[RGP]

Hi,

I am traveling from Pune to Goa on 4 Sept and then from Goa to Bangalore on 8 Sept.
Based on what I have read so far, I plan Pune->Nipani->Ajra->Panaji and then Panaji->Karwar->Hubli->Bangalore or Panaji->Karwar->Shimoga->Tumkur->Bangalore.
Would appreciate advice on current state of roads and the best option to take for both journeys.

Ranjit

[ravibhat]

I suggest Puna - Nippani - Sankeshwar - Ajra - Amboli - Sawantwadi - Panaji I feel this route has much better road. however you can tirn right from Nippani itself road might be good.

Panaji - Karwar - Ankola - Mirjan - Devimane Ghat - Sirsi - Siddapur - Talguppa - Sagar - Shimoga - Tumkur - Bangalore. This is most scenic route and you would love this. but in this you need to know where to take left turn in nh17 after Mirjan to enter Devimane ghat road. where to take right turn just before sirsi towards siddapura. where to take left turn towards talguppa after siddapura. From there its pretty simple stretch. Between Ankola and Mirjan which is around 25km has really terrible couple of bad stretch of total 10km.

I am visting to Ankola from Bangalore in couple of days I will update about roads.

Regards,

Ravi.

[ravibhat]

I reached Ankola, Travelled Bangalore - Chitradurga - Haveri - Sirsi and stayed overnight and reached Ankola next day in the afternoon after usual visiting of relative's house.

About road condition: Bangalore to Chitradirga excellant except 3km single lane in TumKur.

Chitradurga around 5km bad road, from there untill Haveri around 30km bad roads here and there. It just irritates with sudden bad road.

Actually If government really want to complete this 4 laning work I am sure they can do it within 3 months of effort, I am confused why they are not doing it fast.

Haveri to Sirsi 5km bad road apart from that no problems. Thanks to State Government for filling potholes even during rainy season.

I travelled to relative's house near Sirsi where we have excellant single lane road built just 4 years back. Its awasome road this time has few potholes but within a month patch up work is going on, Thanks to good care takers in this area!

Road update: Davemane ghat decent roads.

Kumta to Ankola : Its national disaster of roads :(. Only 15km out of 40 km stretch is potholed but I can clearly see highway authority not doing anything to fix the roads. They are just filling big big rocks into potholes and putting soil/mud on it or whatever they find road side.

Looks like they are bankrupt! don't have money to repair the roads. Last 2 weeks no rain at all around here, they could have put fresh tarr only these stretches where there is pothole. I am very disappointed they are not doing anything to address the problems. I have taken lot of photographs will post them soon.

Regards,

Ravi.

[lohithrao]

Ravi, i think NH17 is gone back to moon state? also is the chitradurga route better compared to Shimoga??

I could not head towards Sirsi last week:( went to Mangalore instead due to lack of time...i must saythe hiways are in a sad state allover karnataka...

Road conditions on NH48 is getting BAD...its matter of few months and am sure it would also be in a sad state...from Nelamangala to Hassan, from sakleshpur onwards its already in a pathetic state..

[ravibhat]

NH17 has lot of bad stretches and big big potholes. The way they are repairing it is very bad, even I can and fill the potholes with road side rocks and mud. If it rains again expect worst condition.

Road side of the highway is full of dust, I really pity people who stay near highway. This is first time in history NH17 is in bad state. In 30 years I remember my days of NH17 travelling always comfortable with smooth patches.

Shimoga and Chitradurga route both are one and the same! I usually take these 2 routes every alternative times I travel for a change. I find both the route have both advantage and disadvantage.

Regards,

Ravi.

[lohithrao]

Even i remember that NH17 used to be in a good shape, have travelled the stretch Kundapura till Mangalore too many times from my childhood....dont remember if it had gone so bad.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

Shimoga and Chitradurga route both are one and the same! I usually take these 2 routes every alternative times I travel for a change. I find both the route have both advantage and disadvantage.

Regards,

Ravi.

Would it mean going to Sirsi from Haveri if you are opting to go via Chitradurga, in that case how are the road conditions between Chitradurga and Haveri as am planning to drive to Mahabaleshwar in about a month's time. Thanks.

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Even i remember that NH17 used to be in a good shape, have travelled the stretch Kundapura till Mangalore too many times from my childhood....dont remember if it had gone so bad.

I remember the buses that used to literally fly between Mangalore and Udupi when I used to go on official work every month to that side of Karnataka around '96 / '97. The road used to be awesome all the way upto Karwar. Once did Karwar - Mangalore by a KSRTC Semi Deluxe in about 4 1/2 hours in the middle of the night, courtesy the lovely road conditions that NH17 had then

[ravibhat]

srikanth roads between chitradurga and haveri quiet ok with around 30 odd km potholes and maximum 2 km bad stretch you can spot. It would eat up your driving time a bit.

