[MX6]

feel free too. We'd be damn obliged to help.

[godeepdive]

Originally Posted by MX6

Take the Hubli- Ankola - NH17 route. I travelled 3 times that route in the last 4 months from Pune to Udupi and back. Tried various combinations in the 6 legs. Hubli - Ankola - NH17 is the best.

Hi, Planning my trip back from Ernakulam to Pune. I would like to take the Ankola - Belgaum route and was looking at Google map for the route to take. I have a few questions. Would appreciate if someone can answer those.

1. After getting onto NH63 from Ankola, where do I get off NH63 to get onto NH 4 ? Do I follow NH63 all the way till Hubli where it joins NH4 at a place after Gabbur. In attached picture marked with a Red circle
2. Or is there another route which goes via Hirehonne Halli/Dhumvada - marked in blue in the picture.

My preference is for good decent roads even if they add few extra kms or time.

[ranjitp1]

Follow NH63 till Hubli and then join the NH4 bypass.It is well marked.

You need to take a right at the Hubli end on nh63 towards a toll gate,pass the toll gate and climb upto the NH4 and turn left towards Pune.

Please retain the ticket till you exit the bypass and rejoin the 4 lane NH4 as the ticket has to be shown again at the end of the bypass.The bypass faces very dense truck traffic and there is usually a couple of traffic police checkpoint who would ask for vehicle documents.

However if Belgaum is your destination,then it might be faster to go via Karwar-Madgaon-Ponda-NH4A-Khanapur-Belgaum.If its a Sunday,then there would be no mining trucks either.

[ampere]

NH63 directly meets the bypass. So no need to take any other by-pass around NH63.
Its also clearly marked.

[godeepdive]

Thanks Ranjit and Ampere for your answers.

I will be doing this stretch on a Saturday and therefore want to avoid NH4A (Khanapur - Belgaum). My final destination is Pune

I would be staying the previous night at either Mangalore or Udupi. If I have a 7 am start from these places, how many hours it would take to reach Belgaum if I go on NH17 till Ankola and then NH63 and then NH4. Thanks

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by godeepdive

Thanks Ranjit and Ampere for your answers.

I will be doing this stretch on a Saturday and therefore want to avoid NH4A (Khanapur - Belgaum). My final destination is Pune

I would be staying the previous night at either Mangalore or Udupi. If I have a 7 am start from these places, how many hours it would take to reach Belgaum if I go on NH17 till Ankola and then NH63 and then NH4. Thanks

Mangalore to Udupi would take you around 2 hours.

Udupi to Ankola NH63 turn off(Baleguli Cross) would take you around 4 hours.

From the turnoff to Hubli would take you around 3 hours.Negotiating Hubli BP would take you around 45mins to 1hr on peak traffic days.

Hubli to Belgaum would take you around 1.5hours.Approx 100kms.

Altogether around 9-10hours of drive time with breaks.There are Kamat hotels at Kumta,Honnavar.There is Shetty Lunch home at Kundapur!Apart from that there is a CCD attached to a HP pump just before Udupi.

[ampere]

Add to it the Kamat at Ankola. I used to find it very nice, spacious, open and bright.
Once on NH63, you may find driving easier from a road condition standpoint.

[Chevy_lover]

Hey folks, I am back here in this thread after 3 years!!!

My wife and I are leaving for Trivandrum next week. We plan to take the longer route, via NH4 and NH7.

I am planning to leave Pune by 11 pm, drive all night and reach Salem, the next day evening. I am a fast driver. Will I be able to do this stretch in one go? I've run 960 kms in 15 hours.

From Salem, we will take the route via Madhurai, Nagercoil to Tvm. I have driven on this route a couple of times!

Will I be able to reach Tvm on the second day evening? I know that all hell breaks loose after Nagercoil!!!

Any updates on routes and conditions? I read here that the bypasses of Hubli, Chitradurga and Ranebennur are complete. Anything I need to be wary of? I will be passing this stretch after midnight. Any unmarked bumps?

My Chevy is in pristine condition now. He recently completed 1 lakh kilometres!!!

We did some trial runs this week to Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala. I also did some modifications on Chevy. I will explain about that later.

So folks, please let me know about the route conditions and any other important updates!

I just can't wait to drive off into the horizon!

[ramanan.skr]

Hi Chevy Lover, I am a fan of your travelogues. Had been enjoying TLs of your earlier trips to Goa, Bhutan, South TN, Ooty, Udaipur.
Awaiting for your next expedition.

