[throttlehead]

Hi Guys,

Of the recent posts, has anyone completed a trip from Mumbai to Goa recently? I’m planning one in the next 2 days and am confused between the Amboli and Chorla route. Any recommendations?

[GForceEnjoyer]

Originally Posted by throttlehead

I’m planning one in the next 2 days and am confused between the Amboli and Chorla route.

We took the Amboli route. The Ajara-Gargoti road is in an absolutely pathetic condition. Conditions after that are alright for the most part though. Concerningly though, I've heard that the Amboli route is the best out of all of the available options.

What we did on the return trip to Kolhapur was add Gargoti as a stop. The route is different. If you can handle narrow roads, you should look into this route, since the surfacing is miles better than the other option.

[cedricgonsalves]

Originally Posted by vvidhate

Will be really helpful if anyone can suggest route and halt options.

Hi,
I drove to South Goa via Chorla ghat on Saturday.
Assuming the coming of Diwali, we got a lot of traffic on Khandala ghat, Satara ghat and occasionally at some other places. There's a flyover construction at Umbraj so the traffic is diverted there upto a certain stretch.
Things were much smoother once we passed Kolhapur.
The GPS was constantly directing me for Bhimgad route but I stuck to Chorla and I'm glad I did that. There are potholes at certain places but you will be able to dorge them if you control your speed. The route is very smooth and sceanic at a lot of stretches. Once you cross the border on Chorla ghat the roads in Goa are in great condition. Have a great trip.

Cedric

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by GForceEnjoyer

We took the Amboli route. The Ajara-Gargoti road is in an absolutely pathetic condition.

What we did on the return trip to Kolhapur was add Gargoti as a stop. The route is different.

What is different between the onward and return route? Both have Gargoti in it. Could you please elaborate. Also, do you go via Nipani to Ajara?

Originally Posted by cedricgonsalves

Hi,
I drove to South Goa via Chorla ghat on Saturday.

For going to Panjim, which one would be better? Amboli or Chorla ghat?

[GForceEnjoyer]

Originally Posted by shipnil

What is different between the onward and return route? Both have Gargoti in it. Could you please elaborate. Also, do you go via Nipani to Ajara?

Apologies, didn't notice that. We didn't actually go through Gargoti on the way, since we made a quick visit to Shivgad; that must've changed the route. We did go via Nipani, but instead of Ajara, headed to Amboli Ghat via Gargoti instead. I'll attach a screenshot of the route I'd recommend (with the intention of staying off bad or nonexistent roads as much as possible). Hope this helps.

[throttlehead]

Originally Posted by GForceEnjoyer

Apologies, didn't notice that. We didn't actually go through Gargoti on the way, since we made a quick visit to Shivgad; that must've changed the route. We did go via Nipani, but instead of Ajara, headed to Amboli Ghat via Gargoti instead. I'll attach a screenshot of the route I'd recommend (with the intention of staying off bad or nonexistent roads as much as possible). Hope this helps.

Thanks, so effectively you went from Kolhapur to Gargoti to Amboli skipping the road GMap shows which is via Ajara. The difference in time is minimal (~10ish mins) but I presume the road is relatively better. Will keep this thread posted once we start travels tomorrow.

[Dodge_Viper]

All folks taking Pune Satara stretch, please be very careful at Khandala ghat. There are massive and dangerous potholes due to the recent rains. Please drive very carefully. This update is as of yesterday 24th October.

[amoghchaphalkar]

Summary of my Pune-South Goa-Pune drive

Anmod

Direction: Pune to South Goa

• Roads leading to the ghat are completely messed up, sometimes non-existent.
  
• The ghat is in excellent condition.
  
• Driving time: Four and a half hours (Marriott Belgaum to Cavelossim)

Chorla

Direction: South Goa to Pue

• Roads before and after the ghat are in excellent/good condition.
  
