[ampere]

Folks, (This is for my understanding.)

From Kolhapur, which is the best option to Goa?

1. NH4 Sankeshwar/Amboli/Sawantwadi/Goa
2. NH4/Belgaum and take NH4A
3. NH4/Kolhapur/Radhanagari/Kankavali/Goa

Or is it that is depends which part of Goa one needs to go (1/3 for North and 2 for South?)
(Assuming roads are good, else options would be clear)

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

,then just as you ascend the Tavandi Ghat after Kolhapur,there is a restaurant to your right,that too is very good.
.

Which one is this Ranjit? Surely not one of those satyapalace on the left or kaveri on the right when you turn to Uttur?
Regards

[Peter]

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

Which one is this Ranjit? Surely not one of those satyapalace on the left or kaveri on the right when you turn to Uttur?
Regards

There is one on the Right just as the Tavandi Ghat starts a few metres after the Truck Lay Bye section , you wont miss it , had stopped there on the way to Mumbai a few days back and the food was very good , but mind you its a Purely VEG restaurant .

You will get Veg food and cold drinks but No Ice cream due to power issues as informed by the waiter.

[Peter]

Originally Posted by ampere

Folks, (This is for my understanding.)

From Kolhapur, which is the best option to Goa?

1. NH4 Sankeshwar/Amboli/Sawantwadi/Goa
2. NH4/Belgaum and take NH4A
3. NH4/Kolhapur/Radhanagari/Kankavali/Goa

Or is it that is depends which part of Goa one needs to go (1/3 for North and 2 for South?)
(Assuming roads are good, else options would be clear)

I normally take the NH4 Nipani / Uttur / Ajara / Amboli/Sawantwadi/Goa route but last week I took the NH4 Sankeshwar / Gadinglaj / Ajara /Amboli/Sawantwadi/Goa route and vice versa and found the route very good.

The stretch between Sankeshwar / Gadinglaj / Ajara was not bad.
The stretch between Amboli/Sawantwadi/Goa is good

The time spent at the Tolls in Maharashtra is very painfull and sometimes made me feel that I should have taken the NH17 instead.

Just my 2 cents.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by ampere

Folks, (This is for my understanding.)

From Kolhapur, which is the best option to Goa?

1. NH4 Sankeshwar/Amboli/Sawantwadi/Goa
2. NH4/Belgaum and take NH4A
3. NH4/Kolhapur/Radhanagari/Kankavali/Goa

Or is it that is depends which part of Goa one needs to go (1/3 for North and 2 for South?)
(Assuming roads are good, else options would be clear)

If NH4A is in good condition,then think no more,take it.Belgaum-Khanapur-Londa-Mollem-Ponda-Panjim.

If NH4A is not good,then take the Sankeshwar-Amboli route.

If both the above options are ruled out then take the Radhanagari-Phondaghat-Kankavli route.

If all the three are out,then opt for the Kolhapur-Gaganbawda ghat-NH17-Sawantwadi route.

My personal favourites are the NH4A and the Phondaghat route.The latter runs through India's only Bison Sanctuary and is a very very scenic route.

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

Which one is this Ranjit? Surely not one of those satyapalace on the left or kaveri on the right when you turn to Uttur?
Regards

No,not the Kaveri or Satya Palace,this one is much earlier,as soon as you begin to ascend,you would see this onto your right,I forgot the name,we stopped there last time on our way back from Goa to Mumbai.Amazing food and clean washrooms.Yes like Peter mentioned its a veg only place.

[tarunp]

Any info on the latest road conditions of the Belgaum-Chandgad-Amboli section ? Is this road better than the Sankeshwar-Amboli route?

[Wheel_Spin]

Just got back from Goa and took the Sawantwadi-Amboli-Ajra-Gadhinglaj-Kolhapur-Pune-Mumbai route. The roads are in very good condition except at the summit of Amboli where the road was damaged. Travelling via nh17 is not advised as there is a lot of road widening work going on at quite a few places and there have been quite a few traffic snares.

[ampere]

Thanks Peter and Ranjit. There are so many options from Kolhapur, that one can choose as he pleases! Hence the confusion. I was looking at maps and there were so many options and each TL talks of a different route!

[tarunp]

Does anybody know the latest condition of SH 121 which links Belgaum to Sawantwadi via Amboli ? I am taking this route a couple of weeks from now and would like to know how much time it would take to cover the distance between Belgaum and Mapusa taking this route.

[suniladhiya]

Originally Posted by tarunp

Does anybody know the latest condition of SH 121 which links Belgaum to Sawantwadi via Amboli ? I am taking this route a couple of weeks from now and would like to know how much time it would take to cover the distance between Belgaum and Mapusa taking this route.

