[Ithaca]

Just an update for members travelling from Mumbai towards Pune / Kolhapur.

Expect bottlenecks at some places at Navi Mumbai since the highways are being attended to by the authorities. Also holds for Palm Beach road between Vashi and Sanpada where the road is being repaired - on Saturday saw them grit blasting the road on the Belapur side just after Vashi.

[Sawyer]

Update from a Goa trip last week via the usual 2 stops included 8 hour drive via Uttur Amboli to Candolim.

Ajra Amboli is still in poor shape needing attention to the road surfaces. The ghat itself is decent enough. Sawantwadi to the highway is in poor shape in places so the better and faster road - when going to Goa - is to take the right turn at the end of the lake, keeping the lake on the right instead of the usual bear to the left to exit the town. And then take the half left as the lake ends, another full left a little further on and keep following the road that climbs down a small ghat and takes one to the highway, joined by taking an obscure looking left turn to get on to the service road that joins it. It can't be missed, if one realises to not drive under the highway, under the overhead that looms up ahead and visible much before the left turn is seen.

I find it a little hard to locate this one on the way back to Pune at 5 in the morning, so I still take the earlier right to Sawantwadi, just after the Maharastra border checkpoint. As stated, that section is in unusually poor shape.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,
Just driven up from Goa today with a friend.
As he had driven down to Goa just 10 days previously using the Amboli Ghat he preferred going back the same way.
I did warn him that the roads were bad as per the post from "Sajo" below but he was insistent, so Amboli it was.
The roads from Banda to Sawantwadi (Insuli Ghat) and from Amboli to Ajra are in poor condition. The car (Optra Magnum) bottomed out several times and even he (my friend) agreed that the roads had deteriorated in the last 10 days. Lots of potholes and rough patches but still driveable as long as you don't mind a bumpy ride. The road from Uttur to Nipani was OK with just a few scattered potholes. The actual ghat section was not too bad but also had a few scattered potholes.

The highway section of NH4 after Nipani was pretty good. Looks like quite a few potholes had recently been filled in. There are now only "7 diversions" instead of the previous 11! Took us 9 hours from Mapuca to S'Cruz Domestic Airport.
For once the toll booths were pretty clear and we breezed through most of them.

Regards,
SS

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

And then take the half left as the lake ends, another full left a little further on and keep following the road that climbs down a small ghat and takes one to the highway, joined by taking an obscure looking left turn to get on to the service road that joins it.

I guess you are referring to Redi-Belagavi road (SH 123 on google maps).

[Sawyer]

Yes, I think so. It a slightly longer route being one side of the triangle for which the usual road is the hypotenuse, but is a faster road because it gets you to the highway quicker. And the hypotenuse road is in very poor shape in many places.

[Kameshwar]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Yes, I think so. It a slightly longer route being one side of the triangle ....

Thanks for sharing. I'm just curious if the recent rains haven't washed off the repair works for the Amboli route..making the trip in a few hours in the T-fort

[Sawyer]

I doubt anything will have changed for either the better or the worse. As usual, December/January should see the many potholes/broken surfaces fixed on the Ajra Amboli section.

[coriollis]

Hi All.
Going to South Goa in couple of days.
Any updates on Belgaum - Bhimgad sanctuary - Ponda - Madgaon route?
Or should I stick to Chorla route?

Cheers,
AB

[harryputtar]

Hello Forum,

Driving to North Goa (Vagator) next week, in my low slung, low GC much-loved Jetta. I have always done Goa (always been to North Goa) in my Jetta, via Chorla Ghat, and the earliest I have made it is 12 hours (with 2 small breaks to pacify the kids). Call me a sedate driver, but so it is, and it really amazes me when my friends with Altos say they reached Goa in 8 hours, how???!!!

Anyway, so this time one of the same friends is insisiting I try the Amboli route. The right turn from Goa Ves restaurant, then on to Uttur->Ajara->Amboli->Sawantwadi->North Goa. He says this should be very do-able in my Jetta, and should be more than an hour shorter than Chorla.

