[goandude]

Guys, I'm riding from Bangalore to kotagiri on a weekend. Thinking of taking this route Kanakapura > Malavalli > T Narsipur > C' Nagar > Hasanur > Bhavanisagar >Mettupalayam > Kotagiri GM shows 326 KMs and 8:20 h. Aim is to have less traffic, good road and scenery while avoiding traffic at Mysore and Ooty

How are the roads C'nagar > Bhavanisagar > Mettupalayam?
Is the road work on Knakapura road ongoing?

[kala]

Originally Posted by goandude

Thinking of taking this route Kanakapura > Malavalli > T Narsipur > C' Nagar > Hasanur > Bhavanisagar >Mettupalayam > Kotagiri

How are the roads C'nagar > Bhavanisagar > Mettupalayam?
Is the road work on Knakapura road ongoing?

Yes, there is road widening happening on Kanakapura road, but not such a major issue till Malavalli.

Malavalli-T.Narsipur via Purigali is in decent condition. (Don't take the Kirugavalu-T.Narsipur route, that route is blocked due to a bridge under construction).

The T.Narsipur-Chamarajnagar stretch is quite bad after Mooguru (The Mooguru-Santhemarahalli stretch has plenty of potholes, and the NH209 from there to Chamarajnagar has road widening /resurfacing happening, so there are lots of gravel-only sections there. Not sure of the status of the NH after C.R.Nagar since I haven't been that way for quite a while now - may be someone else can fill in.

Overall I wouldn't recommend the route very highly. In fact Google Maps recommends the Malavalli-Kollegal-Germalam-Hasanur route to get to Sathy, and shows it as taking about 30 minutes less !! So possible there could be roadwork happening on NH209 between C.R.Nagar and Hasanur also.

[jkrishnakj]

If its Kothagiri, i think it makes sense for the regular Banaglore - Hosur - Dharmapuri - Salem - Avanashi - Annur - Metupalyam - Kothagiri ? It might be a little faster than the 8 hours i guess and the roads are good as well.

[goandude]

Thanks for the inputs. I think then the Mysore road, Gundlupet, Masinagudi route will have to do. In spite of the traffic, Sirsi circle flyover repairs and ongoing Metro work

[RGK]

I travelled from Mysore to Coimbatore on 23rd Dec Sunday. Made a stop at Bandipur tiger reserve and took 3 PM safari. Unfortunately, We could not see any big animals except deer and monkeys. Started from Bandhipur at 4 PM and reached Ooty via Masinangudi and Kalhatty. At the Gudalur - Masinagudi road junction, the route boards display Ooty via Masingudi route and not Gudalur. For new drivers (especially private car owners) it is risky to drive uphill and negotiate 36 steep hairpin bends. The direction board should display some caution messages alerting the drivers and they can choose a relatively comfortable Gudalur route if required.

The entire stretch from Mysore to Ooty is very good, but there are a lot of speed breakers.

As usual, Ooty is flooded with weekend traffic and I saw a 2 km queue of cars on the way to Coimbatore on the Kotagiri road. It is better to avoid Ooty during weekends.

[Cruise-Planet]

Hi Folks,
I will start traveling at 6:30 AM on Jan 12, 2019 (Saturday) from Mekhri Circle(Bangalore) to Gudalur. What route should I follow to reach Gudalur at the earliest.

Also advise the breakfast and lunch options.

[luvurride]

Originally Posted by Cruise-Planet

Hi Folks,
I will start traveling at 6:30 AM on Jan 12, 2019 (Saturday) from Mekhri Circle(Bangalore) to Gudalur. What route should I follow to reach Gudalur at the earliest.

Also advise the breakfast and lunch options.

The usual Bangalore-Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundlupet route is good. Except that you may get caught in the Bangalore-Mysore mayhem, the solution is to start early. The other alternative is via Kanakapura-Malavalli-Kollegal-Chamrajnagar-Gundlupet. The first option is 4 laned till Nanjangud and the second option has just good 2 lanes. You can have both options open and decide based on the time of your start.

You have plenty of eateries on the regular Mysore route so you can choose based on your palette. But if you choose to take Kanakapura road, your options are very limited. Vasu Hotel at Kanakapura and Nijaguna residency in Chamarajnagar are the only options that I know of. You should reach Gudalur for lunch, otherwise, there is a CCD in Gundlupet and a Nijaguna Residency as well.

