Hi,
Thank you all for your inputs - it was really helpful.
It was one of the most awesome weekend trip taken by us. Would love to share it with all. Before we go in detail, few quick updates - 1. They have re-done the Sulya-Kukke section of the road - its still narrow but smooth, 2. Starting from about 20 km before Kusalnagar to Madikeri to few Km before Sulya the road is full of potholes. SUVs can average more than 40kmph - anything smaller would be slower.
We started late - at 8:00 am on Saturday from Indiranagar, reached Mysore bypass around 11:30 with a breakfast break in between. The road started becoming bad as we neared Kushalnagar and it started to rain. Thats when the speed came down and the scenery became better.
There was a road block as some tree fell down and they were clearing the road in the forest near Medicary. With some delay we reached Sulya around 3:30pm and turned right for Kukke. As expected the road was bad but then - surprise - they have re-done the road and after long time - we were driving smoothly without bumps. Reached Kukke around 5:15pm and checked into a hotel and visited temples.
Next morning after breakfast in Neo Mysore Cafe started towards Bisily Ghat around 9:00am. It was raining non-stop from morning and as expected the road was bad, very bad. There were king sized potholes every few feet strategically located so that you can not miss many. I love my car and did not have the heart to do more than 20kmph.
The scenary on both sides were breathtaking and we took many a break just to get out, feel the rain and look around.
We stopped at many falls which were on the side of the road and some actually flows through the road. The clouds were on the road and it kept raining steadily.
After reaching the top of the ghat - about 40 km from Kukke, the road became better and rain also subsided. Rest of the road was very good and journey uneventful. Reached Sakleshpur around 1:00, Hassan at 2:15 and back home at 6:30 with one hour through evening traffic in Bangalore.
We drove slowly, did not follow the plan, stopped at numerous places to enjoy the beauty of the ghats, got drenched and loved every minute of the tour.