[bobbyvictor]

Guys - I need some advice on a upcoming trip to Chikmagalur- Plan is to leave on the 1st of November early morning. Start point is Electronic City and stay is at an home stay near Koppa rural. The route options I have is the usual : Ecity-Nelamangala- Yadiyur- Hassan- Balehonnur - Home Stay. OR E city-Tumakuru-Sira- Hiriyur-Tarikere- Bhadra Wildlife sanctuary- Karahalli- Home stay. Has anyone done the second option recently, how are the road conditions on both of these routes? I'm aware of the Swati and Paashala breakfast options on the former , but not informed on the second option. Travellers include my better half , son and my 2 year old Black German shepherd :-), yes its a pet friendly place and I'm going to take him this time - too much of a bond has developed during the WFH period.
Thanks in advance for any help / suggestions that come by
P.S: Any govt regulations / RTPCR requirements for visitors to the place ?

[Sidban85]

Originally Posted by bobbyvictor

Guys - I need some advice on a upcoming trip to Chikmagalur- Plan is to leave on the 1st of November early morning. Start point is Electronic City and stay is at an home stay near Koppa rural. The route options I have is the usual : Ecity-Nelamangala- Yadiyur- Hassan- Balehonnur - Home Stay. OR E city-Tumakuru-Sira- Hiriyur-Tarikere- Bhadra Wildlife sanctuary- Karahalli- Home stay. Has anyone done the second option recently, how are the road conditions on both of these routes? I'm aware of the Swati and Paashala breakfast options on the former , but not informed on the second option. Travellers include my better half , son and my 2 year old Black German shepherd :-), yes its a pet friendly place and I'm going to take him this time - too much of a bond has developed during the WFH period.
Thanks in advance for any help / suggestions that come by
P.S: Any govt regulations / RTPCR requirements for visitors to the place ?

Which place is this as we are also looking for a place. Thanks.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by bobbyvictor

Guys - I need some advice on a upcoming trip to Chikmagalur- Plan is to leave on the 1st of November early morning. Start point is Electronic City and stay is at an home stay near Koppa rural. The route options I have is the usual : Ecity-Nelamangala- Yadiyur- Hassan- Balehonnur - Home Stay. OR E city-Tumakuru-Sira- Hiriyur-Tarikere- Bhadra Wildlife sanctuary- Karahalli- Home stay.

I think the Hassan route will be faster. For the other option either use Taikere-Bhadra-Mandagadde-Koppa or Shimoga-Mandagadde-Koppa. Instead of either I would suggest the Chikkamagulur option. You have more places to break for food.

PS: Dont miss the Bhadra Coffee Stop at Balehonnur. its a beautiful location!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ampere

PS: Dont miss the Bhadra Coffee Stop at Balehonnur. its a beautiful location!

Unfortunately my last experience here wasn't that great here. Not sure if that was due to Covid and management change but that same vibes as before was for sure missing.

Then a classmate of mine who I met later at Belehonnur suggested this place which is only few minutes before. Cleaner and functional rest rooms, good food and good coffee.

You can try it next time you are here.

Khandya Cafe Kitchen and Stay.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Unfortunately my last experience here wasn't that great here. Not sure if that was due to Covid and management change but that same vibes as before was for sure missing.

Food was never great there in my opinion too. It was the good coffee and the location that made all the difference!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ampere

Food was never great there in my opinion too. It was the good coffee and the location that made all the difference!

Well my experience was with coffee itself. The management seems to have changed and so does the coffee taste. Also, there are now at least 5 such similar places on this stretch between Aldur and Belehonnur that have come up at even more wonderful locations that Bhadra Coffee Stop has lost its sheen too.

[bobbyvictor]

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Which place is this as we are also looking for a place. Thanks.

It’s a place called Muudanamane - plenty of good reviews

[DBeast]

Pardon my ignorance, wanted to know if anyone has done Bangalore - Chikmagalur and return in a day. Planning a day trip for lunch and coffee on a Saturday.

And what would be the best scenic route with some food options if at all?

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by DBeast

Pardon my ignorance, wanted to know if anyone has done Bangalore - Chikmagalur and return in a day. Planning a day trip for lunch and coffee on a Saturday.

And what would be the best scenic route with some food options if at all?

I have done it a few times but not with the intention of tourism. But it possible to visit one or two places around 25kms radius of CKM along with lunch and then even return by evening. If you want to stretch it further with a late night return to Bangalore that will expand the options further.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by DBeast

Pardon my ignorance, wanted to know if anyone has done Bangalore - Chikmagalur and return in a day. Planning a day trip for lunch and coffee on a Saturday.

And what would be the best scenic route with some food options if at all?

Of course very much possible with an early morning start. It is only around 520kms total out of which approximately 360 kms is through 4lane highways. I Have done this many times, but not for sightseeing except once when I took a team from office in a hired bus to Mulleyenagiri.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by DBeast

Pardon my ignorance, wanted to know if anyone has done Bangalore - Chikmagalur and return in a day. Planning a day trip for lunch and coffee on a Saturday.

Yes, it is possible to do a day drive to Chikmagalur and back provided you start early from Bangalore. I have done a few day trips to that area. I usually start at 5AM for such day trips.

And what would be the best scenic route with some food options if at all?

