[NPV]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Also, is the Kukke temple worth visiting ( not from a pilgrimage point of view)

Originally Posted by ampere

The Kukke temple is famous only from a pilgrimage point of view. But other than that you dont have a reason to drive to Kukke (apart from the drive of course).

Pramod - if you do decide to drop the Kukke visit, you can visit Manjarabad Fort at Sakleshpur and then drive to Kadamane Estate around check-in time or little later. This is what we did

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by NPV

Pramod - if you do decide to drop the Kukke visit, you can visit Manjarabad Fort at Sakleshpur and then drive to Kadamane Estate around check-in time or little later. This is what we did

Thanks for the suggestion. I have no plans to visit the temple. Was tempted to drive on this route due to the descriptions in the above posts

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Thanks for the suggestion. I have no plans to visit the temple. Was tempted to drive on this route due to the descriptions in the above posts

Then for that beautiful drive you will have to endure Shiradi!
Not sure if its worth it just for the drive.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by ampere

Then for that beautiful drive you will have to endure Shiradi!
Not sure if its worth it just for the drive.

Thanks. This is info for me. I thought Sakleshpur is not on NH 48. So where does one leave NH 48 to proceed to Bekal?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Thanks. This is info for me. I thought Sakleshpur is not on NH 48. So where does one leave NH 48 to proceed to Bekal?

- By enduring I mean not the road condition, but the traffic and horrible road manners
- Sakleshpur is on NH48. You drive about 35km on NH48 through Shiradi, till you hit Gundya.
- At Gundya you exit to Kukke. Its about 20km from here.
- Its this 20 km that we were all happy about.
- Route Link

Now for Bekal, you go beyond Kukke via Jalasoor Cherkala.

Route Link

[NPV]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Thanks. This is info for me. I thought Sakleshpur is not on NH 48.

Sakleshpur is on NH48 and the Manajarabad fort is right beside the highway which is why it is easy to visit and then proceed to Kadamane.

To get to Kadamane Estate you make a right turn at Sakleshpur onto the road that goes to Mudigere. After a few Km (don't go upto Mudigere!) you make a left turn near a Primary Health Centre, forgot the name of the village though.

After about 2Km or so from the Mudigere turn off on NH48 you will find Manajarabad Fort on the left, need to trek up (easy one) about 200m or so then you have few steps to go up to the fort.

In fact if you have enough time, energy and enthusiasm you can visit the fort, drive up to Kukke and return to Kadamane for a late lunch

[anand_saraf]

Originally Posted by ampere

- By enduring I mean not the road condition, but the traffic and horrible road manners
- Sakleshpur is on NH48. You drive about 35km on NH48 through Shiradi, till you hit Gundya.
- At Gundya you exit to Kukke. Its about 20km from here.
- Its this 20 km that we were all happy about.
- Route Link

Now for Bekal, you go beyond Kukke via Jalasoor Cherkala.

Route Link

Had done Subramanya - Jalsoor - Cherkala - Bekal last week of May. The drive from Subramanya to Jalsoor and onwards to Cherkala is just *amazing*. Beautiful winding roads all with freshly laid tarmac. Had a really great time driving through that route. The 20-odd kms from Gundya to Subramanya pales when compared to the onward drive.

Incidentally, also drove through SH-113 (Kadaba - Subramanya Road) from Uppinangadi to Subramanya on my return through Mangalore at midnight. That route is a lovely drive too - was really surprised to see the number of unprotected bridges on this route. By this I mean bridges with no side railings - just plain road to the edge.

Was disappointed with the temple itself though - far too noisy, crowded and commercialized for my liking; and with all the grills and roof coverings, etc the original feel of the temple is hardly there.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by anand_saraf

Had done Subramanya - Jalsoor - Cherkala - Bekal last week of May. The drive from Subramanya to Jalsoor and onwards to Cherkala is just *amazing*. Beautiful winding roads all with freshly laid tarmac. Had a really great time driving through that route. The 20-odd kms from Gundya to Subramanya pales when compared to the onward drive.

Still with fresh rains, Kukke-Gundya seems to be my personal favourite. Though I agree from a drive point of view, the latter one is better. There is a point after Guthigaru before Jalasoor where you get a terrain of trees. Just too good. I could not snap it as I was in a hurry to hit the destination.

Incidentally, also drove through SH-113 (Kadaba - Subramanya Road) from Uppinangadi to Subramanya on my return through Mangalore at midnight. That route is a lovely drive too - was really surprised to see the number of unprotected bridges on this route. By this I mean bridges with no side railings - just plain road to the edge.

That might be those submergible bridges. But as you say there should not be that many in number. A drive in the night can be quite catastrophic.

Was disappointed with the temple itself though - far too noisy, crowded and commercialized for my liking; and with all the grills and roof coverings, etc the original feel of the temple is hardly there.

Thats the case in all the temple temples now a days. I had been here some about 10 years back. It was a different thing then. And I was there last month. Totally different!

[anand_saraf]

Originally Posted by ampere

Still with fresh rains, Kukke-Gundya seems to be my personal favourite. Though I agree from a drive point of view, the latter one is better. There is a point after Guthigaru before Jalasoor where you get a terrain of trees. Just too good. I could not snap it as I was in a hurry to hit the destination.