Hope you can understand this tamil - "Arambichitaruya Arambichitaru"

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Chevy_lover

Hey folks, I am back here in this thread after 3 years!!!

My wife and I are leaving for Trivandrum next week. We plan to take the longer route, via NH4 and NH7.

I am planning to leave Pune by 11 pm, drive all night and reach Salem, the next day evening. I am a fast driver. Will I be able to do this stretch in one go? I've run 960 kms in 15 hours.

From Salem, we will take the route via Madhurai, Nagercoil to Tvm. I have driven on this route a couple of times!

Will I be able to reach Tvm on the second day evening? I know that all hell breaks loose after Nagercoil!!!

Any updates on routes and conditions? I read here that the bypasses of Hubli, Chitradurga and Ranebennur are complete. Anything I need to be wary of? I will be passing this stretch after midnight. Any unmarked bumps?

My Chevy is in pristine condition now. He recently completed 1 lakh kilometres!!!

We did some trial runs this week to Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala. I also did some modifications on Chevy. I will explain about that later.

So folks, please let me know about the route conditions and any other important updates!

I just can't wait to drive off into the horizon!

A direct drive from Pune to Trivandrum on the Salem route will take you 20-22 hours even with sedate driving. My friend (and I was with him) last week drove to Kanyakumari from Pune - we left Pune at 2 pm, crossed Bangalore at 130 am, reached Kanyakumari at 1130 am). Since I am faster, I normally do it even more faster.

IF you leave Pune at 11 pm, you should cross Bangalore by 11 am, Salem by 3 pm (assuming lunch halt), Madurai by 6 pm and ideally drive on so that you are in TVM by 10-11 pm. After 9 pm, traffic on Nagercoil-TVM route is minimal and a pleasure to drive in.

In case you do not want to drive on, consider halting at Madurai. Leave early morning by 4 am and you can beat the morning peak hour traffic by being in TVM before 9 am.

On NH4 towards Bangalore, all bypasses are complete, but be careful around Motebennur where it is still 2-laned for some distance, has many unmarked humps but road is OK. Chitradurga bypass is great - elevated road - but if you want to go into any of the hotels there, keep below the elevated road. Ranebennur bypass is good. Haveri bypass ends abruptly in a mess, so be carefully. NO change in Hubli-Dharwad bypass.

Bangalore city is beautifully bypassed by the super-expensive NICE Road all the way from NH4 (Tumkur Road) to NH7 (Hosur Road).

[Chevy_lover]

Thanks a ton, Kumar sir. I am so relieved after reading your post. You make driving sound so easy. Thanks for inspiring me and countless others, through your kind words of encouragement!

Sir, I think we should be staying back at Salem or Madurai, on day 1. I do not want to put my wife under unnecessary stress. I will be the only driver and she won't even blink when I am at the wheels.

Sir, should I aim to make it to Madurai on the first day, if I feel ok after crossing Hosur? My wife wants me to take it easy and halt at Salem itself. She has seen the showrooms of Chennai Silks and Kumaran Silks, the last time we were there!!! So I have to be very careful!

Sir Ji, thank you for the precise route update. Where is Motebennur? The two lane road just before Hubli is a headache for me all the time. How expensive is the NICE road now? Rs. 89 twice?

I am planning to take fuel from Konduskar, K'pur and then from 5 star pump at Hosur. Will I be able to make it to Tvm, in a tankfull from Hosur? Where should our ideal breakfast halt be? I am tempted to try the Neer Dosas of Davengere.

We have plans to visit Velankanni and Munnar from Tvm. Which is the best route?

Thank you, once again sir.

@Ramanan, thanks a lot. I will try my best to entertain you, once I am back!

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Chevy_lover

Sir, I think we should be staying back at Salem or Madurai, on day 1. I do not want to put my wife under unnecessary stress. I will be the only driver and she won't even blink when I am at the wheels.

Sir, should I aim to make it to Madurai on the first day, if I feel ok after crossing Hosur? My wife wants me to take it easy and halt at Salem itself. She has seen the showrooms of Chennai Silks and Kumaran Silks, the last time we were there!!! So I have to be very careful!

Sir Ji, thank you for the precise route update. Where is Motebennur? The two lane road just before Hubli is a headache for me all the time. How expensive is the NICE road now? Rs. 89 twice?

