[goandude]

Originally Posted by JVH

A few kms more will ensure you piece of mind for sure. I personally loathe the nelamangala stretch - bad driving ethics, humungous speedbreakers, broken down trucks, inter-state buses and what not.

As of yesterday, I didn't see any traffic being diverted.

Where are you put up? If you are in north Bangalore, the route you mentioned seems a better option. If in south, NICE is preferable.

I Stay at CV raman nagar behind Big Bazar. so I will be looking at 68 km to hebbal flyover via dodbellapur vs 50 km via Neelamangala.
cheers
GD

[paragsachania]

This time I wanted to drive through the night and it happened over the weekend as I started from Pune at 10-30pm and was in Bangalore at 10-00am and first time through the Dobspet - Doddaballapur - Yelehanka and then finally Vidyaranyapura. Here are a few things which will help anyone wanting to travel in the night.

• Private Traffic from Pune through Karad, Umbraj, Satara & Kolhapur is very less except for those Private Goan and KSRTC buses. This saves a lot of time at all the toll booths (Expecially till Kagal) since much time gets wasted at toll stations due to heavy private traffic in the evenings.
• Truckers including those Mahindra Boleros and MAX's stay on the left lane since there are no 2 wheelers and 3 wheelers which usually stop abruptly and thus force these trucks to stick to the fast lane. Passing through every town was just a breeze.
• There are plenty ( plenty am sure) fuel stations & small to medium roadside restaurants that I saw remaining open even past midnight all the way till Kolhapur (while I passed Kolpapur around 12-45am.)
• Once you pass Kagal checkpost, there is no single Fuel station which you can bank upon only till you reach Dharwad exit where you'll find two 24hrs fuel station onto your left (While heading Bangalore) before the Dharward High-Court building. (I was complacent since there was a quarter of tank still left thinking I might refuel elsewhere)
• After Kagal, there is only one place for tea/coffee or some snacks just after the Tawandi Ghat ends after Nippani.
• Belgaum - Hubli - Bankapura again was a breeze where you can maintain 90-100kmph without even a single instance to brake (unless a toll) or even change lanes!!
• Those 2 railway crossings near Haveri were easy to pass with less traffic and also since the gates were open. However, the roads are still the same, Bad and real bad!!
• While I approached Davanagere, I was sure that I had to refuel than taking a risk till Chitradurga and hence got into the town (around 5-15am) thinking some fuel station will be open but unfortunately the only earliest one opens is at the old Bus-stand around 6-00am. So, I waited a good 45-50 mins to refuel and probably It was a good break to stretch my legs as well.
• Chitradurga Davanagere is OK except for a bad patch immediately after Davanagere.
• Passing Chitradurga was faster with very less trucks this time and then as usual, I carried on to take a breakfast break at Kamath, Sira around 7-30am.
• This time, I wanted to try the much talked Dobspet route and hence got onto the Doddaballapur road. This stretch of around 30 kms is good since there was very less traffic but do watch out for a few rough patches with large to medium potholes. I would definitely not recommend this in the night.
• The road is clearly marked with signs to show destinations and It was easy to take Doddaballapur - Yelehanka route but there was too much oncoming private traffic driven by maniacs wanting to do a serial overtaking on a 2 laned road. Hence, I was also not surprised to see 2 accidents for all the reasons.
• Reached home at 10-00am and that was it and all the 3 railway crossings were open while I passed them.

All through the Journey, I maintained a steady 90-100kmph and though I could do more, this whole journey of 850kms turned out to be eventful except for being over-confident of fuel station which made me wait for 45 minutes doing nothing.So, someone trying to drive NH4 through the night, better beware of this!

[anainar]

Hi Parag,

That is quiet informative. Did you drive non stop through the night? Kudos man!! I have driven through that in the nights till 2:00 AM but beyond that I could not and took a nap for a couple of hours. Pune - Belgaum I could belt in four hours flat and what you say about local traffic is true in the nights. The interstate truckers are the most well behaved lot in the highway.

Am planning a visit this week end to Pune. I see a cyclone update and it is raining heavily in Pune, that is what my wife told me. Any updates on the intermediate areas? Especially the Hubli-Belgaum stretch which is prone to flooding?