That might be those submergible bridges. But as you say there should not be that many in number. A drive in the night can be quite catastrophic.



Thats the case in all the temple temples now a days. I had been here some about 10 years back. It was a different thing then. And I was there last month. Totally different!

Yes Ampere, you are correct. I meant from a drive perspective more than the scenic aspects of it. One of my favorite drives used to be the San Jose - Santa Cruz - Carmel route in California, a decade ago. This drive brought back fond memories of those drives!

You might be right about the bridges, I don't know.. it was pretty late and I was in a hurry to get to the hotel in Subramanya and the wife and I had an animated discussion going on, so the bridges went by with just a glance. There were at least four I think on that stretch.

So true about the temples, I much prefer those temples where you can go and feel peace and solitude.. sadly there are fewer and fewer of those to be found.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by anand_saraf

Yes Ampere, you are correct. I meant from a drive perspective more than the scenic aspects of it. One of my favorite drives used to be the San Jose - Santa Cruz - Carmel route in California, a decade ago. This drive brought back fond memories of those drives!

The other point I realized is one must account for at least 8 hours for total travel time including breaks. One may need to stop at more places thanks to kids (and possibly adults), not being able to handle motion sickness. Its about 150km of winding roads. But yes, its an awesome drive esp, taking a break at one of those hillocks and sipping hot tea.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by anand_saraf

That route is a lovely drive too - was really surprised to see the number of unprotected bridges on this route. By this I mean bridges with no side railings - just plain road to the edge.

Originally Posted by ampere

That might be those submergible bridges. But as you say there should not be that many in number. A drive in the night can be quite catastrophic.

Yes, those are the bridges which gets submerged during heavy rains. One should note that those bridges always get submerged for some days during monsoon. Kukke literally turns into an island. So anyone visiting Kukke or taking that road to reach Kasargod/Bekal during monsoon should better learn the status of those bridges and then plan the travel. Usually Kannada newspapers update the status of those bridges during monsoon. Even the bridge (which is protected by gates at each exit) in Kadaba road also gets submerged during monsoon.

My grandfather used to tell that a KSRTC bus got washed away in one of those bridge around 50 years back when the driver ignored the current of water above the bridge and just continued driving. Everyone in the bus perished except the bus conductor.

Thats the case in all the temple temples now a days. I had been here some about 10 years back. It was a different thing then. And I was there last month. Totally different!

You are absolutely right. During my childhood, we used to just walk-in to the temple. There was absolutely no crowd. According to locals there, the extreme rush started once some well known celebrities visited there. I heard that some people still insist for the room where Sachin Tendulkar stayed .

[androdev]

Looks like Bangalore - Sakleshpur - Subramanya - Jalsoor - Cherkala - Bekal is good without any bad sections.

How is Bangalore - Mysore - Madikeri - Sampaje - Sullia - Jalsoor - Cherkala - Bekal? The only bad section I remember was "Sampaje - Sullia", has this section been done up?

[androdev]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Meanwhile work has slowly started between Sullia - Sampaje from Sullia side. I hope they complete the work before monsoon sets in else it'll be a royal mess this monsoon.

Any update on Sullia - Sampaje section? I am planning to do Bangalore - Bekal. My preference would be Bangalre - CR Patna - Somwarpet - Madikeri - Sampaje - Sullia - Jalsoor - Charkala - Bekal.

I prefer this so I can avoid busy Mysore road and also have an option to halt in Madikere if we want to break journey.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by androdev

Any update on Sullia - Sampaje section? I am planning to do Bangalore - Bekal. My preference would be Bangalre - CR Patna - Somwarpet - Madikeri - Sampaje - Sullia - Jalsoor - Charkala - Bekal.

I prefer this so I can avoid busy Mysore road and also have an option to halt in Madikere if we want to break journey.

Sullia - Sampaje not completely done but manageable. Why don't you try Blr - Hassan - Gundya - Kukke - Jalsoor - Bekal? Super roads all the way except few potholes at shiradi. Between when are you travelling? Got an update from cousin that it's raining continously from past three days. Kukke would have turned into an island in that scenario. If you are planning to take Kukke route, PM me before going. I'll ask my cousin about the Kukke status.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Sullia - Sampaje not completely done but manageable. Why don't you try Blr - Hassan - Gundya - Kukke - Jalsoor - Bekal? Super roads all the way except few potholes at shiradi. Between when are you travelling? Got an update from cousin that it's raining continously from past three days. Kukke would have turned into an island in that scenario. If you are planning to take Kukke route, PM me before going. I'll ask my cousin about the Kukke status.

I am traveling tomorrow. Hope the rains don't create any serious issues.

I prefer via Coorg because I want to halt overnight and BLR-Hassan route doesn't have good hotel options when compared to Coorg. I usually stay overnight @ Madikeri and then continue to Bekal next day. This time I had to do last minute planning and so halting at Kushalnagar instead of Madikeri. How is CR Patna - Holenarspur - Arakalgud - Ramanthpur - Konanur - Kushanlnagar? Or should I just stick to Mysore - Hunsur - Kushalnagar?

In any case, I will update Madikeri to Bekal route status after my trip.

EDIT: CR Patna to Kushalnagar is ruled out as per this post:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3454557
So will stick to Blr - Mysore - Hunsur - Kushalnagar.