I feel in 1 month time they will fill the potholes because rain has stopped from last 2 weeks and I am sure If highway authority is still interested to give public decent road they must fill the potholes at least. I suggest at least put sand or mud or soil whatever NHAI can afford.

You can still consider to take that highway for sure because alternate route might be more bad.

Regards,

Ravi.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

srikanth roads between chitradurga and haveri quiet ok with around 30 odd km potholes and maximum 2 km bad stretch you can spot. It would eat up your driving time a bit.

I feel in 1 month time they will fill the potholes because rain has stopped from last 2 weeks and I am sure If highway authority is still interested to give public decent road they must fill the potholes at least. I suggest at least put sand or mud or soil whatever NHAI can afford.

You can still consider to take that highway for sure because alternate route might be more bad.

Regards,

Ravi.

Thanks Ravi, typically how long should it take between Chitradurga & Haveri taking the road conditions into account and sedate driving, I have a Wagon R so typically I maintain a Top speed of about 90kmph on good roads irrespective of whether its 4 lanes or 2 lanes.

[akroy]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

Thanks Ravi, typically how long should it take between Chitradurga & Haveri taking the road conditions into account and sedate driving, I have a Wagon R so typically I maintain a Top speed of about 90kmph on good roads irrespective of whether its 4 lanes or 2 lanes.

Assume max 3 hours between Chitradurga to haveri

[RGP]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

Panaji - Karwar - Ankola - Mirjan - Devimane Ghat - Sirsi - Siddapur - Talguppa - Sagar - Shimoga - Tumkur - Bangalore.
Ravi.

Hi,

Thanks to all for their inputs, and apologies for the delayed response. I drove from Bangalore to Pune on 30th and have been caught up in family commitments since then.

My 2 bits on the Bangalore-Pune route... as other posts indicate, it is great except for the Chitradurga-Haveri stretch. I took 14.5 hours to reach Pune driving at a comfortable pace and taking several breaks. I guess total driving time was about 13 hours.

En route to Goa I plan to turn off at Sankeshwar.. I had said Nippani because a map I saw suggested that Sankeshwar was actually off NH4, but I did see that we go right past there.

I still have not decided which Goa->Blr route to take... I think I will decide that probably only just before I leave. Which Goa->Blr route would be fastest, even if it is not the most scenic or has some bad patches (so long as they are not bad enough to strand a Santro)? I strongly suspect my departure will be delayed.... so time taken to reach Bangalore is going to be a big factor as I have to be back at work next morning.

Regards,

Ranjit

[akshayo]

I just did Pune-Goa-Pune trip last week. I would second that route Pune-Kolhapur-Sankeshwar-Gadhinlaj-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi-NH17 is good to go. There are little patchy streches between Sankeshwar-Amboli but those are ok.

The other route is Pune-Kolhapur-Nippani-Uttur-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi-NH17. The strech between Nippan-Uttur is reported to be bad.

[ravibhat]

I am still in Jungles near Sirsi so net connectivity is poor. Chitradurga - Haveri need 3 to 3 and half hours to travel. Out of 135km expect 30km bad road.

I feel Bangalore - Chitradurga - Hubli - Yellapur - Karwar - Goa is best and fastest route. and Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Talguppa - siddapur - sirsi - devinmane ghat - mirjan - ankola - karwar - goa is most scenic route with less traffic.

Regards,

Ravi.

[RGP]

I drove Pune-Goa yesterday via Sankeshwar-Amboli and found the route to be terrific. A few bone-rattling stretches, but not enough to detract from the scenic beauty of the route. Reached my destination near Candolim 8.5 hours after starting from Pune.

Originally Posted by ravibhat

I feel Bangalore - Chitradurga - Hubli - Yellapur - Karwar - Goa is best and fastest route. and Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Talguppa - siddapur - sirsi - devinmane ghat - mirjan - ankola - karwar - goa is most scenic route with less traffic.

Is the above true for the return drive also in terms of time? What I mean is that climbing up from the coast to the plains could take more time than driving down.

Ravibhat - do let me know if it is ok for me to PM/speak with you to get pointers on the couple of exit points you asked me to be careful about if I decide to take the Devimane ghat route back to Bangalore.

Ranjit

[lohithrao]

I think Pune is the right place to work so close to the western ghats, and 8.5hrs away from Goa guess i need to look for a job there

Originally Posted by RGP

I drove Pune-Goa yesterday via Sankeshwar-Amboli and found the route to be terrific. A few bone-rattling stretches, but not enough to detract from the scenic beauty of the route. Reached my destination near Candolim 8.5 hours after starting from Pune.


Is the above true for the return drive also in terms of time? What I mean is that climbing up from the coast to the plains could take more time than driving down.

Ravibhat - do let me know if it is ok for me to PM/speak with you to get pointers on the couple of exit points you asked me to be careful about if I decide to take the Devimane ghat route back to Bangalore.

Ranjit