[GLAD73]

Need inputs on a suitable route from Goa to Bangalore. Will be travelling in a Celerio AMT with wife an both my kids. Plan to leave around 4.30 am on the 19th . Am unsure about the state of the Anmod ghat and so right now am planning to travel via the Karwar- Ankola- Yellapur- Kallanghatgi route. Are there decent restaurants with clean wash rooms along this route ? Any suggestions and inputs would be welcomed.

[71Convertible]

I'm looking for same input as well. Leaving 4am on 18th. Any input on Anmod ghat or Chorla?

If I end up going via Karwar, I may make a halt in south goa. Any recommendations on nice beach resorts there - say near Varca or Fatrade or thereabouts?

[GLAD73]

Acquaintances who have recently travelled to Bangalore are recommending the Karwar route, the Anmod ghat route has some bad patches and is recommended only if travelling in an SUV. Now my main concern is decent restaurants with clean washrooms along the route, especially in Devangere or Chitradurga.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by GLAD73

Now my main concern is decent restaurants with clean washrooms along the route, especially in Devangere or Chitradurga.

Chitradurga - Mysore cafe on left side service road of highway, next to the Nijalingappa memorial

Davanagere - Apoorva Resorts, again on left side service road

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by 71Convertible

I'm looking for same input as well. Leaving 4am on 18th. Any input on Anmod ghat or Chorla?

If I end up going via Karwar, I may make a halt in south goa. Any recommendations on nice beach resorts there - say near Varca or Fatrade or thereabouts?

If you have the budget, nothing beats Taj Exotica. Was there earlier this year and it was amazing in every way - the rooms, food, beach access, gardens. Probably the best hotel in Goa.

If you'd like something not so expensive, look at Planet Hollywood.

[riddlealmeida]

My wife and I did Bangalore to Goa on Feb 15th.

Route taken - Electronic City -> Tumakuru -> Chitradurga -> Hubli -> Dharwad -> Gharli -> CastleRock -> Anmod -> Ponda -> Candolim.

Started : 9.45 AM
Reached : 8.45 PM

Total break duration : 30 minutes

The route is marvelous except for the notorious Tanai Ghat - Anmod stretch, the detour for which I've highlighted in the above route - via CastleRock.
You'll have well laid 4 lane highway, few stretches of 2 lane highway - though very nicely maintained and having scenic beauty all around, you'll even experience route through forest. Overall it is a must take road trip.

We had planned to take the diversion from Tanai Ghat and since people had shared here that that road closes at 6 PM, we were mindful of the same and reached the place at 5.15 PM. However, we were still not allowed to go through. Soon there were 4 cars and the person in charge there still didn't budge.

We then tried to take the highway itself - believe me there is absolutely no road and there was massive traffic jam. We tried it for a couple of hundred meters - scratched the car's under belly once pretty bad and decided to turn around.

We talked to an Innova taxi driver who had also decided to turn around, he said he had taken one route via castle rock a few years back and the road was good, another person suggested the same route and we decided to drive back to go via Castlerock.

The route via Castlerock is single lane, but very well maintained, moreover it goes through the forest and if you are in luck, you might see some wildlife as well. Please cover this route in the daylight.

[blackbeast]

Originally Posted by GLAD73

Need inputs on a suitable route from Goa to Bangalore. Will be travelling in a Celerio AMT with wife an both my kids. Plan to leave around 4.30 am on the 19th . Am unsure about the state of the Anmod ghat and so right now am planning to travel via the Karwar- Ankola- Yellapur- Kallanghatgi route. Are there decent restaurants with clean wash rooms along this route ? Any suggestions and inputs would be welcomed.

Originally Posted by 71Convertible

I'm looking for same input as well. Leaving 4am on 18th. Any input on Anmod ghat or Chorla?

If I end up going via Karwar, I may make a halt in south goa. Any recommendations on nice beach resorts there - say near Varca or Fatrade or thereabouts?

Originally Posted by GLAD73

Acquaintances who have recently travelled to Bangalore are recommending the Karwar route, the Anmod ghat route has some bad patches and is recommended only if travelling in an SUV. Now my main concern is decent restaurants with clean washrooms along the route, especially in Devangere or Chitradurga.

Alright folks, Now some Good news !

Just back from a 5 day goa trip. Chorla is completely repaired and fresh tar has been laid out and it continues to be laid in coming days. i did panaji to dharwad in about 3.5 hrs and happy to report there are almost zero potholes.

Best route : HUBLI - KITTUR - BIDI - JAMBOTI - KHANAPUR - CHORLA - SANQUELIM - PANAJI/CALANGUTE/CANDOLIM ETC..

On the return, Got greedy for longer stretch of nh4 and took khanapur - mk hubli. Road is ploughed for repair. Yet it was reasonably fast.

We can put Anmod - Tinai ghat and all the confusion to rest until some monsoon washes out chorla again.

I think one should stop worrying about deviations on nh4 unless, the point of interest is south goa.

[GLAD73]

Originally Posted by blackbeast

Alright folks, Now some Good news !

Just back from a 5 day goa trip. Chorla is completely repaired and fresh tar has been laid out and it continues to be laid in coming days. i did panaji to dharwad in about 3.5 hrs and happy to report there are almost zero potholes.

Best route : HUBLI - KITTUR - BIDI - JAMBOTI - KHANAPUR - CHORLA - SANQUELIM - PANAJI/CALANGUTE/CANDOLIM ETC..

On the return, Got greedy for longer stretch of nh4 and took khanapur - mk hubli. Road is ploughed for repair. Yet it was reasonably fast.

We can put Anmod - Tinai ghat and all the confusion to rest until some monsoon washes out chorla again.

I think one should stop worrying about deviations on nh4 unless, the point of interest is south goa.

