[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vinjosep

Folks, what would be the current best route from Bangalore to Sulthan Bathery on a Saturday? Starting from B'lore around 10AM, with family.

Thanks in advance.

10am on a Saturday- Would recommend Kanakpura-Kollegala-Chamrajnagar-Gundlepet-Bathery.

[vinjosep]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

10am on a Saturday- Would recommend Kanakpura-Kollegala-Chamrajnagar-Gundlepet-Bathery.

Thanks. Good suggestions for lunch on this route?

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vinjosep

Thanks. Good suggestions for lunch on this route?

Unfortunately not too many options. Best option would be nijaguna residency at chamrajnagar. With a 10am start you should reach here by ~1.30. Nice ambience and decent restrooms. Food is average. Next options would be cafe coffee day and misty rock( opposite to each other) at gundlepet. But for these you need to drive towards Mysore again for about 4km and it would be late for lunch also.

If good/frequent stop places are important, then you will have to take the Mysore route.

[mpksuhas]

Expect new speed breakers on KL side of NH 212 -

New link

In yet another instance of state's wildlife falling prey to the frantic rush by vehicles to beat the night traffic ban imposed by Karnataka on the NH-212 passing through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, three spotted deer were killed inside the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) on Wednesday night.

Forest department officials said that though the management plan for WWS called for installing speed breakers along the road, it could not be implemented due to intense resistance by the locals.

[Rajeevraj]

Any recent update on road conditions between Ch.Nagar-Gundlepet-Bandipur Forest Entry?

Need to decide between Handpost-Manthavady route or the Ch nagar Gundlepet route. With a 4am start, Mysore will be a little too early to take a break and Kattikulam/Manathavady may be too far. Hence considering the Ch.Nagar route, where I could break at Nijaguna or Gundlepet.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Any recent update on road conditions between Ch.Nagar-Gundlepet-Bandipur Forest Entry?

Not much change I guess from what a friend who did the route recently told me.
There is the odd rough patch between Chamarajanagar and Gundlupet but manageable. I would definitely prefer this to taking the Bangalore-Mysore-Nanajangud-Gundlupet route Of course handpost-Mananthavady is another option for you.

[kala]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Any recent update on road conditions between Ch.Nagar-Gundlepet-Bandipur Forest Entry?

Need to decide between Handpost-Manthavady route or the Ch nagar Gundlepet route. With a 4am start, Mysore will be a little too early to take a break and Kattikulam/Manathavady may be too far. Hence considering the Ch.Nagar route, where I could break at Nijaguna or Gundlepet.

With a 4AM start, I'm sure you can reach Gundlupet between 7 AM and 8 AM (depending on where in Bangalore you're starting from). I did this route 2 weeks ago, and the roads were quite good all the way except for 3 or 4 short roadwork diversions on the Gundlupet-Forest entrance stretch, and of course the usual short rough stretches between Terakanambi and Gundlupet. Not too much of change in those sectors between my earlier trip which was more that a month back and the last trip.

[aravindkumarp]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Any recent update on road conditions between Ch.Nagar-Gundlepet-Bandipur Forest Entry?

Travelled on this route (Ch.Nagar-Gundlepet-Bandipur ) to Ooty last week, the road are very good all the way upto Bandipur Forest.

[Rajeevraj]

Drove to tirur from Bangalore today. Had to stop at calicut which meant the Salem route was not an option. Was undecided between the ch nagar gundlepet or hand post - manathavady route. Finally was leaning towards the ch nagar route since I had not taken it in some time. Kala sir's input that the roadworks between gundlepet and bandipur was mostly done sealed the matter.

Was a mostly uneventful drive. Few points

• Nice wide road between gundlepet and forest entry. The road is maybe 3-3.5 lanes wide. Wonder why it was widened and not made into a 4 lane. Since they were putting the effort and seemed to have the land, it should have been made 4 lane.
  
• Stopped by a highway patrol just after the Kerala border. Told us to go with a 'Happy Onam' once they saw we were a family.
  
• Few small deep potholes have appeared between kalpetta and churam. They are few and far between, which makes it a little dangerous.
  
• Churam at 3-4 of the hair pin bends has deteriorated with big potholes and sharp edges.
  