I am planning to take fuel from Konduskar, K'pur and then from 5 star pump at Hosur. Will I be able to make it to Tvm, in a tankfull from Hosur? Where should our ideal breakfast halt be? I am tempted to try the Neer Dosas of Davengere.

We have plans to visit Velankanni and Munnar from Tvm. Which is the best route?

Thank you, once again sir.

@Ramanan, thanks a lot. I will try my best to entertain you, once I am back!

Yes, you can reach Salem comfortably. Many hotels near the 5 Roads Junction, which is what you will hit if you go into Salem at the first entry point from NH7. If you are in the mood to splurge money, you can always stay in GRT Grand which is on NH7 itself before you enter Salem from Bangalore side.

In case you are worried about the Silks part, push onto Madurai, which you reach only after the shops are closed. You can also choose to stay at Karur which has some good hotels, but inside town (not a problem though). There is also Hotel Fantasy between Dindigul & Madurai on the highway itself near the TAFE factory.

Motebennur - lies between Haveri & Ranebennur. Remember the level crossings? That is Motebennur. The levels crossings are still the way they have been all these years.

NICE Road costs you Rs 125 - toll of Rs 100 (Tumkur Road-Banergeta Road) and Rs 25 (Banergeta Road-Hosur Road). The intersection at Banergeta Road is still incomplete, but signages are good so you won't miss your way towards Hosur Road.

With a range of 650/700 kms, you can make it form Konduskar's to 5 Star petrol pump in Hosur. If you push it another 20 kms more, you can reach the HPCL pump (with a McD) or the BPCL pump (with a A2B) too.

But the Davangere dosas will mean you have to go into town! You can consider Upachar Kamat after Hubli (attached to the Reliance petrol pump, after the VRL Office).

You have 2 interesting choices to visit Velnakanni & MUnnar but unfortunately you cannot do both.

To Velankanni from TVM:
Try the new East Coast Road via Kanyakumari, Tuticorin, Ramanathapuram (with detour to Rameswaram/Dhanushkodi), Velankanni, and if you continue you can reach Madras via Nagapattinam, Karaikal, Chidamabaram, Cuddalore & Pondy.

If you want to come to Munnar from Velankanni:
Simple route of NH67 to Trichy via Thanjavur and then to Dindigul on NH45 and via Theni to Munnar.

If you want to do TVM-MUnnar-Velankanni:

Trivandrum-MC Road-Kottarakara-Adoor-Chengannur-Tiruvalla-Changanaserry-Ponkunnam-Kanjirapalli-Kuttikanam-Elapara (with detour to Vagamon)-Merykulam-Kattapana-Puliyanmala-Udumbansola-Poopara-Munnar

FRom Munnar:
Munnar-Poopara-Bodi Medu-Bodinayakanur-Theni-Periakulam-Vathalagundu-Dindigul-Nattam-Tirupattur-Pudukottai-Thanjavur-Nagapattinam-Velankanni

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

If you want to come to Munnar from Velankanni:
Simple route of NH67 to Trichy via Thanjavur and then to Dindigul on NH45 and via Theni to Munnar.

FRom Munnar:
Munnar-Poopara-Bodi Medu-Bodinayakanur-Theni-Periakulam-Vathalagundu-Dindigul-Nattam-Tirupattur-Pudukottai-Thanjavur-Nagapattinam-Velankanni

HVK why a different route here compared to the earlier one? CL can use the same 4L right?
Dindigul-Trichy-Tanjore-Nagapattinam-Velankanni

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ampere

HVK why a different route here compared to the earlier one? CL can use the same 4L right?
Dindigul-Trichy-Tanjore-Nagapattinam-Velankanni

Just 2 different routes. If you prefer 4-laned roads, then take Dindigul-Trichy-Thanjavur, 4 laned all the way. Besides, Chevy_LOver knows the Trichy-Thanjavur route from his previous drive. If you don;t mind 2-laned roads, then Dindigul-Pudukottai-Thanjavur.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Just 2 different routes. If you prefer 4-laned roads, then take Dindigul-Trichy-Thanjavur, 4 laned all the way. Besides, Chevy_LOver knows the Trichy-Thanjavur route from his previous drive. If you don;t mind 2-laned roads, then Dindigul-Pudukottai-Thanjavur.

Thanks that explains. I was think both of you know this so well. So am I missing something?