[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by zoombiee

I used it 3 months back and it was 4 laned till Kunigal. After that it wasnt.

Originally Posted by JVH

I drove to Chikmagalur last weekend.

Bangalore (Nelamangala) to Kunigal is the usual 4 lane. After that you will encounter 2 lane all the way upto Hasan with a few diversions in lieu with the 4 lane about to be constructed. Drive through Hasan is a little rough. Hasan to Belur is a fantastic stretch, one of the best I've driven in a long time (discounting the NH4 or NH7 4 lane). Belur to Chikmagalur is decent with odd patches and a fair amount of broken roads.

A small correction. 4 lane is complete till a little after Bellur Cross (which is about 30-35 kms from Kunigal). There is also a toll booth which has commenced operations. You can check the below post.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2819358

[deehunk]

I visited a few temples around Hassan last friday during which also travelled on Belur road, the roads are good all the way till Hassan of course 2 lane roads from Bellur cross with diversions. It is raining quite well in Hassan and roads are very bad inside Hassan. The Hassan-Belur-Chikmagalur stretch is good with occasional humps.

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by deehunk

I visited a few temples around Hassan last friday during which also travelled on Belur road, the roads are good all the way till Hassan of course 2 lane roads from Bellur cross with diversions. It is raining quite well in Hassan and roads are very bad inside Hassan. The Hassan-Belur-Chikmagalur stretch is good with occasional humps.

No need to go inside Hassan town. Hassan bypass ends pretty close (towards Mangalore side) to the diversion to Belur from NH. The 2 lane bypass road is pretty decent.

Prasad

[paragsachania]

^Even with the bypass, one needs to touch BM Road (Inside Hassan Town)somewhere and then take right to Belur at Thanneeruhalla.There are 3 options to get off the bypass and touch BM Road:

- Mysore road (take right at first intersection on bypass)

-Gorur Road (take right at second intersection on bypass)

-A narrow road that touches Thanneeruhalla directly (Take the next right after the second intersection on the bypass)

All these options have been tried and tested and as of today, Gorur road is the only better way to do it as its asphalted completely unlike its bad shape earlier.

With this, one will still traverse on the bad sections of BM Road but only for about 2 kms.

Using the third option was best earlier as you bypass even the bad stretch of BM Road since you touch BM Road and immediately turn right onto Belur road but this narrow connecting road itself remains in very bad shape forever.

[Fauji]

Latest update on road condition. We were there on 11/12 Aug.

Bangalore - Chikkamagalur

a) Bangalore - Hassan :- Excellent as usual.

b) Hassan - Belur :- Excellent

c) Belur - Chikkamagalur :- Excellent except for first five KMs from Belur where you will find broken road and some potholes. No cause for worry as such.

Chikkamagalur - Kadur road is in excellent condition. This throws another option to reach Chikkamagalur via Tumkur - Tiptur - Arsikere - Kadur. This road also provide an opportunity to visit pristine Ayyanakere Lake between Kadur and Chikkamagalur. You can see beautiful picture of the lake taken by Airguitar in this thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ar-2011-a.html

Chikkamagalur - Mullayanagiri :- Very good condition. Last three KMs is very steep and narrow. It is too windy and misty on top at this time of the year. You are always at the risk of a bad driver getting stuck in the middle. In fact my sister-in-law had got stuck up in the summit for two hours in April - fortunately it was summer - as someone's car had broken down in the middle on this stretch. If one has time, i would advise to walk this stretch - 3 KMs - than go by car.

Chikkamagalur - Kemmanagundi :- Last fifteen KMs is very bad for Low GC cars. I would rater recommend only SUVs from this point till Kemmanagundi. Till this place it is a comfortable drive by any car. Since the place is so misty and you can not see anything, i do not advise to go all the way till Kemmanagundi at this time. I would recommend driving up to the point where the bad road starts - you will see a white gate with "Thippanahalli" written - from where take a U turn and come back. The drive upto this place is very beautiful with many waterfalls. In fact you don't see any water falls beyond this point.

Another excellent drive - a peaceful and beautiful scenery - is Chikkamagalur to Lingadahalli and back. Excellent road throughout - with a small ghat section - and one will have a beautiful view of Maullayanagiri ranges.

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Latest update on road condition. We were there on 11/12 Aug.

