[airguitar]

So it's that time of the month : planning a 4 day trip in the areas between Bandipur, Gundlupet, Virajapet, Bisle, Sakleshapura and Hassan. I usually prefer the not-so-well known interior country roads for the excitement they provide ( of course has to be scenic and motorable ). I plan to do this on my Swift.

Need help in knowing stretches from you guys that should not be missed

Here's my itinerary roughly, places I halt for the night have been booked by me already so cannot be changed :(

DAY 1 : Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty ( only a quick drive through ) - Bandipur ( Halt ) Around 425 kms

DAY 2 : Bandipur - Sulthan Bathery - Kutta - Virajapet - Somawarpet - Kodlipet - Hassan ( Halt ) Around 280 kms

DAY 3 : Hassan - Sakaleshpura - Bisle - Kukke - Gundya - Kaginahare - Hassan ( Halt ) 225 kms

DAY 4 : Hassan - Chikkamagalur - Muthodi/Mallandur - Kemmannugundi - Kadur - Tumkur - Bangalore 375 kms


DAY 3 is really my most important day as is the first part of day 4.

Any inputs ?

[himavanth_m]

I think you have covered pretty much everything.
However, start early on day one so that you really enjoy the Ooty - Bandipur drive as well. No point doing it in late evening.

I have not done Bandipur - Hasan route through the places you have mentioned, so I cannot comment. But if time permits, you can check out Sravanabelagola as well, its towards Bangalore side though. Its a diversion from NH48 (Mangalore Bangalore) Highway.

Day 3 I have not ventured out into the other side of Hasan towards Mangalore, So will be waiting for ur travelogue

Day 4 should be a very good drive. On the way to Chikmagalur, there is Belur and there is a dam close by.

[pramod]

AG :

Day 1 :

Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty (On the 36 Hairpin bend shorter route) - Gudalur (By the longer by brilliant stretch of road) - Madumalai - bandipur.

You can spend a while at the Pykara lake before sunset.

Day 3 : I guess u can follow Addy's log blingfolded, to cover all these places.
Hassan - Sakleshpur - Shanivarasanthe - Kaginahaare - Bisle - Kukke - Gundia - Hassan.

Day 4 is fine.

PS: Day 2 and Day 4 seems to be the icing on the cake!

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by airguitar

So it's that time of the month : planning a 4 day trip in the areas between Bandipur, Gundlupet, Virajapet, Bisle, Sakleshapura and Hassan. I usually prefer the not-so-well known interior country roads for the excitement they provide ( of course has to be scenic and motorable ). I plan to do this on my Swift.

Need help in knowing stretches from you guys that should not be missed

Here's my itinerary roughly, places I halt for the night have been booked by me already so cannot be changed :(

DAY 1 : Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty ( only a quick drive through ) - Bandipur ( Halt ) Around 425 kms

DAY 2 : Bandipur - Sulthan Bathery - Kutta - Virajapet - Somawarpet - Kodlipet - Hassan ( Halt ) Around 280 kms

DAY 3 : Hassan - Sakaleshpura - Bisle - Kukke - Gundya - Kaginahare - Hassan ( Halt ) 225 kms

DAY 4 : Hassan - Chikkamagalur - Muthodi/Mallandur - Kemmannugundi - Kadur - Tumkur - Bangalore 375 kms


DAY 3 is really my most important day as is the first part of day 4.

Any inputs ?

Day 1: As Pramod suggested, take Bangalore-Mysore-Bandipur-Masinagudi-Segur ghats-Ooty-Gudalur-Bandipur

Day 2: I'd suggest you take this route

Bandipur-Sultan Bathery-Mananthavady-Kutta-Nagarahole-Hunsur-Bylakuppe (Tibetian Monastery)-Kushalnagar-Harangi Dam-Somwarpet-Shanivarsante-Arkalgud-Gorur dam-Hassan. Phew!!!

I know this is hectic, but there a few places which you can cover in this route. This may not be done in a day with sightseeing. The road conditions are pretty bad in certain sections. Kushalnagar-Somwarpet was rough with potholes. Somwarpet-Shanivarsante is decent. Shanivarsante-Arkalgud is bad. Arkalgud-Gorur-Hassan is good and bad in different places. For road conditions on Sultan Bathery and Kutta, you can get it in the Kerala roads threads. There is no need to go to Kodlipet and the roads are very very bad near that place.

