Team-BHP - Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunnyPunia (Post 5675954)

Why is google baba still showing Nipani route to Vagator, that too quicker by 30 mins?

Karad to Nippani turn-off at the end of Tawandi Ghats is 115 km and will take not more than 2 hours even in its present condition with diversions due to 6 lane work
The rest of the road to Vagator from Nippani turn-off which is 150 km will easily take 3.5-4 hours
Dual carriageway section - 115 km
Total distance from Karad - ~265 km

On the other hand,

Karad to NH66 (Kharepatan) which is ~150 km will take 3 to 3.5 hours
The rest of the road on NH66 till turn off near Mapusa is around 130 km and will take 2 to 2.5 hours
From Mapusa to Vagator will be another 30 minutes
Dual carriageway section - 130 km
Total distance from Karad - 285 km

If you notice, both the routes are similar in terms of mix of dual carriageway sections and ghats and to be honest, you will take almost same time with both these routes. IMHO, you must take the Karad Malkapur Anuskura route because this is more predictable, more so for the Kharepatan to Mapusa (NH66) over Karad to Nippani where 6 lane work can definitely cause delays and slower progress due to dynamically changing traffic conditions. Not to forget that it is sugarcane season and you will witness quite a few tractors even between Kolhapur to Sankeshwar and with diversions in place, they will further slow you down!

Just came back from IBW at Vagator.
Route update- Avoid Amboli for north Goa. Too many diversions and traffic snarls post Satara, and Amboli road is in really bad shape.
Route we took both ways was -
Pune- Karad - Kokrud - Malkapur - Anuskura Ghat - Pachal- Oni (google map might differ here, ignore google suggestion)- connect to Mumbai - Goa highway at Oni and head straight to Goa.

The road from Karad to Pachal is an absolute bikers delight with smooth and well laid roads. Some minor bad patches from Pachal to Oni. The last leg post Oni on the Mumbai - Goa highway is butter smooth and constant tripe digit speeds can be maintained. But be careful of overspeed fines as Traffic Police Ertiga with a speed cam is usually stationed around this stretch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselDelight (Post 5677392)

The entire patch from Karad to Belgaum is under repair.
Gadhinglaj to Amboli repair should take another 6mon or so.

I travel every month towards sawantwadi and have stopped using amboli route.

Karad Malkapur Anuskura Pachal Oni route is bit tiresome but roads are in very good condition. Just 5km patch near Oni is broken road.

Thanks. Should we follow the same route if we are taking Kolhapur to North Goa?

Hey guys.. will be taking my new Kushaq on its maiden run and my usual year end run back home to Goa from Mumbai on the 22nd. I've seen a lot of posts on this thread lately regarding issues on the Bangalore Highway after Satara.. but I'm not familiar with the detour via Karad..

Google actually shows the older route via Malegaon and Chiplun.

Since this is my first trip with the new car.. I'm keen to keep it on as smooth roads as possible..

What are the recommended routes to take? I will be traveling with family and will need to factor a lunch stop at a nice clean restaurant. On our usual route, this used to be Kaveri at the Nipani turn off.

Happy for any suggestions and advice since it's been nearly a year I last drove down home.

Hello everyone!

I'm currently in Aldona, Goa. Rode out here from Ahmedabad last week as a work & ride thing I wanted to do - ride early mornings (06:00 to 10:00) & evenings (15:30 to 18:30).

My route was Ahmedabad - Bharuch (o/n), Bharuch - Vapi (day halt) - Panvel (o/n) - Lavasa (day halt) - Dapoli (o/n) - Ratnagiri (1.5 days) - Malvan (o/n) - Aldona(2.5 days).

Chose to do this as I wanted to meet friends in some of the places and also explore the Konkan seaside over the weekend. (places like Guhaghar, Kelshi, Shirod, etc.)

I plan to go via Pune and would like to have your inputs on where I can halt during the day to work on my way to Satara, where I'll stop overnight before heading to Pune the next morning.

From all the comments on the road conditions, I figure I have two options:

1) Aldona - Tillari ghat - Gadhhinglaj - Nipani - Kolhapur with Day halt from 10 to 3 in Kolhapur and then onto Satara by evening.

2) Aldona - Kudal - Oros - Oni - Pachal - Anuskura - Malkapur - Karad - Satara.

I don't mind taking ghats provided the roads are good for a bike (CB350RS) and I get to have a decent day halt place with either JIO connectivity or Wifi and comfortable place to sit and work from.

Looking forward to your suggestions :)

Hi All,

First of all thank you very much for keeping this thread updated with the latest road conditions.
I am planning to travel to Colva (South Goa) in the last week of this month. I could understand that the preferred route is now via Karad-->Oni-->Goa.
Since my destination is South Goa, is the South Goa-->RamNagar--->Khanapur-->Belgaum-->Pune route better suited ? (RamNagar route will bypass the Bhimgad WildLife Sanctuary)

Please advise.

