[t3ofil4us]

Gmaps now shows the Anmod ghat road as open, can anyone confirm. During my last drive in October, the road was shut due to the landslides. Has the road been repaired or is better than Chorla?

[RM Motorsports]

I'll be driving from Mumbai to Goa in second week of Jan. Any good hotels to stay adjoining the highway with safe parking spots?? I would prefer to stay somewhere which would be about 2-3 hours ahead of Goa.

[Ertigiat]

Originally Posted by t3ofil4us

Gmaps now shows the Anmod ghat road as open, can anyone confirm. During my last drive in October, the road was shut due to the landslides. Has the road been repaired or is better than Chorla?

Yes Anmod ghat is open. You can read details here. (Bangalore - Goa : Route Queries)

The Anmod road is better than Chorla but as of now Chorla is recommended over Anmod ghat route (unless otherwise you are leaving from Belgaum early morning). The reason for the recommendations are,

• Khanapur - Ramangar - Anmod road widening work is not yet complete.
• Hence you need to take Bhimgad WLS road.
• The road through Bhimgad WLS is narrow and not meant for heavy vehicles but they are still using it illegally.
• Hard shoulders are not yet complete through out Anmod ghat.

But if your destination is North Goa I will recommend Amboli ghat route to avoid messy Belgaum situation.

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

I'll be driving from Mumbai to Goa in second week of Jan. Any good hotels to stay adjoining the highway with safe parking spots?? I would prefer to stay somewhere which would be about 2-3 hours ahead of Goa.

Sir what is your destination in Goa? If your destination is North Goa, stay in Kolhapur is recommended. Next day reach North Goa via Amboli. If your destination is South Goa then stay at Belgaum and reach via Chorla or Anmod (this is recommended only if you are starting early from Belgaum) route.

Recommended Hotels in Kolhapur,

Hotel Sayaji

Hotel Shree Sai

Hotel K Tree

Recommended Hotels in Belgaum

Hotel Sankam Residency

Hotel Eefa

Fairfield by Marriott

[RM Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Ertigiat

Sir what is your destination in Goa? If your destination is North Goa, stay in Kolhapur is recommended. Next day reach North Goa via Amboli. If your destination is South Goa then stay at Belgaum and reach via Chorla or Anmod (this is recommended only if you are starting early from Belgaum) route.

I'll be staying in North Goa. Problem is I just have 2 days there and I would like to reach there by latest 10 am. Hence plan is to leave a day earlier, stay somewhere overnight along the highway and reach Goa next day as early as possible. I don't prefer driving at night in India as lot of idiots drive with full beam which is distracting and blinding, that's the only problem.

[bj96]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

I'll be staying in North Goa. Problem is I just have 2 days there and I would like to reach there by latest 10 am.

Amboli has few decent hotels and between Amboli and Ajra also there are a couple of decent hotels. These will be within 3 hours of most north Goa destinations. You can lookup on google map.

-BJ

[WheelWake]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

I'll be staying in North Goa. Problem is I just have 2 days there and I would like to reach there by latest 10 am. Hence plan is to leave a day earlier, stay somewhere overnight along the highway and reach Goa next day as early as possible. I don't prefer driving at night in India as lot of idiots drive with full beam which is distracting and blinding, that's the only problem.

Actually I have done this once, it wasn't as bad. Started at 11 from Powai, covered most of the night drive through the NH4 which is 4/6lane. So there wasn't much issue of high beam. Early morning stopped at white House before nippani turn, had quick tea and some snacks and reached calangute by 10.30am. also, I had split my drive with a friend. The drive wasn't rushed too, except the last bit which always happens when you are in Goa but haven't seen the sea.

[Sawyer]

I endorse the night drive suggestion on this sector with two important riders: one, you should be sure by experience that you can stay fully awake/alert. And two, be alert to potholes on good stretches that are invisible beyond the reach of your lights.

I usually leave Pune at 3 am, and am able to exit NH4 at Nipani by 7 30 am after a tea break, and then Vagator by 10.30ish. Advantages at night are zero local traffic anywhere and more efficient overtaking from either side by using lights to signal overtakes to the trucks that are more responsive to this signalling than private cars are.

But the not falling asleep bit is something you need to be very sure about.

[varman742]

Hi,

I shall be travelling from Pune to South Goa (Varca Beach) on 25th December. I shall be staying in Kolhapur on 25th night and will be leaving for Varca beach on 26th around 9:30 AM. After going through earlier posts, I am not clear which route I should take. Should I go via Chorla or Anmod? Gmap is showing Anmod as the fastest route, however not sure about the road conditions. Is it better than Chorla route?

Can anyone who has recently traveled advice? As per Gmap, the route via Amboli is adding approx 1 hour so I am assuming it is not the best route to reach Varca?

