[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by nix1976in

With Amboli Ghat in tatters what is the best way to get to Sawantwadi? The roundabout from Belgaum-Panaji seems to quite a detour.

Any recommendations?

Stick to Chorla; the route is longer but it is the most decent road.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Option 1: Via Kolhapur, touch NH17 at Talere using Gaganbawda ghat and proceed to Sawantwadi (Talere - Sawantwadi should be 80-90 kms).

This route is in a terrible state. I'd taken an overnight Pune - Goa bus that goes Kolhapur - Gaganbawda - Tarale - Kankavali - Kudal - Sawantwadi; it was awful.

[Hayek]

How is the Chorla route? Had the increased traffic post the closure of Anmod and bad condition of Amboli affected its road surface? Does it tend to get clogged on long weekends? Debating whether to drive or fly to Goa on Dec 21 - hence the query.

[vivek95]

Important Update

Anmod ghat has been finally closed for all kinds of vehicular traffic since yesterday. This is officially confirmed ( source - allaboutbelgaum.com ). Ramnagar town onwards the road is fully blocked.

Folks driving Mumbai/Pune to any part of Goa :- Stick to Belgaum--Chorla--Sanquelim route

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I'd taken an overnight Pune - Goa bus.. it was awful.

Live to drive maan !!

Originally Posted by Hayek

Debating whether to drive or fly to Goa on Dec 21 - hence the query.

I would recommend flying from Mumbai. Though I am not sure what options you will have now and at what prices.

Originally Posted by vivek95

Folks driving Mumbai/Pune to any part of Goa :- Stick to Belgaum--Chorla--Sanquelim route

Wow, the Chorla route is going to be overcrowded now. And the road condition will only deteriorate further with more wheels treading across.
Could they have not waited for another month to start the work at Anmod? At least the peak holiday season could have been done with. Or they assume they will need so many months to finish before the rains hit in early June?

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Wow, the Chorla route is going to be overcrowded now. And the road condition will only deteriorate further with more wheels treading across.
Could they have not waited for another month to start the work at Anmod? At least the peak holiday season could have been done with. Or they assume they will need so many months to finish before the rains hit in early June?

Apparently all HMVs/trucks/trailers won't be allowed to ply on the Chorla route. They either take Belgaum--Chandgad--Amboli--Sawantwadi or Tawandi ghat--Ajra--Amboli--Sawantwadi route to Goa.

And it looks like Anmod ghat will be shut down for a prolonged period, may be more than an year, though I am not so sure on this. Yes, Chorla is going to be flooded with Mumbai/Pune/Bangalore/Belgaum/Goa/Telangana cars.

[Ertigiat]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Important Update

Anmod ghat has been finally closed for all kinds of vehicular traffic since yesterday. This is officially confirmed ( source - allaboutbelgaum.com ). Ramnagar town onwards the road is fully blocked.

Folks driving Mumbai/Pune to any part of Goa :- Stick to Belgaum--Chorla--Sanquelim route

I have planned a trip to Pune on 19th of this month & this news came as a bomb to me. In fact there was a quote from Goa PWD minister couple days back that he has requested not to close the road until the construction reaches exact ghat portion.

Despite Chorla being in good conditions, I hate to travel on that route because of my daughters motion sickness.

What I understand (from my friends in Khanapur & KSRTC drivers) is, road through Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary is not closed. Yesterday being first day of road closure, most of the traffic (including heavy trucks/State transport buses) from Khanapur reached South Goa via Bhimgad sanctuary - Anmod - Mollem route. But for state transport buses will ply via Chorla in coming days.

I hope that wildlife sanctuary road will be closed for HMV/Truck/Trailer. It will be utter chaos if all the traffic from Khanapur to South Goa continues to travel via wildlife sanctuary road.

Anyway non closure of Bhimgad road has given me a faint hope that I will be able take Margao - Mollem - Anmod - Bhimgad - Khanapur - Belgaum - Pune route for my upcoming journey.

[TaurusAl]

Is Amboli still the same ? Drove over it in October and oh boy it was a disaster. Hoping things have improved. Planning to drive for new year.

