[ampere]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Leg 1: Bangalore-Kukke-Sringeri-Kollur
Route: Bangalore-Chitradurga-Shimoga-Kukke-Thirthahalli-Koppa-Sringeri-Agumbe-Halady-Kollur

Sequence should be : Bangalore - Kukke - Dharmsthala - Udupi - Kollur Sringeri - Bangalore

Bangalore-Hassan-Shiradi-Gundya-Kukke : 5 hours. If you start by 4AM, you should be there by 9AM. Take the special darshan you should be done by 11.

Kukke-Dharmasthala : Via Nelyadi.
Dharmasthala - Belthangady - Bajagoli - Karkala - Udupi
Udupi - Kundapur - Ampar - Vandse - Kollur
Kollur- Vandse - Ampar - Someshwar - Agumbe - Sringeri
Sringeri - Balehonnur - Aldur - Chikmagulur - Belur - Hassan - Bangalore
(Or for sake of drive : Sringeri-Thirthahalli-Shimoga-Channagiri-Chitradurga-Bangalore. A bit longer distance though)


Google Link


Stay wise: Add one more day. (Sat)

D1 : Sat : Dharmasthala
D2 : Sun : Udupi :
D3: Monday : Sringeri
D4 : Tue Bangalore

[meetbadri]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Route: Bangalore-Chitradurga-Shimoga-Kukke-Thirthahalli-Koppa-Sringeri-Agumbe-Halady-Kollur

Route: kollur-Hebri-Udupi-Karnad-Moodbidri-belthangady-Dharmasthala-Shiradi Ghats-Sakleshpur-Bangalore.

If you are directly going towards Kukke why to go to Shimoga?

You can plan it as per below route.

1)Bangalore - Hassan -Sakaleshpur -Kukke via Shiradi Ghat (You will have to take left at Gundya) -Gundya -Dharmasthala
2)Dharmasthala -Belthangadi -Karkala -Udupi -Kundapur -Kollur.
3) Kollur -Sringeri- Belur -Hassan -Bangalore.

It will be very tiring journey as 3 days will not be enough for a person who is aged. If you can afford another day of leave then this route is doable.

lodging in Dharmasthala is entirely managed by the Temple authorities. You can reach them on the number 08256277121

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by ampere

Sequence should be : Bangalore - Kukke - Dharmsthala - Udupi - Kollur Sringeri - Bangalore

Originally Posted by meetbadri

If you are directly going towards Kukke why to go to Shimoga?

Thanks a lot Ampere & Meetbadri for the route & stay suggestions. You guys rock
Actually, I searched for Kukke in Googlemaps and it landed me somewhere between Shimoga & Thirthahalli and hence the confusion
Now I came to know that it is in Bangalore-Mangalore route. I think I will add a day and will stick on to your plan as it looks more comfortable.

Any of these temples close in the afternoon? (Kukke, Dharmasthala, Udupi, Kollur & Sringeri)

Also, Is there decent stay options near Sringeri? I heard we have few options in Kollur & Udupi.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Also, Is there decent stay options near Sringeri? I heard we have few options in Kollur & Udupi.

I think Kukke closes at 1 PM. Dharmasthala would also close by noon. So thats why what I thought, if you reach Kukke by 9/10 and finish by 11, drive to Dharmasthala by 3PM. And in case you are able to finish Darshan by 6, its possible you can drive to Udupi by nightfall. Though I dont want to push you on to this because, you have parents with you. Hence suggested stay at Dharmasthala.

Udupi would be a slack day. Because next day morning (D2) you drive to Udupi. Since you may reach by 11/11:30 leisurely you may plan to have darshan by late noon. You can relax for the day.

D3 again you start early and drive to Kollur which you can reach in 2/2.5 hours. Its 80km. Finish darshan by 11/12 and drive to Sringeri by eveining and stay for the night. If you reach early, you can have the evening darshan also.

D4: Visit the temple and drive back home either via Chikmagulur or Shimoga

Road conditions:
Bangalore-Kukke : Super! 4-lane to Hassan, Nice 2-Lane to Sakleshpur, some what rough Shiradi, beautiful Gundya-Kukke Road.

Kukke-Dharmasthala : Kukke-Nelyadi-Dharmasthala : Not great.

Dharmasthala-Belthangady-Bajagoli-Karkala-Udupi. Rough road to Belthangady and then on decent road to Udupi.

Udupi-Kollur : 4-lane with diversions to Kundapur, Nice 2-lane to Ampar, Narrow decent road to Vandse and then super road to Kollur

Kollur-Sringeri: Till Ampar, mentioned as earlier; decent road to Someshwar, OK roads on Agumbe (wide enough) and a belter road to Sringeri.

Sringeri-Bangalore:
Via Shimoga : Brilliant roads all the way. Nh13 till Chitradurga (some rough sections around Channagiri) and 4-lane from there.