Also, can anyone recommend a decent restaurant en-route to Varca for lunch stoppover? I think Belgaum will be too close from Kolhapur for lunch halt. So any good place post Belgaum?

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by varman742

Can anyone who has recently traveled advice?

If possible, I would advise staying in Belgaum instead of Kolhapur, and continuing to Goa the next morning. If you start early, Belgaum to Varca will take you between 3.5 - 4 hours via Chorla Ghat. It wasn't in the best condition in late October (when I visited Varca) due to heavy rains, but should have been repaired by now.

Cheers,
Vikram

[vivek95]

I am happy to share an update on the Tilari ghat route to Goa Works well as a best alternative for Mumbai / Pune -- Belgaum -- Chorla -- North Goa. The biggest advantage is that you don't need to get into Belgaum city and Tilari route is as short as Chorla from Belgaum to North Goa.

So, I explored the Belgaum--Tilari ghat--Goa road yesterday and surprisingly the Tilari ghat is in excellent condition.

1. Initial 10 kms of road within Karnataka is ridden with potholes intermittently but once into Maharashtra the road is decently smooth and nice.

2. You need to take a left at Patne phata ( Belgaum--Amboli road ). Here onwards the road is narrow single lane. Another left at Motanwadi village and next 2 kms of road is a bit bad but not worrisome.

3. Tilarinagar-- Tilari ghat road is excellent. Very minor work is currently going on at two places in the ghat but that will be completed in a week's time. On top of all this, the traffic is extremely thin as compared to Amboli or Chorla.

4. There is an 8 km road ( Bauxite road ) that bypasses Belgaum as it goes through the fringes of the city and puts you on Belgaum--Amboli road.

This is how the condition of the entire 7 kms of Tilari ghat road is, at present. Mind you, its very steep like the Neral--Matheran ghat near Mumbai.







Below is a video I made while driving / ascending the ghat yesterday by mounting my phone on the holder. It shows the entire 7 kms of the ghat section. Ignore the conversation

https://youtu.be/xGBvwjVA4U0

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

I am leaving on Wednesday. There is still many confusing news about road conditions.

I am till now sticking to Nipani - Amboli - Sawantwadi - Ponda route. But, would love to try Chorla, if roads are ok and open. Keeping my finger crossed.

Just back from Goa. Stuck to Nipani - Amboli - Sawantwadi route.

First 10-15 KM from Nipani and and then first 5 KM on Nipani-Ajra link road have some broken patches. But road repair works are going on in full swing. Rest of roads are butter smooth and one can maintain 80 Kmph comfortably on those roads.

NH 66 after entering Goa is in pathetic condition with diversions and lot of broken patches.

[manson]

Drove down to North Goa through the Nipani - Amboli route yesterday:

• Roads between Mumbai and Nipani are as good as ever apart from a few diversions around Kolhapur (which can cause slightly long traffic jams). We averaged about 55 kms/hr through the 400-410 odd kms.
• Nipani to Sawantwadi is a mixed bag of 60:30:10 great, average and poor roads respectively. Add the multiple diversions once we joined the NH17 and we ended up taking almost 4.5 hours to cover 150 odd kms after taking the diversion to Amboli at Nipani upto Candolim. The good news is that most of the poor stretches were being worked on and should be ready between 15-30 days. All said and done the state of the highways was better than I had expected and I would not bother with another route between Bombay and Goa for now

[varman742]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

If possible, I would advise staying in Belgaum instead of Kolhapur, and continuing to Goa the next morning. If you start early, Belgaum to Varca will take you between 3.5 - 4 hours via Chorla Ghat. It wasn't in the best condition in late October (when I visited Varca) due to heavy rains, but should have been repaired by now.

Cheers,
Vikram

Hi, thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, the stay in Kolhapur is unavoidable as need to visit the Mandir on 25th. Can think of starting earlier from Kolhapur though.

As for the route, is Chorla preferred over Anmod?

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by varman742

As for the route, is Chorla preferred over Anmod?

As of now, it looks like that from post # 2898 (Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Goa : Route Queries) above.

Cheers,
Vikram

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by varman742

Hi, thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, the stay in Kolhapur is unavoidable as need to visit the Mandir on 25th. Can think of starting earlier from Kolhapur though.

As for the route, is Chorla preferred over Anmod?

I had mentioned this earlier but still would like to repeat that DO NOT take Chorla route as that would require you to enter Belgaum city and trust me the mess of my hometown is increasing day by day. Every day a new road is being closed for cementing purpose leading to massive traffic snarls. I am not complaining as such, infact happy to see the developments in my city. But its better advised not to take the Belgaum--Chorla route for now.

Only situation where I would suggest Chorla is when a Belgaum halt and an early departure ( 0600 hours ) next day towards Goa is planned.