[CANPUSH]

Travelling between Kolhapur and Belgaum in Karnataka I noticed new signs 'AH47' I presume this to be 'Asian Highway 47' is that right?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by CANPUSH

Travelling between Kolhapur and Belgaum in Karnataka I noticed new signs 'AH47' I presume this to be 'Asian Highway 47' is that right?

Yes thats correct.AH47 is from Gwalior to Bangalore(incorporating parts of NH3 & N4).Similarly NH7 from Hyderabad onwards to Bangalore-Salem is being renamed to AH43 and this runs all the way to Sri Lanka.

[Meer]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

@Ravi,
i will travel on sankeshwar-calangut route on 3rd nov and will be back on 6th nov.
will update route condition with pics after coming back.
will try amboli-danoli-banda route.

Just returned from Goa trip, thanks everyone for the help. It was a pleasure talking to you Narayan Sir [DriveALot].

Started from Pune: 7:15 AM, Reached Goa: 3:15 PM [around 50-60 minutes of stops]

- Route details -
Pune to Kolhapur: Good
Kolhapur - Sankeshwar: Excellent
Sankeshwar - Gadhinglaj: Average with some bad patches
Gadhinglaj - Ajra: Average, with bad patches before and after Ajra
Ajra - Sawantwadi: Good, with bad patches around the Amboli waterfall
Sawantwadi to Banda: Bad (Road work in progress)
Banda to Calangute: Good

Some best practices:
1. Tolls are pain, best option is to keep rightmost as they do open lanes in the opposite direction or prefer to keep behind trucks / buses as these go faster and they are more law abiding
2. Petrol shortages are common in and around north goa, best to tank up on the highway

Can not tell you all the nightmare when coming back to Pune yesterday

[Drivealot]

Originally Posted by Meer

Just returned from Goa trip, thanks everyone for the help. It was a pleasure talking to you Narayan Sir [DriveALot].

Started from Pune: 7:15 AM, Reached Goa: 3:15 PM [around 50-60 minutes of stops]

- Route details -
Pune to Kolhapur: Good
Kolhapur - Sankeshwar: Excellent
Sankeshwar - Gadhinglaj: Average with some bad patches
Gadhinglaj - Ajra: Average, with bad patches before and after Ajra
Ajra - Sawantwadi: Good, with bad patches around the Amboli waterfall
Sawantwadi to Banda: Bad (Road work in progress)
Banda to Calangute: Good

Some best practices:
1. Tolls are pain, best option is to keep rightmost as they do open lanes in the opposite direction or prefer to keep behind trucks / buses as these go faster and they are more law abiding
2. Petrol shortages are common in and around north goa, best to tank up on the highway

Can not tell you all the nightmare when coming back to Pune yesterday

Hello Meer Ji, It was indeed a pleasure speaking with you as well. Unfortunately we could not meet. Lets catch up when you are in Pune next.

Now for the benefit of fellow travellers, info on my trip from Pune to Goa via Belgaum.

NH4 Pune - Belgaum 5hrs (including 20min stop @ Sai International)
The Pune- Kolhapur stretch is Good to Very Good and the Kolhapur - Belgaum Road is EXCELLENT (10/10 my rating)
NH4A Belgaum - Goa( Panjim) 2hrs 50mins. The road quality ranges from OK to Good to small stretches of Very Good Roads.
The Begaum to Ramnagar stretch is just OK with all the large craters all filled in. ( Overall this remains the only stretch where we drive at 40kms /hr.
(Thank you Sahir Kittur Ji for your report which made my Route choice easier)
From Ramnagar to Anmod- Ponda- Goa the road gets better and better with some stretches where you can do speeds upto 110 kms/hr.


Friends please note from Rani Chennamma circle(in Belgaum city) there are 2 roads which go to Goa.
a)If you take the left fork from Rani Chennamma Circle the road takes you through NH4A to Goa via Khanapur-Anmod-Mollem-Ponda- Margao / Panjim
b) If you take the right fork the road takes you past the Eefa hotel to Sawantwadi via Amboli. This road is SH121. I drove on this stretch to Goa in Sept and the roads are good only in patches. Hence AVOID this route.


Hence I strongly recommend to all those people who dont mind travelling the extra distance via Belgaum to take Nh4/ NH4A route since even though the distance is more the time time taken to reach Goa from Pune is more or less similar to the Sankeshwar- Amboli - Sawantwadi Rd but lot better roads.
Cheers
Safe driving.

[Ravi Yadav]

@drivealot , where does one exit the NH4 to reach this circle. Are there sign boards on the NH4 showing the exit point.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Ravi Yadav

@drivealot , where does one exit the NH4 to reach this circle. Are there sign boards on the NH4 showing the exit point.

You could take any of the exits from NH4 which says Belgaum,and you would end up at Rani Chennamma circle.Thats the easiest way,because in a way,all the roads from NH4 end up at Rani Chennamma circle.

[90BHP]

Originally Posted by vikram18

If you want to halt in Kolhapur, there is Hotel Ayodhya at Tara Rani chowk. To get there, you just keep going straight after entering Kolhapur from the express highway. You'll see a statue of a queen atop a horse (much like Jhansi ki Rani). This is Tara Rani chowk. Ayodhya Hotel is on the right of this chowk, on the main road itself (don't take a right, you'll see it just before the chowk on the other side of the road).
If you go left from this chowk, you'll come to Opal. they have accomodation too and simply amazing food. If in Kolhapur, you MUST eat here. Do reach at a decent time; I think they close by 10.30 P.M.
From Kolhapur, you can take the gagan bavda route. Ask for RANKALA. You'll see a large water body. Take the road alongside this waterbody and you'll reach the gagan bavda ghat. This road meets the Bombay-Goa highway at TALERE. Take a left and proceed to Goa via KANKAVLI - SAWANTWADI - GOA.

