[triedeverything]

Originally Posted by slicvic

OT reply: is t because the rake angle of the Scorpio windscreen is nearly perpendicular compared to other hatchbacks and sedans?

That is a possibility. I have a Scorpio myself, however, I still get the reflection on many pictures. Looks like the photographer took the camera as close as possible to the windshield before shooting, or maybe it is the zoom factor?

[girishab]

Back from a trip to Brahmavara over the weekend. Based on the suggestions by bullinb, took the following route both ways:
E-City Bangalore-NICE Rd-Tumkur-Arasikere-Shimoga-Theerthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwara-Hebri-Brahmavara
Roads are pretty good except for a bad stretch of 1 km after Beerur(while going towards Shimoga) and a rough stretch for about 15 kms before Agumbe.
Took approximately 9 hours both ways, with an hour's break in Shimoga.

Thanks to MCR and bullinb for your inputs.

[kadri007]

Came back today morning from Mangalore. And here is the latest update on Bangalore - Mangalore Road condition.

While going I took the Durgamba Motors Non AC Sleeper. The bus left Bangalore at 10.30PM and reached Mangalore at 6.00AM even after 30 Mins block in Rajajinagar and 30 mins break at Kamath hotel.

The bus took the Magadi road to Kunigal. It was a smooth ride after Magadi town and got some good sleep. The bus was at good speed and suddenly we were all thrown in the air from our beds. The driver didnt see the dug up road due to heavy rain and had not put the brake. A lot of road work currently going on between Kunigal and Chennarayapatna.

There are sudden road diversions and roads are dug up. Please be very careful especially when it rains.

The roads after Kunigal to Saklesphur was ok. After Sakleshpur a lot of Minining trucks were there and driver was putting sudden brakes while overtaking these non side giving trucks.

Shocking news is the Shiradi ghat has already lost its smooth road conditions. The roads have become a bit rough now only and I think by July the roads would be back to same old condition. Very poor road work.

Its just a eye wash to fool public. Really never expected this so soon.

While coming back came in Durgamba AC Sleeper. Heavy rains all the way. The bus left at 10.15 PM and reached Bangalore at 6.15 AM. While coming also the bus came via Magadi road.

[ampere]

So looks like every one is using the Magadi road route to beat Nelamangala nightmare.

[mooza]

Originally Posted by kadri007

Shocking news is the Shiradi ghat has already lost its smooth road conditions. The roads have become a bit rough now only and I think by July the roads would be back to same old condition. Very poor road work

Thanks Kadri007, for the update. I will be driving to Puttur in my Scorpio after 3 days. Let me try Shiradi ghat on the onward trip. If it is bad, I might do Charmadi or Sampaje on the return. The problem with the Charmadi option will be the stretch from Uppinangadi to Guruvayankere / Belthangady, which is too narrow & rough, based on what I heard earlier. I wonder how is it now ?

[gopikb]

Thanks to MCR and Sushrutha. They seem to be the gurus for art of travelling between Bangalore and Mysore. I completed my 900km drive last weekend (Friday inclusive) and following is the route taken

Day 1 (30-April)
Bangalore-magadi-kunigal-Hassan-Belur-Chikmagalur-Aldur-Balehonnur-Jayapura-Sringeri
Started : 5.10AM Reached – 12.30PM including two half hour breaks
We had good darshan of the deity before they closed in the afternoon. Hence we drove to Horanadu and stayed there for the night

Day 1 (30-April)
Sringeri – Horanadu
Started 2.30PM ; Reached : 5.30PM
Had darshan of Annapooraneshwari in the evening and stayed at Sree Matha Home stay. I would recommend this to everyone who plan their trip there.

Day 2 (1-May)
Horanadu-Kalasa-Kudremuka-SK Border-Bajagoli-Belthangady-Ujire-Dharmasthala-Kukke Subrahmanya
Started : 8.30AM Reached : 2.30PM including multiple breaks amounting to 2 hours
Note that we did not plan to visit Dharmasthala as we expected a huge crowd and as expected the place was swamped with pilgrims. We just crossed the town to reach Kukke
Had a good darshan of Lord subrahmanya at 4.00PM and stayed at SLR residency in Kukke

Day 3 (2-May)
Kukke- Gundya- Sakleshpura- Hassan – Kunigal – Magadi - Bangalore
Started 8.00AM ; Reached : 4.00PM including multiple breaks of about 2 hours.