• Heavy traffic from kalpetta all the way to calicut. Mini jams at the broken hair pin bends. Total driving time to calicut was 7hr 50 min which was higher than normal.
  
• Further 2 hours calicut to tirur in the evening

.

[bijubalan]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Finally was leaning towards the ch nagar route since I had not taken it in some time. Kala sir's input that the roadworks between gundlepet and bandipur was mostly done sealed the matter.[/list].

Hi Rajeevraj,

To take the route via Chamrajnagar, will teh Akankpura route be better or deviating from Mysore road at maddur road be better? Which one did you take by the way?

Thanks
biju

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by bijubalan

Hi Rajeevraj,

To take the route via Chamrajnagar, will teh Akankpura route be better or deviating from Mysore road at maddur road be better? Which one did you take by the way?

Thanks
biju

The Kanakpura route no doubt. The main reason to take the chamrajnagar route is to avoid the Mysore road- especially the Bidadi-Ramanagara-Channapatna sections. So you need to take the Kanakpura route.

[bijubalan]

First of all, Sorry for the spelling mistakes! and thank you for the response. I will be starting early morning so I guess Mysore road won’t be that crowded. I was more concerned about the bad stretch we have from Mysore to Gundlepet to do in an i10. I was also weighing the Mysore –HD Kote-Mananthavady – Kuttyadi-Perambra route against it. How do you compare this route against the one which you had? Any better?

Thanks

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by bijubalan

First of all, Sorry for the spelling mistakes! and thank you for the response. I will be starting early morning so I guess Mysore road won’t be that crowded. I was more concerned about the bad stretch we have from Mysore to Gundlepet to do in an i10. I was also weighing the Mysore –HD Kote-Mananthavady – Kuttyadi-Perambra route against it. How do you compare this route against the one which you had? Any better?

Thanks

If you are starting early (I typically start between 4 and 5) , Mysore road is comfortable. From Mysore, I typically take handpost- bavalli-kattikulam-manathavady-kalpetta- calicut( no need to go via hd kote) . Roads are great and traffic is minimal till kalpetta. Down side is that there is no family friendly place to stop between Mysore and kattikulam( ~2 hours). So need to plan accordingly

The gundlepet route should be much better now. I think a lot of the work has been completed. So that is also an option.

I have not done Manathavady- kuttiyadi, but as per reports, it is narrow in many places and not in great condition too. Not recommended unless your destination is on the kuttiyadi perambra side.

[bijubalan]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

From Mysore, I typically take handpost- bavalli-kattikulam-manathavady-kalpetta- calicut( no need to go via hd kote) . Roads are great and traffic is minimal till kalpetta. Down side is that there is no family friendly place to stop between Mysore and kattikulam( ~2 hours). So need to plan accordingly

The gundlepet route should be much better now. I think a lot of the work has been completed. So that is also an option.

I have not done Manathavady- kuttiyadi, but as per reports, it is narrow in many places and not in great condition too. Not recommended unless your destination is on the kuttiyadi perambra side.

Yea, you are right. I did not know the exact name of the place Handpost. I was calling it HD Kote . I was also referring to the same route barring the difference that you were deviating from mananthavady to Kalpetta and then ahead. This way I won’t be missing the scenic drive by Kabani as well which I so love! Will try the route you mentioned this time around. How is the Manathavady - Kalpetta section specifically? Is it a pleasure to drive? Scenic?

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Stopped by a highway patrol just after the Kerala border. Told us to go with a 'Happy Onam' once they saw we were a family.

You had just met up with "Kilo 6" - the Highway Police team patrolling the stretch between Kerala Border all the way to Kalpetta on the National Highway. I still find it a surprise that Karnataka does not have any highway policing squads at all. TN has it. During my drives to northern parts of Kerala, I don't see much police presence at all in the KA territory.

I have not done Manathavady- kuttiyadi, but as per reports, it is narrow in many places and not in great condition too.

Had done this route around a month back. The road between Mananthavady and 4th Mile is pretty decent. The trouble starts from the 4th mile, Vellamunda all the way to Niravilpuzha. The roads are in pathetic condition in this sector. After Niravilpuzha the roads are excellent all the way till Perambra. The roads are not very wide, but not that narrow either. The Kuttiyadi ghat roads are a bit on the narrower side when compared to the Thamarassery ghat road. A bit of cautious driving is required here, that is what I felt.