Option1: For scenic drive with food options, I would suggest SH57 from Chikmagalur to Tarikere. It is a scenic drive with smooth roads and some mild ghat sections. This is one of my favorite drives in that area. There is this Halli Berri Coffee shop on that route (https://goo.gl/maps/8eK8dTbeL5LUsAKd8). This is our usual stop for coffee. They make great coffees and snacks. You will not get proper lunch there, but you will certainly get good coffee and some eating options such as sandwiches and cakes/pastries. Also, there are a few resorts on this road. You could drive into on of those resorts and have a proper lunch in their restaurants.

Option 2: The other scenic drive would be Chikmagalur to Mudigere. I just drove on that road this weekend, and the road is lovely. However, this road sees a lot of traffic now and that can be a pain. Therefore, I would suggest the SH57 option above as the first option.

Option 3: Drive to The Estate Cafe (https://g.page/TheEstateCafe?share) from Chikmagalur. This is about 40 minutes of drive from Chikmagalur. This place served good coffee and snacks too. However, this is on small narrow roads. I am not sure about the current road conditions. But if you have a vehicle that can handle bad roads (in case the roads are bad), this place and the drive is quite scenic too.

[DBeast]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Yes, it is possible to do a day drive to Chikmagalur and back provided you start early from Bangalore. I have done a few day trips to that area. I usually start at 5AM for such day trips.

Thank you Dr. AD, yes that's my target as well. I live towards Hoskote, so might start at 4:30am as will have to cross the city in between.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Option1: For scenic drive with food options, I would suggest SH57 from Chikmagalur to Tarikere. It is a scenic drive with smooth roads and some mild ghat sections. This is one of my favorite drives in that area. There is this Halli Berri Coffee shop on that route (https://goo.gl/maps/8eK8dTbeL5LUsAKd8). This is our usual stop for coffee. They make great coffees and snacks. You will not get proper lunch there, but you will certainly get good coffee and some eating options such as sandwiches and cakes/pastries. Also, there are a few resorts on this road. You could drive into on of those resorts and have a proper lunch in their restaurants.

Coffee is fuel for me, so for a nice cup of filter coffee only I am planning to drive to Chikmagalur.

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Of course very much possible with an early morning start. It is only around 520kms total out of which approximately 360 kms is through 4lane highways. I Have done this many times, but not for sightseeing except once when I took a team from office in a hired bus to Mulleyenagiri.

Thank you sandsun7, this surely helps.

Originally Posted by audioholic

I have done it a few times but not with the intention of tourism. But it possible to visit one or two places around 25kms radius of CKM along with lunch and then even return by evening. If you want to stretch it further with a late night return to Bangalore that will expand the options further.

Thanks for this audioholic, even my intention is not tourism but a long drive.

So I suppose, my drive is on for next week(end). I shall keep you all posted about my drive or if there is any change !

Cheers!
-DB

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by DBeast

So I suppose, my drive is on for next week(end). I shall keep you all posted about my drive or if there is any change !

Cheers!
-DB

On a non peak day, you can easily do Bangalore - CKM in 3-3.5hrs without a break. So if you depart Bangalore by 6:30AM, you will reach CKM town by 11AM. After that you can plan where to visit and probably stay in CKM till evening coffee time and depart to Bangalore.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by DBeast

TI live towards Hoskote, so might start at 4:30am as will have to cross the city in between.

I usually plan for breakfast at chikkamagaluru Town Canteen with a 5 am start from North BLR. Once you get to the flyover after Yeshwantpur signal, you can easily target to reack CKM within 3hrs 15 min.

My favourite ciruits around CKM are:
1. CKM - Aldur - Balehonnur - CKM: with a coffee stop at Bhadra coffee.
2. CKM - Mudigere - Belur - CKM: with a stop at yagachi bakcwaters if its not weekend
3. CKM - Handpost - Kalasapura - Belavadi - Halebeedu - CKM: good roads with some decent views. Belavadi Veeranarayana temple is one of the most peaceful places to just sit for sometime.
4. CKM - Kadur - CKM: just for the heck of it, good flat roads all the way to Kadur with small hills on either sides of the road.

Enjoy your drive.

[nandakumar]

Dear all,
We are planning a trip to Balur from bangalore and wanted to check on the route options and also about the Mutthodi safari into Bhadra wildlife sanctuary. We have booked us in Balur estates for 4 days and currently I have 2 options on Google maps

Route 1 - Bangalore - Nelamangala - Kunigal - Chnnarayapatna - Hassan - Belur - Mudigere - balur (285 Kms, 5.23 Hrs)

Route 2 - Bangalore - Tumkuru - Tiptur - Banavara - Javagal - Belur - Mudigere - Balur (298 Kms, 7.05 Hrs)

Travelling in mid week 17 and back on 20th and so request for best option. We are not in a hurry and planning to start by 5 AM and planning to reach by 11-12 and prefer a scenic and comfortable route.

I have got hold of my new lens (Sony 200-600MM) and looking for a lot of birds and wildlife photography. So would appreciate any suggestions of places to visit nearby. We are thinking of the Mutthodi safari.

Any recommendations of similar less explored places is highly appreciated. will post a detailed review with as much pics as possible. Also it will be my 1 Lac kms report of my Duster AWD.
Thanks and stay safe all.