While coming back I came from Gaganbavda which was not that bad.

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by TaurusAl

Is Amboli still the same ? Drove over it in October and oh boy it was a disaster.

It's still pothole filled, bad in patches. Had seen video footage of road few days back.

[Max]

I completed return trip from Mumbai to Goa Few days ago. I traveled following route both sides. Roads on this route was excellent, no bumps or broken roads.

Mumbai > Pune > Kolhapur > Belaum > Jamboti > Chorla > Sanquelim > Assonora > Mapusa > Baga Beach.
Here is the google maps link of the route. https://goo.gl/maps/7pNDg9c85v12

While going to Goa, left 6:00 am in the morning from Mumbai, crossed Pune by 9.30 am, reach Belgaum around 3:00 pm, then Goa by 7:00 pm. The Speed of the road is slow from Sanquelim to Mapusa due to local traffic. While returning, started the journey at around 9:00 am, reached Belgaum around 12:30 pm, had lunch at Barbecue Nation, reached Mumbai around 12:00 am. There was heavy traffic between Satara to Pune and thane belapure road.

This time I traveled extensively in Goa, exploring North Goa, South Goa and Dona Paula neighborhoods. Guys, please be cautions of speeding 2 wheeler specially on turns. I saw many 2 wheeler guys driving very fast recklessly, without any helmet, many of them won't even stop or slow down at turns. If you are not cautions there will be accident and chaos. Drive slow with lots of patience, always slow down at intersection and look around first right then all around and always keep left.

[AMKAM]

A quick update on my trip.

I started from Mumbai around 530pm , as I had to attend some meetings. The plan was to stop over at Satara. The exit from Mumbai was uneventful with the expected level of traffic. But we encountered some heavy traffic in patches on the Pune bypass, particularly at Chandni Chowk, Warje, etc. Two-wheelers in Pune are especially difficult to handle in the dark. One has to be very careful. We reached Satara at about 9:30 pm.


I had booked at Hotel Preeti Executive, which is right by the side of the highway. This is a hotel that we normally stopped at for breakfast (on the occasions that I would start from Mumbai early in the morning). The hotel exceeded our expectations. The rooms are spacious, well appointed and very clean. I was a bit apprehensive about the place as I was traveling with my wife and young daughter. But the hotel dispelled all worries. The restaurant serves decent food. In addition, though we did not have to use it, there is a decent dormitory for drivers available at a nominal charge. A comfortable mattress, clean bed-sheet pillow, and rug are provided. There's a washroom with hot water in the morning for drivers to freshen up.This is really useful for those who would otherwise have to hunt for a cheaper accommodation for their drivers.

Next day, we left at around 830 am. The road was pretty clear till Belgaum which we reached around 1230 pm.

The roads of Chorla ghat range from good to great. Only at a few hairpin bends has the surface started crumbling. And only at 2 places (again hairpin bends) did we have to really slow down to negotiate the patchy road. Unfortunately, the good road condition leads to some fast driving , around the S bends etc and that probably caused us to stop twice as my daughter was motion-sick.

Once into Goa, there are numerous speed breakers at every village entry and exit. But by and large, the drive is peaceful with Google maps offering perfect navigation. You might want to store the route using the offline maps option, as the signal coverage in the ghat and some other parts is sketchy.

Return trip: After a measured breakfast, we started from Goa at 830 am. The only notable incident was at the excise check-post at the Karnataka entry point. My wife was sitting behind with my daughter and was not clearly visible. Two GA registered cars were a few metres ahead of me. They were waved through without a glance, but I was stopped. Probably because of my MH registered car. The official politely inquired if I was carrying any liquor bottles, but the moment he spotted my daughter and wife on the back seat, he courteously waved me through without a second thought. In the rear view mirror, I could see that he had flagged down a KA registered car and taken it to the side of the road.

Btw, a paediatrician had recommended Avomine (half tablet) for my daughter and it worked like a charm. Perhaps I too was a bit more careful with my driving in the ghat. But there was no motion sickness and the entire journey was smooth and enjoyable. Please note that this is not medical advice. Please check with a doctor before giving any medication to a child.

