[ex670c]

Hi Guys,

There are quite a few places to stay in Lonavala.
But I would recommend Hotel Cosset, opposite Rama Krishna Restaurant.

Good Hospitality and a very helpful Host. The Rooms and Bathrooms are very superb.

Most of the Off-road Crowd stayed there on 25th June and some of the outstation off-roaders (Chennai & Cal JEEPers) stayed there on 27th Night.

Regards,

Arka

[roadracer]

Originally Posted by MX6

Hit the red triangle on your post - report button - and type this.
Mods: request you to change the title of log to "Chennai to Goa - Route info needed" as member has changed his plans to go to goa.

They will rename it.

Anyways, I have requested them already on your behalf.

Thanks for this MX6.

Originally Posted by ex670c

Hi Guys,

There are quite a few places to stay in Lonavala.
But I would recommend Hotel Cosset, opposite Rama Krishna Restaurant.

Good Hospitality and a very helpful Host. The Rooms and Bathrooms are very superb.

Most of the Off-road Crowd stayed there on 25th June and some of the outstation off-roaders (Chennai & Cal JEEPers) stayed there on 27th Night.

Regards,

Arka

Hi,Thanks for this but I am no longer planning to go to Lonaval due to time constraints. As per the revised plan, I am planning to go to Goa via Jog. The thread title needs to be updated and this has been raised with the mods(Thanks to MX6).


On the return from Goa to Hubli, there are two options as below. Which one is recommended?

1. Goa - Castle Rock - Dharwad - Hubli (or)
2. Goa - Karwar - Yellapur - Hubli . This route is approx. 100 kms longer than the first route and I don't mind taking this route if the drive would be comparitively better than the first route in terms of scenery.

[MX6]

Originally Posted by roadracer

On the return from Goa to Hubli, there are two options as below. Which one is recommended?

1. Goa - Castle Rock - Dharwad - Hubli (or)
2. Goa - Karwar - Yellapur - Hubli . This route is approx. 100 kms longer than the first route and I don't mind taking this route if the drive would be comparitively better than the first route in terms of scenery.

Have you frozen your onward route. If your onward route traverses ankola, karwar, I'd suggest try the castle rock on return. You may want to check dhoodh sagar falls if you have time.

[roadracer]

Originally Posted by MX6

Have you frozen your onward route. If your onward route traverses ankola, karwar, I'd suggest try the castle rock on return. You may want to check dhoodh sagar falls if you have time.

Yes, the onward route is frozen. I am not going to take the Mangalore route. So,the onward route would be Chennai - Tumkur - Shimoga - Jog - and then to Goa via Ankola & Karwar.

[MX6]

Then take the return through Castle rock.
100 kms longer karwar - yellapura - hubli route would be in better condition. You can also maintain faster speeds in this stretch than from between Castle rock and Dharwad.
But The other route would give you a different ambience to drive around. Also try to take a breat to see dhoodh sagar if you do have time.

[Seek]

I just did Chennai-Bombay-Chennai in May and we stopped at Chitradurga on the way up and Hubli on the way down. At Chitradurga it was Hotel Amogha International. I figured out there were only 2 places to stay - one amogha internation and the second I forget now. But Amogha International is bang next to NH4 and we could resume our driving in the morning without wasting time.

The hotel is pretty barebone but ok for a night's halt. A non-AC double room cost us 600 bucks.

On the return leg at Hubli we stayed at Hotel Akshay basant, decent place on the main road. That non AC room was 700 bucks for the night.

Hope this helps.

Our onward drive was:
Day 1- Departure from chennai at 9.30 AM. Checked into Chitradurga at 6.30 PM.
Day 2 - Dearture form Chitradurga at 6 AM and in bombay (vasai) at 6 PM.

Return drive:
Day 1 - Left bombay at 7.30 AM and checked into hubli around 6 pm
Day 2 - left hubli at 6 Am and were in chennai at 5.30 pm

Roads were excellent except patches around Rennebennur which would be probably done by now.