Via Hassan: Decent road to Balehonnur, Nice roads through coffee estate via Aldur to Chikkamagulur, decent to good to roads to Belur and Hassan (look out for humps) and 4-lane from there on to Bangalore.

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by ampere

Via Hassan: Decent road to Balehonnur, Nice roads through coffee estate via Aldur to Chikkamagulur, decent to good to roads to Belur and Hassan (look out for humps) and 4-lane from there on to Bangalore.

Great updates. Thanks a lot Ampere.

[nfsfreak]

I just did Bangalore-Subramanhya-Dharmastala-Bangalore same day. Saved other destinations (sringeri, udupi, kollur etc) for some other time as I did not have enough day offs.

Route update:

Bangalore-Hassan : Beautiful 4 Lane roads all the way

Hassan-Sakleshpur-Gundya : Good 2 lane roads till just before Sakleshpur.
After that, the road worsens from Bad to Worst till Gundya. One of the very bad stretch that I have encountered on a national highway for long time!!!
Some deep potholes that could break any car's suspension. Take these roads very slowly and you'll be fine.

Gundya-Subramanhya : Good 2 lane roads with occasional potholes. Manageable and much better than Shiradi ghats where you get no roads.

Subramanhya-Dharmasthala : 2 lane roads with Broken stretches in between for around 2-3 KMs mainly before you reach the Bangalore-Mangalore highway. The roads from turn to Dharmasthala from Bangalore-Mangalore highway is good all the way (2 lane roads).

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by ampere

What I would suggest is go via Agumbe.

BLR-Kollur: Bangalore-Chitradurga-Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwar-Halady-Ampar-Vandse-Kollur.

Very very good roads all the way except : Someshwar - Ampar is a bit broken and Ampar Vandse is narrow. Else good roads all the way.

I am planning for a trip to Kollur Mookambika temple - we will not be visiting any other places or temples en route, so which will be the shortest and\or better route to take?

Google maps shows the shortest route as : Bangalore - Gubbi - tiptur - arsikare - bhadravathi - shivamoga - hosanagar - nagara - kollur ( 442 km).

Should I take that or should I stick with Bangalore-Chitradurga-Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwar-Halady-Ampar-Vandse-Kollur. (I think this is about 500+ km one side).

--Anoop

[NPV]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

I am planning for a trip to Kollur Mookambika temple - we will not be visiting any other places or temples en route, so which will be the shortest and\or better route to take?
...

@anoop - you can drive to Kollur via Udupi or via Shimoga-Tirthahalli-Agumbe, I would suggest Shimoga route (you can avoid dreaded Sakleshpura and Shiradi Ghat stretches on the Mangalore route as well as the Mangalore-Udupi road widening work which are pains).

Now there are multiple ways to reach Shimoga, like:
1. NH 4 Bangalore-Tumkur-NH 206 Arsikere-Shimoga (4 lane upto Tumkur, 2 lane thereon)

2. NH 4 Bangalore-Chitradurga-NH 13 Channagiri-Hollalakere-Shimoga (more 4 lane section upto Chitradurga). This is the route I took last time and was good.

3. NH 4 Bangalore-NH 48 Nelamangala-Channarayapatna-Turn off to Arsikere-NH 206 Shimoga

Then you can take Shimoga-Tirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwara-Halady-Vandse-Kollur

Based on current road conditions I would suggest the above route, not sure if this is shortest.

@amp -> Any idea how this route is ? shivamoga - hosanagar - nagara - kollur

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by NPV

@anoop - you can drive to Kollur via Udupi or via Shimoga-Tirthahalli-Agumbe, I would suggest Shimoga route (you can avoid dreaded Sakleshpura and Shiradi Ghat stretches on the Mangalore route as well as the Mangalore-Udupi road widening work which are pains).

Now there are multiple ways to reach Shimoga, like:
1. NH 4 Bangalore-Tumkur-NH 206 Arsikere-Shimoga (4 lane upto Tumkur, 2 lane thereon)

2. NH 4 Bangalore-Chitradurga-NH 13 Channagiri-Hollalakere-Shimoga (more 4 lane section upto Chitradurga). This is the route I took last time and was good.

3. NH 4 Bangalore-NH 48 Nelamangala-Channarayapatna-Turn off to Arsikere-NH 206 Shimoga

Then you can take Shimoga-Tirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwara-Halady-Vandse-Kollur

Based on current road conditions I would suggest the above route, not sure if this is shortest.

@amp -> Any idea how this route is ? shivamoga - hosanagar - nagara - kollur

Thank you - Bangalore- Nelamangala-Channarayapatna-Turn off to Arsikere-Shimoga -Tirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwara-Halady-Vandse-Kollur routs sounds good. As of now, I will plan based on this route.

