[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by WheelWake

Wow I have exactly the same plain.....Please update the thread whenever you make this.

Sorry didn't update this thread sooner. We finally drove down to Goa, took a pre-planned halt at The Fern-Karad for a night and had an early 4.30 AM start from Karad, took the Tbhp and Gmaps suggested route via Nipani - Ajra - Amboli - (not via Sawantwadi) and reached Calangute around 11.30AM. Stopped for breakfast, several photo ops (total about 2 hours) on the way, especially on top of Amboli Ghats which had lovely views and points with parking available. The road conditions are as described by Manson below.

Originally Posted by manson

[*]Roads between Mumbai and Nipani are as good as ever apart from a few diversions around Kolhapur (which can cause slightly long traffic jams). [*]Nipani to Sawantwadi is a mixed bag of 60:30:10 great, average and poor roads respectively.

Would just add that once you turn off from the highway at Nipani, roads are bad with road work in progress at several places leaving roads close to unmotorable at a few places for low slung or heavily loaded sedans, but these stretches are few and will not last long and in any case plan to cross them as early as possible. The best thing is that after Ajra and roads keep getting better and driving down Amboli Ghat was a joy.
Avoided Sawantwadi as suggested by Gmaps which put us through some village roads, which were narrow at a few places but in good condition. The pain returns once you join the highway into Goa but nothing too bad imho.
Our average speed from Karad till we reached Calangute was about 65kmph (in the Hector) and trust me I am a very sedate driver.

[CANPUSH]

Anyone has recently taken Radhanagari -Phonda route to Goa?

If yes, please advice on road conditions.

Thanks,

[PGNarain]

Returning back to Mumbai from South Goa over the weekend. I still can't make up my mind whether to take the Anmod Ghat Route (recommended by GMaps) or go via Chorla.

Tilari Ghat will be too much of a detour and adds a minimum of 1 hour to my commute.

Can anyone who has done either Anmod and / or Chorla in the past few days and update status please.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Returning back to Mumbai from South Goa over the weekend. I still can't make up my mind whether to take the Anmod Ghat Route (recommended by GMaps) or go via Chorla.

Tilari Ghat will be too much of a detour and adds a minimum of 1 hour to my commute.

Can anyone who has done either Anmod and / or Chorla in the past few days and update status please.

Where exactly in South Goa ?? Take the Madgaon--Ponda--Sanquelim--Chorla ghat--Belgaum route. I am sharing a Google map link below that will help you drive through lesser traffic prone roads of Belgaum. Though it will be longer, you will avoid all the terrible mess of main roads of the city and drive peacefully. Ping me for any details. I am in Belgaum itself for next 3 days.



For the best route in current traffic visit https://maps.app.goo.gl/iQxkkQJMQArTEpRU7

The point "E" in that Google map link is exactly where you get to join NH4. Google has not updated this connecting road between service lane and main highway.

[Ertigiat]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Returning back to Mumbai from South Goa over the weekend. I still can't make up my mind whether to take the Anmod Ghat Route (recommended by GMaps) or go via Chorla.

What is your location in South Goa? If you are more towards Agonda then no need to travel to Margao and recommended route will be Anmod ghat.

Can anyone who has done either Anmod and / or Chorla in the past few days and update status please.

I would recommend Anmod over Chorla provided you start early (as early as 6 AM) from your location. You can read further details about road condition through Anmod ghat here (Bangalore - Goa : Route Queries).

Chorla is in good shape too (it isn't exactly butter smooth) and not an bad option if no one in your ride is prone to motion sickness.

Originally Posted by vivek95

Take the Madgaon--Ponda--Sanquelim--Chorla ghat--Belgaum route.

In case you are opting for Chorla ghat route then I will recommend avoid getting into Sakhali (Sanquelim). The recommended route is Ponda - Honda - Keri (Sattari) - Chorla.. The road between Honda and Laxmi Kaju outlet (where you connect to Sakhali - Chorla road) is not in very good shape but those 5 kms can be easily managed.

I am sharing a Google map link below that will help you drive through lesser traffic prone roads of Belgaum. Though it will be longer, you will avoid all the terrible mess of main roads of the city and drive peacefully.

Thank you Vivek for the link. But usually I take this route when I want to avoid Belgaum's messy road situation. Though this route still leads me into mess of road concretisation near KLE hospital I am okay with it because I get a chance to stop at eateries of my choice (Subway, Domino's, KFC, McDonald's). This option is totally eliminated if I take Bauxite Road.

