[narayans80]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Dharwad - Hubli - Haveri - Chitradurga - Tumkur - Nelamangala - Kunigal - Hassan - Holenarasipura - Arkalgud - Kushalnagar - Madikeri.

No need to do Hassan. Can do CR Patna-Holenarsipura-Arakalgud directly. If doing via Hassan then doing Gorur-Arakalgud would be faster. Hassan-Holenarsipur was OK.

I remember Hassan-Gorur-Arakalgud was newly resurfaced and you were the dude who told me about it

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by narayans80

No need to do Hassan. Can do CR Patna-Holenarsipura-Arakalgud directly. If doing via Hassan then doing Gorur-Arakalgud would be faster. Hassan-Holenarsipur was OK.

I remember Hassan-Gorur-Arakalgud was newly resurfaced and you were the dude who told me about it

I think I missed in the flow. Hence I have also mentioned that 4 lane ends at CR Patna. Of course you need not go to Hassan.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by SSridhar

Thank you pjbiju. Do you or anyone else have an update on the requirement for RT-PCR test being done away with for those entering KA from MH? There was a post here a few days back on such a proposal.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

It is status quo. Even yesterday's circular doesn't mention relaxing of these checks nor there is any coverage around this in the media too. It means the checks continue

When I travelled on 9-Oct from Pune to Belagavi, there were a couple of checking points near the Kognoli Toll Plaza to check the RT-PCR results. I reached there around 12:30 p.m. and nobody stopped us to check anything (I was carrying RT-PCR results). However friends who had travelled earlier in the week and later during the same day (by bus) were stopped and checked. But in general you should assume that you would be stopped and checked. So far there seems to be no clear instructions from KA doing away with the RT-PCR check.

[sushantk]

I did a Bengaluru-Mumbai-Bengaluru family trip with two young kids.

Bengaluru-Mumbai(Oct 8th):
We had our vaccination certificates printed out with us. But this was not checked by anyone after entering Maharashtra. Police stopped us just before Kolhapur and they asked for DL first. One of the policeman further asked if I am carrying some liquor and I politely said no. He further asked if he can check the luggage. I obliged and he spend good 2 minutes checking car's boot space and probed couple of times again if I am carrying liquor. While doing this he also inquired about my profession. I was little surprised as I was with my family and kids and didn't expect police to dig deeper. Anyway, there was nothing so he let us go. He was polite but appeared to be trying very hard to get something.

Mumbai-Bengaluru(Oct 18th):
We crossed MH-KA border at evening around 4 PM. We were asked to produce RT-PCR report at the check post. I had it done for all of us except the youngest one(<2 yrs). They also noted down mobile number, source and destination in a register. The process was smooth. So yes, the checks are still being done. Another 50 mtrs, we saw 3-4 cars not carrying rt-pcr with police and were being asked to undergo tests I presume as I noticed some who appeared to be medicals staffs.

So, I would recommend to get it done and carry RT-PCR to avoid hassle.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

[list][*]Belgaum to Dharwad Bypass : 45 Min[*]Dharwad Bypass to Hubli : 30 Min[*]Hubli to Tumkur: 4 Hours
..... In summary, you should be budgeting anywhere from 11.5/13 hours for Belgaum to Madikeri...The above route is all dual carriageway except after Channarayapatna all the way till Madikeri.

Thanks for update Parag. I need to travel from Mysore to Belgaum to Mumbai in the 3rd week of November and was thinking of breaking the trip at Belgaum with a stay at the Fairfield Belgaum. What would be the apx travel time and also wanted your advice on whether to go as per GMaps suggested - Mysore > Bellur > Kunigal > Hebbur > Tumkur onto Belgaum OR as suggested by you above which would add around 30kms / 30mins travel time with the route being Mysore > Bellur > Nelamangla > Tumkur onto Belgaum?

[hsub]

I travelled Pune to Bengaluru on Oct 24th (Sunday). Crossed Kognoli around 10:30 AM and the RT-PCR checks were all but abandoned. Barricades were there but vehicles weren't being stopped or checked. Boards still display though saying RT-PCR is mandatory.

