[ravibhat]

I second what prabhusati mentioned about shiradi ghat. It has no road left in most the places. Curves where they have laid new layer 1-2 years back is still holding up. But rest all gone. It is dirt track, we enjoying scenary / greenary. Driver took all pain and said If someone buy pre owned vehicle and bring it here for testing.

If one is serious about money it hurts a lot to travel in such roads after paying honest tax from our hard earned money.

Time has come in India for take over and reformation!!

Ravi.

[mooza]

If one reads the first page of this thread dated 4 years ago, one realises the road situation in Shiradi Ghat is the same even today ! The reviews on the first page are almost identical to the reviews appearing this week

[mohan41]

Anyone has information about the condition of this route to Udupi from Bangalore?
Bangalore-Tumkur-Tiptur-Bhadravati-Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Agumbe-Hebri

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by mohan41

Anyone has information about the condition of this route to Udupi from Bangalore?
Bangalore-Tumkur-Tiptur-Bhadravati-Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Agumbe-Hebri

Please read post #2468 in this thread. i travelled this route on 10th Sept.
you can also read post #2474 for the BLR-Nelamangala-Hassan-Belur-CKM-Shringere-Agumbe-Hebri route. I used this route on 12th Sept.

[mohan41]

Thank you StarVegabond for the update. This route looks like the best one at the moment. Hope it stays good. I remember a few years ago(around 2007 November) when I drove to Bhadravati, the road condition around Kadur-Tarikere was horrible. Looks like that stretch of road has been repaired and maintained well of late.

[rajshenoy]

Just few months back, i commented that bad roads are thing of the past and we are starring at the same bad roads again.
I am traveling on first week of october and was hoping that this time i dont have to worry about directions.. i am wrong!!!.

Also what is more shocking is that Hassan-bangalore seems to have become bad.

So Should i avoid Hassan-nelamangala stretch completely ?
If yes, then which among this is better?

Bangalore-Tumkur-Tiptur-Bhadravati-Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Agumbe-Hebri-udupi

Another route i found from this thread about joining tumkur road near arasikere.

I am planning to visit Sringeri during my udupi-bangalore return journey so this route looks teasing for me.

Agumbe-Hebri-udupi-sringeri-ckm-Belur - Halebidu - Javagal - Banavara - Arsikere - Tumkur - Bangalore

I feel that the difference between this and the first route is about 10-15 kms(Plus sringeri falls on the way)

Any suggestions ?

Or Shiradi is still doable on Swift ? i have travelled on Shiradi stretch when the roads were really really bad(2008-2009), is it more bad now ?

But my main concern is about road condition from hassan-bangalore(which used to be a breeze till few months back)

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

I am planning to visit Sringeri during my udupi-bangalore return journey so this route looks teasing for me.

Agumbe-Hebri-udupi-sringeri-ckm-Belur - Halebidu - Javagal - Banavara - Arsikere - Tumkur - Bangalore

I feel that the difference between this and the first route is about 10-15 kms(Plus sringeri falls on the way)

Any suggestions ?

Or Shiradi is still doable on Swift ? i have travelled on Shiradi stretch when the roads were really really bad(2008-2009), is it more bad now ?

But my main concern is about road condition from hassan-bangalore(which used to be a breeze till few months back)

The Hassan-Bangalore road has definitely deteriorated. But, it is still not as bad as to take other routes. It is irritating though. The bad stretch starts in Magadi town (if you take Magadi road). After you reach the end of town, the road is good till Kunigal Industrial Area (Johnson tiles, Indo -Spanish foods etc). After this the road has become pathetic till you reach the new road after Kunigal. Crossing Yediyur too is a pain.

These are the 3 main irritants between Bangalore-Hassan. Other than this, it should be no problem

[Samurai]

Yesterday I traveled back to Manipal via Shiradi Ghat... and boy was I in for a surprise!

Now, I have not taken this route since May 2008. I have been driving every other route to avoid Shiradi, I took even Bisle Ghat 4 times in this period despite knowing Bisle to be the worst ghat road in Karnataka.

However, this time I had to drop off a relative in B.C road and my parents near Mulki, so I couldn't think of a way to avoid Shiradi without taking some circuitous routes. This relative had travelled via Shiradi few days back on a sedan and she was quite ok with it. Couple of days back I even checked with my Cousin who did the Shiradi in his Gurkha. He too was of the opinion that Shiradi is doable. These are all people who don't do any other ghat than Shiradi, very unlike us. So I decided to take my cousin's word since Gurkha driving experience should be very similar to GV.

As expected, roads were terrible at Sunkada Katte, Tavarekere, and between Kunigal and Bellur Cross. After that it was in good shape all the way to Sakleshpura. After Sakleshpura I started expecting bad roads, and did see some occasional pot holes. After Donigal, the roads have deteriorated. The top layer is gone, but the middle layer is still intact. It is like driving on the road which is in the middle of construction. Therefore, I could still maintain good speed considering I was driving a vehicle designed for badroads.

But the Shiradi road is really broad unlike any other ghat road in Karnataka. So I could see the lay of the bad road from 50-100 meters away all the time and avoid any real problem areas. I actually was enjoying this stretch.