The total trip was 900 kms and the bad roads were very negligible when compared to the total length. I would estimate a total of 30km length of rough roads in the entire trip.

[kadri007]

Originally Posted by mooza

Thanks Kadri007, for the update. I will be driving to Puttur in my Scorpio after 3 days. Let me try Shiradi ghat on the onward trip. If it is bad, I might do Charmadi or Sampaje on the return. The problem with the Charmadi option will be the stretch from Uppinangadi to Guruvayankere / Belthangady, which is too narrow & rough, based on what I heard earlier. I wonder how is it now ?

You can easily come through Shiradi ghat. The roads are far better than earlier days and in some places become much wider also.

But the Mining trucks traffic has started. Also saw a few LPG tankers making its way. Authorities are again sleeping.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by kadri007

Came back today morning from Mangalore. And here is the latest update on Bangalore - Mangalore Road condition.

While going I took the Durgamba Motors Non AC Sleeper. The bus left Bangalore at 10.30PM and reached Mangalore at 6.00AM even after 30 Mins block in Rajajinagar and 30 mins break at Kamath hotel.

The bus took the Magadi road to Kunigal. It was a smooth ride after Magadi town and got some good sleep. The bus was at good speed and suddenly we were all thrown in the air from our beds. The driver didnt see the dug up road due to heavy rain and had not put the brake. A lot of road work currently going on between Kunigal and Chennarayapatna.

There are sudden road diversions and roads are dug up. Please be very careful especially when it rains.

The roads after Kunigal to Saklesphur was ok. After Sakleshpur a lot of Minining trucks were there and driver was putting sudden brakes while overtaking these non side giving trucks.

Shocking news is the Shiradi ghat has already lost its smooth road conditions. The roads have become a bit rough now only and I think by July the roads would be back to same old condition. Very poor road work.

Its just a eye wash to fool public. Really never expected this so soon.

While coming back came in Durgamba AC Sleeper. Heavy rains all the way. The bus left at 10.15 PM and reached Bangalore at 6.15 AM. While coming also the bus came via Magadi road.

I too drove back in the old zen .Started at 2 pm and reached Indiranagar by 8 pm.The ghat is still manageable but I am concerned about the number of "mine" trucks that i saw .Otherwise the drive till channrayapatna is a blast .One can go as fast as your car can .My car has damaged tires and I wasnt exceeding 120 ...still i did Mangalore-Channrayapatna in 3 hours!!

This time I also took the Kunigal Magadi road stretch ,and guess what.I have just found my new "favourite" road.
Its like a race track with proper bankings where one can speed through the corners as well.Only 2-3 kms of it passes through small towns.One has to be careful of morons trying to race each other and bigger ones driving with folded side mirrors!!

[MCR]

Originally Posted by girishab

Back from a trip to Brahmavara over the weekend. Based on the suggestions by bullinb, took the following route both ways:
Thanks to MCR and bullinb for your inputs.

Originally Posted by gopikb

Thanks to MCR and Sushrutha. They seem to be the gurus for art of travelling between Bangalore and Mysore (Mangalore). I completed my 900km drive last weekend (Friday inclusive) and following is the route taken

The total trip was 900 kms and the bad roads were very negligible when compared to the total length. I would estimate a total of 30km length of rough roads in the entire trip.

You are welcome girishab and Gopi. I am extremely happy that both of you had a wonderful trip. Now waiting for the travelogue.

Originally Posted by kadri007

You can easily come through Shiradi ghat. The roads are far better than earlier days and in some places become much wider also.

But the Mining trucks traffic has started. Also saw a few LPG tankers making its way. Authorities are again sleeping.

Oh my bad. How come these truckers know that the roads have improved. I hope they donot have a networking site like TBHP.

Originally Posted by speedsatya

I too drove back in the old zen .Started at 2 pm and reached Indiranagar by 8 pm.The ghat is still manageable but I am concerned about the number of "mine" trucks that i saw .Otherwise the drive till channrayapatna is a blast .One can go as fast as your car can .My car has damaged tires and I wasnt exceeding 120 ...still i did Mangalore-Channrayapatna in 3 hours!!

