[ampere]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

Ok. I am now looking at an alternate route to get to Madikeri then.

See this for reference:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3014079

[NPV]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

Ok. I am now looking at an alternate route to get to Madikeri then.

I don't mind driving on average roads, but bad jungle trails is certainly not going to help the car.


Someone suggested I should go via Mangalore route (the coastal road).
I am not sure if it is worth the extra miles.

From what I know, the coastal route between Mangalore-Kasargod NH17 is quite bad and has construction/deviations in some stretches and will slow you down, so your best bet is still the Pune-Bangalore route via NH4.
Maybe you can try Pune-Goa (don't know about conditions for this route). Once on NH17, go upto Honnavar via Karwar, Ankola. Turn off to left at Honnavar and get onto NH206 and reach Shimoga.

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by NPV

From what I know, the coastal route between Mangalore-Kasargod NH17 is quite bad and has construction/deviations in some stretches and will slow you down, so your best bet is still the Pune-Bangalore route via NH4.
Maybe you can try Pune-Goa (don't know about conditions for this route). Once on NH17, go upto Honnavar via Karwar, Ankola. Turn off to left at Honnavar and get onto NH206 and reach Shimoga.

So, there is another discussion thread where I have got some more information on the Shimoga route. It seems to be fairly OK. I think I will stick to that one.
More details here.

The coastal route is bad, is what I have heard, and you confirmed that. So, that one is thankfully ruled out.

[daisyb]

We are planning a trip to Coorg in Nov from Bangalore:

1. What are the latest road conditions. Anything specific to watch out for?
2. After crossing Srirangapatnam, which is the best route to join Hunsur road. Prefer to avoid Mysore city.
3. Will be starting around 6AM from Bangalore. What are the options for breakfast.
4. Looking for good lunch options to try authentic coorg food (we are vegetarians).

[ankan.m.blr]

Originally Posted by daisyb

We are planning a trip to Coorg in Nov from Bangalore:

1. What are the latest road conditions. Anything specific to watch out for?
2. After crossing Srirangapatnam, which is the best route to join Hunsur road. Prefer to avoid Mysore city.
3. Will be starting around 6AM from Bangalore. What are the options for breakfast.
4. Looking for good lunch options to try authentic coorg food (we are vegetarians).

1. When we last visited in July, the roads were good. Later some part of the roads before madikeri caved in and traffic was re-routed. Now the roads have been repaired. Lets hear it from someone who visited in recent past.
2. Do not take the Srirangapattana bypass. Please take Mysore outer ring road. You have to take a right at the columbia Asia hospital junction when you reach Mysore. See attached map.


3 & 4. cross posting from another thread :

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

If you start at 6 AM from Blr and assuming you'll take the usual SH-17 Blr-Mys road, you can find almost all eateries open on the stretch after 6:30 or 7:00 AM. On your way to Mysore, you can stop at Kamath( there are multiple) / CCD(again, many) / McDonalds. You can have breakfast at Mysore too. Cafe Coorg at Hunsur should be open esp on weekends (I have been there at 10:00 AM for breakfast). There's a CCD too after you cross Cafe Coorg at Hunsur. There are many food options in Madikeri like Coorg Cuisinette, Hotel Rajdarshan etc. Most of them around bus stand and near Raja's seat. Once we reached Madikeri very late (around 3:30 PM) and all hotels stopped lunch service. Finally we found East End hotel which was still open for lunch. Hope this helps.

[daisyb]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

2. Do not take the Srirangapattana bypass. Please take Mysore outer ring road. You have to take a right at the columbia Asia hospital junction when you reach Mysore. See attached map.

Thanks a lot Ankan. Mysore OOR route seems to be a little longer than taking a right at Srirangapatna. Getting closer to Mysore might mean traffic too. Any specific reason why you have suggested this.

[ankan.m.blr]

Originally Posted by daisyb

Thanks a lot Ankan. Mysore OOR route seems to be a little longer than taking a right at Srirangapatna. Getting closer to Mysore might mean traffic too. Any specific reason why you have suggested this.

Srirangapattana bypass is not in good shape specially before and after the railway crossing. A friend went through that road few weeks back. Mysore ORR might be a few KMs longer on paper, but its in lot better condition when compared to the bypass. So, it'll be faster. I have never found the Mysore ORR crowded; only 1 traffic signal (KRS road crossing) which never creates any traffic hold-up. Don't worry about Mysore traffic; the ORR completely bypasses the city, so no city traffic. The only irritation might be the speedbreakers between Srirangapattana & Mysore.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by daisyb

Thanks a lot Ankan. Mysore OOR route seems to be a little longer than taking a right at Srirangapatna. Getting closer to Mysore might mean traffic too. Any specific reason why you have suggested this.

There is a broken section(READ: Only gravel, no tar!) of 500mts or so in this route. This, combined with a few potholes and generally not so flat surface of the road, is the reason why few avoid the Yelawala bye-pass to Hunsur road.

However, I always prefer to take this route during my numerous Coorg trips and do not find it tough compared to the crater filled roads of namma Bengaluru!
This section is traffic-free and barring the railway crossing, does not pose any major threats to slow you down!

Depending on which part of Bangalore you start from and what your breakfast time would be, you have plenty of choices enroute Srirangapatna -
Bidadi - Thatte Idlis at plenty of roadside shops
Channapatna - Kadambam, McD, KFC
Maddur - Adigas
Mandya - Hotel Sharadha

Besides, there are Kamats and CCDs strewn through out.