[Vandit]

An update from my side as has already been reported except that i found quite a few more completely bad stretches of road once turning off at Nipani towards Ajra. They are completely redoing sections of road along the route and in other places the road was purely eroded off.. i regretted the decision of not checking on the condition before driving down since I'm so used to the roads. For sedans (and i was quite heavily loaded) it is seriously not advisable.. to make matters worse, the popular restaurant at the Nipani turnout - Kaveri has been shut under a government seal apparently. The couple of local guys sitting there said it was sealed but had no idea for what reason or what was in store regarding reopening. Unfortunate as it was a regular lunch stop for me when driving down from Bombay before the final run to Ajra and into Goa.

This brings me to my next problem - what route to take on the way back - i personally love Chorka, but the only major turnoff being the longer distance and the time lost in Belgaum City traffic. The only other route left is Tillari but it has been ages since i drove on that and i have no idea of the condition.

If anyone can share an update please do. Thanks

[1lokesh]

Drove from mumbai on 25th December to goa taking a night halt at Kolhapur and continued the journey on 26th. I must say that the stretch from Nipani to Amboli is quite bad, ridden with potholes and uprooted roads. It gets worse on NH66 once in goa. Driving a sedan on this stretch is mentally exhausting and frustrating, compounded with bad drivers rushing for overtakes on a two lane tarmac- mostly SUVs. It’s their moment of ‘off-roading’ glory, I guess.

Any suggestions for returning back to Mumbai from Candolim that can avoid this ghastly experience please? Chorla is not in a good shape too and I have never taken tillari route.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by Ertigiat

Chorla is in good shape too (it isn't exactly butter smooth) and not an bad option if no one in your ride is prone to motion sickness.


Thank you Vivek for the link. But usually I take this route when I want to avoid Belgaum's messy road situation. Though this route still leads me into mess of road concretisation near KLE hospital I am okay with it because I get a chance to stop at eateries of my choice (Subway, Domino's, KFC, McDonald's). This option is totally eliminated if I take Bauxite Road.

Hello. I agree with you, Chorla route is back to being in good shape. The Karnataka part, which accounts for 80% of the Chorla route, is being repaired since a week and is now pothole free. Can you please update if the Chorla ghat per se is also repaired ??

Yes, for those who would want to stop by the eateries you mentioned, they are better off hitting the JNMC road ( BR Ambedkar road ) in Belgaum. But those intending to just cross the city and hit the NH4 peacefully, they can follow the route link I have shared.

@Ertigiat I am driving down to Goa mostly on Sunday or Saturday. Let's see if we can catch up for few minutes.

Originally Posted by Vandit

This brings me to my next problem - what route to take on the way back - i personally love Chorla, but the only major turnoff being the longer distance and the time lost in Belgaum City traffic. The only other route left is Tillari but it has been ages since i drove on that and i have no idea of the condition.

If anyone can share an update please do. Thanks

Check my previous post on the recommended route to cross Belgaum city. And here is an update on Tilari route, its in a very good condition now-
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4717060 (Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Goa : Route Queries)

Originally Posted by 1lokesh

Any suggestions for returning back to Mumbai from Candolim that can avoid this ghastly experience please? Chorla is not in a good shape too and I have never taken tillari route.

Chorla is very much in a good shape, I can speak for the Karnataka part. I request BHPian @Ertigiat to give us an update on the ghat proper. From Candolim, Chorla is next good option after Amboli for Pune/Bombay but do check my previous post for crossing Belgaum peacefully. Alternatively, Tilari is also good, if you are interested.

To be very honest, as of now I would go with Tilari ghat route if I am personally driving down from the North part of Belgaum to Goa. Since my home is located in South Belgaum, close to Chorla route (Bhagyanagar,Belgaum) Chorla/Anmod works best for me. Advantage of Tilari is very less traffic, no speed breakers and decent roads. However Chorla wins big time for its superb road conditions.

[Ertigiat]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Can you please update if the Chorla ghat per se is also repaired ??

The Chorla ghat is repaired. It isn't exactly butter smooth but repair/patch work is carried out to a larger extent making it good road to drive.

@Ertigiat I am driving down to Goa mostly on Sunday or Saturday. Let's see if we can catch up for few minutes.

Done Sir.

To be very honest, as of now I would go with Tilari ghat route if I am personally driving down from the North part of Belgaum to Goa. Since my home is located in South Belgaum, close to Chorla route (Bhagyanagar,Belgaum) Chorla/Anmod works best for me. Advantage of Tilari is very less traffic, no speed breakers and decent roads. However Chorla wins big time for its superb road conditions.

I totally agree with you regarding Tilari being better route for someone whose destination is Northern Goa and wants to avoid Amboli ghat. Only problem with Tilari route is travelling between Gadhingalj and Patane Phata (as travelling till Belgaum and then opting for Tilari route may not make any sense). I am not sure what is the condition of the road (between Gadhingalj and Patane Phata).