I'd suggest you break your journey in between and cover all these places. I will probably go to Nagarhole today and will update the road conditions on monday. You can decide on the places depending on the availability of time. There is a place called Mallalli Falls near Somwarpet. Check my travelogue for more details.

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


Day 3 (or 4): This is doable. But you have to be very brave to go on Bisle ghat. The ideal route would be Hassan-Sakleshpur-Manjarabad fort (take the left side of the fork)-Byakaravalli (take right)-Hethur-Baachihalli (take right for Kaginahare)-Attihalli-Hongadahalla-Kaaginahare (and back on the same route to Baachihalli)-Vanagur Koodu raste (take right here)-Bisle-Kukke-Gundya-Sakleshpur-Hassan

One warning. Bisle ghat road is very very bad and it is narrow. You might find the the odd bus or auto, but it is very lonely for most of the route. But, it is one of the most beautiful routes in the region. Even the road to Kaginahare is in bad shape. For Kaginahare, you might find some details here

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

Day 4 (or 5): The route is feasible.

Hassan-Belur-Chikmagalur-Mallandur-Muthodi-Kemmangundi-Lingadahalli-Birur-Kadur-Tumkur-Bangalore

You can stop over at Belur if you want to. From Ckm, you can go to Muthodi and take the safari. Apart from that there is nothing much in Muthodi. The road from Muthodi to Kemmangundi is very narrow and was closed by a huge landslide last month. I don't know whether they have cleared it or not. You can check the pics in the following link.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2060001

The Muthodi-Attigundi road is the Kemmangundi road. If this road is still blocked, you have to come all the way to Chikmagalur and go to Kemmangundi. You can ask the locals and then decide. The irony is that the road is blocked at the place just before it joins with the Chikmagalur-Kemmangundi road.

Btw, where are you staying in Bandipur and in Hassan?

[airguitar]

Thanks, guys. I feel I"m armed with the right information now

Addy : Why do you say I've to be "brave" to do the Bisle road ? Also the condition, I've done the CKM->Attigundi->Kemmannugundi stretch before : if that's any indication, how does the bisle ghat road compare ? Is it narrower ?

Also, when you say "bad roads" would it be doable in a Swift ? I've done my share of bad roads and narrow scary roads, but will be thankful if any particular thing I should be aware of ?

At Bandipur : JLR. At Hassan : Southern star.

Thanks guys.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by airguitar

Thanks, guys. I feel I"m armed with the right information now

Addy : Why do you say I've to be "brave" to do the Bisle road ? Also the condition, I've done the CKM->Attigundi->Kemmannugundi stretch before : if that's any indication, how does the bisle ghat road compare ? Is it narrower ?

Also, when you say "bad roads" would it be doable in a Swift ? I've done my share of bad roads and narrow scary roads, but will be thankful if any particular thing I should be aware of ?

At Bandipur : JLR. At Hassan : Southern star.

Thanks guys.

I said that because the road conditions are so bad that you have to be brave enough to see your vehicle getting battered. I think BHPian Ravibhat recently travelled on the route and has posted details somewhere. Let me see if I can find it. That route is best travelled by a hummer.

Bisle ghat road is more or less similar to the Attigundi-Kemmangundi road (both in road conditions and in width), but Bisle has few more narrow stretches. The Muthodi-Attigundi road is even narrower. Chikmagalur-Attigundi road is a lot wider.

I think a swift can handle it, but the speed will be very slow. Check out laluks's thread below. He has done this in his swift. But, this was almost a year back. The road conditions will have deteriorated in this time.

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

[pramod]

As long as u have Tubeless tyres, it should be fine i guess.

AG:
Btw, i have observed on all your trips that, you end up spending money on Resorts just for sleeping over a few hours.

JLR in Bandipur, just to get up in the morning and start driving again? You could rather sleep in a lodge in Gundlupet Just my opinion.

Atleast, check if JLR could give u a late night safari or an early morning safari, to extract a bit out of the 2k they charge you for a night.

[airguitar]

Addy/All thanks a ton : I can hear my heart pounding already, another salvo before the monsoon retreats. I can already see myself printing this thread out for mapping my course.

BTW, Addy : have you considered adding some of these places and routes on a map ? Have we at TBHP considered mapping some of these : the road conditions esp and the unknown smaller maps ? Either on TBHP or on shared maps on the web ?