Nainar

[paragsachania]

Nainar,
Yes, I drove all through the night as I had done this stretch (but Bangalore to Pune) through the night twice on earlier occasions way back in 2007 when the C'Durga - Haveri Stretch was super bad than what it is now.
No one can get drowsy especially on the Haveri - C'durga stretch
I drove back again to Pune on yesterday and I faced drizzles from Belgaum which then graduated to rains near Karad and finally downpour in Pune.
It is raining quite heavily in Pune now coupled with high winds good enough to make one nervous during driving.

Even though I faced rains, I didn't face winds and the situation was manageable. But now that the rains have continued over more than 24 hours, there will be good amount of water on the road surface and driving may certainly not be a pleasant experience.

By weekend, I am sure (rather hoping) that things should be back to normal.

[jaaz]

Nainar,Better you check the weather forecast before going out on to the Road. I think within 3 days it should die down.

Yesterday, My brother waited for almost 3.5 hours at Mumbai Airport - Reason, the weather was Bad and the Kingfisher plane accident. And the Cyclone is moving towards East - means it'll cross Pune, and other central Maharashtra Districts.

[shreeps]

I am planning a trip from Pune to Bangalore, starting tomorrow night (Friday Nov 12) any updates on the weather along the way and the latest on which stretches are real bad?

[hvkumar]

I drove down from Bombay to Bangalore today, no rains, warm dry weather.
Bad roads - not really so bad, watch out for a nasty bad patch in Haveri bypass, go it slow in the road approaching Ranebennur, but the worst roads are in Davangere bypass, although Chitradurga bypass also may be a close competitor for the top honours.

[shreeps]

Thank you hvkumarji. Since I am doing this for the first time, could you give me a brief step by step map?
I have done Pune-Satara, Pune-Kolhapur a few times but never done the Pune-Bangalore trip. So important towns/turn offs/exits after Kolhapur will be really helpful apart from the bad stretches you mentioned.

[anainar]

Originally Posted by shreeps

Thank you hvkumarji. Since I am doing this for the first time, could you give me a brief step by step map?
I have done Pune-Satara, Pune-Kolhapur a few times but never done the Pune-Bangalore trip. So important towns/turn offs/exits after Kolhapur will be really helpful apart from the bad stretches you mentioned.

Shreeps,

Bangalore - Pune NH4 is well marked and it is difficult to get lost, unless you make an effort to do so..

Anyway how you hit NH4 from your house in Bangalore may vary. It could be through NICE road if you are from the souther part of Bangalore, or the usual Nelamangala route if you are from north bangalore. First major town will be Tumkur - Sira - Chitradurday ... This stretch is wonderful to drive, around 200 kms starting from Bangalore. You can do this in 3-3.5 hours.

Next starts the bad stretch - Chiitradurga - Davengere - Ranibennur. This is the stretch you should watch out for bad roads, two railway gates and all kinds of nightmares.

Once you cross Haveri it is piece of cake. Haveri - Hubli - Belgaum - Nippani - Kohlapur - Karad - Satara - Pune.. The roads are great to drive and no problems at all.

Dont know when you are planning to drive, I plan to start by around 4:30 PM from Koramangala in Bangalore and intend to drive through the night. If you need assistance do not hesitate to contact me. PM me your number before 4:00 PM if you feel the need.

Nainar

[hvkumar]

From Kolhapur, continue on NH4 to what is the best stretch on the NH4, the road to Belgaum. Till you cross the MH-KA border, expect lots of miscellaneous traffic, but after Kagal (the last border town), it is a fantastic drive. You climb 2 ghats on the way but the ascents are very gradual and fast. Facilities are poor, the only decent place to stop by is otel Kaveri/Satyavati Palace in Tawandi Ghat after Nippani.

In case you want to take a break, Hotel Sankam Residency in Belgaum has good food and clean toilets. It is just off Nh4 50-100 metres inside), but to go there you will have to go below the flyover and turn right - you will see Sankam as you descend the last 3 kms into Belgaum.

If you are running on diesel, refuel at Konduskar's BPCL pump after Kolhapur to take advantage of the lower rates in MH.

Kolhapur-Belgaum, 112 kms, 1.05 hrs

Belgaum to Hubli-Dharwad gets even better, and you turn off into the Hubli-Dharwad bypass which is a 2-lane road. Remember to keep your toll ticket, has to be shown at the exit.

Belgaum-Dharwad BP, 70 kms, 40 mts

Belgaum-Dharwad bypass is 31 kms long and you have 4-lane roads again after the BP. The road continues to be fine till you reach Haveri.

