bekal or take the Mysore road?

Would definetly recomend Nelamangala route over Mysore road thanks to the long weekend and WIP sections on mysore road. You could also consider Holenarasipura - Arkalgud - Shanivarasanthe - Somwarpete - Madikeri - Sullia as roads are good, some nice green twisty sections as well and generally, the traffic on this stretch is very minimial as compared to Hunsur - Kushalnagar - Madikeri. With regards to Halts and restrooms - You have a lot of options on the Nelamangala - CR Patna stretch. After that, you will need to rely on restrooms at pertrol pumps. Generaly speaking, the restrooms in IOC and Essar petrol stations are clean, well maintained and have separate restrooms for Men and Women.

[ccnarayanan]

Madikeri has a few restaurants including a Coffee Day and Dominos.

There is a Coffee Day near Sullia (https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/....4061327?hl=en) which may come handy for snacks and washrooms.

Originally Posted by madhav

Folks, planning a 3 car drive to Bekal this coming weekend. Which route is better, Nelamangala - Kunigal - Holenarasipura - Bylakuppe - Sullia - Bekal or take the Mysore road? Consideration is the fastest route with good/decent roads. Also, we have kids and ladies, so halts with decent restrooms will help.
Thanks in advance!

[balenoed_]

We have stopped by here few weeks back for dinner.

Just before reaching Sullya, on the left side. Nice parking, decent and clean Veg restaurant.

Hotel Udupi Garden
https://goo.gl/maps/iLgvZN47aSkchm5R7

[KartikBN]

Hi BHPians,
We are planning to go to Neeleshwar this weekend but we are starting on a Friday early morning. We will be 3 cars, all family/cousins with 2 kids. Wanted your opinion on the 2 routes. Lets keep in mind we'll leave by 4AM Friday morning.

Route 1: NICE road - Mandya - Mysore bypass - Hunsur - Gonikoppal - Payyavoor - Sreekandapuram - Taluparamba - Neeleshwar

Route 2: Nelamangala - CRpatna - Holenarsipura - Arakalagud - Madikeri - Sullia - Kanhangad

We have a City, Creta and an I20. Maybe a lil loaded vehicle

[KartikBN]

Originally Posted by KartikBN

Hi BHPians,
We are planning to go to Neeleshwar this weekend but we are starting on a Friday early morning. We will be 3 cars, all family/cousins with 2 kids. Wanted your opinion on the 2 routes. Lets keep in mind we'll leave by 4AM Friday morning.

Route 1: NICE road - Mandya - Mysore bypass - Hunsur - Gonikoppal - Payyavoor - Sreekandapuram - Taluparamba - Nileshwar

Route 2: Nelamangala - CRpatna - Holenarsipura - Arakalagud - Madikeri - Sullia - Kanhangad

We have a City, Creta and an I20. Maybe a lil loaded vehicle

So we travelled to Nileshwar on Feb 12, here's the route we took.

Bangalore to Nileshwar: Left JP Nagar at about 4:45 in the morning, fueled up at Shell (Tumkur road).
Took this route: Nelamangala - CRpatna - Holenarsipur - Araklagud - Kushalnagar - Madikeri - Sullia - Bandadka - Kanhangad - Nileshwar.

Roads till CRpatna is a breeze since we started early. Once we head towards Holenarsipura road, it slows down. Single roads, speed breakers and some local traffic. Roads are fairly smooth and nothing is worry. Good country side scenery and goes all the way upto Kushalnagar. From Kushalnagar all the way upto Sullia the roads are just amazing. It was newly tarred but they are yet to be marked. Also, we saw fairly less traffic after Madikeri.
The worst stretch was after we took the deviation from Sullia towards Bandadka, about 12-15 kms took almost 50 mins which is the KA/KL border. There is absolutely no road and only gravel. It cuts across the border and through thick forest where there is no network coverage too. God help if you have a breakdown or a flat tire. Please DO NOT take this. However, when you enter Kerala its a breeze all the way to Nileshwar.

Nileshwar to Bangalore:
Took this route: Cheruvathur - Taliparamba - Ulikkal - Makutta - Gonikopalu - Hunsur - Srirangapatna - Mandya - NICE - Kanakapuraroad - JP Nagar

Roads starting from Nileshwar was smooth. The best drive was Cheruvathur to Gonikopal, very well laid roads and they were marked well. It was a smooth drive. Even when we entered Hunsur the road was descent but with a little bit of traffic. Also, when we entered the Mysore road, it was not bad at all but only had deviations and surprisingly they were well marked.

In my opinion - if one is starting on a weekday and early in the morning from Bangalore, taking the Mysore road - Virajpet is any day the best bet. The Nelamangala route is just too long, adds mileage and also slows down a bit due to speedbreakers. And I think we were lucky as we left Bangalore on a friday and returned on a monday. So I would always vouch for the Mysore-Virajpet - Iritty route to get to Bekal/Nileshwar and back.

[nax04]

Just wanted to check on the road conditions to Bekal from Bangalore.