This time I also took the Kunigal Magadi road stretch ,and guess what.I have just found my new "favourite" road.
Its like a race track with proper bankings where one can speed through the corners as well.Only 2-3 kms of it passes through small towns.One has to be careful of morons trying to race each other and bigger ones driving with folded side mirrors!!

That's very fast. However it remains to be seen till when the roads can hold up. As kadri has mentioned, rains + trucks are a bad combination for the Shiradi Ghat. hope it stays put.

[MX6]

Originally Posted by gopikb

The total trip was 900 kms and the bad roads were very negligible when compared to the total length. I would estimate a total of 30km length of rough roads in the entire trip.

3.33% bad roads in the entire trip sounds good! Hope the roads hold good after the rains too. Can you also help us with a travelogue? And how much did the stay cost you in both Horanadu and Subramanya. When ever we go there, we stay in Sringeri. I've been to Horanadu. But Subramanya is in my heart for long. Never been there yet.

Originally Posted by kadri007

But the Mining trucks traffic has started. Also saw a few LPG tankers making its way. Authorities are again sleeping.

Don't think the Authorities are sleeping. Guess they are wide awake, filling their pockets.

Originally Posted by MCR

That's very fast. However it remains to be seen till when the roads can hold up. As kadri has mentioned, rains + trucks are a bad combination for the Shiradi Ghat. hope it stays put.

They need to stop these monsters completely (Mining trucks) and use goods trains to transport the same. Who can and will enforce such a thing?

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by MCR

That's very fast. However it remains to be seen till when the roads can hold up. As kadri has mentioned, rains + trucks are a bad combination for the Shiradi Ghat. hope it stays put.

As I said ,I didnt exceed 120 at any point ,but yeah I was doing 100-120 at most places except the ghat and just after Sakleshpur.
The best part and also the surprise element of the drive was the Kunigal-Magadi road stretch . FYI ,when coming from Mangalore ,this is a road on the right about 8 kms after Kunigal

[gopikb]

Hi MX6, I will try to upload my travelogue by this weekend. Stay options at Horanadu and Kukke were very good.

At Horanadu, we stayed in SriMathahomestay. Please follow the link below to get details and the phone # to book. The house owner and his wife were very courteous and made the stay as comfortable as possible. It costed us just Rs.500 per room for the night and Rs.366 for breakfast and dinner for five people. We had taken 2 rooms. The rates were very reasonable and you can call them to book.

Sri Matha Home Stay, Horanadu - Home

In case of Kukke, we stayed at SLR residency which is a new hotel opened less than a month ago. So the rooms are very neat and it is a great deal for Rs.550 room rent (double bed) for a day's stay. Please look at the link below
Welcome To SLR Residency Kukke Subrahmanya-Best option in Kukke Subramanya - Ratings and Reviews on Hotel SLR Residency, kukke subrahmanya,hotels in India, hotels & resorts,SLRResidency,luxury hotels in India,Indian hotels,SLR Residency,Residency,Lif

Driving Kukke to Bangalore is no big deal now due to the excellent condition of the roads. I took the NICE road from Bsk III stage and joined Magadi road and drove straight to Kunigal through Magadi. I used to hear there is a traffic mess near Nelamangala. Taking this route completely avoids that and the road is excellnent except inside Magadi town. 4-laning work is in progress between Kunigal and Hassan. However, one of the lanes is in good condition and you can drive easily. Shiradi ghat road is in fabulous condition now and I recommend you to drive there before the rain starts in June.

[gopikb]

MCR, Sorry for the typo. I did mean Bangalore and Mangalore. Punto handled the ghat drive beautifully and I am enjoying every moment of driving it. I guess it should be the same with you too. I crossed the 10000km milestone during this trip.

[MX6]

@gopikb. Sadly for me, I'm in Pune. I keep driving often to Udupi from here. So I have to plan in advance as I don't take 1 or 2 days off from office. I take a yearly 25 day break and roam all around. Udupi trips happen randomly over long weekends!
But thanks for all the great inputs!

[gopikb]

Sorry MX6, I didnot notice that you were from Pune. Since the thread was discussing Bangalore and Mangalore, I assumed that everybody is from Bangalore. Anyway, if you going to cover these places from Udupi, then it makes your life much easier I guess.