If you wish to bypass Kolhapur, you can head straight towards BELGAUM. Before Belgaum, at Nippani, you can turn right and take the AMBOLI ghat. This will take you directly to SAWANTWADI.

We went to Goa about a month ago via gagan bawda and the road was fairly nice. Very few bad patches, and even those were being repaired.

Happy Journey.

Hello Mr. Gamadia ! Nice directions & excellent suggestions, if you've not eaten at opal then you not eaten in kolhapur at all. There is also a nice pub in Hotel Ayodhya called "Texas" which is quite nice. Another good stay option would be Victor Palace if you take a left from "Tara Rani" chowk.

BTW there is also another road to Goa via Mahabaleshwar - Lohagad if you want to just by pass Kolhapur.

[Drivealot]

Originally Posted by Ravi Yadav

@drivealot , where does one exit the NH4 to reach this circle. Are there sign boards on the NH4 showing the exit point.

Ravi Ji, When you are nearing Belgaum on NH4 , take the 1st Exit on your left , drive for 100mtrs and turn right ,go under the bridge and you will get to the right side of the Highway.
Turn left at the junction and within 200 mtrs you will pass Pai Resorts on your left.
Continue till you reach the end of the lake on yr right and then turn right. 2 kms later you will reach Rani chenamma circle.

Ranjit Ji is also very correct in saying" take any exit to Belgaum city and you will reach R C circle.
Cheers
Safe driving
Cm Narayan

[Drivealot]

Dear Friends, Please do keep in mind that there is a petrol/diesel shortage in Goa, hence to avoid queues please tank up before you get to Panjim, Margoa etc.
I just returned from Goa on the 2nd Nov .
Cheers
Safe Driving
CM Narayan

[ranjitp1]

Shortage of petrol to continue for next few days - Times Of India

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by Drivealot

Friends please note from Rani Chennamma circle(in Belgaum city) there are 2 roads which go to Goa. Cheers
Safe driving.

What about the other two roads from Belgaum to Goa? where do they go from?

[Dr.Sav]

Hello everybody,

This is my first real reply since being approved as a member.

This evening I personally spoke to a few Petrol Pump owners from Madgaon (where I stay while in Goa) and one in Duler, Mapusa. And surprisingly all of them told me that the shortage was a short one and things are back to normal now. They said that they were aware of the news on television and print but things were not as grievous as they were made out to be.

Only Vasco was badly hit because a fuel pipeline caught fire there. But one of them told me that things were quickly brought under control by the government and the oil companies. They are already in the process of importing fuel from neighboring states and all of them told me that their stock at present has exceeded the demand already. So we have one thing less to worry about.

Actually I am due to be in Goa for the Christmas week to attend my cousin's wedding along with my family. That's how I got interested in the matter.

The pump owners I spoke with are:
From Madgaon
Clarina Pump near ICICI ATM (Gogol road) - 0832 2759088
Kunde Pump near Club Harmonia - 0832 2715145
Kurade Pump at Old Bust Stand - 0832 2714115
From Mapusa
Dattaprasad Pump, Duler - 0832 2254595

PS: One more thing I discovered is that there is an effort going on to lay a pipeline from Karnataka to Goa to dispense CNG and LPG to Goa users. But even though the approvals and licences are acquired, that would take a few years to materialize.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

What about the other two roads from Belgaum to Goa? where do they go from?

Which are the roads being referred to?

[HIGHNOON]

Returned from goa to mumbai on the 2 nd of nov in my Logan 1.6 gls.. after our pilgrimage to goa. was lucky to tank up at Borim , PONDA. most other pumps had gone dry by then. cost only 66.96 / lit.
Were staying at Farmagudi , so took the ponda exit to Belgaum. Anmod ghat is better this time ( better than the amboli ghat which i would've taken was i staying in north goa ) The worst stretch of the route ( between goa and belagaum ) is driven when you are freshest and the ambient temperature is low.
after that its expressway all the way. The stretch in karnataka is beautiful , well constructed and well maintained and the tolls are low. ( rs.15 & rs 25
Maharashtra too many tolls with all manners of idiots driving ulta, cattle , bikers and exhorbitant tolls ( rs. 58, 58,58 ,65 , 165 ). I was doing 40/80 kmph between goa and belgaum which included the long ghat ) , 100 to 140 kmph between belaguam to maharashtra border , 50/120 kmph between karnataka border to pune , 100 to 125 between pune and kalamboli exit. Took all of 10 hrs excluding 2 breaks totalling 50 mins.
Total fuel money-
Rs.270 / for 203 kms on CNG
rS.5833 / for the remaining 1090 kms on petrol
------------------------------------------------
Rs.6103 /- for 1293 kms.
Cost of fuel - Rs.4.72 kmpl

should have fuelled cng at Pune on up as well as down journey. would have saved me some dough.

BTW ,last year the same journey was in the safari. the FE was ditto 12.5 to 12.9 kmpl. FUEL COST THEN WAS ONLY rS.4000 / OR SO inspite of the suv. But the in gear acceleration in ghats and in traffic in the logan is excellent where safari would struggle in ac.

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Which are the roads being referred to?

Ranjit I think Sahir mentioned a few times that theres 4 roads from belgaum to goa so I was just curious if they lead on from this RC circle or somewhere else. Don't remember the name of the roads cos it was a while ago.