[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Belgaumites are spoilt for smooth road options to get into Western ghats/Konkan/ Goa

They are also spoilt by having excellent weather and for having the hills and Goa both in close proximity!
PS: Add Malvan to that as well, with that excellent cuisine.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by arishi1

Please ensure you don't fall in the trap of taking the bypass for Sawantwadi after Amboli Ghat. The bypass is very narrow with literally no road for about 2 km. I traveled to Candolim from Mumbai in Mid May. While on the way back took the Chorla Ghat route.

Originally Posted by AveekKumar

I agree. There is a stretch which goes through the forest with no roads at all. And google shows this route due to the shorter distance.
Can someone suggest which turns to avoid between kochi panvel highway and amboli ghat?

Been there done that
Heading to Goa, just after the desent of Amboli Ghat, we saw a signboard to take left for Panji and head straight for Savantwadi.
We took the Panji road and Google maps too confirmed abt the existence of such a road.
A couple of kms into the road we checked with the locals and they too said we were on the correct road and we will bypass Savantwadi.

The road had random phases of good/descent/broken/non-existent. I was able to go thru without any problem in a Polo. You just have to take the rough sections slowly and carefully.

The road joins NH17 at Banda and you can take a left for Goa.

We did save up on a few kilometeres, but honestly it would have been better to go via Savantwadi.

This was back in Jan 2016.

[vivek95]

Of late which route do people normally take from Sawantwadi to join NH17 towards Goa ??

I am attaching a gmap snapshot for referrence below. The blue line is the Old NH17 2 laned highway that we used to always take when bypass was still under construction and it involved crossing a very small ghat. The grey line as you can see in the image, joins the new 4 laned bypass straight at some distance from Moti lake,Sawantwadi. I have personally taken the 21 km long 4 laned Sawantwadi new bypass on NH17 twice in the last year while travelling from Goa to Ratnagiri/Bombay and it was a superfast experience.

Do you guys get connected to the new bypass at ''Sonurli'' as seen in the pic OR take the old highway represented by blue line ? I am aware that the old highway too joins the 4 laner bypass much before it ends at the MH-Goa border

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by freedom

We did save up on a few kilometeres, but honestly it would have been better to go via Savantwadi.

This was back in Jan 2016.

I did that stretch around 3 years ago and although the road is shorter in distance I don't believe it saves much time. The condition requires you to drive slowly which offsets any advantage you might expect. Sawantwadi route is in a much better shape and you can do decent speeds.

Also this shortcut is not exactly inhabited. It might be too lonely on it, especially in odd hours.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Do you guys get connected to the new bypass at ''Sonurli'' as seen in the pic OR take the old highway represented by blue line ?

Blue line every time; it cuts the triangle. But it would be interesting know if the longer route is faster. It depends on how good is the road to the bypass from the town.

[autorahul]

Hi, I am heading to Goa during the Independence day. The resort that I have booked is in Candolim. Please suggest on route to be taken for North Goa, My main confusion is the route to take after crossing Nipani. Google suggested this route, which I have slightly altered by dragging to make sure I dont fall into the trap of going for Sawantwadi bypass. Anything else I should be mindful of?

[Sawyer]

It looks fine; at Sawantwadi, keep the lake on the right at all times, and take a half left down a narrow looking road after the lake that leaves Sawantwadi for NH17.

In Goa, Google maps is quite effective in showing the quickest path to any destination.

[Sawyer]

Digressing just a little here with apologies; I did not see sense in a different thread.

What is the fastest way to get to Tilari Ghat from Pune? Looking at the Google map just above, would there be a road to there from Ajra?

Goa travellers should ignore this digression, it is going to do nothing but add time to get to Goa. My question is because it promises to be a spectacular monsoon drive, but I am trying to see a way to get there without going all the way to Belgaum. No one with a low slung car should venture here either, I imagine.

[swapnilup]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

What is the fastest way to get to Tilari Ghat from Pune? Looking at the Google map just above, would there be a road to there from Ajra?.

There is a road from Ajra to Chandgad, I am not sure of the road conditions.
You can go via Belgaum ie take the first exit and take the bauxite Road going to Hindalga.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by autorahul

I dont fall into the trap of going for Sawantwadi bypass. Anything else I should be mindful of?

Attachment 1533043

@Sawyer has already explained to you regarding the correct route to be taken from Sawantwadi. Just refer to the below post of mine where in I have highlighted that route on google map snapshot.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post4017089

On a side note, what you are referring to as Sawantwadi bypass is the road that forks on the left post the Amboli ghat section / post Danoli village and directly takes you to Banda village on NH17 ( NH66). Fair enough to call that as a Sawantwadi bypass as it completely bypasses the town on the east. However, the term ''Sawantwadi bypass'' is officially reserved for the 4 laned bypass on NH17 that bypasses Sawantwadi on its west. So, you will anyhow eventually drive for a few kms on the official '' Sawantwadi bypass'' till the MH-Goa border. Hope I have not confused you.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Digressing just a little here with apologies; I did not see sense in a different thread.

What is the fastest way to get to Tilari Ghat from Pune? Looking at the Google map just above, would there be a road to there from Ajra?

Goa travellers should ignore this digression, it is going to do nothing but add time to get to Goa. My question is because it promises to be a spectacular monsoon drive, but I am trying to see a way to get there without going all the way to Belgaum. No one with a low slung car should venture here either, I imagine.