Google Map shows
Blr - Mys - Hunsur - Piriyapatna - Kushalnagar - Madikeri - Sampaje - Sullia - Jalsoor - Mulleria - Chengala - Kalanad - Bekal

Is there any other best route other than this?
Priorities -- 1) Road condition 2) Clean washrooms for female travellers 3) Decent hotels

Thanks in advance!

[ccnarayanan]

Bangalore-Mysore - you won't find any issues around restaurants and washrooms.

Madikeri town has a Dominos as well as a CCD. Between Madikeri and Sullia, there is a CCD.

In late Jan-2021, there was a lot of construction happening between Mysore and Bangalore and hence numerous detours. Not sure about Mysore-Madikeri but Madikeri to Sullia is very good and scenic road.

You can also look at Bangalore-Kunigal-Madikeri-Sullia-Bekal if you want to avoid the construction zones between Bangalore and Mysore. There is a Kamat and CCD near Kunigal.

Originally Posted by nax04

Just wanted to check on the road conditions to Bekal from Bangalore.

Google Map shows
Blr - Mys - Hunsur - Piriyapatna - Kushalnagar - Madikeri - Sampaje - Sullia - Jalsoor - Mulleria - Chengala - Kalanad - Bekal

Is there any other best route other than this?
Priorities -- 1) Road condition 2) Clean washrooms for female travellers 3) Decent hotels

Thanks in advance!

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by nax04

Is there any other best route other than this?

You can either take CR Patna-Holenarsipura-Arakalgud-Kushalnagar-Madikeri Or Hassan-Gorur-Arakalgud-Kushalnagar-Madikeri.

Rest options are aplenty until CR Patna/Hassan. From there nothing much until Kushalnagar.

In March, driving Srirangapatna-Pandavapura-Belur Cross-Nelamangala was more peaceful than Mysore-Srirangapatna drive.

[ccnarayanan]

Did Bangalore-Bekal on 19-Aug. Left at 06:06 and reached at 16:21 (via Kunigal - Channarayapatna - Holenarsipur - Kushalnagar - Madikeri - Sullia). There was road closure near Bovikanam (Google route), so had to go back and take the route via Cherkala. Roads were good throughout.

My wife and I had full vaccination certificate and my daughter had negative RT-PCR test report as per the government requirements. There were no checks at the border, but the hotel checked those documents.

On the way back, on 23-Aug, took Bekal - Cherkala - Sullia - Madikeri - Kushalnagar - Piriyapatna - Hunsur - Srirangapatna - Bangalore. Left Bekal at 08:18 and reached Bangalore at 19:11. Roads were good. Mysore-Bangalore Road construction is still going on but doesn't impact the speed (the detours are just annoying).

All of us had negative RT-PCR test reports as per the requirement for entry to Karnataka from Kerala. We were stopped somewhere between Sullia and Madikeri. They verified our negative RT-PCR test reports and entered details such as vehicle number, names, phone number etc. in a register.

[BlackRaven]

Dear BHPians, I am planning a Bangalore Bekal trip. Any suggestions on the routes based on recent travel? I am fine taking a slightly longer routes if it means better roads. Thanks.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by BlackRaven

Dear BHPians, I am planning a Bangalore Bekal trip. Any suggestions on the routes based on recent travel? I am fine taking a slightly longer routes if it means better roads. Thanks.

Bangalore - Mysore Road - Hunsur Road - Kushal Nagar - Madikeri - Sullya - Jalsoor - Cherkala - Bekal

Though road expansion is in full swing on Mysore, I would still recommend it. Rest of it is smooth and that is the usual route.

[nurni76]

Has anyone travelled to Taj Bekal recently? What's the suggested route? We are planning to go there next week and wanted to understand the best route (considering road conditions) to get there?

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by nurni76

Has anyone travelled to Taj Bekal recently? What's the suggested route? We are planning to go there next week and wanted to understand the best route (considering road conditions) to get there?

Standard route:

Bangalore - Mysore - Hunsur - Kushal Nagar - Madikeri - Sullya - Jalsoor - Cherkala - Bekal

Roads are in good condition overall. It is usually the Madikeri - Sullya stretch that gets affected due to heavy rains. Watch out the rain situation during the next week. If no heavy rains reported in that region, then good to go via above.

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Standard route:

Bangalore - Mysore - Hunsur - Kushal Nagar - Madikeri - Sullya - Jalsoor - Cherkala - Bekal

Roads are in good condition overall. It is usually the Madikeri - Sullya stretch that gets affected due to heavy rains. Watch out the rain situation during the next week. If no heavy rains reported in that region, then good to go via above.

Thanks much. Yes hoping that there are no rains next weekend

[realactivex]

Originally Posted by nurni76

Thanks much. Yes hoping that there are no rains next weekend

Please keep us posted on how the journey goes.
Even i have a plan on that route next week or the week after.
How to plan my travel?
What is the realistic travel time expected, and where can we stop for vegetarian meals
Any directions appreciated.