[ampere]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Belgaum city is seeing lot of road construction activity presently owing to converting the tar roads into concrete ones. This means diversions and traffic snarls during daytime. City is best crossed during early mornings and nights.

Oh Oh! Belgaum seems to have caught the Bangalore cold!

The way the wind blows, I see many members seeming to prefer the Jog/Honnavar/Karwar route with a break in between. This is a nice option especially during the monsoons.

But that apart, I assume these constructions are within the city and dont effect the 4-lanes that goes past the city?

It would be good to understand how is the road condition around Sankam/Pai/Marriot etc? Because these are the usual break points for 4-lane commuters intending to take a break in the city. I also remember the 4-lane break points are not that easy to spot, if one intends to go to these breakpoints. I for one always struggled to find the correct exit.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Belgaum alert

Belgaum city is seeing lot of road construction activity presently owing to converting the tar roads into concrete ones.

Yep, Belgaum is in a messy state right now. They've started some work on College Road now and blocked off one side. Cementing work on Congress road seems to be over, but the road shoulders are left unfinished and now they've dug up the sides for building the drains. God knows how long the ROB work at 3rd gate will be complete!! Due to the heavy rains this season almost all the internal roads look like off road trails . In fact the road conditions are so pathetic that last two visits I did not take my car and took the train!

Originally Posted by ampere

It would be good to understand how is the road condition around Sankam/Pai/Marriot etc? Because these are the usual break points for 4-lane commuters intending to take a break in the city. I also remember the 4-lane break points are not that easy to spot, if one intends to go to these breakpoints. I for one always struggled to find the correct exit.

Around Sankam/ Marriot etc.. there are no problems and these are easily accessible. To get into Belgaum keep an eye on the exits after you pass Suvarna Soudha (unmissable on your right while moving towards Belgaum from BLR). Leave the first exit that says "Belgaum" and take the next one that has a big "Airport" sign. In case you miss this one, don't fret, just take the next exit (which has huge flag pole nearby) and take a U which will take you to the same Sankam Hotel Road (this is the faster option actually).

[vint]

Hi Guys, Planning a trip to Goa , sometime towards the end of this year (sometime between 25 - 02 Jan). Planning for 3 nights stay in Goa , can extend it to 4 though. I wanted to know:

1. If a hotel in/around the candolim would be a good place for family ? I see that calgunte / sinquerim beaches are near to this place. Are these beaches clean / filled with enough activities to keep the family engaged ? I've been to Baga beach previously, so wanted to see something else this time around.

2. What's the best route to drive from Bangalore ? Google maps show Candolim to be around 12 hours away. If I have to halt for a night in between, what would be the best place ?

3. In general , apart from the usual aguda fort/chapura fort etc., are there any must-see places ?

[diogo]

What is the latest on the Anmod ghat route? Is it open?

How is the access from Bangalore side? I suppose its only through Khanapur and Bhimgad route? Any one tried the Tadas - Kalaghatgi - Jagalbet - Castle rock - Anmod route recently? An earlier post said that the road was closed at the check post.

[Freebird82]

+1. Same query, would appreciate some advice. Need to travel from BLR to North Goa on Friday the 6th Dec. Was planning to take Anmod route but last update says its supposed to open in December. Does anyone have the latest status ?

Alternately, planned to take Belgaum - Chorla route but a member had informed that Chorla is in pretty bad shape. Do not really want to go all the way upto Amboli and come down.

Is taking the Tadas-Kalghatgi-Yellapur-Ankola route better ? I dont mind driving South-North Goa as roads are in pretty good shape.

FWIW - long time back I had taken the Bankapur-Mundgod-Yellapur route just out of curiosity. While the roads are narrow and mostly through forests and villages, they were of decent quality and fairly empty. Anyone traveled recently and knows the conditions ?

[procrj]

Originally Posted by diogo

Anmod ghat route? Is it open?

Originally Posted by Freebird82

Anmod route

Anmod update as of 12th Nov from FB forums

Tadas-Kalghatgi-Yellapur-Ankola

Check here (Bangalore - Goa : Route Queries)

Bankapur-Mundgod-Yellapur

Closed for the next few months as the Bedti river bridge needs to be rebuilt

[Rajiv-Bang]

An update for those entering Goa from Karwar. The Cancona to Mashem bypass is opened and the distance to Cancona is reduced by 13 Kms besides avoiding numerous turns. I got to know this from a friend.

