[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by soulweaver

I took the slightly longer road via Gooty. Barring a few bad patches here and there, the roads were excellent all through.

After Gooty, we left NH7 and entered the two lane highway. The roads near Bellary were a little patchy but maintaining 80-90 will not be a problem on most roads. There are however some surprise potholes (especially if you are driving at night)

You took the Gooty-Guntakal-Bellary road? Good to know that it is in decent condition, it has been a horror story for some years now!

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

You took the Gooty-Guntakal-Bellary road? Good to know that it is in decent condition, it has been a horror story for some years now!

I think the truck menace might have drastically reduced, now that the Reddy Brothers are in trouble (Obulapuram Mining Co). I think the Supreme Court has banned mining in that area.

[soulweaver]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

Thanks, Soulweaver (interesting name!).

I have wondered about taking this route earlier - but the reported road conditions from Gooty to Bellary have acted as a deterrent.

Can you mention
- The exact route you took
- Time taken in hours and the ride
- Road quality post NH7 (potholes, things to watch out for etc)

Thanks

Kage9091 - very nicely written travelog!

Hello Road Tiger, From Hyderabad to Gooty, I took the trusty and speedy NH7. I did not keep exact time, but from the Airport - till the point where we turn off into Gooty took me three hours and fifteen minutes.

5 kms after you turn off into Gooty, you will have a railway crossing. After passing thru Gooty (three kms) the stretch is pretty neat but only two lane (NH 63). This is the case till we reach the Bellary Roundabout (the one with the Hanuman Statue) after which the road is bad for a stretch of 5 kilometers.


I found the road from Bellary to be decently motorable. Agreed that you cannot hit a ton on the road owing to the traffic around Bellary but after that, it should be possible.

A word of warning though, whenever you see a village approaching or a signboard for a village - it would benefit to slow down. Every village begins and ends with a speed-bump. These speed-bumps are devilishly difficult to spot, but rest assured they will be there.

At most other places, the two-laned road looks like this:


Also, if you are planning on visiting Daroji Sanctuary, please be prepared to ask around - everyone seems to give different directions. At one point, when we asked a group of locals the directions for daroji, half the group (on the right) promptly pointed left, and the other half (on to our left) pointed right.

After some furious consultations in utterly incomprehensible kannada, they managed to drill the route, which happened to be a round-about route that did not bruise the ego of anyone involved.

But other than that, it was all fine.

(If you are planning to go to Anegondi, the story will ofcourse be different - the road is non-existent for most part, but it is scenic for sure)

[Notyetgrey]

Went to Hampi over the weekend. Took the Hyderabad-Jadcherla-Mahbubnagar- Raichur- Sandhanur-Kampli-Kamalapur route. The road is a nightmare now. Too many craters, potholes, speed breakers. There was actually no tar road from Kampli to Kamalapur and entire stretch of 22Kms or so was on 2nd gear. Not good for the car nor for you leg! I ended up taking nearly 7.5 hours to reach Kamalapur. Returned to Hyderabad through SH-63 (Kamalapur-Bellary-Gooty) and then NH7. Longer by nearly 70Kms, but was much better roads. Couple of places where there were potholes, speedbreakers when you enter and exit a village, otherwise was a great drive. Would recommend this route over the other one.

[Night_Hawk]

Originally Posted by Notyetgrey

Went to Hampi over the weekend. Took the Hyderabad-Jadcherla-Mahbubnagar- Raichur- Sandhanur-Kampli-Kamalapur route.

Returned to Hyderabad through SH-63 (Kamalapur-Bellary-Gooty) and then NH7. Longer by nearly 70Kms, but was much better roads. Would recommend this route over the other one.

Thanks for the Good update. Earlier when i went in summer, Road conditions were similar to what you have mentioned.

I did not find decent earteries between Manvi and Kamalapur , any improvements now ?

Where did u stay in Kamalpur.. was in KSTDC Mayura ? Please share the details it will help for future planning

[Notyetgrey]

Originally Posted by Night_Hawk

Thanks for the Good update. Earlier when i went in summer, Road conditions were similar to what you have mentioned.

I did not find decent earteries between Manvi and Kamalapur , any improvements now ?

Where did u stay in Kamalpur.. was in KSTDC Mayura ? Please share the details it will help for future planning

I couldnt find any decent places to eat and ended up skipping lunch. We had booked at the Sloth Bear Resort at Kamalpur. A great place run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts. Slightly expensive, but it was worth evry penny. The tariff is inclusive of stay, breakfast, lunch, dinner, a/c bus for sightseeing, entry fees to parks, guide etc. we actually didn't have to take our car till we left the place. Decent food, great service. The resort is closer to Hampi than the Hotels in Hospet.

