[deehunk]

Originally Posted by hserus

Thanks, I ended up driving straight to Sringeri as I had a fellow bhpian to drive shotgun and share the driving. Brilliant roads for an endeavour as you get closer to the destination.

Since you are there in the right season, enjoy the green drive and visit all the nearby places.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by deehunk

Since you are there in the right season, enjoy the green drive and visit all the nearby places.

No other places as I had meetings to attend - I’ve returned. Thanks for the hotel suggestion, which is filed away for a future trip.

[vinodrkn]

Hi, planning to do a Bangalore to Horanadu (via Mudigeri) to Sringeri (via Balehonnur) trip this weekend. Any recent observations on the road quality, and if there are craters on the way. Will an Elantra be able to take 4 adults on this stretch.

[deehunk]

I have not heard about any bad stretches recently from my friends, my only suggestion is to stay in Kalasa or Sringeri and avoid Horanadu for an overnight stay.

[vinodrkn]

An update on the roads as of end November 2022.

Onward:
Bangalore to Hassan : smooth
Hassan to Belur : few bad patches
Belur to Horanadu via Mudigere : few bad patches
Horanadu to Sringeri via Basarikatte : road condition is bad
Google did a silent divert, we originally wanted to go through Balehonnur
Stick to the Balehonnur route !

Return:
Sringeri to Balehonnur to Chikamagalur : few bad patches
Chikmagalur to Belur to Hassan : few bad patches
Hassan to Bangalore : smooth

Few bad patches = small to medium sized craters, uneven roads

Elantra could manage with 4 adults + luggage on board. Driven with TLC.

[sandsun7]

Bangalore to Sringeri updates as on December 4th:

Bangalore-Hassan: smooth as it has been since a few years. a few flyover constructions post Belur cross can slow you down a bit but nothing to be bothered about. Plenty of new restaurants are coming up on this route.
Did not face any problems on the Channarayapatna bypass which is being 4 laned. Some new stretches are open.

Hassan- Belur has few potholes in the first few kms which Subsequently improves.
Belur- Chikmaglur is in decent condition with the stray pothole here and there.

Chikmaglur-Vastare road widening is complete and is a breeze now.

Vastare-Aldur-Balehonnur is littered with potholes, with many stretches bad. . Will considerably slow you down.

Balehonnur-Jayapura is better but still has potholes here and there.

Jayapura-Sringeri is in top condition.

I started at 10.30 AM from Near Sahakarnagar on a sunday morning and was at Sringeri by 5.10 PM. This journey time included one stop over for lunch at A2B Udayapura amounting to around 30-35 minutes and another tea break at Badra stop for around 15-20 minutes.

[contentedbloke]

Folks, i just completed a trip to Sringeri and Udipi and wanted to share some of my experiences with you all.

My onward trip was from Indiranagar, bangalore and so google showed me the route through Yashwanthpur-Nagasandra to exit the city. The road upto Hassan was great and was four lane expressway. From Hassan ring road, it became two lane for long stretches. Having been used to extensive state highways in Tamil Nadu with proper medians, i was little surprised by two lane roads for such an important tourist destination.

At Belur, google map showed me a shorter route to reach Sringeri. Believing it, i took the plunge to later on realize that this was a completely pot holed, half broken single lane road which was deserted the entire 1.25 hour journey. Locals were wondering why i was traversing this route and there were no signposts anywhere. This was possibly one of the worst routes i have ever taken and we all ended up cursing google maps! A fully laden Innova with 6 passengers and luggage for 3 days, the vehicle was really put through hell. This alone warrants a separate post on how to ensure google doesn't throw up such crappy suggestions!

We completed the Sringeri pilgrimage and then left for Udipi next morning. Thankfully we did not have any breakfast as we were warned about the ghat roads and hence wanted to travel on an empty stomach. After finishing darshan at Udipi, we left for Bangalore. This time, I wanted to be sure that I would only travel on the main roads and get pulled into some offbeat track.

My route was Udipi-Karkala-Belthagandy-Ujire-Charmady-Mudigere-Belur-Hassan-Bangalore. Couple of striking observations: firstly, there were hardly any good veg restaurants / coffee shops between Udipi to Mudigere. We all kept searching for a vegetarian darshini joint but could find nothing. Very few coffee shops either. Once again, couldn't help comparing it with TN state highways which are replete with coffee stops and "Arya bhavans / A2Bs". The other issue was that, despite being such a key route, there were very few sign posts along the way and even those few were in Kannada. Also, from Udipi, all signposts only referred to Dharmastala and nothing on even Belur or Hassan, let alone Bangalore! The road were being broadened in parts and was not great shape. We were also quite unprepared for the number of ghat roads we would have to go through before reaching the expressways. All the time we were either climbing up or down some hill / mountain or going through some forest but didn't know which or why as there were no signposts in English. Google maps wasn't very informative either. In fact, these ghat roads were quite deserted and I could envisage that night drives through these roads could get quite scary, especially if there was a break down / puncture! In fact, for this very reason i am still not sure if i had chosen the correct route since this didn't seem like a major state highway connecting two key destinations.

I am writing this post to help those are making this trip for the first time to be prepared to confirm the route with locals and not depend on Google maps, and also carry snacks / coffee with you in case you can't find a good restaurant.to break.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by contentedbloke

Folks, i just completed a trip to Sringeri and Udipi and wanted to share some of my experiences with you all.

