| B'lore-Hubli-Goa update
Hi all, I have been lurking around and taking info as and when required. Thought it's time I gave back a bit too - here's an update on some of the routes I travelled on this week - got back this afternoon (15th Oct).
Before I start, big thank you to JLN for his well-summarised recent update - that was a big help, JLN!
Brief details:
Vehicle - 2006 CRDE Scorpio
Travelling with - wife & 2 kids (7yrs & 2 yrs)
Destination - Holiday Inn, Mobor beach (close to Colva, very much South Goa)
Preferences - needed a break in journey, both ways, since we were travelling with a 2 yr old; should have a decent accommodation
Journey Date: 10th Oct to 15th Oct, both days inclusive
Based on a bus journey last year via Shimoga-Honnavar-Karwar, my preference was for the same but recent research here made me choose otherwise. I was keen on driving in from Karwar, as our resort was closer to Margao, so firmed up following route, both ways:
BLR - Hubli (stop-over) - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Mobor
Day 1 (10th Oct: B’lore – Hubli): Left B'lore at 12.35pm after an early lunch, in order to avoid any stops en route. Since we stay at HSR Layout, took the NICE road all the way - from Hosur road to Tumkur Road. Even at an easy-paced drive with speeds not exceeding 110km, we found ourselves wading into Hubli town at 6.30pm – a total of 460km in 6 hours.
Quick notes (applies for Day 6 too):
1. For all of you staying this side of B'lore, I suggest you opt for the NICE road - worth the 103/- toll you pay. We covered the 64km to the Nelamangala toll in 60 minutes (today I was in a bit more of a hurry and covered it in 42 minutes!)
2. The truck traffic on NH4 is disciplined, 90% of them staying on the left lane and moving to right lane only to overtake a slower truck. Keep your eye on them as you approach them, and you will be fine.
3. Need to keep a lookout for traffic coming in the wrong direction, especially so in the town areas – Tumkur, C’durga, Davangere, etc.
4. Davangere –Haveri stretch has still some work to be completed and hence the road becomes 2-lane in few stretches (2 of those stretches have railway crossings too). Watch out for the sudden diversions.
5. Bigger irritants are the unmarked ‘cuts’, where a fresh layer of tarmac ends and a new one starts. This mostly happens around newly-laid small bridges/culverts, so if you are approaching one of these, do slow down else your wheel rims take a good blow!
6. Surprisingly, most cleaner-looking eating places are closer to B’lore! It’s very difficult to find a clean restroom otherwise – even the Kamat’s at Ranebennur A1 had very dirty toilets.
Day 2 (11th Oct: Hubli – Mobor – 243km): What should have been a peaceful ride was thrown off-gear thanks to my unwarranted enthusiasm! As we were checking out of the Hans Hotel, Hubli, I asked the receptionist on his views of the route I should take. He painted a completely grim picture of the NH63 (heavy traffic, longer by 72km, etc) and highly recommended the following route:
Hubli – Dharwad – Hariyal – Dandeli – Ganeshgudi – Ramnagar – Mollem – Ponda – Margao – Mobor
Obviously, this guy intended to guide me to Ponda and this wasn’t too bad a road – mostly state highway through not-so-dense forest. Most part of the drive doesn’t allow for too much speed either – I think the best was the Mollem – Ponda stretch. We left at 9.30 after breakfast and refuelling and reached our resort at 2.30pm – 5 hours to the dot to cover a total of 243km.
Quick notes:
1. If you have taken pains to research your route using sources such as Team BHP, Google Maps, etc, stick with it and don’t go asking for opinions in the midst of the journey – can cause unnecessary stress! ;-)
2. The road surface was fine except for certain pockets around Ganeshgudi & Dandeli town. However, right from exiting Dharwad, you find the route has too many curves and by the time you are through with the more demanding Anmod Ghat section, you are screaming for a view of the beach!
3. Most of the route is 2-lane in the strictest sense – just enough space for 2 vehicles to pass.
4. Unmarked speed bumps are a norm here, especially the village areas. I was lucky enough to follow a Swift for most part of the way, who seemed to judge these things quite well.
5. Forget eating anything on the way, unless you have stocked your vehicle with food & liquid. Restrooms? When you are so close to nature? Forget it! Fuel stations are available at most of the towns I mentioned, but suggest you tank up at Hubli-Dharwad.
6. The Hubli-Dharwad area is very particular about speed limits (numerous boards shout out 50kmph) and they have interceptors too – I got flagged at when I was doing 70kmph (I couldn’t stop due to various circumstances and I hope I don’t get something in the post!).
7. Took the Ponda bypass (yes there is one) so that I can get to Margao road faster. The surface looked as though it had been put through a shredder; if not for the Scorpio, I would have had a hard time.
Overall, this is a route one should take only if travelling to Ponda or thereabouts and you don’t want to go all the way to Belgaum and come down (Hubli-Ponda via this route is approximately 200km). I understand there is a shorter route between Dharwad & Ramnagar, but I have no idea why this friendly receptionist didn’t suggest that one.
Day 5 (14th Oct: Mobor – Hubli 257km): This time, I decided I will go with my earlier plan of using the NH17-NH63 route:
Mobor – Chinchinim –(Get on NH17) – Karwar –(Take a left 6 km before Ankola – NH 63) – Yellapur – Hubli)
We left the resort at 12.30pm, stopped at Karwar for lunch (2pm – 3pm) and drove into Hubli at 5.30pm – a total driving time of 4 hours to cover 257km.
Quick notes:
I highly recommend this route for those of you going toward/coming from South Goa, especially Colva – Varca – Cavelossim – Mobor, and of course, Margao too. We encountered little traffic, though one can get stuck behind one of those trucks in the mini-ghat areas on the Goan side of NH 17. NH63 was so much better than we expected – wide road, very little traffic consisting mostly of slow moving trucks, very small ghat section and long stretches of clear straight road with forests or paddy on either side. While there are little patchy areas closer to Yellapur – caused by the surface giving way to monsoon – these aren’t bad enough to cause you stress.
Our lunch stop was at Lotus Resort, Karwar (right side, before the Karwar bridge); good food, though slightly on the expensive side. We didn’t find anything much on NH63 worth making a note of. There are sufficient fuel stations en route, though if you are particular about BP (I have a BP Petrocard), you won’t find one easily.
To summarise, we did a total of 703km with a drive time of 11 hours while going, and clocked 720km with a drive time of 10.5 hours on our return. FYI, except on our last stretch of Davangare-B’lore, I maintained my speeds within a 110kmph band. | 
8th October 2010, 18:47
