[ranjish]

Hi all

Planning to drive to Kollur next weekend (Reaching on 27th evening and return on 28th). Please suggest the best route at this time.

My last trip was in 2016 and I had taken the following route.

Bangalore-Nelamangala-CR Patna - Arsikere - Shimoga - Ayannur - Ripponpete - Hosanagar - Nagar - Kollur.

While looking at the recent threads, I see that the following is a good option. Does this still hold good?

Bengaluru - Tumakuru - SIra - Chitradurga - Channagiri - Shivamogga - Ripponpete - Hosanagara - Nagara - Hulikal ghat - Kollur.

I will be starting from Malleshwaram on 27th early morning.

thanks
Ranjish

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ranjish

Hi all

Planning to drive to Kollur next weekend (Reaching on 27th evening and return on 28th). Please suggest the best route at this time.

My last trip was in 2016 and I had taken the following route.

Bangalore-Nelamangala-CR Patna - Arsikere - Shimoga - Ayannur - Ripponpete - Hosanagar - Nagar - Kollur.

While looking at the recent threads, I see that the following is a good option. Does this still hold good?

Bengaluru - Tumakuru - SIra - Chitradurga - Channagiri - Shivamogga - Ripponpete - Hosanagara - Nagara - Hulikal ghat - Kollur.

I will be starting from Malleshwaram on 27th early morning.

thanks
Ranjish

You can refer Santoshbhat's update from this recent drive to Shimoga where you can read his comparison between both the routes you have mentioned :

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

I did a Shimoga BLR run yesterday. Left Shimoga around 2: 30 PM and reached home by about 8 PM with a half hour tea break. We were stuck for about 20 mins just after Tarikere due to a broken down lorry. Initially the plan was to take the Chanraypatna route for the good number of eateries on the way, but as soon as I found the Hosadurga turn off, I turned left as the traffic jam on BH road was continuing beyond this point. Being Sunday evening and peak of marriage season, the last few toll gates after Tumkur were an absolute nightmare. Even then the overall time taken wasn't too bad.

This was the first time I took this route and was pleasantly surprised. The road is like benne (butter) for the most part. And the best part is that right upto Hiriyur there is hardly any traffic. No lorries, no tractors and very few two wheelers. The road is freshly laid on most sections and well painted and marked. It keeps alternating between narrrow and wide, but mostly it is a wide smooth fresh tarmac with some nice curves and bends thrown it. You pass through a couple of small sleepy villages and Hosadurga , and that's it. A small stretch of about 3 kms is left orhpaned where you will find some big potholes and can come as a surprise when you first encounter them.

The average speeds here are definitely higher here than BH road or Arasikere - Chanraypatna stretch. Apart from the good roads we also enjoyed the different landscapes and scenery on offer. Flat lands with hardly any human civilization on both sides for as long as the eyes can see, with rocky mountains making up the horizon.

The downside of course is that there no eateries whatsoever and few may feel unsafe to even stop by the road side for whatever reasons. Cell phone networks are extremely weak and desert you quite often here.

Overall I have to agree with Google, this is the fastest route between Bangalore and Shimoga as of now.

[ranjish]

Quick update on our family visit (myself, wife and 2 small kids) to Kollur on 27-28May.

We left Bangalore around 7:00 am and took the NH48 route. This was recommended by Google maps and also some of our experts on the forum.

Bangalore - Tumkur - Davangere - Honnali - Ayanur - Ripponpet - Hosanagara - Nagara - Kollur

Excellent route all throughout with minimal traffic. Only a small stretch of road for nearly 3 km between Davangare and Honnali is bad with lot of potholes, but still manageable. Only disadvantage in this route is that there are no good eateries beyond Chitradurga.
Reached Kollur by 4:30 pm with breaks. Visited Nagara fort on the way.

We had booked accommodation in Mahalakshmi Residency, which is just next to the temple. Very good room and facilities. It has a restaurant attached to it. Has got good parking as well.

Had a peaceful darshan by 5:30 pm, though it became crowded later in the evening at the time of Deeparadhana.

Next day morning we started after darshan around 9:00 am and followed same route as onward journey. We went inside Davangere town (nearly 2km deviation from NH48) and had lunch in restaurant attached to Mango Hotel opposite to Bapuji Dental college. Food was good there.

Next stop was to visit Chitradurga fort. It is a huge fort which needs atleast 3-4 hours to cover. Due to shortage of time, we completed the visit in 45 mins and resumed journey to Bangalore. Reached Bangalore by 8:00 pm.

Overall, a good trip with minimal fatigue. Weather was also good throughout.