My place of departure is Verna, just 9 kms from Margao, Google maps adds an additional 30 minutes of travelling time for the Chorla route versus the Karwar route, nevertheless its good to know that the Chorla ghat road has been repaired, its always been my preferred route while travelling to Belgaum.

[paragsachania]

On last Wednesday, I drove back from Ankola to Bangalore via Yellapura and Mungod route. This was part of my day drive when I drove to Kundapura and then climbed up the coastal route till Ankola and started driving down to Bangalore via Yellapura.

How is Ankola to Yellapura?

This is in excellent condition. Small little sections that had become rough or had developed potholes, including Arebail ghats are now fully patched up. You can see the condition of the entire Ankola to Yellapura section in this video recorded from my dashcam from the same drive. We were flagged down by the cops (@53:35) but let go almost immediately as I and dad were wearing masks (rather pulled the masks up on spotting the cops).

https://youtu.be/9helbrhn6_Q

Yellapura to Mungod:
A lot has been talked about this section, especially on how narrow the road is and that remains a fact. The section from Yellapur to Mungod, almost 40 Km is really narrow that overtaking even a car without getting down the road is almost impossible. I had to tail this car for nearly 20 km till I managed to overtake at a spot.

https://youtu.be/UebzTJl23IE

I also had to drive with the RHS ORVM folded to be able to pass oncoming traffic without getting down the road.

The road surface is good with no potholes but then the width of the road is certainly going to be uncomfortable to many and hence most of the drivers may not like taking this route to reach Yellapura from Bankapura.

What is the ideal route to reach Yellapura from NH48 (Bankapura)?
Given the current conditions, and the fact that the Mungod route cannot be advised to everyone, you can very well consider taking either Hubli-Kalhatgi-Yellapura option or Tadas-Kalhatgi-Yellapura route.

Is the Karwar route advisable for Goa?
Definitely the safest and cleanest bet as on today to reach Goa. Doesn't matter now whether you are driving to South Goa or North. With other ghats not in great shape or partially in good shape, the Kalhatgi Yellapura Ankola Karwar route seems like an idea one to get into Goa from down south.

I had a planned visit to a friend's farm at Shiggaon. Hence from Mungod, I deviated towards Shiggaon instead of Bankapura. However, the following image gives you an idea on the time taken to do Bankapura to Yellapura via Mungod route:

2 Hours for Shiggaon Ankola and 5 for Bangalore Shiggaon makes it 7 hours for Bangalore to Ankola. That means Bangalore to Karwar can be easily doable in 7.5-8 hours with your breaks.

How is Bangalore-Hubli, especially Chitradurga Hubli?
It keeps getting better and better. The diversions have definitely reduced to large extent. The maximum diversions are actually between Chitradurga and Davanagere more than Davanagere to Hubli. However, timewise, we still managed the 360 odd Km (Shiggaon to Yelahanka) in 5 hours with a break.

Here is a 2x time-lapse of the Shiggaon Bankapura Chitradurga section captured from the same drive. Should give you an idea on the route condition and also those diversions.

https://youtu.be/6TvuEHWCB8E

[Ertigiat]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Is the Karwar route advisable for Goa?
Definitely the safest and cleanest bet as on today to reach Goa. Doesn't matter now whether you are driving to South Goa or North. With other ghats not in great shape or partially in good shape, the Kalhatgi Yellapura Ankola Karwar route seems like an idea one to get into Goa from down south.

I would like to differ slightly.

Chorla ghat is completely ready and relaying of Khanapur - MK Hubli road is in progress (likely to be completed by Mid-march), which makes Bangalore - Hubli bypass - MK Hubli - Khanapur - Jamboti - Chorla Ghat an ideal route to reach North Goa.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Ertigiat

Chorla ghat is completely ready and relaying of Khanapur - MK Hubli road is in progress (likely to be completed by Mid-march),.

I should have been more clear then. I meant that given the current status of Hubli Ankola Karwar and then tbe apprehensions that travelers have on the conditions of other ghats in their current state, as of today this route makes more sense.

[nareshtrao]

Folks,

For South Goa (Canacona), does it make sense to go via Chitradurga - Sivamogga - Sagar - Honnavar - Ankola - Karawar ?

I did this route in Dec 2019 during the time of road widening of Chitradurga Hubli section and found it to be great.

Any views how is it now? Going with wife and 2 small kids hence the query.

Appreciate your help. Thanks.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

For South Goa (Canacona), does it make sense to go via Chitradurga - Sivamogga - Sagar - Honnavar - Ankola - Karawar ?

I think it does make sense and you can even consider Hiriyur-Hosadurga-Tarikere-Bhadravati-Shimoga, rest same as in the route you mentioned.

According to posts by Parag (see above), Hubli-Ankola is also doable now. Probably take Hubli-Ankola on onward journey and shivamogga route on return journey.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

Folks,

For South Goa (Canacona), does it make sense to go via Chitradurga - Sivamogga - Sagar - Honnavar - Ankola - Karawar ?

I did this route in Dec 2019 during the time of road widening of Chitradurga Hubli section and found it to be great.

Any views how is it now? Going with wife and 2 small kids hence the query.

Appreciate your help. Thanks.

If you are intending to take the Shivamogga option only to avoid the under-construction Chitradurga Hubli stretch, then you should ideally not and take the Hubli Karwar option itself.

The roadwork has progressed at rapid pace and there are very less diversions now.

However, Honnavara Saagara Shivamogga route is also in good shape too.

[nareshtrao]

Thanks indeed folks. Appreciate your replies.

For those who travelled recently, are there any restrictions at the border entry for both Goa and Karnataka for any COVID related guidance? Or is it normal traffic flow with no stoppages?