[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Folks

Two of my office colleagues intend to visit Ooty by car (Diesel) the coming weekend along with their spouse and kids. Need info on the following

1. Best route. Is it preferable to go via Masinagudi or Gudalur
2. Updates on the current road conditions
3. Places to break for tiffin en route from Bangalore
4. They will be in Ooty for about a day and a half. What places can be covered in this time frame keeping in mind the enjoyment for the kids.
5. Is it advisable to go via Mysore road or Kanakapura road ?

1.Go via masinagudi and return via gudalur.
2.Should be excellent all through.
3.Depends on the timing and route. Mysore road has tons of places, most open after 6.30 types. If the timing is earlier or if the routing is via Kanakapura- Bannur, one of the many places within Mysore should work. In my recent trips I have stopped at up-south at RightO food court before Srirangapatna.
4. No specific inputs.
5. If the start is before 6 Mysore road should be good. Post that since it is a a long weekend, maybe kanakpura malavalli Bannur Mysore will be better.

[sbiswas]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Folks
Two of my office colleagues intend to visit Ooty by car (Diesel) the coming weekend along with their spouse and kids. Need info on the following

1. Best route. Is it preferable to go via Masinagudi or Gudalur.
Go via Masinagudi and come back via Gudalur.

2. Updates on the current road conditions.
Road work going on on a small stretch few kilometers before Bandipur. But the road is wide enough. So no issues really.

3. Places to break for tiffin en route from Bangalore.
Shouldn't be an issue at all. Just keep an eye for roadside dhabas. There are quite a few family dhabas near Mysuru.

4. They will be in Ooty for about a day and a half. What places can be covered in this time frame keeping in mind the enjoyment for the kids.
Ooty Lake for boating, Botanical Garden, Dodabetta Peak, Chocolate Museum, Rose Garden would be my recommendation. Have food at Amma's Kitchen.

5. Is it advisable to go via Mysore road or Kanakapura road ?
We went via Mysuru road. Can't comment about Kanakapura road.

[autorahul]

Folks, planning to go to Ooty one of these weekends, by renting a Scorpio from Myles. I understand the commercial vehicles will have to pay higher tax at the border, however I am not able to find the number. If anyone has the knowledge, it would be great if you could enlighten me.

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by autorahul

Folks, planning to go to Ooty one of these weekends, by renting a Scorpio from Myles. I understand the commercial vehicles will have to pay higher tax at the border, however I am not able to find the number. If anyone has the knowledge, it would be great if you could enlighten me.

Check this - https://www.zoomcar.com/bangalore/outstation
Looks like its around 500. not sure if its latest, but can give you an indication.

[venkateshs]

Dear all,

Planning to go for a ride on on my TB500 from Blore to Kodanad, TN this Saturday. Could you pls let me know the best route?
Intend to start the trip by 5am.

Thanks,
Venky

[Crowley]

I am back from a week long road trip Goa-Mysore-Ooty-Wayanad-Coorg-Goa covering 2200 KMs. Thanks all the members for your valuable inputs.

[Mad Max]

Hi, We are three families planning a drive to Ooty. (Bangalore - Mandya - Mysore - Gundlupet - Mysore).

We plan to start around 5AM and so we hope to be in Mysore around 8AM. Please suggest restaurants near Mysore on the highway itself. We'd prefer not to enter Mysore town during peak/office hours and would like to continue on the bypass towards Ooty. Any suggestions on breakfast places on that route?

[procrj]

Originally Posted by venkateshs

Dear all,

Planning to go for a ride on on my TB500 from Blore to Kodanad, TN this Saturday. Could you pls let me know the best route?
Intend to start the trip by 5am.

Thanks,
Venky

You can take the standard Mysore - Ooty - Kotagiri -Kondanad route but if you want to enjoy some twisties and relatively less traffic drive, you could also do Kanakpura - Chamrajnagar - Dimbam - Satyamangalam - Metupalayam - Kotagiri - Kondanad. Though the second route is longer, it should be a good drive though I am not sure what the road conditions are as on date.

Originally Posted by Mad Max

We plan to start around 5AM and so we hope to be in Mysore around 8AM

Loads of options listed in this thread already. Some that come to my mind are
1. Right O before Srirangapatna which has an Up South and clean rest rooms https://goo.gl/maps/BGngpbSNmCr
2. Thotada Mane - small deviation from Mysore road before srirangapatna but the food is really good, especially if you want some lip smacking shavige bath or akki roti . More details here

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

Please suggest restaurants near Mysore on the highway itself. We'd prefer not to enter Mysore town during peak/office hours and would like to continue on the bypass towards Ooty. Any suggestions on breakfast places on that route?

Several options, but most open post 6:45am.
Maddur - Indradhanush on right, Maddur Tiffanys on left and right, Adigas on right, Thimmadas on left, A2B on right.

