[alokn87]

Originally Posted by 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..

Instead of taking the right turn towards Ajra at tavandi ghat after Nippani you can continue straight till Sankeshwar bypass and take the right to Gadhinglaj, Continue straight after gadhinglaj to reach Ajra. You will join the road coming from Nipani-Uttur-Ajra before Ajra itself. This route is definitely a bit longer than Nippani-Ajra but the road surface is much better.

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.

There is a restaurant called Amar Veg just at the start of Tavandi ghat on the opposite side of the road where you can get good vegetarian food.

[Vandit]

Originally Posted by alokn87

Instead of taking the right turn towards Ajra at tavandi ghat after Nippani you can continue straight till Sankeshwar bypass and take the right to Gadhinglaj, Continue straight after gadhinglaj to reach Ajra.You will join the road coming from nipani-uttur-ajra before ajra itself.This route is definitely a bit longer than Nippani-Ajra but the road surface is much better.



There is a restaurant called Amar Veg just at the start of tavandi ghat on the opposite side of the road where you can get good vegetarian food.

Thanks, but now it's time for the return journey. I won't head down to Goa until end May now

[alokn87]

@vandit you can use the same route for return journey tooto avoid the potholed ridden road from nippani to uttur.
You might face some traffic in gadhinglaj town though depending on what time you pass through it

[1lokesh]

Looking at all the posts above, it seems that Amboli-Ajra route might be the only option for us to return. Latest google maps search doesn’t even feature this route. Anyone Here with the latest update on chorla route to Mumbai please?

Also could someone please post the gmap link of the route taken in post 2923? That seems to be an option.

Thanks

[alokn87]

This seems to be the route taken by PGNarain

https://maps.app.goo.gl/wp8sMphao6aQhJYr8

If you are leaving from South Goa then this is the logical route. One can expect heavy traffic coming towards goa if you are leaving on 30 or 31 December.

[1lokesh]

Originally Posted by alokn87

This seems to be the route taken by PGNarain

https://maps.app.goo.gl/wp8sMphao6aQhJYr8

If you are leaving from South Goa then this is the logical route. One can expect heavy traffic coming towards goa if you are leaving on 30 or 31 December.

Thanks Alok. I’ll be leaving from north goa (Candolim to be precise) and on 1st January. The route that you’ve shared seems to be longer for me at least. I think I’ll have to stick to Amboli Ajra route

[Sawyer]

For all leaving North Goa - as in north of Panjim - for Pune/Mumbai. the best route at this time is to stay on the Aguada Siolim Pernem road and meet NH 17 to Mumbai a few kilometres north of Pernem. Then stay on the NH till 6-7 kms past the MH border crossing, till the Redi exit to the left, and using it, go right under the NH to Sawantwadi and thence to Amboli. If you are able to be at Amboli before 6 am, it is probably better to go via Gadhinglaj to NH4 at Sankeshwar; any later and Ajra Uttur to Nipani on NH4 is faster, even on a poorer surface post Uttur.

I am close to sure that no alternative will offer better surfaces overall and sure that none will be faster.

[AYP]

Guys, leaving for Goa day after tomorrow. The only route shown by Google Maps is the Anmod Ghat route. Amboli and Chorla routes aren't even appearing on the map.

What do you guys suggest? Any new update? Additionally, we will be staying in Vasco and our ride is the 2014 Jetta.

[CANPUSH]

Originally Posted by AYP

Guys, leaving for Goa day after tomorrow. The only route shown by Google Maps is the Anmod Ghat route. Amboli and Chorla routes aren't even appearing on the map.

What do you guys suggest? Any new update? Additionally, we will be staying in Vasco and our ride is the 2014 Jetta.

I traveled on Chorla route from Goa to Pune on 29th December. Entire route is fine. All the potholes in Chorla ghat are filled up. Only while crossing Belgaum (Belgavi) there will be little delay as 4 laning of stretch of about 3 kms along Tilakwadi is going on.

If you ask google that will show you Tilari ghat route but best is to avoid it as it is narrow, steep and lonely. In google maps ask for directions to Chorla rather than Goa/ Vasco, etc. After you descend Chorla ghat ask for route to Vasco. Same on return.

If you choose to go via Amboli, as suggested by some members go till Sankeshwar and take exit to Gadhinglaj rather than taking Tawandi ghat exit. Also, after entering Goa take detour shown by Google maps to avoid delay due to road works between Patradevi and Mapusa.

Best in my opinion is Chorla route.

Some additional information for those going to Goa via Kankavli.

