[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

There might really be no escape from fogs with all 3 routes but except may be Option 2 since you would need to cross the Western Ghats to reach the coastline. However, Anmod Ghats after repairs is in "Excellent" shape. It is not at all narrow if you compare that to Chorla and not too curvy too.

Sure Parag, while going will take Anmod route since will hit the ghat at around 3PM or so, "hoping" to have less fog. But while returning will consider Ankola Hubli route again "hoping" to have less fog compared to other routes since will start early in the morning from Goa.
Regards

[hothatchaway]

Any feedback on how it would be to ride to Goa at this time of the year? How heavy are the rains currently?

Anybody done a trip from Bangalore in the last few days or planning over the weekend?

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Any feedback on how it would be to ride to Goa at this time of the year? How heavy are the rains currently?

Anybody done a trip from Bangalore in the last few days or planning over the weekend?

It will be a typical monsoon getaway once you leave NH4 and enter western ghats. Since you say ''ride'' than a ''drive'' it will be surely an heavenly experience. I have not done a recent trip but I have been to Goa umpteen times in monsoons taking all popular ghat routes just for the monsoon experience. Goa per se will not enthuse you much during monsoons but the ride part through the hills with stupendous views all the way will definitely be an enthralling one. Consider it more of a hill station visit. I have received updates from my friends that Chorla ghat, Anmod ghat and Amboli ghat ( routes from Belgaum ) are all holding up good even after recent lash of heavy rains but not so sure of Arebail ghat (Hubli-Karwar). Taking one route for onward and a different one for return is what I would suggest.
Chorla and Amboli ghat routes will offer you big waterfalls right on the roadside, Amboli is most beautiful and a popular one here. Two named waterfalls on Amboli route - Amboli and Nangartas. Amboli also an advantage of an accessible highly scenic view point known as ''Kavlesaad point'' where waterfall flows in reverse direction due to strong winds. There is another ''Hiranyakeshi ugam sthan'' point which is also accessible and the birth place of Hiranyakeshi river. Thus, Amboli is heavily promoted by MTDC,Maharashtra. No such named points on other routes. Anmod ghat mountains will be dotted by numerous small waterfalls ( mini version of Malshej ghat near Pune/Mumbai). Each route is somewhat unique.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by vivek95

It will be a typical monsoon getaway once you leave NH4 and enter western ghats. Since you say ''ride'' than a ''drive'' it will be surely an heavenly experience. I have not done a recent trip but I have been to Goa umpteen times in monsoons taking all popular ghat routes just for the monsoon experience. Goa per se will not enthuse you much during monsoons but the ride part through the hills with stupendous views all the way will definitely be an enthralling one. Consider it more of a hill station visit. I have received updates from my friends that Chorla ghat, Anmod ghat and Amboli ghat ( routes from Belgaum ) are all holding up good even after recent lash of heavy rains but not so sure of Arebail ghat (Hubli-Karwar). .

Thanks for the quick reply Vivek, from Bangalore to South Goa, it will have to be Anmod ghat at the most if not Hubli Karwar. Was wondering if the rains are too heavy given that its a long ride from Bangalore and whether its safe to ride

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Thanks for the quick reply Vivek, from Bangalore to South Goa, it will have to be Anmod ghat at the most if not Hubli Karwar. Was wondering if the rains are too heavy given that its a long ride from Bangalore and whether its safe to ride

Quite difficult to say when it rains heavily in the western ghats and when does it not, but as far I know, it had rained madly over the last week in Anmod ghat region. I visited ( read glimpsed) Dudhsagar waterfall on Sunday 10th july through the rail route and it rained terribly during our return. The Braganza ghat on train route is roughly parallel with Anmod ghat road and both fall in same region. Safety is quite an individual perception and the only biggest safety concern for a ride during monsoons in my honest opinion would be a landslide. You can manage safely with thick fog or slippery roads or incessant rainfall but I am personally wary of only landslides. Amboli ghat had reported a landslide about 10 days back but no such news yet from Chorla or Anmod ghats. Anmod ghat is less curvy as compared to Chorla and road is wider, so I can say Anmod would be a safer bet than Chorla during monsoons (talking from my experiences). Skymet predicts rains to intensify again from July 17th over Western Karnataka region.

[hothatchaway]

Rode to Goa last weekend, took the Chitradurga Davangere Hubli bypass Kalghatgi Yellapur Karwar route to South Goa. Barring some patchy stretches after Yellapur (nothing alarming, just the monsoon at work) it was the usual blissful stuff

Took the Yellapur Mundgod Bankapur shortcut on the way back, recommended if you are on a motorcycle as the 2 lanes road winds through forests and the scenery is great. Folks who are driving can stick to the main route with the higher speeds it allows

Interceptor alert - At the Davangere bypass on either side of the highway maybe a km apart

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Folks who are driving can stick to the main route with the higher speeds it allows

Drive next time you will agree that it is still faster than the main route. Tried and tested more than thrice now .

And yes, like you say, it is indeed a super scenic route through "Dark Forests"

Interceptor alert - At the Davangere bypass on either side of the highway maybe a km apart

Their standard locations are usually right in front of the Medical College Hospital on the bypass and they seem to appear on both the carriageways and more so on weekends and with a lot of cops.