Road conditions past Hubli seems to have improved. Number of diversions have reduced compared to past year. The stretch after Sira till about Dobbaspet has multiple pot holes. Be careful on this stretch. On the whole road conditions are good and almost all eateries are functioning now.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Thanks for update Parag. I need to travel from Mysore to Belgaum to Mumbai in the 3rd week of November and was thinking of breaking the trip at Belgaum with a stay at the Fairfield Belgaum. What would be the apx travel time and also wanted your advice on whether to go as per GMaps suggested - Mysore > Bellur > Kunigal > Hebbur > Tumkur onto Belgaum OR as suggested by you above which would add around 30kms / 30mins travel time with the route being Mysore > Bellur > Nelamangla > Tumkur onto Belgaum?

Hi

4 months back I drove Mysore to Belgaum to Mumbai ( halted at Belgaum as it's my home ). I drive a VW Polo 1.2 MPI Comfortline Petrol. Took the Mysore--Krishnarajapete--Channarayapatna--Arsikere--Kadur--Birur--Ajjampur--Channagiri--Davangere--NH4--Hubli--Belgaum--Pune--Mumbai route. I would strongly recommend the same to you too.

Thanks to Parag Sir for recommending Mysore to Davangere route via Channagiri ( my second drive on this route ). It is an undivided smooth 2 lane all throughout except the Arsikere--Birur section which is undergoing 4 laning ( part of NH206 Tumkur--Honnavar ). Very few rough patches. I could clock speeds of 110-120 kmph on certain straight stretches of Birur--Channagiri--Davangere. Very sparse traffic. Started at JP Nagar 10th block, Mysore at 11 am and reached home at Bhagyanagar, Belgaum at 8pm inclusive of a 1 hour break enroute ( that means a driving time of 8 hours for 536 kms ). Noticed that some private luxury buses doing Mysore-Pune-Mumbai like Kaveri travels, Sri Krishna travels have now started taking the Channagiri route instead of the erstwhile Shimoga--Honnali--Harihar route. KSRTC Airavat multiaxle Volvo, VRL, SRS sleepers still take the Shimoga route.

Hardly any eateries on Mysore to Davangere route though as they are all internal roads.

Belgaum to Mumbai will be our usual NH4. Belgaum to Satara and Pune-Mumbai Expressway remain superb as always. Satara--Pune is partly good, partly patchy, but overall just average. Scenic beauty of Maharashtra covers up for this annoyance. No potholes on Satara--Pune as of last week and you can maintain 100--110 all throughout ( I regularly drive Mumbai--Belgaum--Mumbai )

Regards
Dr. Vivek

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

What would be the apx travel time

• Typically Mysore to Srirangapattana turn-off will take 30 minutes
• Once you turn off at Srirangapattana to take the Pandavapura Nagamangala Bellur Cross road, you will take around an hour to cover this 65km stretch as roads are excellent and fast here
• Once you are at Bellur Cross, you have multiple choices to reach Tumkur - Via Kunigal, Via Gudemaranahalli + Shivagange + Dabaspet, Via Nelamangala
• Of the 3, if you are looking for complete dual carriageway, then the one via Nelamangala will be the best choice but this will be at least 40km longer but only take about 20 minutes and 3 toll booths to cross. The second bet here would be to to reach Tumkur via direct route from Kunigal but mind you, during the day time, this will mean you need to cross the town and that's not what you want when on a highway trip
• From Tumkur to Belgaum, add another 5.5 to 6 hours

In summary, Mysore to Belgaum via Srirangapattana - Pandavapura - Nagamangala - Bellur Cross - Kunigal - Nelamangala - Dabaspet and then the usual Pune highway from Dabaspet will take 10 to 11 hours.

and also wanted your advice on whether to go as per GMaps suggested - Mysore > Bellur > Kunigal > Hebbur > Tumkur onto Belgaum OR as suggested by you above which would add around 30kms / 30mins travel time with the route being Mysore > Bellur > Nelamangla > Tumkur onto Belgaum?

Explained above.

[Awaz]

I recently did a solo ride from Blr to Pune on 16th Oct. Started at 4:20AM from Mahadevapura ORR and reached my sister's place at Katraj at 4:45PM with an overall drive time of 10hrs excl breaks.

I achieved an overall mileage of 19.3 kmpl on a tank full method while the MIDI was showing a staggering 21.9 kmpl in my 8 month old Creta 2021 Diesel SX (O) AT on ECO mode with A/C ON for the full trip at 24Deg C. The max speed was a sedate 110kmph with optimal use of cruise control possible only within KA limits.

