[addyhemmige]

My comments in bold

Originally Posted by deepax

Hi Lohith, Samurai or all other frequent travelers between BLR & MLR:

I am driving to Mangalore from Bangalore with my family somewhere around 3rd week of this month. This will be our first by car to MLR. I know the timing of the visit is not good with respect to the weather condition.

Needed a favour, please confirm the below route via Magadi

Planned route (by referring to Google Maps):

1) Starting from HSR Layout
2) Will connect to NICE Road from Bannerughatta Road
3) Connect to Magadi Road after Anjana Nagar
4) Drive through SH-85 Magadi Main Road Do not look for references of SH nos from NICE to Magadi to Kunigal. Just follow directions on boards to Magadi and Kunigal.
5) Connect to SH-94 Kunigal Main Road
6) Drive towards NH-48 Hassan Main Road
7) Connect and drive through NH-48 Hassan Main Road (crossing SH-33 Tumkur Main Road, I should be seeing Akash theatre here!) I have been travelling on this road for the past 25 years and I still don't remember seeing any Akash Theater. Just follow the big road, you will not get lost
8) Drive through Yediyur and continue towards Hassan
9) Pass through Bellur Cross
10) Should pass by Adichunchangiri Medical College
11) Continue on NH-48 by passing Channarayapattana
12) Pass through Dandiganahalli and Shanti Grama
13) Connect to Hassan or By Pass it (if there is any other connecting road) and drive to Sakleshpur. There is a by-pass road to Hassan. Take it if you do not want to stop in Hassan. you will save some time and distance.
14) Drive via Naranhalli, connect to Shiradi Ghat. The village is called Maranahalli and not Naranhalli. Google has displayed it wrong.
15) Complete Shiradi Ghat, connect to Nelyady and then Uppinangadi
16) Connect to Bantwal after Kalladka and then Final Destination Mangalore

Any good places to take a break for lunch or snacks or to relax.
Precautions to be taken on this route.
We will be traveling during day time. Will try to leave as early as possible in the morning but cannot guarantee because of the family and a toddler!

Any suggestions and pointers are welcome and appreciated.

Many thanks,
deepax

Samurai has already mentioned a couple of eating joints. I would recommend them too. In case you are interested in a Kamat, there is one after Channarayapatna. There is a CCD adjacent to this place.

[deepax]

Superb

Thanks a ton: Samurai, lohithrao, rajshenoy, dkamath, addyhemmige
These information will give me the confidence and the required information. Thanks again.

@Samurai: Will try Mayura on the way, do let us know your journey via Coorg

@lohithrao: Wow so many points, these will go to my notes, cheers!

@rajshenoy: True, need to get used to Shiradi route for future travel plans. This will be first for me and will be cautious especially in this ghat section.

@dkamath: I have taken Madikeri route last June (god knows why I get to travel during this part of the year), but did not enjoy it because of bad roads after Kushalnagar till I reached Sullia.

@addyhemmige:Right said, will look for boards. Got these info from Google maps. Have been to Kamat when traveling by Bus or cab. BTW regarding Akash Theatre let me see whether I can discover this one!

Cheers All

[lohithrao]

Kamath sir i beg to disagree here till madikeri its breeze but from sampaje till you hit mani it gets bugging, since the road is narrow at time when there is traffic its bad! and many times on coming bus/truck make you get out of the road....and if its raining you can imagine

Originally Posted by dkamath

Do I have to cry out loud to suggest the Madikeri route?
Sparse traffic makes travelling along this route fatigue-free. Your itenary seems well planned, and hence wouldn't want you to change plans now.
Wishing you a pleasurable journey. Drive safe.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by dkamath

Do I have to cry out loud to suggest the Madikeri route?
Sparse traffic makes travelling along this route fatigue-free. Your itenary seems well planned, and hence wouldn't want you to change plans now.
Wishing you a pleasurable journey. Drive safe.

I agree with Lohith here. I have taken this road 5 times in the last few weeks, it is lot more tiring than agumbe or shiradi route due the twisting roads of Coorg. Less traffic, yes. Once my Jeep is ready, I'll avoid this route.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Haven't taken Shiradi ghat since two years, I'll let others comment on it.

.

Impossible to beleive ...but Shiradi is still in pretty good shape.This Sunday,my family did this trip in an Innova .They started at 6 pm and reached Bangalore at 1 am with a number of pit and pee stops.
Max speed done was 90 kph

[ampere]

Folks,

Question more for my understanding.

Which is a better route for Sringeri? Should one go through Chikmagulur and Bhadra forest or go via Kalasa? The second option would by-pass CKM and take diversion via Belur and go via Gonebidu/Mudigere.

Are the roads in same state every where?

Similarly for Dharmasthala does it make sense to go via NH48 (Shiradi) or the Charmadi ghat / Ujire?
Or its the same madness every where? Take which ever is good at that point in time?

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by ampere

Folks,

Question more for my understanding.

Which is a better route for Sringeri? Should one go through Chikmagulur and Bhadra forest or go via Kalasa? The second option would by-pass CKM and take diversion via Belur and go via Gonebidu/Mudigere.

Are the roads in same state every where?

Similarly for Dharmasthala does it make sense to go via NH48 (Shiradi) or the Charmadi ghat / Ujire?
Or its the same madness every where? Take which ever is good at that point in time?

This is strictly my opinion.