@Swapnilup has already given you the correct route. For Pune—Tilari ghat it has to be anyday Belgaum route the fastest and easiest. There are indeed roads from Ajra as well as Gadhinglaj towards Tilari ghat via Chandgad but they are internal roads which could be narrow with decent/patchy surface. The MSRTC buses doing Panaji-Tilari ghat-Kolhapur take the route via Chandgad-Adkur-Nesari-Gadhinglaj-Rashing-Tawandi ghat NH4 / Goa ves hotel--Kolhapur. Specifically for Tilari ghat, these routes don't have an advantage of being faster to touch NH4 than the Belgaum route. Though they are shorter the time taken is same as Belgaum route or even more.

Check below, its the distance between Tawandi ghat on NH4 and Tilari nagar. Shows all three routes with same journey time.




I am not speaking based on google maps alone but having known these regions and the internal roads I can vouch that being for a longer time on NH4 always compensates with less time vis-a-vis extra distance. For North Goa yes, the Ajra-Amboli routes are anyday faster than Belgaum but for Tilari ghat, its better to take Belgaum route in my honest opinion. I can assure you clean roads here.

1.Also, you do not have to worry about doing through and through Belgaum city to get onto the Belgaum-Patne phata-Tilari road. The road that I have highlighted below is the Bauxite road in Belgaum which is 50% 4 laned and passes through fringe residential localities of the city with extremely less traffic. It kinda serves as a bypass on this side. Max time required to cross the whole of Belgaum city via this Bauxite road is 10 minutes.



2. Belgaum--Patne phata road - first 8 kms in KA limits is very good. Once in MH, the road gets tad narrow but still a smooth 2 lane road with slightly uneven surface. Occasional patchy surface with potholes.



3. Road from Patne phata--Tilari Nagar--till the start of Tilari ghat proper -- Not sure of the latest conditions in monsoons but in April the road was smooth and decent ( its strictly a single lane road). I have higlighted the view point on this route post Tilari nagar. The ‘’Tilari HEP surge tank’’ that you see has a view point. You would need to park your vehicle roadside and walk up to the point. It is called ‘’Sunset point or Lashkar point’’.

Looks like this, ignore the arrow mark ; sorry for poor photo--



Needless to say, Tilari ghat (7 kms) is in shambles except 1 km in between, will be an offroading experience


Swapnavel point @Kayinat resort - 10 kms from Tilari nagar ( not on the way to Tilari ghat ). The view point here with waterfalls. Credits - resp. owner-

[Sawyer]

Vivek, thank you for the detailed inputs; now that I see that there is a Belgaum "bypass" of sorts, I can see it makes sense to stay on the NH4 longer.
I am quite sure that the Tilari ghat road will be atrocious, which is why even in the Gypsy, I do not plan to climb back via that road. Climbing such roads is a lot of stress for car and driver, best avoided given the option. Getting down is relatively simple, one has to just crawl down in first/second.

[Sawyer]

One follow up: how is the Bauxite road exit to be located while on NH4? Is it well marked?

I suppose leaving Google Maps on is one easy way?

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

One follow up: how is the Bauxite road exit to be located while on NH4? Is it well marked?

I suppose leaving Google Maps on is one easy way?

There is no sign board indicating Bauxite road. Best way is to rely upon Google maps as Google will route you via Bauxite road if you have entered Tilari nagar as destination coming from Pune side. It will not take you via core city roads.

Alternatively I will explain assuming that you have visited Belgaum earlier. Below is what you do normally to enter Belgaum city from NH4

1. Coming from Pune, take the first left handed exit from NH4 marked for Belgaum city

2. You are now on service road and pass Hindalco on your left. About some distance on service road you will reach a huge underpass on your right. You take right through the underpass and then immediate left to proceed towards city. This is a normal way. But for Bauxite road, at this junction i.e just after underpass you will see another road going straight. That is "Bauxite road". One straight road for 8 kms till you reach Belgaum-Vengurla highway at Hindalga. Prominent landmarks on Bauxite road are Volkswagen showroom ( on your right ), APMC police station ( on your left ). There are no traffic signals on this road. It is partly 4 laned, partly 2 lane.

To summarise, " left " after underpass takes you to Belgaum city/Chorla ghat /Anmod ghat /Goa. Straight road after underpass takes you to Tilari / Amboli /Goa

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

Intend to drive back to Bombay tomorrow due to an emergency at home.
Was planning to use the Amboli Ghat road instead of the usual Chorla road as I wanted to avoid Belgaum - some issues there due to Mhadei water dispute.
Has anyone traversed the Amboli Ghat recently and what is the condition of the road like?
A prompt response would be much appreciated.

Regards,
SS

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Guys,

Intend to drive back to Bombay tomorrow due to an emergency at home.
Was planning to use the Amboli Ghat road instead of the usual Chorla road as I wanted to avoid Belgaum - some issues there due to Mhadei water dispute.
Has anyone traversed the Amboli Ghat recently and what is the condition of the road like?
A prompt response would be much appreciated.

Regards,
SS

I had taken it on 17th July from Belgaum end and Amboli ghat was in excellent condition then, with the ghat road per se being akin to Chorla ghat standards - no difference at all - just awesome. My report is on last page of this thread, last post. A week later I learnt that some portion of the ghat road at its beginning, had caved in a bit and this has resulted in a one way traffic on that short stretch. My guess is that road on the 16km long ghat would have remained superb as it's been just 3 weeks apart and even though it has been raining insanely since last week ( its on the news) I don't think anything would have gone that bad. I am not so sure of the Tawandi ghat-Ajra-Amboli stretch, as I had started from Belgaum. Just be wary of landslides, three ghat roads in Maharashtra are already declared closed - Malshej, Mahaby-Poladpur and Pune-Lavasa. No such news from Amboli ghat yet, touchwood. Chorla and Anmod have also been reporting heavy rains, so in any case Amboli should still be your fastest and best bet. Have a safe drive !