Fauji, your post was just on time for me. I am driving to Chikmagalur this weekend and reading earlier posts and seeing pictures, I was little skeptic about driving to the Mullayangiri peak particularly in this monsoon time. But I was not sure how bad it was. Thanks for your tip. Do many people park their vehicle below and walk to the top? Want to know if there is a proper place to park the vehicle below.

Same goes with Kemmangundi as well. I drive a Punto and cant afford to keep scratching the bottom. I have decided to follow your advice on driving only the distance upto 15kms from kemmangundi.

Other than Mullayangiri peak, kemmangindi, Hebbe falls and Kalahatti falls, is there any other place worth visiting in chikmagalur during our 3-day stay. I dont intend to drive more than 50 km from Thippannahalli home stay where I have booked

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by gopikb

Fauji, your post was just on time for me. I am driving to Chikmagalur this weekend and reading earlier posts and seeing pictures, I was little skeptic about driving to the Mullayangiri peak particularly in this monsoon time. But I was not sure how bad it was. Thanks for your tip. Do many people park their vehicle below and walk to the top? Want to know if there is a proper place to park the vehicle below.

Same goes with Kemmangundi as well. I drive a Punto and cant afford to keep scratching the bottom. I have decided to follow your advice on driving only the distance upto 15kms from kemmangundi.

Other than Mullayangiri peak, kemmangindi, Hebbe falls and Kalahatti falls, is there any other place worth visiting in chikmagalur during our 3-day stay. I dont intend to drive more than 50 km from Thippannahalli home stay where I have booked

Gopi,

Yes, you can park the car at the place where you see the signage for Mullayanagiri 3 KM and prominenet signage for "Greendale Homestay". There is also a tea shop at this junction. I haven't seen anyone walking up. The reason may be rain and disinterest. But one can easily do it. If you dont want to walk to summit, then reach this place, have a cup of tea and return back.

I don't advise you to take your Punto beyond the point i have mentioned on Kemmanagundi road. Take a U turn and come back. You will find a white gtae on to your left after you cross a beautiful water falls. you will see "Thippanahalli Agden" written on it. You turn back from here.

You can not go to Hebbe falls as it is a jeep track - we did not dare with our Scorpio - and Kalhatti falls is not worth the trouble at all as you would have seen more picturesque falls on your way. People go to Kalhatti more from religious perspective - there is a well known shiva temple there - than as a picnic spot. If you are very keen to see this falls then go via Lingadahalli. It is a beautiful drive. Dont go via Kemmanagundi - Kalhatti falls is 11 KMs from Kemmanagundi.

[Lukeskywalker]

Am planning to be in Chikmagalur on the 18th (saturday), any tbhpians also visiting on the same day ? Maybe we can catch up.

[sixthsense]

Been to chikmagalur on monday and returned back on wednesday 15th. The roads are good and with stoppage you should be able to do it easily in 5 hrs.

Mullayanagiri is beautiful but as suggested stop at the place in midway which has a temple and there is still 2-3 kms to go, as this last stretch is very steep and the road is very small meant for only one vehicle to pass through. If you are not very confident about your driving or not very familiar with your car, please avoid this. Also because of the rain and height this part is very misty and there is no turning back once you start as a u turn is immpossible without reaching the peak. Also avoid if you have too many people in the car and if it feels under powered. There are taxis and tempo travellers which drive at normal speeds and are scary. Brave at heart can try this and are sure to get the "aaj kuch toofani karte hein" feeling.

[zoombiee]

Originally Posted by sixthsense

Mullayanagiri is beautiful but as suggested stop at the place in midway which has a temple and there is still 2-3 kms to go, as this last stretch is very steep and the road is very small meant for only one vehicle to pass through.

Please avoid the last stretch. It is way too dangerous. I have seen experience Trax drivers also shiver while climbing the last couple of kms. To add to the narrow road, there is no tar, only loose rocks and soil. The traction and grip is very low. I havent tried this on a car, but have climbed it on a cycle. Hence, know the terrain even better.

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Am planning to be in Chikmagalur on the 18th (saturday), any tbhpians also visiting on the same day ? Maybe we can catch up.

