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I just did Ramnagar-Anmod-Mollem route this weekend. Most of it is fine barring around 5-6km of patchy road where road construction is ongoing. One place is particularly bad where my car with 143mm clearance scraped once. The rest are negotiable in any car.

If you are heading to north or central goa, this road is fine.

Hello Tribe,
Greetings!

Need your valuable suggestion w.r.t to our upcoming Goa trip with group of friends -
Vehicle - XUV500
Nb. of People - 5
Ecity, BLR - Betalbatim - Ecity, BLR
Type of Driver - Anxious

1. What would be the best route to Betalbatim?
2. Is there an option (alternate route) to avoid the chaotic Tumkur > Neelamangala > NICE Road Tool to reach Ecity? I dont mind if the alternate route is long (by say about 30-40 kms more) but the drive should be reasonably peaceful.

Kindly suggest.
Thanks!

Betalbatim is a seaside village south of Colva and is about 5 Kms from Madgaon. It is essentially in South Goa district.

I would suggest you to take the Bengaluru - Hubli - Yellapur - Karwar - Canacona - Madgaon - Betalbatim route.

The roads are generally good. A narrow ghat section (Karmal ghat) of about 7-9 kms followed with some narrow roads, all between Canacona and Madgaon (Totally about 35-37 Kms) could slow you down a bit, while the rest of the route is 4/6 lane NH and is an absolute delight to drive. The road though narrow is beautifully paved, well marked and delightful to drive.

There's no option to avoid the chaotic Nelamangala to Tumkur road as it's the main artery / NH between Bengaluru to Pune / Mumbai. A better way to manage the traffic is to time your arrival at this section of the road. The traffic will be thin in this section between 12 AM & 4 AM while returning from Hubli to Bengaluru side and early morning 4 AM to 7 AM while driving from Bengaluru towards Hubli. Thereafter the traffic builds up to chaotic level.

If you could plan your drive keeping these timings Window in mind, you could probably have a hassle-free/ less traffic drive in the said section. It's an option worth exploring.

Some trivia: The name of the town is NelaMangala in Kannada (The land of prosperity. Nela - Land and Mangala - prosperity). On the contrary NeelaMangala means Blue Prosperity. Just wanted to share it as many mention the town's name as NeelaMangala instead of NelaMangala.

Drive safe.
Ashok.

Thank you so much clarifying .. i stand corrected "Nelamangala" it is.

Coming to the route - any idea what is the condition of the Yellapur Ghat - Yellapur to Ankola section?

I haven't driven on this section since some time now. From what I heard from fellow Tbhpians who drove this route, it's manageable, but not in great shape. The reason being, its the primary route for Coastal Karnataka vehicles (Govt/private Buses, trucks) from Mangalore , Udupi, Kundapur, Honnavar (coastal Karnataka) etc going towards Pune / Mumbai and thus the road has taken a severe beating. So, there are potholes, uneven road surface, severe tarmac erosion on ghat section.

However I believe an XUV500 should be able to handle it without any issues.

It is totally fine(I drove on 31st Dec). It has never been this smooth compared to my previous years drives. Only one stretch of 100-150 meters in the ghat has lost tarmac but that is totally manageable.

Glaf to hear from the person who drove this section and that the road condition is good. I stand corrected with my statement made earlier in this thread. Thanks for clarifying.

We just got back to BLR. On our way to Goa, we took Anmod, and that patchy under-construction road seems to be in the same condition it was 30 years ago.

Karwar is the wrong direction, given we were staying in Siolim / Assagao.

On the way back, we took Chorla Ghat. It is now my preferred route (save for maybe the monsoons). The tarmac was gorgeous, the ride a ton of fun, even with the Kodiaq, breezed through the hairpins.

I will say this, though. This could pose a challenge if you are new to driving, especially on Ghat roads. I was using a 7-speed DSG with hill climb assist in sport mode in a car with automatic all-wheel drive for traction, and I have done ghat roads plenty of times. It was super easy for me and just like riding a bicycle after all these years. My infant slept through the whole climb. This could test you a bit if you are using a manual transmission. If you are not experienced with the social/ways of the Ghat traffic (like how to deal with trucks negotiating hairpins, what kind of distance to maintain, etc.), then this route is NOT recommended.

Anmod is uncomfortable, period, even in the Kodiaq. I would not do it again. That road needs serious attention, and I hated it.

We decided to try South Goa instead next time and will take Karwar for that. If I am heading to North Goa, I would stick with Chorla.

This is my feedback and experience as of Jan 2025. All should know conditions change.

Also, if you live in Whitefield, taking the STRR from Dobbaspet to just before Hosakote is wise. The whole ride was a breeze.

Southern Star in Davangere has a decent meal.

In Hubli, we stayed at Fortune Park. It was decent, nothing special, and the food was average. However, Naveen was fully booked.

Goa, we stayed with The Blue Kite properties. I highly recommend those.

Thanks so much for the help and suggestions. I hope my input helps someone move forward this year!

:thumbs upHello. Thanks for the detailed update.
I am traveling from Belgavi to Varca ( South Goa )
Which route should I use ?
1 - Belgavi - Chorla ghat - goa
2 - Belgavi - Khanapur - Bhimgad sanctuary - Anmod - Goa

I am okay driving with ghats.
Also, can u plz let me know which patch in Anmod is broken or bad ?
Thank you

Thanks for your loaded post crisplay summarizing the important points. Glad you were able to complete your trip. Yes, for South Goa, Karwar route is a no brainer. Hope Anmod ghat becomes a good choice in the next few years, given the pace at which things change in this stretch.

Officially you cannot, but if you're coming with family it's a bit safer than if it's just guys in a car. Don't fall for the receipt thing also, the excise cops will laugh at your receipt and then take your bottles and charge you a fine.
I have brought back many bottles by road though, because I'm usually traveling with my wife and since she looks more respectable than me, they just do a cursory check :coldsweat This time around it was just my friend and me so we got all the bottles transported via friends who came by flight. We only had 3 bottles of Feni in clear bisleri bottles and breezed through the checkpost.

Take Chorla. The road is far better. Given you are choosing between Anmod and Chorla that is. For South you could consider Karwar, but I cannot comment on the road and experience. Chorla was stunning this time. Thoroughly enjoyable.

By the way, there is checking via Anmod. Chorla there's one guy who could not care two hoots. Plus travel with family and you should be good. The chaps at Delfinos told me if I am taking any route other than Chorla, there will be checking. Since a lot of people avoid Chorla due to inexperience with the hairpins, excise does not seem to man it much. Also you drive through MH before landing up in KA. No one was checking in either this time round.

Thanks for the detailed update on Chorla route. How is the road condition from Hubli-Dharwad-MK Hubli? Heard there's a lot of construction b/w Hubli-Dharwad stretch?

There is some construction, but the road is fine. Slight deviations here and there and no barrier in some locations, but not terrible.

Slight correction, Karwar is a no brainer for Palolem side IMO, the rest of South Goa like Varca, Benaulim, you're served better going via Anmod, although the road is shitty in many areas as already mentioned by others,and while there is lot of road work going on, I'm not sure when this will ever be completed.