[Thilak29]

KSRTC proposes new route from Bengaluru to Ooty : https://goo.gl/XiPEjr

[goandude]

Five of us rode to Kotagiri on Friday and returned on Sunday. Going there, we started at 6:45 from NICE Knp road junction and reached Ooty by 1:30 pm. Route taken was Knp, Mysore ORR, Gundlupet, Bandipur, 36 hairpins, Ooty. Work is ongoing on Knp road but not a big issue, we reached Mysore ORR at 9:00. Mysore - Gundlupet was busy but could still keep up the pace. Then the reserve forests with the innumerable speed breakers reduce your average speed significantly. The 36 hairpins were smooth riding. Overall road surface conditions are really good.

Return we did the same route till Mysore, but being a Sunday afternoon, decided to take the Mysore road back. We finished lunch at Mysore (fish land) by 2 pm and had a relatively smooth ride till we reached the outskirts of Bangalore by 4:30 pm. Some 6 laneing work going on on Mysore road.

[KartikBN]

Originally Posted by goandude

Five of us rode to Kotagiri on Friday and returned on Sunday. Going there, we started at 6:45 from NICE Knp road junction and reached Ooty by 1:30 pm. Route taken was Knp, Mysore ORR, Gundlupet, Bandipur, 36 hairpins, Ooty. Work is ongoing on Knp road but not a big issue, we reached Mysore ORR at 9:00. Mysore - Gundlupet was busy but could still keep up the pace. Then the reserve forests with the innumerable speed breakers reduce your average speed significantly. The 36 hairpins were smooth riding. Overall road surface conditions are really good.

Hey Goandude, you mentioned about taking the Kanakapura road to Mysore ORR, how bad are the roads? I stay close to NICE road and thinking of taking the Kanakapura Road to Mysore, I drive a city and only concerned about road clearance. Thanks.

[autospeaker]

Friends, anyone traveled to Ooty via Bandipur over the last weekend? I could see in Kannada news channels that the road to Ooty was blocked due to wildfire.
I have planned a family trip to Ooty on 1st March and have already booked the rooms. Not sure what happens now :(

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by autospeaker

Friends, anyone traveled to Ooty via Bandipur over the last weekend? I could see in Kannada news channels that the road to Ooty was blocked due to wildfire.
I have planned a family trip to Ooty on 1st March and have already booked the rooms. Not sure what happens now :(

I assume things should settle by March 1st. Not sure if the roads are already open.

In any case, you can check with the hotel/resort itself closer to the date of journey, they should have updated info.

If the route is closed, you can always go via Salem- Annur Mettupalayam-Coonoor-Ooty. It is longer, but should take the same time. In case you come to know it is closed only when you reach bandipur, you can also backtrack and go via the Wayanad route. Go to Sultan Bathery and from there to Gudalur. I don't think that route has been impacted.

[autospeaker]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

... In case you come to know it is closed only when you reach bandipur, you can also backtrack and go via the Wayanad route. Go to Sultan Bathery and from there to Gudalur. I don't think that route has been impacted.

This exactly is my concern. I have booked accommodation in Mysore too for the previous night - don't wish to travel to Ooty at a stretch in a single day.

So, if at all I have to backtrack, till what point I should come back? Do I need to come back till Gundlupete and then take Wayanad route to Sulthan Bathery?

Thanks in advance.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by autospeaker

This exactly is my concern. I have booked accommodation in Mysore too for the previous night - don't wish to travel to Ooty at a stretch in a single day.

So, if at all I have to backtrack, till what point I should come back? Do I need to come back till Gundlupete and then take Wayanad route to Sulthan Bathery?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, you will need to deviate from Gundlepet. But am pretty sure if the road is closed, you will be able to get the info from Mysore or worst case from Gundlepet itself.

Note: The assumption is that the forest route to Wayanad will remain open. That was the case as per the media reports. But ultimately it is all one forest, so if things are not under control , probably can impact the Wayanad side also.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by autospeaker

This exactly is my concern. I have booked accommodation in Mysore too for the previous night - don't wish to travel to Ooty at a stretch in a single day.

So, if at all I have to backtrack, till what point I should come back? Do I need to come back till Gundlupete and then take Wayanad route to Sulthan Bathery?

Thanks in advance.

Today's newspaper indicates that the routes are open for traffic as normal. It was apparently closed for only a couple of hours. So I think you should be good unless things take a turn for the worse which is unlikely