Is he right? Should I take a gamble this time and ditch my usual Chorla drive for an adventure via the Amboli ghat? Are there any gotchas on that route that I should be aware of, shortcuts to avoid etc?

Any recent experiences of the Amboli ghat please share. Also please share information about pit-stops on the way, where we can take short half-hour breaks to give the kids some legroom.

Appreciate the inputs as always forum!

[Sawyer]

No trouble at all except on occasional broken surfaces once you leave the highway at Goa Ves, In daylight, they can be picked up from afar, but maintain slower speeds in general on that stretch.

Pitstop I use is just Sai on the left at 206 kms from Pune, but you may need an earlier one at some of the Vithal Kamats before that. And one at Amboli perhaps.

9 hours should be easy if you leave Pune at/before 5 am. 10 should be regardless of that.

And do not attempt to bypass Sawantwadi.

[Sawyer]

From Sawantwadi, SH123 to the highway is preferred these days because the shorter hypotenuse of the triangle, marked as the Goa road on Google maps, is in surprisingly bad shape.

See post #2177 above.

And on the Amboli road, the Ajra Amboli section needs the most attention and care for low slung cars. My Civic copes at very slow speeds over these parts, so I doubt a Jetta will not.

[CANPUSH]

Originally Posted by harryputtar

Hello Forum,

Driving to North Goa (Vagator) next week, in my low slung, low GC much-loved Jetta.

Is he right? Should I take a gamble this time and ditch my usual Chorla drive for an adventure via the Amboli ghat? Are there any gotchas on that route that I should be aware of, shortcuts to avoid etc?

Any recent experiences of the Amboli ghat please share. Also please share information about pit-stops on the way, where we can take short half-hour breaks to give the kids some legroom.

Route should not pose problems for your kind of driver.

After crossing Ajra there is a small hotel called Minerva. It should be good break before you get on to winding roads.

One Caution: As soon as you get down Amboli Ghat, in the first village you will see a sign on left showing way to Panaji. Avoid that and proceed straight to Sawantwadi.

Happy journey.

[TaurusAl]

Just completed the trip. Nippani to Ajra the road is in very very bad condition. Caution to sedan owners. Manageable in SUVs. Most of the time I had to drive on the right side of the road to overtake the sedans who were doing about 5-10 kms/hr. I drive a TUV 300 for the record.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by TaurusAl

Just completed the trip. Nippani to Ajra the road is in very very bad condition.

Any idea if this would this be a better option (travelling to Goa tomorrow)?

https://goo.gl/maps/v7r11MLQ5eK2

This route bypasses Uttur, and the difference in distance is just 1 km compared to if one travels via Uttur.

EDIT: Just checked Nippani - Sankeshwar - Gadhinglaj - Amboli - Sawantwadi, adds only 9 kms compared to going via Nippani - Uttur - Ajra - Amboli - Sawantwadi

Originally Posted by Sawyer

take the right turn at the end of the lake, keeping the lake on the right instead of the usual bear to the left to exit the town. And then take the half left as the lake ends, another full left a little further on and keep following the road that climbs down a small ghat and takes one to the highway, joined by taking an obscure looking left turn to get on to the service road that joins it. It can't be missed, if one realises to not drive under the highway, under the overhead that looms up ahead and visible much before the left turn is seen..

Is this mapping of the above route correct?

https://goo.gl/maps/DKkmE9mNtBE2

Cheers,
Vikram

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

EDIT: Just checked Nippani - Sankeshwar - Gadhinglaj - Amboli - Sawantwadi, adds only 9 kms compared to going via Nippani - Uttur - Ajra - Amboli - Sawantwadi

This looks better. Traffic in Gadhinglaj can be on & off depending on what time one travels through it, not much of a bother.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Is this mapping of the above route correct?

Absolutely correct.

While you travel to Goa, please note & share how are road conditions for bikes.