[Chinmayd]

Originally Posted by vikramk

We did the Ramnagar - Asu - Castlerock diversion towards Anmod Ghat and it was a really pleasant experience. The roads though single lane appear to be newly laid and the route is really scenic as well. For almost the entire stretch, there's no mobile connectivity and if using phone based navigation, it's recommended to start that at Ramnagar.

The route adds about 10kms to the total distance but given the conditions on Tinai (saw a trailer at the place where the Castlerock road meets NH748 ), I would wager it doesn't take more time.

More details with pictures to follow.

Agree, the Castlerock - Asu Bridge diversion adds 10 KMs for the diversion. Scenic road but also has narrow sections and the ride is smooth. There was no mobile network and i kept missing the small turns which did not save time but definitely my car would prefer this stretch.

The route did have quite a few villages and i had 6-8 cars (local traffic) coming from the opposite direction. Do watch your speeds on the narrow sections.

[Chinmayd]

Returned to Blr from Old Goa on Sep 6. Took the Anmod - Castlerock - Ramnagar - Dharwad route. The drive took 9.10 hrs excluding breaks. I felt the Castlerock - Asu bridge diversion does help avoid the bad Tinai stretch but makes no difference from a timing perspective. Worth taking for cars with low GC.

A week earlier i had taken the Tinai - Anmod route and easily managed this section driving cautiously at very low speed. The car did scrape once and the experience was annoying but not alarming. Just kept a healthy distance between the car in front and could drive round the worst craters.

There are also large potholes on the Tumkur highway stretch which can cause damage to vehicles at high speeds. Advise keeping extra distance and avoid overtaking here. Luckily i travelled on a Monday with light traffic and could avoid the potholes without having to slow down.

Faced the usual liquor checks at Anmod checkpost but surprisingly the GA authorities did a liquor check at Mollem checkpost as well. When asked the officer said they get blamed if liquor passes undetected at Mollem and is then detected at Anmod. Anyone else had a similar experience recently?

[rizwan27]

Am planning a trip to South Goa - Palolem (travelling on Sep 30). Can anyone suggest the best route to take to reach from Bangalore. Will be starting early around 4am. The following option I have zeroed on

BLR-Hubli (left turn before city)- Kalaghatgi - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar -Palolem.

Let me know if this is the best route now based on the road conditions. Any major concerns on this stretch? Planning to avoid Mundgod road based on the discussions here as it seems too narrow. Will be driving an Ecosport.

Thanks.
R

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by rizwan27

Am planning a trip to South Goa - Palolem (travelling on Sep 30). Can anyone suggest the best route to take to reach from Bangalore. Will be starting early around 4am. The following option I have zeroed on

BLR-Hubli (left turn before city)- Kalaghatgi - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar -Palolem.

Yes, this is the best route to Palolem. Yes, you are correct in your judgement to avoid Mundgod and drive all the way to Hubli. Based on my recent drives, I would recommend the same.

Also, there is a new bypass around Hubli, from NH48 to join the Karwar road bypassing the town and the toll plazza. Google Maps will show you this road once you reach very close to Hubli (before that, Google Maps will keep telling you the shortcuts to Kalaghatagi, but best to ignore those). Take this new bypass and it is a easy and safe access to Karwar road.

Although this is the best route, it is not totally smooth. There are plenty of sudden and massive potholes between Yellapur and Ankola. I had a major tyre bust in this section just last month. And then I read one more example (here on the forum) of a tyre burst due to pothole in exactly the same location for some other member too. So that section needs to be tackled very carefully, and one must watch out for those surprise potholes (and they are huge is size and depth) in the otherwise good road.

Apart from these potholes, the roads are fine and there is no other issue. Have a good and safe trip.

[Bailey]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Also, there is a new bypass around Hubli, from NH48 to join the Karwar road bypassing the town and the toll plazza. Google Maps will show you this road once you reach very close to Hubli (before that, Google Maps will keep telling you the shortcuts to Kalaghatagi, but best to ignore those). Take this new bypass and it is a easy and safe access to Karwar road.

I have attached a screenshot of the map from about this location. Is this the same turn you are referring to?

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Although this is the best route, it is not totally smooth. There are plenty of sudden and massive potholes between Yellapur and Ankola. I had a major tyre bust in this section just last month. And then I read one more example (here on the forum) of a tyre burst due to pothole in exactly the same location for some other member too. So that section needs to be tackled very carefully, and one must watch out for those surprise potholes (and they are huge is size and depth) in the otherwise good road.

Would it be possible to let me know approximately where these massive potholes are and from where on could you possibly drive without having to look out carefully.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Bailey

I have attached a screenshot of the map from about this location. Is this the same turn you are referring to?

Yes, this is correct! This is exactly the bypass I was referring to.

Would it be possible to let me know approximately where these massive potholes are and from where on could you possibly drive without having to look out carefully.

Well, the incidence with my car's tyre happened about 72km before Karwar, or about 25km after Yellapur.

However, please do not depend on that. Please watch out for these potholes in the entire route, including NH48. Especially so because new potholes are emerging overnight given the heavy rains we had this year.

I my recent drives, all on the known and usual roads, I was shocked to see so many "new" potholes (and many of those seriously dangerous) emerging overnight on the otherwise known good roads. Some of the roads I drove on are at their worst condition in last 10 years that I have been driving on these roads. So just be careful everywhere no matter where you are driving now.

[balenoed_]

Did a trip to Goa this last weekend and back yesterday. Took Anmod ghat on both ways. Dharwad - Ramnagar - Anmod - Mollem - Panaji - North Goa.