Hope this helps.

[roadracer]

Originally Posted by MX6

Then take the return through Castle rock.
100 kms longer karwar - yellapura - hubli route would be in better condition. You can also maintain faster speeds in this stretch than from between Castle rock and Dharwad.
But The other route would give you a different ambience to drive around. Also try to take a breat to see dhoodh sagar if you do have time.

Thanks MX6. I will keep Dudhsagar falls in the plan. A small clarification - I presume you are referring to NH-63 above(i.e. via yellapura) and not NH4A(Castlerock - Dharwad).

[MX6]

Originally Posted by roadracer

Thanks MX6. I will keep Dudhsagar falls in the plan. A small clarification - I presume you are referring to NH-63 above(i.e. via yellapura) and not NH4A(Castlerock - Dharwad).

NH63 is Ankola - Yellapura - Hubli. That's 100 kms more. That's better condition. You can keep faster speeds there.
NH4A is to Castlerock. Not sure of the road from Castlerock to Dharwad of what it's called. That's shorter and roads won't be as good in condition as NH63. But monsoons can changeequations quickly.
Dhoodh sagar comes on Castlerock route. You have a bit of hiking on rail tracks to do as well. There are some logues in T-BHP on dhoodh sagar.

I suggest NH17 from Ankola to goa in onward journey and in return, try the NH4a to castlerock and proceed to Dharwad to hit NH4 all the way to chennai.

[Rajiv-Bang]

Originally Posted by MX6

NH63 is Ankola - Yellapura - Hubli. That's 100 kms more. That's better condition. You can keep faster speeds there.
NH4A is to Castlerock. Not sure of the road from Castlerock to Dharwad of what it's called. That's shorter and roads won't be as good in condition as NH63. But monsoons can changeequations quickly.
Dhoodh sagar comes on Castlerock route. You have a bit of hiking on rail tracks to do as well. There are some logues in T-BHP on dhoodh sagar.

I suggest NH17 from Ankola to goa in onward journey and in return, try the NH4a to castlerock and proceed to Dharwad to hit NH4 all the way to chennai.

roadracer,
Castle Rock to Dharwad which route are you exactly referring to?
Your options as far as i remember on Goa Hubli route (other than via Karwar /Ankloa )are driving to Hubli/Dharwad via Kittur beedi or drive upto Belgaum to Hubli. The other option of Ramnagar- Dharwad is not for cars as far as i understand from other threads. Even I was advised against driving on this route last year.
Castlerock is a railway station & have seen the Dudhsagar falls whilst travelling by train. You may need to check elsewhere in the forum on how to get to the falls.

[MX6]

Getting to the falls in monsoons is not advisable I guess. Walking on the tracks and seeing them from there is what I'm suggesting.

Ok, Wiki says this about reaching dudhsagar.

By Road: The Water Fall can be reached by road , from Collem which is off National Highway (NH-4A). All Interstate Busses halt at Mollem where the Park office is located. You can take a local bus to Collem from the highway or from Ponda, which is the nearest city. Route: Panaji-Old Goa-Ponda-Tiska-Mollem. (57 kms) Margao-Ponda-Tiska-Mollem (42 kms)
By Rail: Nearest Station: Collem (South Central Railway); Route: Collem-Mollem - 6 km
Carambolim (Karmali Railway Station - Konkan Railways), Route: Carambolim-Old Goa-Ponda-Tiska-Mollem-50 km, by Road.
Take the turn off at Collem near the Hindustan Petroleum Petrol pump. Drive 9 kms down the road. Entering the park is not advisable in a normal car, and may only be accessible to SUV's and 4WD jeeps, as the road comprises of a boulder strewn jungle track that has rivers criss crossing it at several points. Hired taxi 4 wheel drive Jeeps, and Tata Sumo's pick up carry individual passengers for Rs. 30/-for the return trip from Collem to the falls. One can also hire the entire vehhicle for Rs 1800/-. The driver will drop you off near the falls and wait for one and a half hour before taking you back to Collem.