[RM Motorsports]

After reading about bad roads through Nipani - Ajra - Amboli - Sawantwadi route, I am planning to take alternate route as shown in attached Gmaps. Anyone is aware of road conditions on this route Sankeshwer - Tilari Ghat - Vagator ?

As per post #2905, roads on Tilari ghat seems much better.

[TaurusAl]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

After reading about bad roads through Nipani - Ajra - Amboli - Sawantwadi route, I am planning to take alternate route as shown in attached Gmaps. Anyone is aware of road conditions on this route Sankeshwer - Tilari Ghat - Vagator ?

As per post #2905, roads on Tilari ghat seems much better.

Yes, now Google Maps shows this as a preferred route. Can anyone update if this is better than Ajara - Amboli to reach Porvorim ? Leaving tomorrow.

[a_myth]

Originally Posted by TaurusAl

Yes, now Google Maps shows this as a preferred route. Can anyone update if this is better than Ajara - Amboli to reach Porvorim ? Leaving tomorrow.

Please update on road conditions after your trip. Planning Mumbai trip in mid January

[PGNarain]

Thanks for everyone's inputs, we are finally back to Mumbai and following is the route update from my side.

Originally Posted by Ertigiat

...If you are more towards Agonda then no need to travel to Margao and recommended route will be Anmod ghat....I would recommend Anmod over Chorla provided you start early (as early as 6 AM).

We were staying at a resort in Betalbatim Beach and took the above and Gmaps recommended route via Anmod Ghat.

Started from Betalbatim around 1215 and reached Fairfield Marriot, Belgavi at 1630, with multiple stops for border / liquor check at Goa border, Karnataka and at Anmod, a few photo stops and one bio break with total stop time around 30mins to 45 mins. Had sparse to very little traffic for most of the route, till we joined the Highway just before Khanapur. After which also traffic was mostly manageable.

Road from Betalbatim till Rangarook Karnatak (we misread it for the first time as Ragnarok ) is very good and mostly butter smooth. After reaching the check point at Anmod, Gmaps put us on the road through Bhimgad WLS. The road is pristine, though gets increasingly narrower till it joins the highway.







Roads after Rangarook and once you are in the forest area take a turn for the worse in both road condition and width. At some places, low slung and/or heavily loaded sedans are going to really have a nightmare, though SUVs will be just fine. The last about 25-30 Kms from Rangarook till Khanapur took us about 40mins and with several times having to slow down and get one set of tires going off the shoulder to allow opposing traffic to pass by! Khanapur to Belgaum is mostly ok highway but with a lot of diversions for ongoing work.

Few things to keep in mind even though already mentioned here. About 10-15kms of the roads, either side of Anmod has been concretized but is COMPLETELY bereft of any kind of a road shoulder or crash barriers. Also, trucks use this road freely and they don't tend to stop or slow down. Though we encountered very light traffic all throughout this route, it is DEFINITELY NOT recommended to do this stretch at night.

After reaching Belgaum we used the below route to reach the highway and though it was longer and had a fair share of truck / commercial traffic, we did not get held up anywhere nor get in any jam!

Originally Posted by vivek95

....For the best route in current traffic visit https://maps.app.goo.gl/iQxkkQJMQArTEpRU7

The point "E" in that Google map link is exactly where you get to join NH4. Google has not updated this connecting road between service lane and main highway.

Roads from Belgaum to Pune are great, with minimal diversions and slight deterioration and undulations just short of Pune.

Would like to only add one last thing. We saw massive traffic jams and lines in the opposite southbound lanes at Tolls on either side of Pune, upto the turnoff for Wai / Mahabaleshwar and again at the Lonavala Ghats. Would seriously suggest to anyone who is still to leave, please plan your trip to transit Pune in the dead of the night!!

Happy New Year!

[Annibaddh]

So just crossed over the Siolim - Tilari Ghat - Ghadingalj route. My preference would remain Amboli Ghat since the road is quite poor in many places and terrible in a few. As you get out of Goa state, most of the early stretch is a bumpy ride. From Tilari the first few kilometers are bad to terrible.

[varman742]

Hi!

We started from Pune on 25th and had a night stay in Kolhapur. On 26th drove from Kolhapur to Varca, started at 9.30 and reached Varca at 4 PM. We took the Nipani-Amboli ghat route even though gmap was recommending Anmod. The roads for most part are okay except some bad patches till NH66. Once on NH66, there are lots of roadworks and diversions till almost mhapusa.

The Nipani route took us 30 mins longer than the Anmod recommended route so I think it is still okay. Also the map avoided Sawantwadi city. Some of the sections of Amboli ghat route are butter smooth and pleasure to drive.

Plan to return to Pune on 30th and in all probability will be taking the same route.

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