[ExtremeTorque]

Folks, i am doing (by car, ofcourse ) a Hyderabad to Jog falls tour this weekend and plan to take the Hyderabad-Raichur-Hospet-Kumarapatnam-Siralkoppa-Kargal route (this is what Google maps shows as the best route). Your inputs about the road condition and any alternate route will help.

Mods: I couldnt find another thread on this. If there is one indeed, please feel free to merge.

[SILVERWOOD]

You may encounter heavy traffic at hospet (mine trucks). Please avoid night driving at this stretch.

Betw: Which car you would be driving.?

[ExtremeTorque]

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD

You may encounter heavy traffic at hospet (mine trucks). Please avoid night driving at this stretch.

Betw: Which car you would be driving.?

Thanks SILVERWOOD. I have a Hyundai Accent - GLE. My plan is to start at Hyd-bad in the afternoon 3pm and halt at Hospet for the night. Last time i did the Gooty-bellary streach (on the way to Kemmannugundi from Hyderabad) and, phew, it was a nightmare with all the mining trucks and almost non existant road. Any other route you suggest?

[gajadonga]

From Hospet you can take this route Hospet-Harpanahalli-Harihar-Honnali-Shimoga-Jog falls would be better.My suggestion would be if you start early morning you can reach Shimoga in the night and stay there and morning run to Jog would be better.

[vnabhi]

I agree with gajadonga.
Last year we had a nightmare on the road between Hospet and Chitradurga---it was really bad for 30 kms after Hospet and also terrible near Shimoga for the last 10 kms.

The Harpanahalli-Harihar route ought to be better.

[ampere]

In fact there is one more option. You can take Nh63 from Hospet, go to Hubli and then take route via Mundgod/Malgi to reach Jog.

Distances almost the same (30-40 Km difference). That also gives you an option to break your journey if you need one at Hubli. PLUS you can also enjoy the drive through Malgi.

[ExtremeTorque]

Originally Posted by gajadonga

From Hospet you can take this route Hospet-Harpanahalli-Harihar-Honnali-Shimoga-Jog falls would be better.My suggestion would be if you start early morning you can reach Shimoga in the night and stay there and morning run to Jog would be better.

Thanks! This was my original plan, minus Shimoga. But cannot leave hyd-bad before 3pm due to office constraints.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I agree with gajadonga.
Last year we had a nightmare on the road between Hospet and Chitradurga---it was really bad for 30 kms after Hospet and also terrible near Shimoga for the last 10 kms.

The Harpanahalli-Harihar route ought to be better.

Yeah with you on the hospet-chitradurga route. As ampere indicated, Hubli-mundgod-Jog sounds interesting and i plan to take that one.

Originally Posted by ampere

In fact there is one more option. You can take Nh63 from Hospet, go to Hubli and then take route via Mundgod/Malgi to reach Jog.

Distances almost the same (30-40 Km difference). That also gives you an option to break your journey if you need one at Hubli. PLUS you can also enjoy the drive through Malgi.

ampere, thanks a ton! I intend to break the journey at around 10PM. If I can reach Hubli by that time, i will halt there, else Hospet. BTW, had to google for Mundgod and realized it is like another kushalnagar.

[Bigzero]

A quick question - how will Hyderabad - Gulbarga - Bijapur - Hubli compare as far as condition of roads go? from google maps I see that the additional distance is just 50 km or so. I have heard that the roads are good upto Bijapur, but I have no idea about the Bijapur-Hubli stretch.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ExtremeTorque

ampere, thanks a ton! I intend to break the journey at around 10PM. If I can reach Hubli by that time, i will halt there, else Hospet. BTW, had to google for Mundgod and realized it is like another kushalnagar.

Please check the status of NH63 between Hospet and Hubli. Not sure of the current conditions.
The Hubli-Sirsi stretch has been frequented by folks on this forum. They should be able to help you out.
The road is good on this stretch, but I am not sure of food and toilet conditions.

HVK sir any updates on this?


Also not sure how is this road holding with monsoon? My guess is it should hold fine because this falls on the leeward side of the western ghats.
But still need to confirm the road status.

But yes, its an extremely scenic drive.