After Kolhapur, till 4 kms before Radhanagari road is fine. After that Upto Radhanagari and almost 4 kms after Radhanagari condition is bad. Again 3-4 kms around Dajipur road is bad. Once you hit NH66 till Kudal four laning work is going on. One side is ready and under use. However, at 3-4 locations construction of flyover is going on. After Kudal till Patradevi border road is excellent. Once you enter Goa four laning work is going on till Mapusa. Again, part road is ready but construction of flyovers is hindrance.

There is news that Chorla Ghat will be closed from 1st January. However, it will be closed only for heavy traffic i.e. trucks and buses as Anmod Ghat that was closed for heavy vehicles will be open for that traffic. Road between Belgaum and Ramnagar is bad in patches.

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[Dushie]

I am leaving for Pune from South Goa Colva, wondering which route to take. I am driving a sedan with kids and luggage so don't want to avoid bad roads. Any suggestions , i checked the route shared by PGNarain which goes via anmod. Is that the best option to take now in the current situation. Any suggestions are welcome.

[Vandit]

Was looking forward to taking Tilari on the way out of Mapusa, but was advised by a few people against it as not only was it already heavily crowded with the TS and KA registered traffic, but was told that the steep grade and single lane was a bit risky with the heavy traffic rush out of Goa.


So now I'm back to considering Amboli with the Gandinglaj detour to avoid the bad stretch near Nipani

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Vandit

So now I'm back to considering Amboli with the Gandinglaj detour to avoid the bad stretch near Nipani

The Gadhinglaj detour is longer - two sides of the triangle compared to the Ajra Uttur Nipani hypotenuse. And if you get caught up in the sugarcane trailers and the town approaches traffic, that compounds the delay even further; which is why it makes sense only if one can pass through that sector while most are in bed. You need to reach Amboli by 6 am for that.

The Nipani stretch is bad for a short time, but even sedans can cope easily if slowly driven.

[TaurusAl]

Originally Posted by a_myth

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

Just reached Mumbai via Amboli - Nipani. Road conditions are much better than what they were a couple of months back. Only a stretch near Karnataka border has practically no road and muddy surface. Rest all is pretty drivable.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by CANPUSH

I traveled on Chorla route from Goa to Pune on 29th December. Entire route is fine. All the potholes in Chorla ghat are filled up. Only while crossing Belgaum (Belgavi) there will be little delay as 4 laning of stretch of about 3 kms along Tilakwadi is going on.

If you ask google that will show you Tilari ghat route but best is to avoid it as it is narrow, steep and lonely. In google maps ask for directions to Chorla rather than Goa/ Vasco, etc. After you descend Chorla ghat ask for route to Vasco. Same on return.

If you choose to go via Amboli, as suggested by some members go till Sankeshwar and take exit to Gadhinglaj rather than taking Tawandi ghat exit. Also, after entering Goa take detour shown by Google maps to avoid delay due to road works between Patradevi and Mapusa.

Best in my opinion is Chorla route.

Some additional information for those going to Goa via Kankavli.

Thanks so much. This is super helpful. Even I get some odd options when running google maps end to end so helps to know on ground situation and then set maps accordingly.

[1lokesh]

So a quick update on my travel back from North Goa yesterday (1-Jan-2020) to Mumbai.

Started at 12:35 PM from Candolim, reached home (Ghatkopar, Mumbai) at 12:30 AM. Point to point travel (with 4 breaks of about 15 minutes each) done in 12Hrs. Total driven kilometers for the round trip was ~1,500Kms.

took the Amboli - Ajra - Uttur route based on insights of this thread. To my surprise, or maybe due to my dwindling expectations, roads were much better than what I faced while traveling to Goa a week back. Brand new tarmac after Ajra for a few kilometers covering the stretch that was uprooted totally then. Work is in progress on a war footing basis. Expect the route to be back in shape maybe within a month

While leaving Goa, took the interior stretch passing through Siolim. Spent maybe 5 minutes more than what gmpas claimed of if I had to take NH66. Totally worth it.

Faced a little bit trouble on the Sawantwadi stretch up to the base of Amboli Ghat. That was because I took the route suggested by Google Maps which took us through a very horrible and narrow road bypassing the sawantwadi town. This road is so narrow that it could fit only one car and you will have to put all your driving capabilities to test if a vehicle appears from the opposite side. I had my share of luck and faced only 3 on this 11km long bypass road (if you can call it a road)

And then there are a couple of places after Satara - right before Pune - where the 'never-ending' diversions create havoc. At least a 30 minutes delay in total. I have been seeing these diversions for the past 5 years, believe me. There is wild grass growing on the halfway abandoned flyovers they are trying to raise. So many years this construction going on for.

And the cherry on the cake - lesser traffic on Pune bypass and absolutely no congestion after entering Mumbai were the benefits of leaving late from Goa and coming back on a day that was a holiday in general.