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by pramod

As long as u have Tubeless tyres, it should be fine i guess.

AG:
Btw, i have observed on all your trips that, you end up spending money on Resorts just for sleeping over a few hours.

JLR in Bandipur, just to get up in the morning and start driving again? You could rather sleep in a lodge in Gundlupet Just my opinion.

Atleast, check if JLR could give u a late night safari or an early morning safari, to extract a bit out of the 2k they charge you for a night.

Pramod, Good observation. I don't usually drive after 5.30 PM / 6 PM in the western ghats typically. So it'd not be a total waste as I'd be back at a decent enough time ( I even considering the mornign safari the next day, and cut out a couple of places from the list on the road )

But yea, I've begun to wonder about this myself. I'm particular about clean rooms and bathrooms and a nice breakfast in the morning. Given most trips need a state of mind to drive and enjoy, the least I want to ensure is that I've had a good night and comfortable start in the morning . I know there is an accommodation thread, think should start looking at it for the next trip

[pramod]

Originally Posted by airguitar

But yea, I've begun to wonder about this myself. I'm particular about clean rooms and bathrooms and a nice breakfast in the morning. Given most trips need a state of mind to drive and enjoy, the least I want to ensure is that I've had a good night and comfortable start in the morning . I know there is an accommodation thread, think should start looking at it for the next trip

As a travel tip, start taking up Lodges. I am sure, u will enjoy the "Road trips" more. Start eating at local places, sit with locals.
Once, in Agumbe, on a raining evening, i parked at the junction of SH1 and the other road coming from Sringeri and sat at a local hotel. Had 2 plates of Goli Bhajji and Kashaya with localites. Infact they asked me to try out Kashaya, which is their usual evening drink during monsoons.
I enjoy that way.


I have come across people who go in search of Idli/Vada, Dosa where ever there, in any part of the globe. well, nothing wrong in it, but i am of the opinion that, we blend with what we find around.

Sorry for all the OT !

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by pramod

As a travel tip, start taking up Lodges. I am sure, u will enjoy the "Road trips" more. Start eating at local places, sit with locals.
Once, in Agumbe, on a raining evening, i parked at the junction of SH1 and the other road coming from Sringeri and sat at a local hotel. Had 2 plates of Goli Bhajji and Kashaya with localites. Infact they asked me to try out Kashaya, which is their usual evening drink during monsoons.
I enjoy that way.


I have come across people who go in search of Idli/Vada, Dosa where ever there, in any part of the globe. well, nothing wrong in it, but i am of the opinion that, we blend with what we find around.

Sorry for all the OT !

Can't agree more. I've probably eaten gholibhajji at the same place ( is this close to someshwara when going from Agumbe ? ). I do try local cuisine and try to chat with the locals ( my best interactions with locals have been near Kuduremukha, Agumbe and Kemmannugundi ). But I might still prefer known places with decent reviews for the night stay.

More OT

[pramod]

Originally Posted by airguitar

Can't agree more. I've probably eaten gholibhajji at the same place ( is this close to someshwara when going from Agumbe ? ). I do try local cuisine and try to chat with the locals ( my best interactions with locals have been near Kuduremukha, Agumbe and Kemmannugundi ). But I might still prefer known places with decent reviews for the night stay.

Wrt that Agumbe hotel :
1. One is in Agumbe town entrance. One road comes from Theerthalli and the other from Sringeri. At that junction there are a few shops and 1 hotel.

2. The other hotel is JUST after u climb down the Agumbe ghat, on the left side. I love goli bhajjis at this place too. I have also had Neer dosa here, looking at the Agumbe hills behind... ahhh.. i want to fly back to India NOW!!

here is the snap of that hotel/location:

[airguitar]

I know the place

Addy, I might skip Bylakuppe. Of the 3 : Harangi, Gorur and Mallalli falls, if I should pick one, which one would you recommend ?

[airguitar]

Oh the laluks thread was amazing.

[jeevmenon]

Hassan/Belur/Halebid triangle have good roads, infact one stretch was just out of the world for me. Very good. Arsikere/Channarayapatna road is also good. So you may want to use it to get into NH48 and via Kunigal/Neelamangala. I had been on that route last Christmas and it was good. Regards Harangi, it was closed then.