Bigzero, I also thought about that option that you mention, but I found that its adds on to extra distance.
Hence discarded that thought. Maybe others can comment.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

but I have no idea about the Bijapur-Hubli stretch.

Hubli-Bijapur is a SH and tends to break up during the monsoons in case the rains are heavy,but as compared to the Hospet route,this definitely would be a better option,no recent updates avlbl though

[ExtremeTorque]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

A quick question - how will Hyderabad - Gulbarga - Bijapur - Hubli compare as far as condition of roads go? from google maps I see that the additional distance is just 50 km or so. I have heard that the roads are good upto Bijapur, but I have no idea about the Bijapur-Hubli stretch.

Bigzero, i did consider this one as it passes through the NH's, but the additional distance is coming to 80-90 KM. Greedy me , i always want to find the shortest but best route. But will keep this route in mind and probably take it based on the inputs from other members.

[SILVERWOOD]

Originally Posted by ExtremeTorque

Bigzero, i did consider this one as it passes through the NH's, but the additional distance is coming to 80-90 KM. Greedy me , i always want to find the shortest but best route. But will keep this route in mind and probably take it based on the inputs from other members.

Hyderabad-Raichur-Sindhnoor-Gadag-Hubli would be a safe bet.

The stretch between Gadad to Hubli is of concern.

Betw; I will be leaving on 2nd july for Dandeli and Goa,will be taking the same route till Hubli.Let me also know if you need any help with your accomodation in Hubli.

[gajadonga]

Gadag to Hubli should not be a problem.But heavy lorry traffic especially in the night.About 30kms near to Hubli from Gadag there is a railway gate I lost close to 1 hour as lorries keep piling themselves on either side as the railway gate allows one vehicle at a time.
When I was travelling last time it was around 12.30am and a train had just crossed the gate probably that is one reason I had to waste 1 hour at the railway gate.

[hvkumar]

Yes, I agree with gajadonga, the Hospet-Gadag-Hubli road is OK. From Hubli, I would suggest the route via Sirsi and Siddapura instead of the funny illogical route suggested by Google Maps. Alternatively, from Hospet you could go directly to Harihar (as has been suggested already) and Shimoga (or turn off at Honnali), but be cautioned that the road from Harihar is bad.

[ExtremeTorque]

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD

Hyderabad-Raichur-Sindhnoor-Gadag-Hubli would be a safe bet.

The stretch between Gadad to Hubli is of concern.

Betw; I will be leaving on 2nd july for Dandeli and Goa,will be taking the same route till Hubli.Let me also know if you need any help with your accomodation in Hubli.

Thanks again, SILVERWOOD (Thats why i love this forum). But i plan to halt at Hospet as i am travelling with family and trying to avoid driving beyond 9-10PM. Any pointers for accomodation at Hospet?

Originally Posted by gajadonga

Gadag to Hubli should not be a problem.But heavy lorry traffic especially in the night.About 30kms near to Hubli from Gadag there is a railway gate I lost close to 1 hour as lorries keep piling themselves on either side as the railway gate allows one vehicle at a time.
When I was travelling last time it was around 12.30am and a train had just crossed the gate probably that is one reason I had to waste 1 hour at the railway gate.

gajadonga, i will take this route as i will be doing this early in the morning after halt @ hospet. I will keep an eye for those lorries and drive steady. Thanks.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Yes, I agree with gajadonga, the Hospet-Gadag-Hubli road is OK. From Hubli, I would suggest the route via Sirsi and Siddapura instead of the funny illogical route suggested by Google Maps. Alternatively, from Hospet you could go directly to Harihar (as has been suggested already) and Shimoga (or turn off at Honnali), but be cautioned that the road from Harihar is bad.

When the legend suggests a route, we are bound to take that road, arent we? Thank you HVK! Hyderabad-Jadcherls-Mahbubnagar-Raichur-Hospet-Hubli-Sirsi-Siddapur-Jog falls is the final route i have closed in on. From Jog, i plan to do Agumbe ghats and return to Hyderabad via shimoga-bhadravati-chitradurga-hospet-raichur-hyderabad (to avoid the Harihar route) or do you have a better suggestion?