Tarun, I shall be driving this route the day after tomorrow and I shall post my report after reaching Goa. I have also asked for information on this route on one of the other threads, and Sahir has recommended this route (although as he himself adds that he is the wrong person to comment on road surface quality !)

[tarunp]

Originally Posted by suniladhiya

Tarun, I shall be driving this route the day after tomorrow and I shall post my report after reaching Goa. I have also asked for information on this route on one of the other threads, and Sahir has recommended this route (although as he himself adds that he is the wrong person to comment on road surface quality !)

Many thanks Sunil - I look forward to your report on the road surface and the time you take to cover the distance.

[suniladhiya]

Originally Posted by tarunp

Many thanks Sunil - I look forward to your report on the road surface and the time you take to cover the distance.

Tarun, here's the report on the Belgaum-Amboli-Goa route as of toady, 21st May, 2011:

-Take the first exit to Belgaum City just before the flyover - take a right turn under the flyover - if you take a left here you will go into Belgaum City, if you go straight you are on Bauxite Road which connects to the Belgaum Amboli Road after about 7-8 kms.

Bauxite Road - good condition no potholes
Bauxite Road/Amboli Road Junction to Amboli - very good condition, excellent in many parts, no potholes, some rough patches but very much motorable. Major advantage of bypassing Belgaum city altogether - no railway crossings, no signals nothing. You dont need to go to Rani Chennama Circle / Milan Hotel Junction if you follow this route.
Distance from Bauxite Road entry point to Amboli JRD International - 65 kms, time taken 1 hr 15 mins, can do max 80 kmph on this road.

From JRD down the ghat - 15 kms, ghat is in good condiition, no potholes, a few rough patches where there were landslides last year and they have now put up a retaining wall to avoid repetiions this year. Time taken 23 minutes.

End of Amboli Ghat to Sawantwadi- road is in excellent to mint condition - distance 15 kms time taken 20 minutes due to road being narrow and hence not much overtaking possible. But no issues on this.

Sawantwadi -Banda-Patradevi (Goa border) - 14 kms road is in fair condition with a few rough patches for about 1 km due to road widening and elevated road construction being carried out just before entering Goa. Time taken approx 20 mins

Patradevi (Goa border) - Panaji (NH 17) - 42 kms excellent condition - time taken approx 1 hour due to few overtaking opportunities.

Overall time taken Belgaum exit to Panaji 3 1/2 hours with very comfortable speeds and road surface. This includes one halt of 15 mins at Amboli.

After a long long time found a good road to Goa after getting off NH4.

All thanks to team bhp memeber sahir.kuttir for recommending this route and also giving exact location for getting onto Bauxite Road from Belgaum.

[dot]

Originally Posted by Wheel_Spin

Just got back from Goa and took the Sawantwadi-Amboli-Ajra-Gadhinglaj-Kolhapur-Pune-Mumbai route. The roads are in very good condition except at the summit of Amboli where the road was damaged.

Very true. Last weekend I took the Nipani - Uttur - Ajra-Amboli route while going and Ajra-Gadhinglaj-NH4 route while coming back from Goa. The Nipani-Uttur route is slower due to narrower roads. However got stuck due to Sunday market at Gadhinglaj. Moreover there were constant two wheeler traffic till NH4. Still Gadhinglaj route is better. Road conditions of both routes are pretty good.

[genesis]

Did a weekend trip to Tarkarli (almost Goa ) on Fri/Sat/Sun from Mumbai

Took the
Kolhapur- Radhanagari-Phondaghat-Kankavli route while going and NH17 while coming back.

Phondaghat Route (Second time I have taken it): Takes time to reach Rankala lake inside Kolhapur. From there the road is under construction for around 3km. So needed to go into bylanes for 2km and then offroad on unpaved roads for another km. After that the road is in very good condition (a lot of it freshly paved). Phondaghat was amazing as usual and I would rate it as one of the best twisties I have seen.

NH17: Buttery smooth on the stretch i drove (after Kudal). But lots of traffic and speeding buses. Took around an hour more than the Kolhapur road. Amazing lunch at Hotel Abhishek in Chiplun. It is a great drive but one has to be on toes all the time.

So in retrospect, if I drove again to Goa, I would do the NH4-Kolhapur, Nipani, Ajra route or the Kolhapur, Sankheshwar, Gadhilganj route.

[moralfibre]

Just back from Goa over the weekend. Did Pune - Kolhapur - Nipani - Tavandi - Uttur - Ajara - Amboli - Sawantwadi - Goa and back. Great road condition. No potholes anymore, widening of Uttur Ajara road is almost complete, hopefully should be ready in a few weeks from now.

I don't know why people go into Gadhinglaj when you can completely bypass it. I am told its not a good road to take.

I would be going again to South Goa on 23rd, any advice on road conditions via Anmod ghat?