At Belur, google map showed me a shorter route to reach Sringeri. Believing it, i took the plunge to later on realize that this was a completely pot holed, half broken single lane road which was deserted the entire 1.25 hour journey. Locals were wondering why i was traversing this route and there were no signposts anywhere. This was possibly one of the worst routes i have ever taken and we all ended up cursing google maps!

Even I observed this, post Belur, gmaps diverts you through some interior routes bypassing Chikmaglur and joining somewhere near Aldur. Since I knew the route well, I ignored gmaps suggestions. When routing, sometimes it is better to do some homework on the route and plan for waypoints in advance.

Originally Posted by contentedbloke

My route was Udipi-Karkala-Belthagandy-Ujire-Charmady-Mudigere-Belur-Hassan-Bangalore. . We were also quite unprepared for the number of ghat roads we would have to go through before reaching the expressways. All the time we were either climbing up or down some hill / mountain or going through some forest

That is the beauty of our Western Ghats my dear friend!!

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by contentedbloke

My route was Udipi-Karkala-Belthagandy-Ujire-Charmady-Mudigere-Belur-Hassan-Bangalore. Couple of striking observations: firstly, there were hardly any good veg restaurants / coffee shops between Udipi to Mudigere. We all kept searching for a vegetarian darshini joint but could find nothing.

There are multiple veg hotels in Karkala, Moodabidri, Venur, Belthangadi. Yes these are not darshini types but proper hotels. (I had breakfast in Hotel Sagar , Moodabidri on 22nd Dec on my way to Bangalore)

This is not to counter you but to help the future travelers.

And if you take Udupi - Padubidri - Karkala route, then you will find more options for breakfast/food even before you reach Karkala.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Even I observed this, post Belur, gmaps diverts you through some interior routes bypassing Chikmaglur and joining somewhere near Aldur. Since I knew the route well, I ignored gmaps suggestions. When routing, sometimes it is better to do some homework on the route and plan for waypoints in advance.

When I compare these 2 routes, gmap suggests Belur - Aldur is shorter in distance as well as time instead of going via Chaikkamagalur.
Any info about this stretch being fixed after your last update?

Apologies screengrab did not capture the time & distance in first pic, its 34 KMs, 54 mins.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by thirugata

When I compare these 2 routes, gmap suggests Belur - Aldur is shorter in distance as well as time instead of going via Chaikkamagalur.
Any info about this stretch being fixed after your last update?

Apologies screengrab did not capture the time & distance in first pic, its 34 KMs, 54 mins.

I was at a resort near Aldur (Nexstay Coffee Grove, Anishka Plantations, Yelagudige, strong recommendation) for the new year.

The Aldur Belur road is 25+ km of one pothole after the other. My endeavour handled them just fine, but you will have fun tiptoeing from one pothole to the other if you try it in a low GC sedan.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by hserus

I was at a resort near Aldur (Nexstay Coffee Grove, Anishka Plantations, Yelagudige, strong recommendation) for the new year.

The Aldur Belur road is 25+ km of one pothole after the other. My endeavour handled them just fine, but you will have fun tiptoeing from one pothole to the other if you try it in a low GC sedan.

Thanks for the update, will avoid that stretch.

[rajchetan]

Hi All,

I need suggestion for my trip planned during the republic holidays.

Please note, my 5year old has a bit of Car Sickness. Hence would like to avoid bad patches and also take breaks as much as possible.

Suggestions on route and stays will be welcome.

26th Morning - Bangalore J P Nagar to Dharmasthala to Puttur (Tentative to avoid travel next day)
27th Morning - Dharmasthala to Akkarekodi - plan to attend a family function. Head to Kukke if possible same day, else stay at Puttur over night.
28th Morning - Kukke Temple Dharshan, and then head to Sakleshpura (Stay overnight)
29th Afternoon - Head back to Bangalore.

Request suggestions on
1) Stops for food, sight seeing, etc.
2) Places to stay at Puttur, Kukke & Sakleshpura
3) Roads to Avoid,

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by thirugata

When I compare these 2 routes, gmap suggests Belur - Aldur is shorter in distance as well as time instead of going via Chaikkamagalur.
Any info about this stretch being fixed after your last update?

Apologies screengrab did not capture the time & distance in first pic, its 34 KMs, 54 mins.

Attachment 2407230

Attachment 2407229

Avoid that route even if it shows shorter distance. It is littered with potholes as per my colleagues who do Blr-sringeri frequently!

[Rajesh K R]

Hi all,

Did a overnighter from BLR to Dharmasthala and Kukke two days ago. Onward was through Charmadi Ghat.

Hassan-Belur is known to almost everyone - same pretty decent surface, Belur-Kottigehara stretch is good, with some sections relaid with markings etc.
Kottigehara to Charmadi Village - the actual Ghat road is in pristine shape with absolutely no potholes / rough surfaces.
after Charmadi village, the road surface is a bit rough at couple of places, but nothing to complain.

Dharmasthala to Kukke : via Periyashanti & Ichilampady - beautiful single lane road in good condition (55 kms)

Our REturn was via Bisle Ghat : The ghat road has deteriorated from what i saw 1.5 years ago, but still not a deal breaker. But the real disappointment is the road onwards, Shanivarsanth - Arkalgud - HN Pura - Channarayapatna, it is broken in many places with rough surfaces, potholes adding to the multiple humps many of them unmarked and not easily visible in night.

In my opinion, the best bet would be now Kukke-Madikeri-Mysore-BLR. This route is about 50kms more than the above one, but i think would be faster, as it has decent roads upto Mysore, and BLR-MYS being a fast expressway