I was prepared to face the notorious Anmod route, but it wasn't that bad. Like already discussed here, it is only that 10-15 Kms that needs to be watched out. And the bad sections are easily visible so you can just drive through cautiously while you cross that. The remaining of the roads are in good condition, including the ghat sections, so that makes up the lost time. I'd still suggest this route if towards North Goa.

We had SUV and Sedan in our group. While going, the Sedan took the Castle rock - Asu to bypass the bad stretch near Anmod. After observing that bad stretches are not that bad while going, during our return even the sedan took the same route and did not have any issues in passing through.

Some pics of those bad stretches:





This poor truck had a broken axle. Not sure why he went to the edge of the road and got stuck there.









Saw these abandoned flyover constructions at many places. Any idea what was it with these? Why was a flyover even planned in these place?

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

This is one option in Mollem, but don't know if they serve lunch to walk-in guests.
https://dudhsagarsparesort.com/contact-us/

Stopped by there to check on Lunch. They seems to have, but the place looked very lonely and very vast. So not sure if the service would be quick. Hence skipped that and a little ahead found this one, which was really good. Nice ambience and food. Had lunch there itself on the return as well.

Hotel Amigos, a little after ghat base.

[Caramba]

Did Palolem Bangalore on the the Ankola- Yellapur-Bankapura road. The road condition has deteriorated. Coupled with rains it was not enjoyable in the least, though the surrounding as quite beautiful. Large craters which appear suddenly and then consistent stretches of potholes. Arabail ghats seemed to have an issue on the road surface as the initial climb was covered with loose gravel. Not sure of alternates but plan to drive carefully if you have a slow slung sedan.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Did a trip to Goa this last weekend and back yesterday. Took Anmod ghat on both ways. Dharwad - Ramnagar - Anmod - Mollem - Panaji - North Goa.

Hey, come on! Doable in any sedan including my 330i. I live in Bengaluru you see.

But seriously, it seems manageable with care unless being chased by a ST bus. A strong suggestion is to make sure tyres are inflated to max load pressures tp avoid bottoming. Too many times this simple fact is ignored by casual highway users.

[SanjuInGgn]

Hi All - Planning a Bangalore to North Goa [Cavelossim/Mobor beach] road-trip next week. Have never driven to Goa, so really looking forward to the drive. Planning to leave by 6am, so that can reach before sundown. Driving a sedan, so would prefer a smoother terrain vis-a-vis travel duration (have heard of some stretches of the Blr-Goa highway thats notorious for potholes).

With all of these points to consider, would appreciate your thoughts/suggestions about the route to take.

Also, good places for food breaks.

Lastly, if we wanted to stop over for the night, what would be a good place?

Appreciate your responses.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by SanjuInGgn

Appreciate your responses.

See a post above, #5722. I have put some details in that.

The recommended route to north Goa is Dharwad - Ramnagar - Anmod Ghat - Mollem. It has a few bad spots within a 20kms stretch near Ramnagar, but otherwise it is smooth through out.

A 6am start will not take you there before sun down. It takes a 12 hour drive time plus breaks. Depending on what time you start, your halt can be at Davanagere or Hubli.

Some restaurant options:

Apoorva Resort (Davanagere)
https://goo.gl/maps/n1QYZ16p4FyRCJEK9

Ganesh Hotel (Near Hubli)
https://g.page/ganesh-hotel-karnataka?share

Hotel Amigos (Near Ponda, Goa)
https://goo.gl/maps/q7i5ZxbPB1JMb3ENA

[goandude]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

See a post above, #5722. I have put some details in that.

The recommended route to north Goa is Dharwad - Ramnagar - Anmod Ghat - Mollem. It has a few bad spots within a 20kms stretch near Ramnagar, but otherwise it is smooth through out

Originally Posted by SanjuInGgn

Hi All - Planning a Bangalore to North Goa [Cavelossim/Mobor beach] road-trip next week.

Going to Panaji next month. And with the inputs above, decided to brave the Anmod Mollem route (and silently curse the politicians of the Karnataka side).
Sanjuin, kindly update road conditions on your return. Hopefully all the potholes would be repaired and fresh new smooth layer of tarmac laid (what am I smoking?)

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by goandude

Going to Panaji next month. And with the inputs above, decided to brave the Anmod Mollem route (and silently curse the politicians of the Karnataka side).
Sanjuin, kindly update road conditions on your return. Hopefully all the potholes would be repaired and fresh new smooth layer of tarmac laid (what am I smoking?)

This might sound bit off tracked. But has anybody tried
1. Bangalore, Shimoga, Honnavar, Goa
2. Bangalore, Haveri, Sirsi, Kumta, Goa
in recent days? These were good options earlier when Anmod was really bad. I used these slower options then but they were peaceful. Considering the conditions of obvious roots it could be worth trying these routes and update here. I am plannjng to take the Honnavar route for my next trip but not sure when.

[satnan]

Originally Posted by rizwan27

BLR-Hubli (left turn before city)- Kalaghatgi - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar -Palolem.

Thanks.
R

Hi All,

Planning to drive to Goa in our Honda City during mid next week and our destination is Agonda. Will this be the best route?

This will be my first drive to Goa and I am not familiar with the north Karnataka / Goa geography at all. Looking for all inputs I can get

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by satnan

Hi All,
Planning to drive to Goa in our Honda City during mid next week and our destination is Agonda. Will this be the best route?

Please read the posts #5718 to 5721. That should answer your query. Agonda is near Palolem.