Another tip: We stopped at Hotel Kaveri at Nipani (right at the turn that goes to Ajra-Amboli). This is a good hotel to stop at, if one is traveling with ladies/kids. There are clean bathrooms and the food is tasty with quick service.

I always travel at around 90-100 kmph going up to 110-120 only for overtaking. I covered the Goa-Mum distance in exactly 12 hours, with around 100 minutes lost to food / bio breaks and a couple of petrol refills. The journey from Kharghar to Central Mumbai alone took about 120 minutes.


Its been a longish review for what is quite a small distance. But I hope it helps those planning to drive to Goa in the near future. Overall the Chorla ghat route that was recommended to me earlier is the best option, at present, to drive from Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai.

Cheers!

[Vandit]

Originally Posted by AMKAM

A quick update on my trip.

The roads of Chorla ghat range from good to great. Only at a few hairpin bends has the surface started crumbling. And only at 2 places (again hairpin bends) did we have to really slow down to negotiate the patchy road. Unfortunately, the good road condition leads to some fast driving , around the S bends etc and that probably caused us to stop twice as my daughter was motion-sick.

...

Its been a longish review for what is quite a small distance. But I hope it helps those planning to drive to Goa in the near future. Overall the Chorla ghat route that was recommended to me earlier is the best option, at present, to drive from Mumbai-Goa-Mumbai.

Excellent. Thanks for sharing. It's that time of the year for me to head back to Goa to spend the holidays with the rest of my family there.

Have got reports of Amboli being closed and read about it here too but been wondering if I should avoid Amboli and take Chorla or go with Amboli.

To be honest I didn't find Amboli to be comfortable at all when I last drove down in May and it's been a long time 7 years since I last drove via Chorla.

Would love suggestions from anyone who drove down recently.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by Vandit

and it's been a long time 7 years since I last drove via Chorla.

Would love suggestions from anyone who drove down recently.

Was it 7 years back who last drove Chorla ?? Man, then you should definitely drive down now via Belgaum--Chorla Ghat. You will be amazed to see how that non existent road has transformed brilliantly since 2013 April. I am not boasting, but I was amongst the first very very few people who ventured into Chorla in Sep 2012 when the first layer of new tar was just being put. Thereafter, I kept riding there every now and then to check the progress and finally by April 2013, the road was completely done up and was brand new. I had popularised this route in another forum right away since then as I was not a team bhpian yet but used to follow posts here as well and would wonder how could I ever help people over here. Anyways, leave all that, do take Chorla route now, its a little bad in the ghats but overall a great one.

[nix1976in]

Back from Goa, entered via Chorla and exited via Phonda-Gaganbawda.

Chorla is in excellent condition all through...no issues at all.

The return trip was from Vengurla- Gaganbawda- Kolhapur. The approach road around Vaibhavwadi is in a bad state for around 15kms but the ghat itself is butter smooth newly laid tarmac...just a breeze to get into Kolhapur.

[Ertigiat]

Took Margao - Mollem - Anmod - Bhimgad - Belgaum - Kolhapur route to reach Pune.

Started from Margao at around 4.40 PM on 18th Dec. Reached Belgaum around 7.30 PM. There was absolutely no traffic till Khanapur. Probably many people are not aware that ghat isn't closed. What I understand from locals, most of the traffic from Belgaum come to Margao via Bhimgad between 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM as road between Ramnagar and Anmod is closed otherwise the road between Ramnagar and Anmod is open for traffic. But I am pretty sure heavy vehicles are not allowed during any time of the day. I did not see a single truck between Mollem and Khanapur.

Next day started from Nippani at around 7.00 AM and reached Katraj at 10.30 AM.

Planning to return to Margoa via same route.

P. S. - Some of the Rough patches in Anmod ghat are repaired but they won't last longer as tarmac is not laid on top of them.

[CANPUSH]

There is another Ghat via Tilari dam descending to Dodamarg but I am told that the road is lonely. Surface condition not known.

Has anyone tried that road?