[Freebird82]

Originally Posted by procrj

Anmod update as of 12th Nov from FB forums
Attachment 1941858
Attachment 1941859


Check here (Bangalore - Goa : Route Queries)


Closed for the next few months as the Bedti river bridge needs to be rebuilt

Thanks procrj. Appreciate it.

[CarJunki]

Travelling to Goa next week from Bangalore, intend to use the karwar route.
Any inputs about condition of this route and also if any specific diversions to be noted?

Regards,

[aditya_rd]

Here is a brief review on my recent road trip to Goa (7 days & 6 nights Nov last week and Dec 1st week).

As there were ambiguities on Chorla ghat and Anmod ghat roads, we decided to take Karwar route. As our booking was near Candolim, we thought we will halt one day at Palolim while going to Goa and stay at Jog while coming back.

First day, While going to goa, we started early morning at around 5:30 am from Bangalore in our Seltos HTK+ diesel AT. We took NH 48 till Bankapur (after Haveri). On the way, we had breakfast at Davanagere at around 10am and continued on NH 48 till Bankapur and took left towards Mundgod. Spent some time in Tibetian camp before heading to Karwar. Road from Bankapur to Mundgod is single narrow road and is average. After Mundgod, there was stretch where the bridge was either broken or was under repair. So we had to cross a smaller bridge & post that for around 200-300 mtrs there was no road (literally). We had to do typical off-roading through the jungles and follow the tyre marks through the trees. I was surprised with Seltos ground clearance, suspension & handling here. Probably, I would have returned back had I come in my older car.

At Karwar, had some quick bites on the way at Ratna Sagar, Karwar (This was suggested in one of the posts in this thread). This I guess was at around 3pm. Reached Palolem beach at around 4:30 pm.

On 2nd day, we took the route to Candolim through Mahlasa temple and Mangesh temple. This turned out to be only sour part of the otherwise funtastic road trip. Warning : Do not follow google maps to Mangesh temple. We met another 3 cars ending up at wrong place following the maps. I was lost too. When asked locals, we got to know that the temple was at around 20+ mins away. We also thought of doing Panjim city tour before reaching our destination. Visited the Basilica of Bom Jesus. Because of Saturday mass & rush, the roads were closed and we lost lot of time in parking and traffic. So after this one, we decided to skip other churches and head to Dona Paula. Even here the bridge restoration work was going on. So we had to turn back. So finally reached our destination by 5pm.

3rd day we completed the trip to Agoda fort and sinquerim beach. Evening visited the casino. Sinquerim beach is clean and there are water sports activities here. Agoda fort is well maintained too. Both are Quite scenic places. Sinquerim beach does not have dedicated parking, so we parked on the way along the Taj property compound.

4th day, We went to Arambol beach. Arambol is not so commercial (sinquerim is also similar). Both beaches are very clean with reasonably decent crowd. Next destination was Charpora fort. Charpora fort has decent climb. View from Charpora fort is very nice. However, it is not as well maintained as Agoda fort. approach roads here are very narrow. Went to Curlies for sunset & dinner.

5th day, Covered Baga, tito's lane and Calangute, Both Baga and Calangute are very famous and extremely commercial. You realize India's population problem when you see Calangute's entrance. Next time, I would prefer to settle down at Morgim, Arambol or any other beach north of Anjuna than visiting Baga/Calangute. The crowed was also unruly/very noisy (even on weekday). Too many drunk people on beach. The coast guard was having tough time managing to keep the crowed out of deeper waters. Also, for every 10 steps some one will come and ask you for services such as foot massage/ head massage etc. I was taking a nap and one person woke me up to sell the ear rings. That was nuisance.