About half an hour of this, I started to brace myself for the real bad stretch. After all, it should come anytime, right? Suddenly I hear the relative from rear seat saying "Ok, now the bad roads are mostly over". I was like

She wasn't kidding, the road started getting better and soon I was ripping at 40-50kmph. Occasional bad stretches could be seen from far and I could take evasive action at leisure. This is very different from driving in other ghat sections, where the roads are narrow and trouble spots are not seen until the last second thus forcing us to fall into the pot holes and get shaken up. I was actually shocked to reach Gundya much ahead of expectation, and after that road got even better.

Holy Macaroni! I can't believe I avoided Shiradi all this time, taking every other broken ghat thinking they were better than Shiradi.

My verdict: Shiradi is the better option as of now. It is also the shortest. I am sticking to Shiradi in future until the mine trucks return and make a mess of it.

BTW, do you know the worst stretch of my journey yesterday? It was between Suratkal and Pavanje on NH-17. The craters were so big, some cars were reversing and then taking a detour all while being on the road. Sheesh, I thought only Hitachi scoopers are capable of making such big holes on the road.

[f1fan]

Originally Posted by Samurai

BTW, do you know the worst stretch of my journey yesterday? It was between Suratkal and Pavanje on NH-17. The craters were so big, some cars were reversing and then taking a detour all while being on the road. Sheesh, I thought only Hitachi scoopers are capable of making such big holes on the road.

On a serious note, NH17 used to be a dream drive till a few years back. It has really gone to the dogs now.

[rajshenoy]

Thanks Addy/Samurai...sad to hear that roads are bad in other stretches and our usual culprit Shiradi is in same state

[bullinb]

Originally Posted by Samurai

My verdict: Shiradi is the better option as of now. It is also the shortest. I am sticking to Shiradi in future until the mine trucks return and make a mess of it.

That's indeed great news. Thanks a lot for the update Samurai. I'll stick to Shiradi for my travel next week. Think I'll avoid BC road/NH 17 and take Dharmasthala - Ujire - Karkala route. Hope there are no nasty surprises there.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by bullinb

Think I'll avoid BC road/NH 17 and take Dharmasthala - Ujire - Karkala route. Hope there are no nasty surprises there.

In fact, this what I will do. Manipal-Karkala-Ujire-Dhamasthala-Gundya-Shiradi-Sakleshpura-Hassan-Kunigal-Magadi-Bangalore.

[carbaliga]

I did this route a month back from Bangalore to BC Road and back.

BLR - Srirangapatna Cross - Hunsur - Madikeri - Sampaje - Putur - BC Road >> Long route, the madikeri ghats are no better, its narrow and the corners have gone really bad. The best part of this road was less on-coming traffic. So you can keep a decent pace. But i was surprised that rest of the route was no better. I had done this route 1 year back and the route to Sampaje and puttur etc. was a dream. Its gone bad now.

Taking this experience we decide to give Shiradi ghat a shot while returning back from BC Road and i echo what Samurai has given above. A few turns (which are not concrete laid) are bad, but because of the width of this ghat you can take some calculative decisions. More like "Obstacle Avoid Race". So go for Shiradi Ghat route -- the lesser evil at this current stage.

I had to do a few trips to Mangalore from BC Road, just the exit from BC Road is bad. But beware that road work is in progress and you get diversions without proper signage. Best avoided in the night unless you have a good pair of headlights in your car. Probably 6 months down the line we will get a proper 3+3 lane highway between Mangalore and BC Road.

Hope this helps.

[gopalnayak]

Originally Posted by Samurai

As expected, roads were terrible at Sunkada Katte, Tavarekere, and between Kunigal and Bellur Cross. After that it was in good shape all the way to Sakleshpura.

Took this route last weekend and I am not at all repenting. The road are broken only for small streches. I had more problems with the humps they have near every diversion than anything else. To add to this, the Nelamangala flyover is great and can be used instead of going through Magadi.

Originally Posted by Samurai

I was actually shocked to reach Gundya much ahead of expectation, and after that road got even better.
Holy Macaroni! I can't believe I avoided Shiradi all this time, taking every other broken ghat thinking they were better than Shiradi.

The road condition is much better than what it was 2 years back. Any car can possibly do this strech now.

Originally Posted by Samurai

My verdict: Shiradi is the better option as of now. It is also the shortest. I am sticking to Shiradi in future until the mine trucks return and make a mess of it.

Completely agree. There is no point in taking any other route which takes more time and which requires you to cover more kms. The verdict stays for another month. I suspect that the road conditions will deteriorate over time and may become more challenging after a few weeks.

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by gopalnayak

Took this route last weekend and I am not at all repenting. The road are broken only for small streches. I had more problems with the humps they have near every diversion than anything else. To add to this, the Nelamangala flyover is great and can be used instead of going through Magadi.

Is the new flyover open? Even today I read a report in the newspaper that it is going to be opened next month. I live in J P Nagar and was thinking of NICE-Magadi-Kunigal-Shiradi as per the observations of Samurai and others. If the flyover is open, I'd be glad to go thru Nelamangala.

Thanks,