Best is to stick to 80 right from that Chalageri Toll all the way till Heballu Toll.

[subbu567]

Hi All, Just a quick update. Drove via Hubli- Alnavar- Anmod- Ponda- Candolim on 21st July. Left home at 315 am and reached Candolim at 1230 with two short breaks. The roads are fantastic. The erstwhile notorious Ramnagar to Mollem stretch is done up too and is butter smooth. However after you cross Ponda- on the Goa side there are many diversions as 4 laning is in progress. Drive safe and enjoy.

Return on 24 th. It's pouring here in Goa. Though was not the case on the ghats while coming in. Encountered dense fog on the Mollem stretch for a few kilometres.

Return hence want to take via Karwar and Yellapur to be safe as very heavy rain is forecast for Goa and the hills on 24 th. Right decision ?

The locals are telling this kind of rain happened many years back !

[rajivtelang]

Thanks for the updates. I too am thinking to take the Hubli-Ankola-Karwar route to and fro Goa to avoid any unforeseen issues in the mountains. It may consume a couple of more hours but safety is first. Planning to start at 5.30AM from Marathahalli and hoping to reach south Goa (Quepem) by 5.30PM by this road.

Coming to interceptors, I was caught once near the Davanagere bypass. Although I was at 85KMPH, the cop did not agree to let me go without paying the fine. Best thing is to remain below 80KMPH around that area. And yes, there is always some interceptor vehicle (weekends?) on either side of the road around this area.

[subbu567]

I returned from Candolim via Karwar, Yellapur, Hubli route, on 24th July. As it turned out the best decision to have taken this route. It was raining @ 845 when we left Candolim and was raining @ 245 pm when we joined NH4 to Bangalore.

The rain was fairly heavy throughout and was the heaviest in the hills around Karwar and on the hills between Ankola and Yellapur.

The wipers were at their highest speed almost always and the speed till NH4, never exceeded 70 Kmph.

There was no fog anywhere though.
And it rained on the high way 80% of the times all the way home!

So reached home by 10 after a 13 hour drive !

Even now while I type the sound of rain drops pounding on the roof of my car is ringing in my ears.

Back to the route details, Google maps showed an arlem by-pass that joined the Margaon bypass via a few village roads helping us to skip the Margaon traffic completely.

I recommend this if anyone wants to drive from north or even from South northwards of Majorda. g Maps was accurate.

The saving grace was the traffic was minimal through out both ways helping me to concentrate just on the rains and poor visibility.

The road surface was good through out including NH 63 despite some patchiness at places.

So as it turned out this was my longest drive from Goa ever and I would not say it was worth it, but yes was not that stressful. But there was a constant fear lurking of potential tree falls and landslides .

AccuWeather and Skymet predictions were 90 % accurate for those like me who analyse hourly weather forecasts, prior to and during the drive 😉

Safe drive folks.

[rahulb22]

Hi All,

Drove to Goa few days back. Summary of the trip as follows:
4:15 AM - Start from Jayanagar, Bangalore
7:15 AM - Breakfast at Kamath, Ranebennur. NH4 is great as always.
11:30 AM - Stop at Ankola for a quick temple visit. Took the Bankapur-Mundgod route to Yellapur. Good 2 lane scenic road from Bankapur with 3-4 small bad sections on the way. Road from Yellapur is in excellent condition
12:30 PM - Hotel Amrut@Karwar for lunch. Great option for seafood
3:00 PM - Reached my destination at Quepem. As Parag Bhai mentioned earlier, 4 Lane construction progressing very fast on the stretch from Ankola but roads still remain excellent.

[rajivtelang]

Returned from Goa yesterday. Took following route. (Thanks to Parag bhai)

23rd July:
Started at 5.45AM from my house at Marathahalli, took NICE road with break at Kamat, Dobbaspet for breakfast, light lunch at Kamat, Ranebennur. Reached my destination Quepem, south Goa at 5.45PM. I did not exceed speed beyond 90KMPH since my Santro was fully loaded with people and luggage. It was indeed foggy after Anmod and for some distance in the ghat section. With sunlight, there is nothing to worry about dense fog. Car has fog lamps and they helped. Goa side road has some reflectors in ghat section to help. One bad thing, the tar on Karnataka side of ghat road has just started getting a bit rough at some places already, nothing much on Goa side yet. (Total distance 620KM)

27th July:
Started late at 7.45AM from Quepem and took same road back. Good thing about this trip was, the rain was not heavy anytime throughout. On return journey there were some clouds in valley but no fog at all in ghat section. With breakfast halt at Kamat, Varur and snacks halt at Kamat, Sira reached home at around 7.45PM. Once again it was speed limited drive

Not much traffic to and fro. Was bit worried about return journey since had started quite late but perhaps the strike of the buses made the traffic an easy go for me yesterday.

Overall Anmod ghat is in great shape and highly recommended for south Goa.

Regards,

[champ27]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Drove to Goa on Wednesday through Friday and my destination was Benaulim Beach near Colva.

