[sumitj]

Quick question:

Plan to make a trip to Chikamagalur this weekend. I have 2 route options:

Option 1: Hyd - Penukonda - Chitradurga via Challakere - Bhadravathi - Tarikere - Chikamagalur

Option 2: Hyd - Devanahalli - Doddaballpur - Dobbaspet - Tumkur - Kadur - Chikamagalur

Please help regarding the better one. Key is fast travel.

Also any tips on things to do/places to visit on the way and best i.e. most beautiful place to stay in Chikamagalur.

Thanks,
Sumit

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by sumitj

Quick question:

Plan to make a trip to Chikamagalur this weekend. I have 2 route options:

Option 1: Hyd - Penukonda - Chitradurga via Challakere - Bhadravathi - Tarikere - Chikamagalur

Option 2: Hyd - Devanahalli - Doddaballpur - Dobbaspet - Tumkur - Kadur - Chikamagalur

Please help regarding the better one. Key is fast travel.

Also any tips on things to do/places to visit on the way and best i.e. most beautiful place to stay in Chikamagalur.

Thanks,
Sumit

Sumit,

Option 2 will be faster. The roads till Kadur is excellent. I am not sure about the 35 KMs stretch between Kadur - Chikkamagalur. It may not be excellent but definitely doable as such. Someone in the forum can confirm the presnt condition of this stretch.

We have stayed at Thotadahalli Homestay and it is very good. Take a look at this website and also my TL.

Home

Another nice place is Greendale

http://www.greendalestay.com/

My TL

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...iri-bekal.html

You can also look at this website for more options for stay in Chikkamagalur

http://www.travelmalnad.com/

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sumitj

Option 2: Hyd - Devanahalli - Doddaballpur - Dobbaspet - Tumkur - Kadur - Chikamagalur

This is the better option as Fauji mentioned.

- NH648 (The old NH207) has now been re-tarred and is a beauty to drive nowadays. Two week back I was on the Ddoddaballapur-Dobbaspet section and it was a beauty.
- So overall all the way from Hyderabad till Kadur, you get beautifull road.
- Only Tumkur by-pass is a bit broken. Albeit it is worth taking
- Kadur to CKM (via Sakkarepatna) is a concrete road which has been expanded on the two sides by tar.
- You can feel the cracks, but it still is fine to drive.
- A place to visit is Ayannakere at Sakarepatna. (Its a huge lake)

You may not find enough water now. When I visited it was full and brimming!
Here are some snaps:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...be-list-3.html

(Posts # 31 and 33)

The second snap in post #33 shows how the Kadur=CKM road was when I traveled (2010). Dont know how much has changed. Though I dont expect much to change here.

[sumitj]

Thanks guys, I'm closing out on Option 2. Thanks Amp & Fauji for your valuable inputs.

Guys, any place in and around CKM that you would recommend for staying (clean & hygienic and beautiful view are the requisites.) Fauji, really liked Thotadahalli Homestay but sadly they are booked like most of the other places.

thanks.

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by sumitj

Thanks guys, I'm closing out on Option 2. Thanks Amp & Fauji for your valuable inputs.

Guys, any place in and around CKM that you would recommend for staying (clean & hygienic and beautiful view are the requisites.) Fauji, really liked Thotadahalli Homestay but sadly they are booked like most of the other places.

thanks.

Give a call to Sharath of www.travelmalnad.com and he will help. His number is 9480595888. You can give my ref and quote my name "Poorna"

[himavanth_m]

It is back to Chikmagalur again for me. I have got booking at Muthodi Forest camp and I will be leaving on Thursday night from Hyderabad. I am thinking of the following route

Hyderabad - Gooty - Hospet - Chitradurga - Shimoga/Bhadravati - Tarikere - Chikmagalur

The criteria is that the route should be safe and should be a decent road surface. I am open to other route suggestions as well.

If the above route is not possible, I can always fall back on the following route which I have done earlier and I think the road surface upto Kadur is great.
Hyd - Devanahalli - Doddaballpur - Dobbaspet - Tumkur - Kadur - Chikamagalur

[ampere]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

Hyderabad - Gooty - Hospet - Chitradurga - Shimoga/Bhadravati - Tarikere - Chikmagalur

The criteria is that the route should be safe and should be a decent road surface. I am open to other route suggestions as well.

I dont know about the safety aspect of Gooty - Hospet - Chitradurga section. So cant comment. Also how are the uneven road at that section? Because if its a night drive a predictable road (though longer) should always be better.

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by ampere

I dont know about the safety aspect of Gooty - Hospet - Chitradurga section. So cant comment. Also how are the uneven road at that section? Because if its a night drive a predictable road (though longer) should always be better.

In the route, the Hospet - Gooty road and Hospet - Chitradurga routes are not in good shape about a two years ago. However, since the Bellary mining has stopped/reduced, I am hoping that the roads might have improved. But those areas are safe and I have no qualms about it.