I was anticipating Interceptors near Davangere based on info in this thread but I saw none that day, may be it was still too early for them. However, I saw 2 Interceptors after crossing Belgavi, one shortly after crossing Belgavi at some village named Bendi (not quite sure if I got that right) and the other one at Hebbal. Luckily, a 2 wheeler came in my way and helped reduce my speed before I spotted them

I saw a couple of cars being stopped by Kolhapur Police but I wasn't. I guess they were looking for GA returnees. Anyway, they would have wasted my time and theirs even if they had stopped me !!

Road condition is already captured perfectly in many of the previous posts, +/- 10 kms at Tumkur, +/- 10 kms at Kolhapur and Satara-Pune stretch are to be taken care of. Shoulders are narrow from Belgavi to Satara due to which 2 Wheeler traffic is pushed onto the main carriageway.

Fog Conditions between Chitradurga and Davangere at dawn consistently for almost 50kms with visibility of ~200mts.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by vivek95

4 months back I drove Mysore to Belgaum to Mumbai...Took the Mysore--Krishnarajapete--Channarayapatna--Arsikere--Kadur--Birur--Ajjampur--Channagiri--Davangere--NH4--Hubli--Belgaum--Pune--Mumbai route. I would strongly recommend the same to you too.

Hardly any eateries on Mysore to Davangere route though as they are all internal roads.

Thanks Vivek, this is very helpful!

Originally Posted by paragsachania

In summary, Mysore to Belgaum via Srirangapattana - Pandavapura - Nagamangala - Bellur Cross - Kunigal - Nelamangala - Dabaspet and then the usual Pune highway from Dabaspet will take 10 to 11 hours.

Thanks Parag.

Reading both above, I am very tempted to take Vivek's advice and go for the well laid and sparsely populated internal roads as opposed to the highway via Nelamangla. For me, I guess this will be a decision best taken when we depart Mysore, since it will be the last leg on our cross country drive and will depend a lot on how tired we are and how eager we are to get home asap. Will update this thread once we are done!

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Srirangapattana - Pandavapura - Nagamangala - Bellur Cross

This route is so peaceful. I do Bangalore-Mysore using this. Pandavapura is the only place you have to slow down, other places you can consistently do 80.

[roadjourno]

Hi All,

Read the thread above and its quiet a lot of information .

Due to urgent work need to drive on 29th as flights are non-operational from Pune at the moment.

1. How is the current situation on road conditions for Pune Blr road? Is the speed limit 100 or 80

2. Regarding overnight stay at Belgavi, is sankham or Fairfield preferred for family ?

3. RTPCR -tive i read is must to enter KA for all.

4. There was a mention of new bypass somewhere up in the thread is that now operational ?

Paragsachania is your list of fuel bunks & eateries is helpful, thanks for sharing that.

Anything else to watch out for ?


Thanks
RJ

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by roadjourno

1. How is the current situation on road conditions for Pune Blr road? Is the speed limit 100 or 80

Unless otherwise specified, it is always 80 kmph.

2. Regarding overnight stay at Belgavi, is sankham or Fairfield preferred for family ?

Both are good, Fairfield is fairly new and bang on the highway after Belgaum.

3. RTPCR -tive i read is must to enter KA for all.

As of now yes as per the guidelines.

4. There was a mention of new bypass somewhere up in the thread is that now operational ?

This is the new bypass for Chitradurga and fully operational. No confusions as this is well marked and as long as you will remain on the main corridor, you will continue on the bypass itself.

[shauncolaco]

Hi All,

Need to drive to Mumbai with my family in the next couple of days. Planning an overnight stay at Kolhapur. Any suggestions on a decent hotel at Kolhapur. Thanks.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by shauncolaco

Need to drive to Mumbai with my family in the next couple of days. Planning an overnight stay at Kolhapur. Any suggestions on a decent hotel at Kolhapur. Thanks.

You can look at Jotiba or Opal.

Note that Kolhapur is slightly expensive in terms of room rates, will cost you 4000 thereabouts.

If you are looking something bang on highway you can look at Sai International at Yelur. We walked in last year Xmas day, its good enough for a overnight.