[centaur]

Originally Posted by ranjish

We had booked accommodation in Mahalakshmi Residency, which is just next to the temple. Very good room and facilities. It has a restaurant attached to it. Has got good parking as well.

We have been staying at this place for 3 years almost now, but this year (was there in the last week of March 2018) it wasn't a good one at all. We had booked 2 rooms as we were 4 adults and a kid. In one of the rooms the AC wasn't working at all. Repeated complaints to the reception and they sent an "Technician" who again and again kept saying it will cool but that never happened.

Finally after waiting for almost 4-4.5 hours I asked the reception to change the room. They gave another room where another guest was already camping (a rat right under the pillow on the bed). Asked them to change again and finally got a room for the night which was better.

Next day in the night we went to the restaurant and ordered a few things. We also ordered a buttermilk. While drinking the buttermilk, multiple times I felt something hard in my mouth. Pulled it out and kept it on a plate. Called the waiter and told him to check. He went to the juice counter and came back with a response that it was sweet lime peel (and believe me the entire buttermilk had plenty of it). He said that since they used the same blender/mixer vessel for the juice and the buttermilk, this could happen. He said he will get another one to which I flatly refused and asked him to check it off the bill as well since I was surely not going to pay for it. Never ever ate in that restaurant again during the rest of the stay there

On the day we were leaving my spouse was coaxing me to talk to the manager but I was reluctant as I saw no point in it. She went to speak to the manager about the guest in the room and the restaurant and apparently the staff had told the manager that the rat came in when we opened the window. which was a blatant lie as we never ever had even moved into the room. When the boy was showing us the room and checking the AC, i casually flicked the pillow and the guest, feeling disturbed, moved to another location in the room. Still shudder to think what would have happened if we slept on it or it had bitten any of us. Overall a very bad experience and I would seriously rethink about staying here. The only advantage for this one is the proximity to the temple and nothing else. They were good before but the quality has steadily decreased over the years.

Apologies if this was OT but just wanted to inform people going to this hotel to please check the rooms thoroughly before you settle in else you could be in for surprises.

[jkrishnakj]

Thanks Centaur for letting us know. I was planning a trip next month and this was a stay option i was looking for. I'll pick something else.

[centaur]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Thanks Centaur for letting us know. I was planning a trip next month and this was a stay option i was looking for. I'll pick something else.

You can still try Mahalakshmi but do check the rooms. The other one which is comparatively nearby is Jyothis. You can try that too

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Thanks Centaur for letting us know. I was planning a trip next month and this was a stay option i was looking for. I'll pick something else.

Try Jyothis Residency, this is on the other side of the temple, it is only a 1 minute walk to the temple entrance from the hotel. Approach road to the hotel parking is through a different road, but google maps took us there without any trouble.

We had stayed here last year and our overall experience was good, AC rooms were neat and the restaurant food was tasty.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

We had stayed here last year and our overall experience was good, AC rooms were neat and the restaurant food was tasty.

If one has two nights to spare, another nicer option is to stay at Manipal. You have Fortune Inn (Valley View) and now a Raddisson as well. Reach on a friday. Go to to the temple and come back on a Sat (its about 80km one way). And drive back to Bangalore on the third.

Its quite a roundabout solution, but gets a nicer place and an easy schedule. If you start for Kollur from Manipal post breakfast (say 8:30AM) you can be back from darshan for a late lunch. You have the evening to enjoy the beach.

(Not the right season though with monsoon lashing through)

[jkrishnakj]

Thank you Centaur , Gadadhar and Ampere. My trip is getting delayed and I might go there only towards this month end. I might probably go with the Manipal option recommended by Amp

[Vik0728]

Hi guys,

I have a road trip with family on the 15 June to Koppa (Chikkamagaluru). The place where we have booked our accommodation is Kolavara Heritage.

I am planning on taking the following route:

Bangalore - Hassan - Koppa - Kolavara

Here is the suggested google route:




I have the following queries:

- Is this a good route to consider? The main idea behind this is the availability of many restaurants on this route against the other two.

- I have been reading news about heavy rains and water logging towards these areas. Anybody who has travelled this way in the last few days suggest anything to avoid/watch out for?

Really appreciate your time.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

- Is this a good route to consider? The main idea behind this is the availability of many restaurants on this route against the other two.

The suggested route will be via Hassan Chikmagalur and on this route, you will have options to stop by all the way till Chikmagalur and beyond (Before Balehonnur as well @ Bhadra Cafe).

So ideally, your vacuum section is only between Balehonnur till Kolavara which is around 60 Kms (1.5 hours max). And in this, you will also pass Koppa town which will have basic places to stop by too.