For any trip down south, I almost always go through the Hyd - BLR highway. I might have done it atleast 20 times in 2011 and another 10 times in 2012. So I am trying to look for other routes that have less travel time on the Hyd - BLr Nh7 and more time on other roads.

[Night_Hawk]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Option 2 will be faster. The roads till Kadur is excellent. I am not sure about the 35 KMs stretch between Kadur - Chikkamagalur

Originally Posted by ampere

This is the better option as Fauji mentioned.

Saar,
I am planning a trip Hyderabad -Chikamaglur - Baba Budangiri Hills- Hyderabad in the last week of this month

I will stay at Chikamaglur and pay a visit to BB. There is adequate information on the forum on Hyderabad - Chikamaglur stretch. My query is on the following:

How is the road between Chikamaglur and Baba Budangiri. I drive a Scorpio (not a 4X4) Is it possible to drive right up to B'Budangiri shrine in a Scorpio.

Thanks in advance

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Night_Hawk

How is the road between Chikamaglur and Baba Budangiri. I drive a Scorpio (not a 4X4) Is it possible to drive right up to B'Budangiri shrine in a Scorpio.

I think its a decent road but a narrow one. Also nowadays I see this place to be crowded. Addy and Parag should know much better.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by Night_Hawk

My query is on the following:

How is the road between Chikamaglur and Baba Budangiri. I drive a Scorpio (not a 4X4) Is it possible to drive right up to B'Budangiri shrine in a Scorpio.

Originally Posted by ampere

I think its a decent road but a narrow one. Also nowadays I see this place to be crowded. Addy and Parag should know much better.

The Chikmagalur-Bababudangiri road is good upto a couple of kms after Attigundi (which is the last village before the Bababudangiri shrine). There is a bad patch of around 3-4 kms and after that, you have concrete road till the shrine area.

Please note, the shrine is no more open. Any car can do this route without any hassles.

[paharino1]

Any latest update on the Banavara to Halebidu ?

a friend is Planning a drive to Belur & Halebidu from Hyd with a early morning start from Hyd. He's flexi on reaching either Belur or Halebidu 1st depending on the drive.

If this last 30 kms or so is bad, is it advisable to take the Hyd - Hassan - Belur route & stay at Belur first ?
Or the Hyd - Tumkur - Banavara - Halebidu is the best route ?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by paharino1

Any latest update on the Banavara to Halebidu ?

If this last 30 kms or so is bad, is it advisable to take the Hyd - Hassan - Belur route & stay at Belur first ?
Or the Hyd - Tumkur - Banavara - Halebidu is the best route ?

The Banvara-Halebid stretch is very narrow,it can accomodate only one vehicle at a time.It would be slow progress via this route.I would take the Hassan-Belur route any day-fast route and excellent tarmac.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by paharino1

Any latest update on the Banavara to Halebidu ?

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

The Banvara-Halebid stretch is very narrow,it can accomodate only one vehicle at a time.It would be slow progress via this route.I would take the Hassan-Belur route any day-fast route and excellent tarmac.

+1 to Ranjit. Two aspects to take care;
- If you are taking the Doddaballapur bypass, then do note Doddaballapur-Nelamangala SH is a bit rought.
- Bit its still better to take that route as you don't have to take NH4 at all. At Nelamangala you below it and directly join NH48
- Hassan bypass is getting worse. Do take care.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by paharino1

Any latest update on the Banavara to Halebidu ?

If this last 30 kms or so is bad, is it advisable to take the Hyd - Hassan - Belur route & stay at Belur first ?
Or the Hyd - Tumkur - Banavara - Halebidu is the best route ?

Where is he planning to stay? AFAIK, there are no good options in both Belur or Halebidu. The best option to stay would be Hassan or Chikmagalur. Reaching Hassan from Tumkur is a bit difficult, as the shortest road is in terrible shape. I would suggest going upto to Kadur and then turn to Chikmagalur which has decent hotels and you have good roads all the way to Chikmagalur from Tumkur.

OR

If he plans on taking NH48, see the route I have mentioned below, at the end of the post.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

The Banvara-Halebid stretch is very narrow,it can accomodate only one vehicle at a time.It would be slow progress via this route.I would take the Hassan-Belur route any day-fast route and excellent tarmac.

The Banavara-Halebidu road is also supposed to be in good shape upto Javagal as per recent updates from a friend. Javagal-Halebidu is bad, I'm told. It has been widened in some places, but not asphalted.

Originally Posted by ampere

+1 to Ranjit. Two aspects to take care;
- If you are taking the Doddaballapur bypass, then do note Doddaballapur-Nelamangala SH is a bit rought.

If you take the Doddaballapur-Dobbaspet road to join NH4, I can suggest another short road to reach NH48 (you can avoid 2 tolls ) Instead of taking right towards Tumkur at Dobbaspet, continue straight towards Shivagange. The route is Dobbaspet-Shivagange-Kudur-NH48. The route is as shown in the map link below.

http://goo.gl/maps/qkwq2

This road is in super condition, but is a two lane road which becomes bit narrow inside Kudur town. But apart from that, it is very good. I had been on this road 3 months back in my Linea.