Onward:

Route Taken:
Bangalore - Hubli Bypass - Alnavar - Ramnagar - Anmod - Mollem - Madgaon - Benaulim

Did Bangalore - Goa on 21st July with wife and kid in our verna. My destination was varca, so the above route suited my plan. Started at 6 am from Sarjapur Road, reached the destination at 3pm. Thick fog and heavy rains encountered in the ghat section. But driving was fun! Great road conditions all through. I highly recommend this route.

Took the same route on return on 25th July. Started at 11am and reached home by 10 pm. Took a couple of breaks on the way. Found interceptor vans on 3 occasions on NH4, was lucky each time as I was doing 80 or thereabouts. Mainly due to a slow moving vehicle in front or was in the process of overtaking them.
It was pouring in Goa on all 5 days during our stay. The day we left, it was all bright and sunny.

Bangalore - Hubli Bypass : Usual GQ, Good conditions, Rumblers flourish between Chitradurga and Hubli
..
Hubli Bypass - Alnavar - Ramnagar - Anmod - Mollem : Good tolled road till Ramnagar, 4 Railway crossings and we stopped at 2 of these for the first time ever. This is mainly due to a late start of 0530 which otherwise is always 0430 or max 0500.

Surprisingly, we didn't have to wait at any of the crossings. Guess we were lucky.

Mining within Goa has ensured the presence of a lot of mining/tipper trucks all over Goan roads throughout the day. This certainly adds to the time taken to reach your destination as they slow you down and are in abundance since you meet them quite often on roads
..
These trucks are driven dangerously and very carelessly. Need no debate here on their driving manners. My advise would be to drive very cautiously when you encounter them as every move of them can be fatal to the rest of the crowd around it on wheels

We didn't find any tippers on the way, not that I am complaining . Wonder why? May be during heavy rains mining activities are stalled.

[maheshramaling]

We are planning to go to Goa and thought of seeking best route to north goa. I have always stayed in South - so it was easy to take it via Karwar. But - this time we are planning to stay in North Goa (Ashvem Beach).

Is this the best route to North Goa (Ashvem Beach) or go via Belgaum, Amboli? Would be great if anyone have taken this route recently and share the route conditions?

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hosa...1!2d15.6386337

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

We are planning to go to Goa and thought of seeking best route to north goa. I have always stayed in South - so it was easy to take it via Karwar. But - this time we are planning to stay in North Goa (Ashvem Beach).

Is this the best route to North Goa (Ashvem Beach) or go via Belgaum, Amboli? Would be great if anyone have taken this route recently and share the route conditions?

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hosa...1!2d15.6386337

1. Direct route I would recommend :- Bangalore-Dharwad-Alnavar-Bidi-Khanapur-Jamboti-Chorla ghat-Keri-Sanquelim-Bicholim-Assnora-Mapusa-Ashvem. Note that you don't need to run into Alnavar town on this route as you pass it on your left from outskirts shortly before hitting the right turn off for Khanapur.

The only recently reported bad stretch on the above route in this thread is Khanapur--Jamboti 17 kms. But it should be drivable, not too horrible road as per reports. Khanapur-Jamboti is also most narrowest being a one lane road but with less to nil traffic. The roads from NH4 exit till Khanapur and beyond Jamboti till Mapusa are a mix of wide and narrow 2 lane roads.

Karwar route will be too circuitous for North Goa followed by Belgaum-Amboli which also is a detour.

For clean and best roads all through, you have

2. Bangalore-Dharwad-Ramnagar-Anmod ghat-Mollem-Ribandar bypass-Panjim-Mapusa-Ashvem. Little longer than direct route and some diversions between Mollem and Ponda. Involves crossing too much of typical Goan traffic till Ashvem. For Calangute/Candolim/Baga I recommend this route as the first choice as it is tad shorter with wide 2 lane roads all through but for Ashvem and beyond, it becomes a second choice.

3. Bangalore-Belgaum-Chorla ghat-Sanquelim-Bicholim-Mapusa-Ashvem. No bad roads or road works anywhere on this stretch, almost superb all throughout. Little longer than "direct route" I mentioned previously plus gives you Belgaum traffic. Last choice amongst all three only because of extra distance and time.


When are you planning this trip ?? Situation is presently tense in North Karnataka because of water issue on KA-Goa border.

Needless to say, notice the overlapping between all three routes.

EDIT :- Checked the Google map link you shared, it is similar to the direct route I mentioned except that it routes you via Kittur-Bidi-Khanapur. I have never travelled between Kittur and Bidi but heard that it's a decent single lane road. I would have that way suggested MK Hubli--Khanapur too as I have travelled on it but I am not too sure of latest road conditions in these monsoons.

On the other hand, Dharwad-Alnavar is a tolled road, so I hope road conditions have remained good in these rains. Two railway crossings enroute but not an issue. Alnavar-Bidi-Khanapur is quite a major state highway as compared to MK Hubli/ Kittur--Khanapur, so roads are adequately wide 2 laned and might have not gone bad in rains. These are the reasons to suggest the "direct route" as mentioned at the beginning of the post. My recommendations change with seasons