[yeggina]

Originally Posted by Notyetgrey

Went to Hampi over the weekend. Took the Hyderabad-Jadcherla-Mahbubnagar- Raichur- Sandhanur-Kampli-Kamalapur route. The road is a nightmare now. Too many craters, potholes, speed breakers. There was actually no tar road from Kampli to Kamalapur and entire stretch of 22Kms or so was on 2nd gear. Not good for the car nor for you leg! I ended up taking nearly 7.5 hours to reach Kamalapur. Returned to Hyderabad through SH-63 (Kamalapur-Bellary-Gooty) and then NH7. Longer by nearly 70Kms, but was much better roads. Couple of places where there were potholes, speedbreakers when you enter and exit a village, otherwise was a great drive. Would recommend this route over the other one.

NotYetGrey, How was the Hyd to Raichur and Raichur to Gangawati stretch. Would you recommend it or is that stretch bad too.
We intend to travel to Hubli and wondering if we should travel up Gangawati on this strecth or divert at Sindanoor itself.

[Notyetgrey]

Originally Posted by yeggina

NotYetGrey, How was the Hyd to Raichur and Raichur to Gangawati stretch. Would you recommend it or is that stretch bad too.
We intend to travel to Hubli and wondering if we should travel up Gangawati on this strecth or divert at Sindanoor itself.

I did the mistake of taking the right to Raichur under the Jadcherla flyover and ended up in a small traffic prone road. I read somewhere on this thread that you need to go beyond Jadcherla to take a road to Raichur. That *might* be better. Road was ok till Gangawati, but traffic prone. The stretch from Kampli to Kamalapur was horrible, other stretches were not too bad.

[d_payne]

Hey, so am planning to do Hyd-Hampi-Chikmagalur next week in my Honda Accord 2.4.

Can I have the best (no issue on distance) route road quality wise? From what I read so far it is Hyd-Gooty-Bellary-Kamalapur-Hampi. Any further details?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by d_payne

Can I have the best (no issue on distance) route road quality wise? From what I read so far it is Hyd-Gooty-Bellary-Kamalapur-Hampi. Any further details?

I did Hyd-Raichur-Sindhanur-Gangawati-Hampi which is roughly 390kms from Hyderabad and reached in roughly 7 hours.

This route is in good condition except that most of the roads would be slightly narrow but, good surface. Some towns which you cross may have bad patches.

Btw, keep a look out for speedbreakers which will be plenty and un-marked

[prasad14]

Hi,

Does anyone recently traveled on Raichur-Manvi-Sindhanur-Gangavati route update me please on the road conditions? I plan to reach Hampi from Mantralayam.

Prasad

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by prasad14

Does anyone recently traveled on Raichur-Manvi-Sindhanur-Gangavati route update me please on the road conditions? I plan to reach Hampi from Mantralayam.

I dont think there would be any major change to road condition as I travelled after the monsoons. As mentioned in my previous post, roads are in good condition except for unmarked speedbreakers.

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I dont think there would be any major change to road condition as I travelled after the monsoons. As mentioned in my previous post, roads are in good condition except for unmarked speedbreakers.

Thanks Mobile008. If you have a log (or from memory), can you please tell me how much time it took for the Gangavati/Hampi - Raichur stretch. Helps me to budget.

Also I hear Raichur to Mantralaya is bad. How long it would take to cover this stretch?

Prasad

[roamingrao]

Originally Posted by prasad14

plan to reach Hampi from Mantralayam

Mantralaya to Hampi

3 options, status as of jan 2012

1.Mantralaya - Adoni - Siruguppa - sindhanur ( sripuram cross ) - Gangavati - Kampli - Hampi. 5 hours

mantralaya - adoni - good road
adoni - harivanam - good
Harivanam ( border post ) - siruguppa : very bad road for 18 kms, 20kmph
Siruguppa - sindhanur - good
sindhanur - gangavati - kampli : excellent
Kampli - Kamalapur : 18 kms pothole ridden
Kamalapur - Hampi : good


2. Mantralaya - adoni - alur - hagari - Bellary - Hospet - Hampi. 5 hours

all good except 25 km stretch from Alur to Hagari - no road



3. Mantralaya - adoni - Alur - Guntakal - Bellary - Hospet - Hampi. 4.5 hours

the best of the three, but for the 25 odd km narrow alur guntakal stretch, but roads are good throughout


Overall, suggest avoid the siruguppa - Kampli region. No repairs after the floods ! Gooty - Guntakal - Bellary - Hospet stretch is good now.

Hope this helps..


edit - your query : raichur to mantralaya is very bad. please do not attempt.

[gajadonga]

Raichur-Mantralaya a bridge was washed away during floods and a makeshift bridge was in place which is also in bad shape.
You can take the other routes suggested.
Raichur to Gangawathi is in excellent condition as I crossed this stretch on my way to Goa last weekend.