I think you should reach Madikeri for lunch, during which case, there are options mentioned by fellow bhpians in this thread you can refer to.

[apurva512]

Hi, I plan to travel to Coorg(Madikeri) this coming week from Bangalore. I will leave straight from Bangalore airport. Google maps gives me 2 primary options to take. One is via the Mangalore Highway, the other via the Mysore highway. Which route is better in terms of comfort and safety? Is there a 34d(or 4th/5th etc) option that would be better? I will have a small child with me on the trip, so comfort will beat out a slightly longer more time consuming route. Also, on the way back, I will be making a night stop in Mysore. What route should I take from Mysore to Bangalore? The NH 209 one or some other?

Thanks for looking. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

[gmmurali]

I suggest to take the road via Mysore. Last time in May 2013, I took the other road via Mangalore Highway. It was a pain once I got off the Mangalore highway. We returned via Mysore highway and it was much better. I know Bangalore-Mysore has too many speed breakers but was still better than alternatives. Not sure about current conditions.

[ankan.m.blr]

Originally Posted by apurva512

Hi, I plan to travel to Coorg(Madikeri) this coming week from Bangalore. I will leave straight from Bangalore airport. Google maps gives me 2 primary options to take. One is via the Mangalore Highway, the other via the Mysore highway. Which route is better in terms of comfort and safety? Is there a 34d(or 4th/5th etc) option that would be better? I will have a small child with me on the trip, so comfort will beat out a slightly longer more time consuming route. Also, on the way back, I will be making a night stop in Mysore. What route should I take from Mysore to Bangalore? The NH 209 one or some other?

Thanks for looking. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

As you'll have family with you, I'll suggest take Bangalore-Mysore Highway (SH-17) via Bidadi, Ramnagara, Channapatna, Mandya , Srirangapatna. You need to connect to NICE road from BIAL (you can follow Outer Ring Road via Hebbal-K R Puram-Marathalli-SilkBoard , then at Silk Board junction, turn left on Hosur road and Join NICE Road. -OR- to bypass city traffic, you can take BIAL- Hoskote-Whitefield-Forum value mall -Marathalli-Silk Boad-NICE Road). The city bypass has some broken section near Whitefield.
From NICE road, you can get on to Mysore Road. Mysore road has lots of family friendly eateries with good restrooms which is a must when you are travelling with family. When you reach Columbia Asia hospital junction at Mysore, take a right and join Mysore Outer Ring Road. Continue on ORR and at Hunsur Road junction, turn right (there's a signboard). You'll reach Madikeri if you follow Hunsur Road.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by daisyb

Thanks a lot Ankan. Mysore OOR route seems to be a little longer than taking a right at Srirangapatna. Getting closer to Mysore might mean traffic too. Any specific reason why you have suggested this.

I would say thats still OK. ORR is good. But please be careful about abrupt diversions. Even I would recommend the ORR option.

[RajeshK]

Originally Posted by luvurride

There is a broken section(READ: Only gravel, no tar!) of 500mts or so in this route. This, combined with a few potholes and generally not so flat surface of the road, is the reason why few avoid the Yelawala bye-pass to Hunsur road.

However, I always prefer to take this route during my numerous Coorg trips and do not find it tough compared to the crater filled roads of namma Bengaluru!
This section is traffic-free and barring the railway crossing, does not pose any major threats to slow you down!

Even I also prefer to take this route any day. This route is really scenic and less traffic compared to the Mysore - ORR which has more road humps and traffic.

[daisyb]

Just back from a trip to Coorg:

Took the Nice road -> Bidadi -> Ramanagara -> Channapatna -> Mandya -> Mysore OOR (Right turn at Columbia Asia) -> Hunsur -> Kushalnagar -> Madikeri route
The entire stretch from Bangalore to Madikeri is in excellent condition. The only concern is the N number of speed breakers, that slows you down.

While returning to Bangalore, took the Srirangapatnam bypass. Some parts of the road in this route appears to have been laid out recently and is very good. The ½ km bad stretch is still there. Inspite of this bad stretch, and uneven road at few places, loved travelling by this route. Hardly any traffic, very scenic with greenery on both sides.

Other information:
1. For people who would like to try alternate routes from Kushalnagar to Madikeri: There is a route from SH 91 (4 kms after crosing Kushalnagar, once you reach Guddehosur, take left turn that goes towards Dubare elephant camp. After crossing Dubare elephant camp and going on this road for a few kms, take a right in to Chettalli road. This road leads to Madikeri. The road is flanked by coffeee plantations on both sides, passes through villages. The entire route is very scenic. The road has a few bad patches and is narrow though.
2. Try the 4 wheel drive to places like Mandalpatti, Jodupala etc. One can hire Jeeps from Madikeri to do this. The terrain is very rough with hardly any roads at some places which makes the entire experience very interesting. Some of these places offer good trekking options. We did the 4 wheel to Jodupala, climbed up a hill in the Jeep in to the forest area. The jeep took us to a certain distance, from this place we trekked for a km or so.
3. Dubare elephant camp – Try to reach the place by 9AM. One can see the mahoots bathing the elephants. After bathing, elephants are fed. It is fun to watch all this, especially for kids. After 10AM, we have seen huge crowds thronging the place. One can also particiapte in the elephant bathing exercise by purchasing a ticket for Rs 140/-
4. Visit Raja Seat (in Madikeri) during sun rise/Sun set. We visited during sun set. It was beautiful.

[sumathindra]

Any recommendations of home stay's in coorg? Planning to go with family.