Hi Luke, I am driving to Chikmagalur on Saturday as well. My plan is to start early morning about 5.15AM and will drive to Thipannahalli homestay. We will stop only at Belur enroute. I will start from RRNagar. If you have similar timings, we can catch up somewhere enroute

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by gopikb

I was little skeptic about driving to the Mullayangiri peak particularly in this monsoon time. But I was not sure how bad it was. Thanks for your tip. Do many people park their vehicle below and walk to the top? Want to know if there is a proper place to park the vehicle below.

Originally Posted by sixthsense

Mullayanagiri is beautiful but as suggested stop at the place in midway which has a temple and there is still 2-3 kms to go, as this last stretch is very steep and the road is very small meant for only one vehicle to pass through. If you are not very confident about your driving or not very familiar with your car, please avoid this. Also because of the rain and height this part is very misty and there is no turning back once you start as a u turn is immpossible without reaching the peak. Also avoid if you have too many people in the car and if it feels under powered. There are taxis and tempo travellers which drive at normal speeds and are scary. Brave at heart can try this and are sure to get the "aaj kuch toofani karte hein" feeling.

Originally Posted by zoombiee

Please avoid the last stretch. It is way too dangerous. I have seen experience Trax drivers also shiver while climbing the last couple of kms. To add to the narrow road, there is no tar, only loose rocks and soil. The traction and grip is very low. I havent tried this on a car, but have climbed it on a cycle. Hence, know the terrain even better.

Parking at the temple and walking is more dangerous than doing the drive itself! Visibility is almost nil and it is easy to slip and fall when a vehicle demands you to move away from the road. I have done the climb of this last section thrice in 3 different cars. Quite frankly it is not much to bother about. It is very much do-able if you are confident enough. Just three things
- use the fog lamps, and headlights, honk at every turning, and stick to below 20 kmph. Use your torque in the lower gears.
- switch off the music, pay attention to vehicles honking from the opposite direction.
- stay away from the edges of the curves. There is no barricade and the loose soil will crumble under the weight of the car if the driver goes too close.

If there is a face-to-face situation where there is no space for both vehicles to pass safely near the top, the guy coming from the top has to reverse back up. There are a couple of broad stretches next to the road where both sides can criss-cross and go past each other. These broad areas are towards the topmost point. Parking at the top is no problem. There is a huge open area provided where even buses/TTs can park easily.

Tip - go in the afternoon time or morning time. Ideally, plan your visit so that you go up there around 3pm and return down by 4.30-5. Post lunch time traffic is not much. Also, around 5pm, upward traffic becomes almost nil and you can descend without obstructions.

P.S - I have even seen huge KSRTC buses do this route all the way till the top. With cars it is not a huge task. I would suggest to try the 'aaj kuch toofani kartein hai' experience . It is not as bad as the Thumbs Up ad for sure.

[sixthsense]

Agree to what Karthik just mentioned, take the plunge but then there is no looking back . I did it successfully in my SX4 and so can everybody else on this forum. Good tips by Karthik here and yes i saw a tempo traveler but no buses at the top . I would say if you've done some hilly ghat sections in past then it would be easier for you, than for somebody who climbs this hill the first time ever.

[zoombiee]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

If there is a face-to-face situation where there is no space for both vehicles to pass safely near the top, the guy coming from the top has to reverse back up. T

I have even seen huge KSRTC buses do this route all the way till the top.

Would be quite an experience seeing some one backup at an incline of about 12-15% especially at the last turn. I dont think it is safe at all.
Is it thrilling? Definitely.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by zoombiee

Would be quite an experience seeing some one backup at an incline of about 12-15% especially at the last turn. I dont think it is safe at all.
Is it thrilling? Definitely.

The last 2-3 turns are quite flat areas without much incline. There are also a couple of clearings towards the last turn. This is where the criss-cross should happen. I've had a couple of instances where the vehicle coming down reversed 50-60mtrs to a clearing to give me way. Once it was a TT and another time it was a SUV. Priority is given to the vehicle which is on the outer edge of the hill road to pass first.

Again, I wouldn't generalize and say everyone should do this climb. I do admit that it can get a bit scary for a newbie driver, especially when he is with his family on his first hillclimb. To each his own, I respect that.

All i meant to say is if the driver is confident, it is not as difficult as made out to be. Moreover, most drivers coming down from the top are quite accomodating and cooperative. They will give way and help the guy coming up. Most of the time, honking in advance allows the other driver to wait at the clearing for you to pass.