Dharwad BP-Haveri BP, 98 kms, 2.05 hrs

Haveri BP has a few nasty sections, take care, don't be deceived by the good roads.

After Haveri BP ends, it becomes 2-lane roads, with 2 level crossings, lots of humps and some moderately bad sections, as you cross Motebennur and reach Ranebennur.

Haveri BP (beginning)-Haveri BP (end) 10 kms-Ranebennur 30 kms, 36 mts

YOu have a BPCL Ghar pump just before Ranebennur (on teh left hand side).

Ranebennur BP is incomplete, so you will have to go into town, slow and frustrating. There are 2 petrol pumps inside town too.

After crossing Ranebennur, you have 4-lane road till Harihar.

Ranebennur-Harihar BP,18 kms, 16 mts

There are no proper signages pointing to the bypass, simply follow the trucks as the NH4 bypass veers off to the right. Harihar-Davangere ByPass is horrible with lots of potholes/craters, and small cars have to be extremely careful to aoid hitting the underbody. There is a Genesis Restaurant on this bypass. After the BP ends, the 4-lane road resumes although intermittently it switches tracks and there are humps and bad sections.

Harihar BP (begin)-Davangere BP (end) 27 kms-Chitradurga BP, 55 kms, 1.11 hrs

Chitradurga BP is also incomplete, but road condition is OK. After crossing Chitradurga, road is great all the way to Tumkur.

Chitradurga BP, 6 kms

Chitradurga BP end-Tumkur BP, 128 kms, 1.17 hrs

Tumkur BP is also under construction, some humps.

After that it is a toll road all the way to Nelamanagala before Bangalore.

[anainar]

Uggh! Did not read your route properly and gave the route from the other side. Sorry about that Shreeps..

HVK has given the detailed guide. So, you are all set to go.

Just one correction though, if you are coming from Pune side, the Ghar dhaba after Ranibennur is on the right side. You may have to take a U turn @750 after the Dhaba and go to the other side, towards Pune to enter the dhaba.

Nainar

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by anainar

...if you are coming from Pune side, the Ghar dhaba after Ranibennur is on the right side. You may have to take a U turn @750 after the Dhaba and go to the other side, towards Pune to enter the dhaba.

Nainar

@Nainar, if you plan to drive through the night starting at 4-30pm from Bangalore, you will probably cross this(Ghar) around 8-30 -9-00PM (average speeds) and you can still bank upon this one for food and fuel.

While driving through the night, Neither the Dhaba nor the Fuel Station was open in the night when I passed them a week back. It was around 4-00am (If I am sure) and I could see a few tractors and a locally registered Scorpio waiting for the pump to open and I took took a U-Turn only to realise later that it opens only after 5-30/6-00am.

@Shreeps, Since you are driving down to Bangalore,banking on Fuel stations past Kolhapur in the night is useless and its better to either top-up at Konduskar or the only option later is just before entering the Dharward-Hubli Bypass (near the High Court) On the left while heading to Bangalore as you have 2 outlets.

[shreeps]

@hvkumar, anainar, paragsachania: Guys thanks a lot for your tips. I will reply back wih details on how the trip went once I get back

[shreeps]

Well guys, sorry for the late response. The trip went fine and the road conditions were exactly as mentioned by the gurus.

The road after Dharwad really becomes horrible in patches and I am surprised that it has been allowed to fall into so much disrepair. The roads on the Maharashtra side were comparatively much better.
Especially the Kolhapur - Belgaum stretch.

I was in an innova and I can only imagine how bad it must be for someone in a small car.

The trip back was uneventful except for lots of rain on the way.

Once again, thanks all for your help. Much appreciated.

[anainar]

Shreeps,

Glad that you made the trip without any incidents. I drove to and back from Pune this week. Again an un eventful drive.

While going to Pune, could start only at 6:00 against my earlier plan of 4:00. Reached the Ghar Dhaba by around 11:15, had my dinner and drove till 2:00 but felt sleepy. Slept for a couple of hours, started at 4:00 drove till 5:30, but then again felt sleepy. Slept at the next toll gate for a couple of hours, started again at 7:45, reached Pune by 10:30, saturday morning.

Return journey was continuous, started at 7:30 in the morning on Saturday, reached L&T South city apartment by 8:00. The chitradurga-Haveri stretch is getting worse and worse with every passing day. And why we should pay a toll of 80 Rs for that pathetic stretch of road.

Nainar