Just completed a round trip from Bangalore to covering Tuljapur - Barshi - Pandharpur - Kolhapur
I have put a summary of the trip details here, covering almost 1700 kms over 4 days with each night at a different hotel. Heartfelt thanks to the suggestions from BHPians in earlier posts, which pretty much took care of routes and halts
Interestingly, this trip was covered from Bangalore in my father's KL plate Grand i10 Nios with 3 co-passengers with the thought that it would be under the radar compared to my KA plate car (especially with protests in Belgaum). However, abundant caution aside, the trip was uneventful on that front
That said, the 'lil' Nios completed the journey with surprising ease, with its spacious non-claustrophobic cabin keeping the occupants comfortable. Only catch, there was (strict) instruction to pack only soft bags which can be squished in place in the tiny boot (whose parcel shelf was removed for the trip)
A click on the highway near Hospet (with a 'trash' bag and improvised rear blinds among 5 soft bags in the boot)
Day 1 started at 04:30 from Bangalore to Osmanabad, a really long drive with the following segments
* Bangalore - Tumkur: high traffic, poor surface
* Tumkur - Chitradurga: fast 3+3 lanes with manageable traffic
* Chitradurga - Hospet : 2+2 fast and straight roads, with hardly any traffic (or eateries to speak of)
* Hospet - Bijapur: Really desolate and great to drive
* Bijapur - Solapur: great highway roads aside, Solapur town limits had crumbling roads (even by Bangalore standards!)
* Solapur - Osmanabad: The NH 52 was FANTASTIC, effectively lifting our spirits at the fag end of a long drive
Photos enroute Day 1
Tungabhadra Dam reservoir at Hospet
Almatti Dam reservoir
A fleeting glance of the Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur from the highway
The lovely parking area of Hotel Pushpak Park, Osmanabad (even enabling me carry out a waterless wash exercise)
A rather nifty device in the room - a wireless charging dock cum bluetooth speaker!
Day 2 was all about temple darsans (and a much shorter drive).
Considering Osmanabad Tuljapur was a short 22 kms on a really good highway, we decided to leave early for the temple darsan and come back to the hotel for breakfast and check out. Shri Tulja Bhavani Temple has a massive parking ground (which can accommodate many buses even!)
Shri Bhagwant Mandir, Barshi was a lovely temple that we visited enroute, notwithstanding the rather average (yet motorable) surface and dual carriageways
Checked into Prabhu Residency around noon, one among the few good hotels in a popular temple town like Pandharpur. This one has parking but on a public (side) road in front of the property (quite tight and one cannot be assured of a spot). But the temple is just one straight walk under a kilometer and the rooms were clean, that was about it!
Vittal Rukmini Temple, Pandharpur.
We reached the temple around 6 pm and stood in queue for 'Charan Sparsh' darsan for a good 2+ hours. Booking the online darsan slot is highly recommended (which we had not). Do take note that phones are not allowed inside the temple, lockers are available, but they close before the last darsan.
Day 3 we headed to Kolhapur along NH 166 which was fantastic. Stopped for breakfast at Grameena Olden Days...(that's the name replete with the dots), a food park of sorts in a nice rustic ambience beautifully recreated
Checked into Hotel K Square, Kolhapur around noon, with its clean basement parking (which trumped even my Bangalore apartment!) and very well thought out rooms
Shri Amba Bai Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur; a sacred temple and also a 7th century architectural gem!
Parking near the temple was close to non-existent, so we chose autos, thanks to auto stands right outside the hotel
The last agenda on our itinerary was an unplanned addition, Jyotiba Temple atop Wadi Ratnagiri, around 45 minutes away
An absolutely lovely hill climb to a very unique temple which was slathered with pink gulal, pink being Lord Jyotiba's favourite colour. It was everywhere, do mind your clothes but your feet soles will have a layer of pink!
Day 4 was the home run to Bangalore, a predictable drive along a fairly familiar route
Had breakfast (a lovely buffet!) at Sankam Residency, Belgaum with no protests or incidents to report (a perfectly normal town even after going off the highway)
Dad enjoying a cruise on arrow straight highways never experienced in hometown KL!
Ended the trip with around 7 pm with an impressive (indicated) 19.6 kmpl with 52 kmph average speed (and a full load). Overall toll charges were close to 2000. The 'lil' Nios more than proved its mettle, only leaving us wishing it had a 6th gear for cruising