[roadracer]

@Rajiv-Bang,@MX6,

Oh..I thought that the dudhsagar falls is close to the road.Anyway no problem. Thanks for the direction, I will now plan accordingly.

On another note,what is the best way to bypass Bengaluru and reach Tumkur.[I have never been to Bengaluru by road before and I am not familiar with the routes there].

My friend suggests the following route.

Chennai – Sriperumpudur – Ranipet – Vellore – Ambur – Krishnagiri – Hosur – E’nic city - Tumkur.

He says that this will bypass Bengaluru.But I am just a bit confused,the above route on Google map indicates that it goes to South of Bengaluru and then we need to take bypass somewhere near E'nic city and travel to the west of Bengaluru and join Tumkur at the north.

But I thought there should be some other way by which we could join Tumkur from the east of Bengaluru.

[ampere]

Here is what Dudhsagar is all about! Enjoy.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...dudhsagar.html

[Seek]

Originally Posted by roadracer

@Rajiv-Bang,@MX6,

Oh..I thought that the dudhsagar falls is close to the road.Anyway no problem. Thanks for the direction, I will now plan accordingly.

On another note,what is the best way to bypass Bengaluru and reach Tumkur.[I have never been to Bengaluru by road before and I am not familiar with the routes there].

My friend suggests the following route.

Chennai – Sriperumpudur – Ranipet – Vellore – Ambur – Krishnagiri – Hosur – E’nic city - Tumkur.

He says that this will bypass Bengaluru.But I am just a bit confused,the above route on Google map indicates that it goes to South of Bengaluru and then we need to take bypass somewhere near E'nic city and travel to the west of Bengaluru and join Tumkur at the north.

But I thought there should be some other way by which we could join Tumkur from the east of Bengaluru.

Yes, in opionion too the route recommended is the best and fastest. The bypass you are mentioning is nothing but the NICE Road. Will take you from ECity to Tumkur Road (NH4) in 45 mins to an hour at the max. Dont try anything else!!

[roadracer]

Originally Posted by Seek

Yes, in opionion too the route recommended is the best and fastest. The bypass you are mentioning is nothing but the NICE Road. Will take you from ECity to Tumkur Road (NH4) in 45 mins to an hour at the max. Dont try anything else!!

Thanks Seek. My friend knows the Hosur-Ecity-Tumkur route.Hopefully we should not have any issue.

[roadracer]

Originally Posted by Seek

I just did Chennai-Bombay-Chennai in May and we stopped at Chitradurga on the way up and Hubli on the way down. At Chitradurga it was Hotel Amogha International. I figured out there were only 2 places to stay - one amogha internation and the second I forget now. But Amogha International is bang next to NH4 and we could resume our driving in the morning without wasting time.

The hotel is pretty barebone but ok for a night's halt. A non-AC double room cost us 600 bucks.

On the return leg at Hubli we stayed at Hotel Akshay basant, decent place on the main road. That non AC room was 700 bucks for the night.

Hope this helps.

Our onward drive was:
Day 1- Departure from chennai at 9.30 AM. Checked into Chitradurga at 6.30 PM.
Day 2 - Dearture form Chitradurga at 6 AM and in bombay (vasai) at 6 PM.

Return drive:
Day 1 - Left bombay at 7.30 AM and checked into hubli around 6 pm
Day 2 - left hubli at 6 Am and were in chennai at 5.30 pm

Roads were excellent except patches around Rennebennur which would be probably done by now.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Seek. I have made a note of these hotels. It's not decided yet as to where we would halt in the fwd journey. My friend prefers halting in Bangalore/Tumkur in the night. He is not in favour of travelling the whole night. We will start from Chennai late afternoon(say 5:00 P.M) or early night(around 7/8 p.m).