• The ghat is completely messed up, sometimes non-existent especially after you enter Karnataka
  
• Driving time: Three and a half hours (Cavelossim to Marriott Belgaum)

My summary: Both are bad options. If I had to pick the best bad option, I would pick Chorla and pray to the almighty that no large vehicle breaks down en route and creates a massive jam.

[vivek95]

Guys, I drove Mumbai--Belgaum--Goa--Mumbai a week back with a stopover at Belgaum as it's my hometown. The Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary route was closed on the day of my travel, hence took NH4A Belgaum--Panjim route all the way.

1. Onward, took the Belgaum--Khanapur--Ramnagar--Anmod ghat--Ponda--Madgaon--Kolva beach route. Details as follows-->

Belgaum--Khanapur is 90% an awesome 4 lane road, however 4 laning of this road was unnecessary.

Khanapur--Ramnagar is under construction ( broad 2 laning) and looks like the construction has been abandoned at many places. The road has intermittently very good concrete stretches but horrendous in between. Absolutely not recommended for night drive and for low slung cars.

Ramnagar--Anmod ghat till KA--Goa border which again is under construction for broad 2 laning is better than the above, but there are similar horrendous parts interspersed between nice concrete roads. In the ghat proper even on Karnataka side, the road is superb. Overall, the Khanapur--Anmod section is taking unduly long for the construction to get over and seems like the work has been stopped altogether at few places, don't foresee that to get completed in another year. May need 2 years.

Anmod ghat--Mollem--Ponda--Madgaon
Enter Goa in the middle of the ghat and you will literally start gliding on the supersmooth well marked roads. Absolutely fantastic !!



2. On the way back, took Madgaon--Sawantwadi--Amboli ghat--Chandgad--Belgaum route.

Madgaon--Sawantwadi -- Fabulous 4 lane roads all the way.

Sawantwadi--Amboli ghat--Chandgad--Belgaum
Amboli ghat proper is smooth and good. Rest, there are intermittent patchy and smooth sections but overall keeps the driving speeds well above 60-70 consistently. Had 100 times better experience than my onward journey. The only single or two horrendous patches or a pothole was after entering Karnataka but KA part is hardly 10 kms, nothing to worry. Recommended even for a night drive.

Overall, Belgaum--Amboli--Goa route is reliable and I would take this route happily until things are sorted out at Anmod/Chorla. Amboli waterfall and eating joints is a plus point anyday, makes for a good pit stop in the middle of ghats. I know this route may not help much for people travelling from Mumbai/Pune/Bangalore but given the dicey conditions of roads on Karnataka part with Chorla or Anmod, you can take the patchy Belgaum--Amboli route. Atleast you won't encounter huge potholes or non existent diversions/roads.

To talk about Goa, well I have been visiting it since college days but did parasailing for the first time in my life at Kolva. Loved the experience !!!

Will update on Mumbai--Belgaum part in the Mumbai--Pune--Bangalore thread after a while.

Regards
Dr. Vivek

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Guys, I drove Mumbai--Belgaum--Goa--Mumbai a week back with a stopover at Belgaum as it's my hometown.

Hello Dr, thanks for the update. Any idea how the Tilari ghat route is at present? I might visit Goa in Nov, and am thinking of using this route then.

[throttlehead]

Having taken the Kolhapur-Gargoti-Amboli-Goa route yesterday, here’s the summary:

1) Roads +/- 15 kms from Gargoti are very patchy, some parts do not have any surface.
2) The road from Gargoti till you join the Ajra-Amboli Road is very narrow, if you have a large SUV and are confronted by the red ST bus (I saw 2 of them ply during my hour and half drive) then it’s tricky to manoeuvre.
3) The Ajra-Amboli route is pretty neat post Gargoti (10-15% bad patches). In fact once you enter Sindhudurg, your drive should be worry free.
4) PLEASE be cautious of speed traps on NH66 after you enter Goa, the speed limit is set as 50 in certain patches and is thus a test of self control given the road quality but keep an eye out.

