[ravibhat]

I took interior route from Byakaravalli via many villages to Shettihalli Church. Bad road but cant help it unless we travel via NH48.

This october I would like to travel via Charmadi to visit my relatives around Kundapura. I hope it is in ok condition or not worser than Shiradi ghat. Only advantage of nh48 is it is wider.

Regards,

Ravi.

[Rajesh K R]

Originally Posted by ampere

I did BLR-NICE-MAgadi-Kunigal-Hassan (The regular route) over last weekend and it was decent overall. Rough patches around Magadi and some potholes around Kunigal.

Didn't you have discomfort while negotiating the bad stretch between Kunigal & Bellur cross, i mean the potholed / cratered stretch ?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

Didn't you have discomfort while negotiating the bad stretch between Kunigal & Bellur cross, i mean the potholed / cratered stretch ?

I did not feel it was that bad. You should be able to cover them easily. I agree its a bit worse, but not to that extent you need to change course.

[Rajesh K R]

Originally Posted by ampere

I did not feel it was that bad. You should be able to cover them easily. I agree its a bit worse, but not to that extent you need to change course.

Last sunday i drove on this stretch in a Scorpio and felt a little bit of discomfort. This weekend i am again driving, but in a Wagon-R with my parents, so a little concerned about the comfort factor, hence the idea of alternate routes.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

Last sunday i drove on this stretch in a Scorpio and felt a little bit of discomfort. This weekend i am again driving, but in a Wagon-R with my parents, so a little concerned about the comfort factor, hence the idea of alternate routes.

I drove in a Fusion last weekend. Road was pot-holed, but not that much of a discomfort. And very soon it transformed into a beautiful 2L!

[Rajesh K R]

Originally Posted by ampere

I drove in a Fusion last weekend. Road was pot-holed, but not that much of a discomfort. And very soon it transformed into a beautiful 2L!

Maybe what you say makes sense. To avoid a short stretch of discomfort, i will have to go in an unknown territory with extension of both time and distance.

[roamingrao]

My relatives drove in from Mangalore in their Indica on this route today :

Mangalore - BC road - Guruvayankere / Belthangadi - Ujire - Charmadi - Kottigehara - Mudigere - Gendehalli - Belur - Halebidu - Javagal - Banavara - Arsikere - Tumkur - Bangalore

Gathered info :

Distance totalled to 372 kms. started at 8am, reached 8th mile at 5pm.

Mangalore to BC road ( NH 48 ) is rough and potholed at some places. according to them, Mangalore - Gurupura - BC road ( polali temple arch ) is a better option.

BC road to Charmadi is narrow and rough - but drivable in decent speed

Charmadi ghat is rough in DK dist ( has always been ) - potholes on curves and near bridge culverts. Noted hardly any traffic.

Kottigehara - Mudigere - Gendehalli - Belur ( 47 kms ) is a single road and is good.

Belur - Halebidu - Javagal - Banavara ( 44 kms ) was done in 1 hour - good single road - no traffic

Banavara - Arsikere - Tumkur - Bangalore is good

[ampere]

Originally Posted by roamingrao

Belur - Halebidu - Javagal - Banavara ( 44 kms ) was done in 1 hour - good single road - no traffic

This option looks very good. Need to try it once. Can used as a good option for Chikmagulur!

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by roamingrao

My relatives drove in from Mangalore in their Indica on this route today :

Mangalore to BC road ( NH 48 ) is rough and potholed at some places. according to them, Mangalore - Gurupura - BC road ( polali temple arch ) is a better option.

Thanks for sharing this update, RoamingRao.

Would it make sense, then, to travel Mangalore-Gurupura-Mudabidri-Ujire, as the distance would be the same compared to Mangalore-Gurupura-BCRoad-Ujire?

(I'm not very familiar with this area and assumed Gurupura mentioned by your relative is the one that I found on NH13).

Thanks,

[roamingrao]

Originally Posted by prasad14

Would it make sense, then, to travel Mangalore-Gurupura-Mudabidri-Ujire, as the distance would be the same compared to Mangalore-Gurupura-BCRoad-Ujire?

No Prasad, mudabidri route is way too round about. moreover, roads are bad near mudabidri. The gurupura route to BC road / mangalore was suggested to avoid the bad stretch on NH48.

If not familiar with village roads, suggest drive on NH48 between BC road and mangalore - it is drivable but slow. other stretches mentioned are comparatively better than the conventional NH48.

Hope this helps..

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by roamingrao

No Prasad, mudabidri route is way too round about. moreover, roads are bad near mudabidri. The gurupura route to BC road / mangalore was suggested to avoid the bad stretch on NH48.

If not familiar with village roads, suggest drive on NH48 between BC road and mangalore - it is drivable but slow. other stretches mentioned are comparatively better than the conventional NH48.

Hope this helps..

It definitely helps. Thanks a lot.

[Samurai]

Ok, how bad is Shiradi right now? Exactly what part is really bad? I am thinking of taking the Shiradi Challenge after nearly 2.5 years.

[bullinb]

^^ +1
Same here. Was thinking of taking Shiradi on my way to Udupi next weekend. If all the routes are bad, might as well take the shortest and the widest road.

As long as it is better than what it was in '05, Shiradi seems to be a better option than trudging through long, potholed, narrow and winding alternatives - after all it is just about 30-40kms.

[dkamath]

If it's a hatch/sedan that you plan to travel by, it would be good to have an extra eye on the road, as no sooner than you think you are on a good patch of road and increase speed, a pothole lies waiting. It took me about 5 hrs. to reach Kamat Upachar at Udaipur, starting from M'lore.
If you have decided to take this route already, then its good to start a bit early and drive at moderate speeds between Hassan and Uppinangady.

[prabhusati]

When travelling from Bangalore to Mangalore, the initial stretches of the Shiradi ghats are OK, but as you progress, almost all the curves have no road left. All the bitumen layer on these curves is washed away. This continues upto Gundya check post and beyond. Took 1.5 hours to cover the ghat section on the way down and 2 hours on the way up. Keep a watch for trucks coming on the wrong side of the curves to avoid the crators.