Probably Upsouth and Thotada Mane are better choices as mentioned by @procrj

There is also Kamat Madhuvan opposite Mysore Palace on the Gundlupet Road.
Good thing about this location is that you're already on the Gundlupet Road and you'd have crossed Mysore City.

*Note:
If you take the left ring of the Mysore Ring Road, when you reach the Gundlupet Road, you need to turn left for Gundlupet, but turn right in the direction towards Mysore for 1-1.5Km to reach this Kamat.

If not taking Mysore ring road and going inside Mysore city (traffic should not be an issue on account of your early start), you need to go past the bus stand, turn left and look for signs to Ooty and you reach the Mysore Palace, just opposite the Palace you will find Kamat.

[mpksuhas]

This is the Kamat NPV is mentioning about. Link

Also, on a weekend by 05:00 AM traffic increases exponentially on Mysore road. If possible cross NICE road junctions (either the Kanakpura road one or Mysore road one based on the route preference) before 05:00 AM, this will make your journey much peaceful.

Originally Posted by venkateshs

Intend to start the trip by 5am.

My suggestion would be to take Kanakpura road with a slightly earlier start as mentioned above. You can join Mysore road past Mallavalli or continue till Chamarajanagar based on your comfort.

Originally Posted by Mad Max

We plan to start around 5AM and so we hope to be in Mysore around 8AM.

In case you are taking Mysore ring road the best option is Kamat mentioned above. Else you can stop at Gudlupet, however apart from the CCD, other hotels have below average rest rooms there.

This again is around 1 hour drive from Mysore ring road's southern end.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Also, on a weekend by 05:00 AM traffic increases exponentially on Mysore road

Originally Posted by Mad Max

We plan to start around 5AM and so we hope to be in Mysore around 8AM

If you are driving from North Bangalore then the other option would be Nelamangala - Bellur cross - Nagamangala - Pandavapura - Srirangapatna - Mysore. You can even start at 6 am, have some crispy masala dosa at Swati Delicacy and drive leisurely till Srirangapatna on this route. Distance is ~180 kms from Yeshwantpur vs the ~140 km via Mysore road but time taken to cover this 180 kms is a deterministic 2.5 hrs. Can be even faster if you decide to test your car limits on the 4L stretch upto Bellur cross.

[gadadhar]

Hearing about Kaveri related disruptions around Mandya. I am travelling to Mysore and proceeding to Kabini and is planning for a 4 am start from South Bangalore. I am hoping this early start will enable to cross Mandya before any protesters hit the roads

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by procrj

Loads of options listed in this thread already. Some that come to my mind are

Thanks! The goal is to cross Mysore and drive as much as possible early AM. The Kamat seems to be the logical choice.

Originally Posted by NPV

Several options, but most open post 6:45am.
Maddur - Indradhanush on right, Maddur Tiffanys on left and right, Adigas on right, Thimmadas on left, A2B on right.

Thank you! This seems like what we'll end up doing. But some cars have kids and as we all know, that variable could kick in even before we get out of Bangalore! haha..

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

This is the Kamat NPV is mentioning about.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't realize that it's 1 hour from the junction. We'll have to take this into consideration.

Originally Posted by procrj

If you are driving from North Bangalore then the other option would be Nelamangala - Bellur cross - Nagamangala - Pandavapura - Srirangapatna - Mysore. You can even start at 6 am, have some crispy masala dosa at Swati Delicacy and drive leisurely till Srirangapatna on this route. Distance is ~180 kms from Yeshwantpur vs the ~140 km via Mysore road but time taken to cover this 180 kms is a deterministic 2.5 hrs. Can be even faster if you decide to test your car limits on the 4L stretch upto Bellur cross.

We are all starting from South Bangalore (ORR / Whitefield area). But the route is tempting considering the boring drive on Mysore road coupled with crazy drivers.

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Hearing about Kaveri related disruptions around Mandya. I am travelling to Mysore and proceeding to Kabini and is planning for a 4 am start from South Bangalore. I am hoping this early start will enable to cross Mandya before any protesters hit the roads

Really!? This would totally suck. Hoping to cross Mandya before any agitation happens.

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Hearing about Kaveri related disruptions around Mandya. I am travelling to Mysore and proceeding to Kabini and is planning for a 4 am start from South Bangalore. I am hoping this early start will enable to cross Mandya before any protesters hit the roads

Thanks for the heads up. I was planning to start at 7 or 8, I'll start around 4.30 now and hope to cross mandya at or before 6.30am.

[gadadhar]

There is report on court ruling expected today on Kaveri and also on the heavy police security around Mandya. Early morning start should save us from trouble while going, thinking of coming through Kanakpura on the way back. Planning keep a tab on the court ruling and proceedings after that and decide.