Regards,
F150

Quote:

Originally Posted by UMJ2510 (Post 5681979)

I plan to go via Pune and would like to have your inputs on where I can halt during the day to work on my way to Satara, where I'll stop overnight before heading to Pune the next morning.

I chose route 2) above and its been decent going so far. Stopped at Garva just outside Anuskura ghat to work this morning and the roads have been good, except for a few undulations and unmarked bumps, nothing to complain about so far.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajat347 (Post 5684839)

Wonderful Write up :)
I am travelling to South Goa from Pune this coming weekend and have shortlisted
Pune - karad - Anuskura - Rajapur - Goa route.

Which road you followed way back home ?

Check this thread for multiple updates on the best routes. I’ve taken the Anuskura route in August as well as driven on it recently in December. In my opinion, this is still the best route. If you cut out a bit early to hit NH 66 at Kharepatan you will find about 10 kms end to end of slightly patchy road (nothing too worrisome) but if you want to avoid even that small bad stretch you can go ahead towards Oni and exit to NH 66 Rajapur as per your post.

This is probably the best road in terms of scenic beauty as well as road conditions. Karad construction diversions and associated traffic are unavoidable unfortunately.

Follow the last few pages and you should have further posts including some from me as well from my August trip in the Jeep. I’m linking two posts that sum it up well for you to click and link to. There are other posts too around these two posts on the Anuskura route which have useful information / pics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paragsachania (Post 5597426)

We exited NH66 from Pachal Kolhapur Phata here.

You will realise, there is only a difference of 15 km but the route via NH66 and Pachal Phata is only 5-6 mins extra!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Axe77 (Post 5605360)

Hi everyone. The Jeep saw its maiden trip to Goa over the last few days and the trip marked another special occasion. It was the first time I took the Malkapur - Anuskura ghat route (I’ve always gone via Nipany Amboli ghat only).

Travelled frome mumbai to goa today (26th dec 2023) with a nightstay at Fern@ Karad. The nightstay was essential, because we could leave mumbai in the afternoon of 25th dec only.
The Mumbai-Pune-Karad-Anuskara ghat section roads are perfect. It is definitely recommended for all goa tourists. We are staying in south goa. But with the recent contruction of the elevated road / bridge from Panaji to Verna, South goa is also easily accesible using this route.

Total travel time
1. Mumbai - Karad (6 hours) due to lonavala traffic
2. Karad to Colva (6.5 hours ) with a lunch break in between

Quote:

Originally Posted by nh1922 (Post 5666058)

I am open to a day's stay if it offers a good place to explore and rest. A single day ride is also fine with me as long as it has a decent blend of ghats and highways. I personally like the ghats and internal roads more.

Sorry, I am far late to respond you back, but here is what I would suggest:

Route 1: NH66-Anuskura-Malkapur-Umbraj-Pune
Route 2: NH66-Poladpur-Mahabaleshwar-Pune [Personal Favorite]
Route 3: NH66-Kunkeshwar [Stay]-Anuskura-Karad-Pune

If you go through Route 3, you can also stay at Ratnagiri. If stay is possible, I would go with suggest route 3. Stay in Kunkeshwar, visit nearby attractions like Vijaydurg and Devgad so that you can complete one patch.

Did Pune-Goa-Kolhapur-Pune trip from 23-27th Dec 2023.

A lot of members on this thread advised Anuskura ghat, however we wanted to travel through Amboli.

We took Pune->Nipani->Uttur->Gavse->Amboli->Goa(halt)->Amboli->Ajra->Uttur->Kolhapur(halt)->Pune. This Uttur->Gavse route by-passes a major chunk of bad roads around Ajra. However, it passes through many internal villages, and you can get confused. Do not trust google maps fully and take informed decisions at intersections. Locals have put up own signs at places pointing towards Goa.

We know how bad this route is, because during our return journey we came through Ajra. This road from Amboli to Ajra is being upgraded to concrete and has gravel surface at many places. Roads around Ajra town are in bad shape. With our Safari the gravel surface was not a problem, only thing is the journey is bit slow. We started at 4:30 AM from west Pune and reached North Goa at 3 PM. We had taken few breaks in between considering we had small kids and senior parents.

The flyover work at Karad did not impact us since we reached early in the morning. We wasted some time at Nipani near the turn towards Ajra, on account of an oversized vehicle trying to climb Nipani gradient.

Amboli ghat does not have any major potholes and could see patch work at many places being carried out.

Both ways we took breakfast/snacks halt at Amar Veg, Nipani. From Kolhapur side it is at the base of Nipani gradient, few KM before the right turn towards Ajra/Amboli.