[perseus]

Left Bangalore at 1PM as planned but got stuck in a bad jam at Tumkur road,yeshwantpur railway crossing for 2 hours. It was 8 by the time we reached Hubli, stayed overnight in swathi hotel. Left hotel at 5 AM and reached Goa at 11. Roads were good all the way with occasional potholes between hubli and karwar.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by perseus

Left Bangalore at 1PM as planned but got stuck in a bad jam at Tumkur road,yeshwantpur railway crossing for 2 hours.

Which is the Railway crossing on Tumkur road?
Are you referring to the one at ORR?

[perseus]

Originally Posted by ampere

Are you referring to the one at ORR?

Yes, one after Jalahalli on ORR.

[asdon]

Originally Posted by perseus

Yes, one after Jalahalli on ORR.

Some one should do something about this crossing, traffics from Tumkur road side come jamming both lanes(up and down), we left hebbal at 4:30am, and able to reach tumkur road flyover at 6:15am on 13th August.

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by asdon

Some one should do something about this crossing, traffics from Tumkur road side come jamming both lanes(up and down), we left hebbal at 4:30am, and able to reach tumkur road flyover at 6:15am on 13th August.

It is a pain and i dont think anything will be done as the land on either side belong to Air Force and there seems to be no plan to build a overbridge. This railway lane is a busy lane and the gates will be closed most of time. Moreover, in the mornings, you will find trucks all along the strectch. Better avoid it and go through Yeshwantpur if you stay North East Bangalore.

Though i stay close to Nice road which is a boon, i always tell my friends in east Bangalore to get onto NICE road at Electornic city. One may be driving additional KMs but will have a peaceful drive.

[QuintEssence]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Guys, whatever you do. Dont take the Londa-Anmod route. Its in a very bad state.
I took 4 hours 30 minutes to get from NH4-Kittur-Khanapur-Londa-Anmod-Panaji (Miramar) What used to earlier take 3 hours.

same here. we drove on the same road i believe. the road was terrible with huge potholes spread across the entire road. it was definitely NOT motorable. After Anmod, the road becomes better but only in comparison to the horror that comes before it. it took us nearly 3 hours to navigate those 70 odd kilometers between Belgaum & Anmod

[mb_jg]

Guys, am in Goa at the moment, took the Ajra, Amboli Sawantwadi road. There are a few potholes through the drive, but nothing serious a normal sedan or hatchback cannot handle. We made the drive from Pune in under 7hrs (door to door), which is pretty good considering the rains.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by asdon

Some one should do something about this crossing, traffics from Tumkur road side come jamming both lanes(up and down), we left hebbal at 4:30am, and able to reach tumkur road flyover at 6:15am on 13th August.

I think we are stuck both ways.
Even Yelahanka-Dobbaspet is not worth due to on-going work on NH7.
The best way then is go through Mekri-Circle/IISc or Chord Road and get on to the elevated highway.

[amitwadhwa]

So, I am back from my trip and here is the route I took.

Left Bangalore at 230 AM - took NICE Road from bannerghatta road, got off it at Tumkur Road/Nelamangla. Kept on NH4, passing Chitradurga/Davangere etc., reached Hubli at 730 AM with a few 5-min. stretch breaks here and there. Saw about 4 accidents at night on this road. Most were fatal ones - bikes crushed under trucks, trucks rammed into trucks head-on etc. A very sad sight.

From Hubli, I came on to NH63, Hubli-Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar-Madgaon-Panjim, reached at 1230, with a 2-3 15-min. breaks (Thanks to the 2 Red bulls, and 3 Del Monte juices!). The ride was overall good, witha few patches on NH63, nothing major though. There was rain to keep me on the edge of my seat and all alert all along the drive.

The return was about as good.

Left at 1245 pm, took the NH17 from Panjim to Karwar, and then onto NH63, reached Yellapur (4:10pm), and decided to take a detour (thanks Google maps!), stumbled upon SH6 here, few potholes, but the roads are very old, and there are bad stretches. Nothing not doable here though, but don't expect anything above 60-70 kph. Single lane available, throughout this route, Dandeli forest staring closely at your bonnet with a certain eerie look to it (it is a very safe route though), and almost non-existent traffic, with a village or two en route. VERY green all the way, and don't start on this route after 5, else it will get dark in the forest and then . Continued along this route to reach Gunjavati, and then Mundgod, where the roads got pretty bad. Again, the scenery was totally worth it, and we took it slow and easy. Mundgod to Bankapur (on NH4) is about 40 kms, and you have to drive slow (worth it! worth it!). Even saw a beautiful Tibetan monastery tucked away on this route, very fascinating.

Reached Bankapur at 6 pm, and then NH4 all the way after that till Bangalore (11pm).

So basically on my return, instead of doing Goa-Yellapur - Hubli - Bankapur-Bangalore route, I did Goa-Yellapur-Mundgod-Bankapur-Bangalore route. Saved me about 60 kms, but saved no time (which is ok, remember - "worth it!"). Didn't take me longer though, because I saw about 4-5 vehicles as soon as I joined NH4 - ones I had detoured from at Yellapur.

All in all, great trip, rains didn't kill my vacation, especially because of the lovely drive back. If you can, and if you have a teenie bit of adventure spirit in you, do take the SH6 route, it is really good (except the roads, of course).

[ravibhat]

Thats good report amit, good guts to take that route. I hope government will soon fix that road which would save 60km and time as well. The scenary is very beautifull and chances of spotting elephants as well.

Ravi.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by amitwadhwa

Reached Bankapur at 6 pm, and then NH4 all the way after that till Bangalore (11pm).

The bad conditions of roads through Bankapur/Mundgod is known story.
Mostly folks on long drives stay away from that route because it does not save much time
due to bad roads.

[ravibhat]

Guys whoever driving goa/karwar/sirsi side visit JOG, it is beautiful and expect more rains in coming days. i had amazing week during august end visited many many places there, tons of photos :-)

Bad roads here and there due to rain but managable.

Ravi.

[musafir_blr]

Planning for a vacation to Goa during the dashera time. Which route should be the best in this time considering the continued monsoon season? I will be traveling in the day time only and be reaching Goa on the same day. Any suggestions please?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by musafir_blr

Planning for a vacation to Goa during the dashera time. Which route should be the best in this time considering the continued monsoon season? I will be traveling in the day time only and be reaching Goa on the same day. Any suggestions please?

BLR-Tumkur-NH4-Hubli-NH63-Yellapur-Ankola-NH17-Karwar-Panjim.This is the best route at the moment.

[musafir_blr]

BLR-Tumkur-NH4-Hubli-NH63-Yellapur-Ankola-NH17-Karwar-Panjim.This is the best route at the moment

Thanks Ranjit. What is the approximate time it should take?

Also any idea whether the road condition will be good if I take BLR-HUBLI-DHARWAR (left to connect to NH4A) - PANJIM? The reason I am asking is, Google map shows lesser time!