--Anoop

[ampere]

Originally Posted by NPV

@amp -> Any idea how this route is ? shivamoga - hosanagar - nagara - kollur

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Thank you - Bangalore- Nelamangala-Channarayapatna-Turn off to Arsikere-Shimoga -Tirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwara-Halady-Vandse-Kollur routs sounds good. As of now, I will plan based on this route.

Hulikal ghat is not all that great. I would any day prefer Agumbe to Nagar/Vandse route. Nittur is worse ! But definitely worth the views, if one is ready is break his back! Anoop the best option to Kollur would be : Bangalore-Chitradurga-Channagiri-Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwar-Ampar-Vandse-Kollur.

[theexperthand]

Quick update - reached kollur today. Took the following route : Bangalore-Chitradurga-Channagiri-Shimoga- ayanur *- mandagatta - arasalu - ripponpet - nagara - byse - nittur - kollur


The road is in good condition 90% - the road from Chitradurga to holalkare is not good (broken surface, but not much pot holes) and there are few bad patches after Nagar, but barring that, the condition is very good. Total distance was 458 km (singasandra to kollur)


--Anoop

[ampere]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Quick update - reached kollur today. Took the following route : Bangalore-Chitradurga-Channagiri-Shimoga- ayanur *- mandagatta - arasalu - ripponpet - nagara - byse - nittur - kollur

Great update! I never thought Nagar/Nittur would ever get better! The views would have been fantastic. Did you get to see the Linganamakki back waters on the way on the way to Nittur?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by ampere

Great update! I never thought Nagar/Nittur would ever get better! The views would have been fantastic. Did you get to see the Linganamakki back waters on the way on the way to Nittur?

Saw the backwaters but never knew the name - now I know what I saw

Want more good news.? 90% of the bad patches between ayinur and kollur have been prepped for fixing - I think the route will be much better in another month.

--Anoop

[NPV]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Quick update - reached kollur today. Took the following route : Bangalore-Chitradurga-Channagiri-Shimoga- ayanur *- mandagatta - arasalu - ripponpet - nagara - byse - nittur - kollur

Thanks for that update Anoop!
Seems like you got more authentic "local" information for the route, the driver ? And it saved about 60 odd Km one way, that's good!
Are there good signages/landmarks for the route from Shimoga onwards ?

This route is a good alternative to the one via Agumbe which is going to be closed for 3 months soon (road work on ghat section)

[theexperthand]

Reached back to Bangalore yesterday evening after the trip - thanks you Ampere and NPV for the route.

The detailed route update:

Bangalore-Chitradurga - Excellent roads. (Tolls - 155 (Electronic City-Tmukur road, NICE road toll) + 20 (from NICE road exit till Nelamangala) +35 (combined toll for two tool booths in Tumkur road) +55 (Karjeevanahalli Toll Plaza) + 55 (guilalu Toll plaza) - 320 INR total)

Chitradurga - Holalkare - 50% of this road have broken surface. Not broken enough to slow down, but not smooth enough to go fast. Sparse traffic.

Holalkere - Shivamoga - Good two lane roads, Sparse traffic. (Seems like road widening work will start soon between Chitradurga - Shivamoga. Prep work have been started).

Shivamoga - Ayinur - Excellent roads.

Ayinur - Nagara - Good roads except at hosanagara. The road is getting ready to get tarred at Hosanagara, should be ready in another week or two.

Nagara - Nittur - 70% of the road is in good condition. Rest 30% are doable - no crater like potholes but enough potholes to slow down.

Nittur - Nagodi (the place where the road forks to Kudachadri and Kollur) - not so good roads. Many small potholes.

Nagodi - Kollur - Good roads. No potholes.

Thanks Ampere - this detailed instructions helped me a lot:

Originally Posted by ampere

- Drive on NH4.
- Once you hit Chitradurga keep driving on the NH4.
- The road takes a massive curve. You then see a board/exit for Bellary/Bijapur (NH13)
- Go past, till you see a lake on your left. Another point (as I can see in Google) is SJM Institute of Technology on your right.
- Go past the lake and then get off 4-lane at this point (on to your left) and go on the road adjacent to the lake.
- Take the road till dead-end where it hits NH13.
- Drive on this road all the way till Shimoga.

Link to Chitradurga bypass option : Route Link

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks for that update Anoop!
Seems like you got more authentic "local" information for the route, the driver ? And it saved about 60 odd Km one way, that's good!
Are there good signages/landmarks for the route from Shimoga onwards ?

This route is a good alternative to the one via Agumbe which is going to be closed for 3 months soon (road work on ghat section)

@NPV: This was the first time for the driver in this route - he was happy to find a good alternate route. What prompted me to try the Nagara route was the following part from Ampere's post:

Originally Posted by ampere

Nittur is worse ! But definitely worth the views, if one is ready is break his back!

--Anoop