[Aditya]

I drove down to Goa (Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Sankeshwar - Amboli Ghat route) on 23rd October with my dad, wife and daughter. The Sankeshwar - Ajra road is in pretty bad shape with lots of very rough patches and broken surfaces. There are some good stretches, but one has to be very watchful, especially after sunset. Overall, a lot of time is lost in this section. And luxury car owners beware! Two F10 5ers I came across, had to go rather slow.

I drove back to Mumbai yesterday but took a different route. I stuck to good old NH66 (known as NH17 earlier) till Kankavli. It's a fantastic 4-lane highway with no bad patches. But I was not sure how good the road would be later, so I turned off towards Phondaghat and Radhanagari (to Kolhapur). On this route too there are bad patches, but it's not as bad as the other route. On the downside, it's narrow and doesn't have many fellow travellers. So you better know where you are going. For me, it's a known route and amazingly beautiful.

That said, I am waiting for the 4-laning work to be completed on NH66. It will make life much easier by cutting travel time. If the Goa - Kankavli stretch is anything to go by, bring it on I say!

[vvidhate]

Hi All,

Quick Notes on my Journey from Pune to South Goa on 27/28 Oct.

Pune to Belgaum via NH4

I started from Pune at 11 AM and drove leisurely towards Belgaum. NH4 was pleasant with virtually no traffic and perfect road condition. I reached Belgaum in 6 hours !! I was surprised to reach so quickly even though I had two stops of around 30 min each. I was actually wondering if I should head straight to Goa after reaching Belgaum at 5 PM. However due to prior decision and reluctance to drive at night , I decided to take over night halt.

Please note that traffic police were checking for PUC, registation etc post Khed Shivapur toll , so I would advise to keep the documents ready ( I am confident that the fellow bhpians would anyway be prompt with these papers nevertheless )

Belgaum to Goa via Chorla NH-748AA

Started from Belgaum around 7:30 AM in the morning towards Goa and as per Google Maps opted for the Chorla route. The route was motorable for the most part after leaving Belgaum and till Chorla. However for this stretch of roughly 30 kms there were intermittent crater sized potholes on the way. The irritating part was that the road was good in patches and the moment you speed up on seeing a good patch you would abruptly get stalled by a deep pothole. Absolutely avoid this at night else you would end up breaking your vehicle's suspension or more seriously end up in accident. Post Chorla the road was smooth uptill Goa including the Ghat section. I took close to 3.5 hours to reach Panjim from Belgaum with a halt of 30 min for breakfast (nice place called Delta).

I will stay here in Goa for two nights and intend to take the same route back.

Happy Driving.

[Paraag]

I still don't get it. Why are people not using the Tilari ghat route before entering Belgaum to proceed to Goa? The ghat roads are in pristine condition - at least they were when I used that route in the first week of August. No heavy commercial vehicles means chance of road breakage, potholes is less. The only commercial vehicles are Boleros. The section after Belgaum is not in the finest condition but nothing that would make your vehicle scrpe the underbelly - no potholes. It's just rough tarmac for a few kilometres. You enter North Goa via Dodamarg - Thivim.

[vvidhate]

Originally Posted by vvidhate

I will stay here in Goa for two nights and intend to take the same route back.

I did take the same route back yesterday, however due to sheer bad luck my return journey was marred by jams. There was an accident previous night on Chorla ghat that caused huge snarls. We started ascending the ghat around 10 AM and the folks at the Check post (at the start of Ghat on Goa side) had no clue about the traffic situation. On asking them they told that we may go ahead. It was pure misfortune and some mis-management from authorities in handling the clearing of jam, that we lost 2 hours while getting out of the Ghat.

The bad luck continued post Kolhapur due to return traffic post Diwali week as we had pileups at multiple places. The biggest was on the patch leading to the Khambatki Tunnel where it took close to 1.5 hours to reach the tunnel ( 4 kms distance).

The typical 9.5 hours journey from Goa to Pune took me 14 hours !!

One piece of advise (for myself) - do not plan road travel around Diwali vacation or at least plan the timings well