The route conditions will be good, so that should not be your worry. However, right from Chikmagalur outskirts all the way till your destination, the roads will be twisty and progress can be slow only due to this and not due to traffic.

The other alternate route that advises you to reach here by combination of the Chitradurga route (NH) will have lesser curves to manage albeit compromising on places to break soon after you exit the National highway.

- I have been reading news about heavy rains and water logging towards these areas. Anybody who has travelled this way in the last few days suggest anything to avoid/watch out for?

Rains have been quite regular in past 2 weeks now and especially the last week this section has witnessed quite a sum of it. Keep checking for updates on this thread as well as Deccan Herald that mostly covers news about these regions without a miss.

Apart from that, if you understand Kannada, the local news channels or portals like Vijayakarnataka and the likes cover these areas quite well too including Dajjiworld.

Landslides will be rare but tree falls are quite common on this road. However, you will be alerted about this as you pass through these sections and can always take any alternate (Longer) route too if you get caught anywhere.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I have a road trip with family...

As paragbhai rightly said, Bengaluru-Hassan-Chikkamagaluru-Balehonnur-Koppa is still the best route for you to reach the home stay. Balehonnur-Jayapura-Koppa-Kolavara stretch is also good and you can cover the distance in about an hour and half unless there are heavy rains which may slow you down a bit. I covered (almost) the same route before the rains and can vouch for its condition.

Regarding your concerns about water logging/disruption, rest assured that there is absolutely no problem as of now. An occasional tree does fall across the road but it is cleared off swiftly.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Bhadra Cafe

About Bhadra Cafe.

I have seen complimentary mention of the place here on the forum many times. However, my personal experience has been contrary. The coffee is okayish but then it is a matter of personal choice. What rankles me is the practice of serving reheated sandwiches (they are not even proper sandwiches and resemble the bread toasts available in bakeries) which are prepared beforehand and stored in a plastic container. Same is the case with paddus. The location, in terms of scenery and convenience, is indeed good. But there ends my preference for the cafe.

The absence of better alternatives is a stark reality though.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The suggested route will be via Hassan Chikmagalur and on this route, you will have options to stop by all the way till Chikmagalur and beyond (Before Balehonnur as well @ Bhadra Cafe).

Originally Posted by dailydriver

As paragbhai rightly said, Bengaluru-Hassan-Chikkamagaluru-Balehonnur-Koppa is still the best route for you to reach the home stay. Balehonnur-Jayapura-Koppa-Kolavara stretch is also good and you can cover the distance in about an hour and half unless there are heavy rains which may slow you down a bit.

Thank you guys for a quick turn around and all the suggestions.

I was only a bit concerned about the recent rains that have lasted the coastal Karnataka, but your predictions are quite encouraging. Also, I will go through the forecast and other updates before we hit the road.

Thank you once again.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

I have seen complimentary mention of the place here on the forum many times. However, my personal experience has been contrary. The coffee is okayish but then it is a matter of personal choice.

To be honest, I have NEVER visited this place but just passed. However, this makes into the list (Or there is no list here) mainly for the purpose of finding a place enroute with rest rooms that are family friendly.

As you would know, there are so many that have mushroomed here (Chikmagalur - Balehonnur, Belur - Mudigere), and the reviews have been always mixed or inconsistent mainly as the management keeps changing.

That reminds me to mention, It has become too hard to get a proper dose of filter coffee in the whole of Chikmagalur town barring the good old places I knew. It was shame that I had 2 friends who were let down when the coffee served at one of the better clubs in Chikmagalur was a downer.

So the latest tradition continues - You cant get good coffee in the land of coffee!

<End of my OT post>

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I am planning on taking the following route:

Bangalore - Hassan - Koppa - Kolavara

Hope I'm not confusing you with another option.

We visited Tirthahalli back in 2013 and stayed at Kolavara and made day trips to various places including Sringeri and Kollur Mookambika temples. We visited Horanadu on the way back to Bangalore.

We had taken the Bangalore-Chitradurga-Channagiri-Holehonnur-Shimoga-Tirthahalli route. In the last year or so, there was road widening work between Chitradurga and Shimoga but it's almost complete now so this could be an option as well. Advantage is you get to visit Gajanur Dam and Sakrebyle elephant camp en route (if you've not visited).

Here is my earlier post with routes taken and places visited - here (Bangalore to Kollur Mookambika : Route Queries)

*The turn off towards Kolavara is at Devangi circle which is a good landmark in case you need it for navigation or to ask around if in doubt.

You can also visit Kundadri Hill near Agumbe for great sunset views and Sibbalgudde on the banks of Tunga river which is a beautiful place.