6th day, Started from Candolim to Jog after breakfast at around 10am. Had quick south Indian lunch at Kumta (Sukh sagar - old post office road). Searched randomly in google and went to this place. very similar to Ratna Sagar, Karwar. Road from Kumta to Jog is excellent if you love to drive in ghat section. Roads are neat, 2 vehicles can pass each other without having to slow down or go off the road in most of the stretch. Reached Jog by 4pm. Stayed on top at Hotel Mayura KSTDC. You can see falls from the room window. The view from the room is very scenic. Evening there was musical fountain. There is KSTDC Mayura hotel on top. Limited food options but food is good and fresh. Pleasantly surprised to get decent food and very good accommodation at such remote location. Prices were reasonable too.

7th day, Started from jog after breakfast and headed to sakrebailu elephant camp near Shimoga. Everyday they leave elephants in Jungle by noon and Elephants return the next day morning at around 7 am. So if you are planning to go - be there before elephants leave the camp. After reaching we realized that, There are 2 camps, one with baby elephants and mothers. Other one is for Big elephants. This is because of high court ruling that there can't be more than 15 elephants in one camp. We went to the camp with bigger elephants. After this had lunch at Shimoga (Hotel Shubham) at around 2pm.

On way back from Shimoga, we took the route that Google suggested. Through Bhadravati, Tarikkere and Hiriyur. This stretch of road is not great. It's narrow, has villages and people movement, and has lot of construction activities on the way. Hiriyur to Bangalore was good road as usual.

Total trip distance : 1517 km.
Total drive time : 33.5 hours.
Avg milage : 15 kmpl.
Diesel : Twice full tank with top up (4 liters) and another 1000Rs fuel was added when we had reached Palolem. Fuel gauge is showing Still around 20% fuel left.

[Freebird82]

Originally Posted by Freebird82

Thanks procrj. Appreciate it.

Just finished Blr - Arpora trip so thought would update on the conditions.

Since Palolem route was too long, took a chance on Hubli - Ramanagar - Anmod - Panjim route. The road is open, about 4 km stretch post Castle Rock is pretty bad with stalled construction leading to totally mud roads, one ways etc. Will take about 30 mins to navigate however I did not come across any grounding/undercarriage scraping. I drove an Elantra just for reference.

Apart from above & the diversions between Hubli-Chitradurga, the roads are very nice throughout. The drive through Alvanar - Ramnagar forests more than make up for the Anmod ghat delay IMO.

[airbus]

We will be driving to Goa and our destination is Calangute. Requesting suggestion on routes.

We plan to start on 20 December evening and stay overnight in either Chitradurga or Davanagere. Please suggest hotels in Chitradurga or Davanagere for overnight stay with family.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by airbus

We plan to start on 20 December evening and stay overnight in either Chitradurga or Davanagere. Please suggest hotels in Chitradurga or Davanagere for overnight stay with family.

Just stay at Apoorva resorts. Right on the highway. Makes it that much easier to get it and get out.

[WheelWake]

Traveling to Goa end of the year.

I will be starting from Mumbai, but the first destination is Hampi via Hubli. This I hope should be pretty straightforward.

My worry is Hampi/Hospet to Candolim, which gmap suggests via Anmod (via Tinai Ghat). Is this doable? Will be traveling with family and don't want to fret over road conditions etc. Please suggest.

[kalsu]

Did find the Hubli Bangalore route very tedious due to heavy construction and detours on national high way. two months back some of the ghats where also closed any idea if all are open now. most of earlier threads said it may open in Dec. Planning a drive to Palolem in two weeks.

Originally Posted by rakirank

No, this road is open and you can use it.

I used this route yesterday Goa-Karwar-Ankola-Yellapur-Kalghatgi-Hubli-Blr

There is work going on at Kalghatgi but nothing that cant be manged (I was driving a sedan).

The Hubli-Blr route is a nuisance though and takes time thanks to all the deviations. Speed-breakers before each deviation and bad condition of the road on the deviation slow you down considerably.

Add slow moving heavy vehicles all squeezed into a single line and this makes things considerably worse. This also makes it difficult for cars to spot the bad patches and evade them on these single lane stretches as we are behind the heavy vehicles and have limited visibility.

Ankola-Yellapur has some bad patches that you need to be careful about.

Haveri-Sirsi-Kumta road in not in good shape. I used this for my onward journey and was battling pot holes all along the route.