For Sringeri, the shortest & the fastest route is via Chikmagalur-Balehonnur and the roads too are quite wide enough for two vehicles to pass and the surface of road too has been good for some time now.

The route via Kottigehara-Kalasa is narrow and longer. I do not know about the route conditions though. Btw, you do not have to go via Kalasa if you take this route. You can bypass Kalasa by taking the Kottigehara-Baalur-Magundi-Tanudi-Basrikatte-Sringeri. Again, this road too is narrow. But the route through Kottigehara offers great views all the way. If you have time on your hands and are traveling in an SUV, I would recommend you take this route.

For Dharmasthala, both the Shiradi & Charmadi routes are almost equal distancewise. Charmadi route is approx 10-15kms longer than Shiradi route.

Shiradi ghat road was more wider than Charmadi (do not know present condition) and has more traffic. Charmadi was(is?) more susceptible to landslides during the monsoon season. Charmadi ghat is a bit steeper compared to Shiradi which has more gradual gradient. Charmadi offers more views compared to Shiradi.

[ampere]

Addy Thanks. There are so many permutations and combinations in this region, that one can easily get confused. Also its very difficult to figure out which one OK and which one is not at that point in time, (unless someone has access to TBHP on the way!)

[abhinav.s]

Went to Udupi this weekend. Left home at 5:00 AM sharp from CV Raman nagar. Reached Udupi at 2:10PM inclusive of a 1 hour break in CCD near CR Patna. Took the below route:

City: CV Raman nagar - Corporation - Railway Station - Deviation to Magadi road and follow this road. It was a very confusing drive within the city with lots of deviations after taking the Magadi road near railway station. Since it was early morning there was nil traffic and thankfully few people to point us in the right direction

Highway: Magadi - Kunigal - CR Patna - Hassan - Sakaleshpur. The road conditions are very good with just about 5-8kms of bad stretches in total. It gets worse near the towns on Magadi Kunigal stretch and back to well laid roads once you cross the town

Shiradi Ghat: Amazing roads and encountered bad stretches only after culverts for a few mts only. Apart from that it was very smooth and easy going.

Dharmasthala - Belthangady - Ujire - Guruvayanakere - Manipal - Udupi: Very scenic stretch with no traffic at all. It was a leisurely drive with speeds between 80-90 kmph. Roads though a bit small in places is smooth and well laid. No traffic makes it easier even if the roads are small. Only problem is there are no direction boards at the junctions and you need to rely on people to direct you in the correct way.

On the whole very pleased with this route.

While coming back took the Murudeshwar - Honnavara - Jog - Shimoga - Tumkur - B'lore since wife wanted to see Jog. This stretch is very good till Jog. After that the road surface is rough and you find potholes frequently. After Tumkur it is a nightmare since there are no proper directions and I almost ended up traveling back to Shimoga due to lack of sign boards!!! Took the deviation from Nelamangala towards NICE road and reached B'lore.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Impossible to beleive ...but Shiradi is still in pretty good shape.

Well, last four years I was flying to Bangalore every time. Since I didn't have parking space in Bangalore, driving was out of question. But now I drive every week.

Last September I needed to come to Sakleshpur for offroading, Shiradi was closed very same week. I had to go through Bisle ghat instead.

[mooza]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Took the deviation from Nelamangala towards NICE road and reached B'lore

Hi Abhinav, nice to know you enjoyed your trip !

What is condition of the Kunigal - Nelamangala road now ? I am planning to drive on this road in a couple of days time.

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by ampere

Which is a better route for Sringeri?
Are the roads in same state every where?

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

For Sringeri, the shortest & the fastest route is via Chikmagalur-Balehonnur and road too has been good for some time now.

The route via Kottigehara-Kalasa is narrow and longer. I do not know about the route conditions though.

As addy says take CKM-Balehonnur-Jayapura Sringeri.
I travelled in this route 10 days back, It's in very good condition till Sringeri. I'll be travelling on this friday too in the same route.

Via Kalasa, the road is pretty much curvy, every 50 -100mtrs ther's a curve. Also road is very narrow. Road condition is also good(travelled 2 + months back)

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sushrutha

As addy says take CKM-Balehonnur-Jayapura Sringeri.
I travelled in this route 10 days back, It's in very good condition till Sringeri. I'll be travelling on this friday too in the same route.

Via Kalasa, the road is pretty much curvy, every 50 -100mtrs ther's a curve. Also road is very narrow. Road condition is also good(travelled 2 + months back)

@Sushrutha
As I mentioned earlier, this was just for my understanding.
But I do plan to go on this route pretty soon!

[Rajesh K R]

Originally Posted by mooza

Hi Abhinav, nice to know you enjoyed your trip !

What is condition of the Kunigal - Nelamangala road now ? I am planning to drive on this road in a couple of days time.

Went to HSN on 28th May by KSRTC bus which took this route. Road widening & asphalting work going on with lot of diversions, humps, lot of oncoming traffic etc.

The bus took about 1 hr & 20 mts from Nelamangala cross to Kunigal. ( of course, you can do it much faster by car, but still i would not recommend the drive on this stretch - unless your destination is btw Nelmangala & Kunigal)

[mooza]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

I would not recommend the drive on this stretch - unless your destination is btw Nelmangala & Kunigal)

Thanks Rajesh, for the timely feedback. I will take the Magadi route.

Tomorrow morning, I will be driving to Puttur (12 kms off NH48, near Mangalore).