[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by vnk77

We now have a change of plan. Planning to Jog falls and then to Kundapura. So this is the paln : Bangalore -> Tumkur -> Shimoga -> jog falls -> Either Bhatkal or Kollur -> Kundapura.

Can some one please update the latest road condition of Shimoga -> Jog falls -> bhatkal/kollur -> Kundapur.

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

It is after Jog falls, when you travel to Bhatkal that the roads start going bad. And once you reach NH17, all hell breaks lose till Kundapur.

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

vnk, the Shimoga -> Jog road is ok; lots of bad patches but motor-able. The road from Bhatkal though doesn't deserve to be called a road! Kindly avoid at least the Bhatkal -Marwante stretch unless you plan to do some off-roading enroute

As Others stated Bhatkal to Tallur Cross (after Maravanthe), road doesn't exists! Combined with heavy traffic, insane privates buses... Avoid at all costs.

You can try following route, Jog falls -> Kollur -> Vandse -> Tallur Cross -> Kundapura (road is broken between Tallur cross and Kundapura, but drivable).
or
Jog falls -> Sagar -> Hosnagara -> Nagara -> Hulikal -> Hosangdi -> Kundapura. Road till sagar is wide, no idea about hosanagara & nagara, can't be worse than jog falls ~Kollur road. Road is broken near Hulikal (ghats!) to Hosangdi. Once u reach Hosangdi, roads is really good till Kundapura.

[vnk77]

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

As Others stated Bhatkal to Tallur Cross (after Maravanthe), road doesn't exists! Combined with heavy traffic, insane privates buses... Avoid at all costs.

You can try following route, Jog falls -> Kollur -> Vandse -> Tallur Cross -> Kundapura (road is broken between Tallur cross and Kundapura, but drivable).
or
Jog falls -> Sagar -> Hosnagara -> Nagara -> Hulikal -> Hosangdi -> Kundapura. Road till sagar is wide, no idea about hosanagara & nagara, can't be worse than jog falls ~Kollur road. Road is broken near Hulikal (ghats!) to Hosangdi. Once u reach Hosangdi, roads is really good till Kundapura.

Whats the distance between Tallur Cross and Kundapura?

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by vnk77

Whats the distance between Tallur Cross and Kundapura?

Around 3 km. However from kollur to kundapura usual route vai Vandse is, hemmadi and NH17. Hemmadi cross (where road meets NH17), is around 6 km from Kundapura. Again road is broken (still drivable) from here onwards towards Kundapur.

Is reaching is Kundapur is final destination or you have another place near by you need to go?

[vnk77]

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

Around 3 km. However from kollur to kundapura usual route vai Vandse is, hemmadi and NH17. Hemmadi cross (where road meets NH17), is around 6 km from Kundapura. Again road is broken (still drivable) from here onwards towards Kundapur.

Is reaching is Kundapur is final destination or you have another place near by you need to go?

I will proceed to Saligrama from Kundapura.

[MCR]

Just back from Mangalore / Udupi through Shiradi Ghat.
The ghat section of the road is in absolute shambles. Its a shame to call it a NH. It is like a off-road trip, add to it the unrelenting rain. The roads improve partially only after Dharmasthala Cross. The BC road stretch is ok but has too many diversions. Mangalore - Udupi stretch is also bad but there are some good stretches and also foot deep potholes. I think the best way to cover the ghat section is to trek through it.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by MCR

Just back from Mangalore / Udupi through Shiradi Ghat.
The ghat section of the road is in absolute shambles. Its a shame to call it a NH. It is like a off-road trip, add to it the unrelenting rain.

Well, it is still the best option compared to other ghats.

[mooza]

Originally Posted by MCR

Just back from Mangalore / Udupi through Shiradi Ghat.The ghat section of the road is in absolute shambles. Its a shame to call it a NH.

Sorry to hear this, MCR ! On this stretch, in my Ikon, I get worried about the car's underbelly. In my Scorpio, I start worrying about the occupant's bellies . No joy on the roads down these western ghats stretches, either ways !

My relatives did a night bus journey on this stretch last week. They got severely tossed about on this stretch, and could hardly sleep thereafter. They have decided to travel only by train to Mangalore, till the ghat road improves.

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by vnk77

I will proceed to Saligrama from Kundapura.

If Saligrama is your final destination, skip Kundapur altogether. From Kollur -> Vandse -> Halady -> Shiriyara -> Vaddarse -> Kota high school - Saligrama.


You will avoid stressful NH17 (unless you want to go to Kundapur for some reason) and it is shorter route too!

[vnk77]

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

If Saligrama is your final destination, skip Kundapur altogether. From Kollur -> Vandse -> Halady -> Shiriyara -> Vaddarse -> Kota high school - Saligrama.


You will avoid stressful NH17 (unless you want to go to Kundapur for some reason) and it is shorter route too!

Is this what you are suggesting?

[recshenoy]

Couple of weeks back i took noon volvo to MLR. My god, roads are so bad at some places. Bangalore to Hassan also lot of work happening. Definitely driving on late nights or evening is pretty dangerous. Me and my cousin had plans of driving down in his palio to MLR from BLR. On the way i called him and told, "dude drop the plan right away. its not going to happen" :(

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by vnk77

Is this what you are suggesting?

Yes, thats the route! After Vandse the route should be pretty much empty (narrow though). Road should be decent condition till Kota high school bypass.

[ponoth]

I am planning to travel by car from Bangalore to Udupi via Kukke, Dharmasthala. Going through the previous updates, what is the best route I should take? Is Bangalore-Hassan-Mudigere-Kukke a better route?

I am travelling on wednesday, so will be helpful if someone can give me an update before that.

[bullinb]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Well, it is still the best option compared to other ghats.

+1. Just back from my round trip to Udupi via Shiradi. The roads are bad only for about 10km. It is like driving though a construction site. Fortunately the craters are yet to appear. They have started forming though. Even my humble i10 could do it in about 50mins from Sakaleshpur to Gundya. Road upto Sakaleshpur is awesome and Dharmasthala - Karkala - Manpal is mostly good. As long as you avoid the peak bus hours in Shiradi I don't see any problem there. It is a peaceful 7 hour drive to Udupi excluding breaks.

[ponoth]

Thank you. Will post back after my travel.

[ampere]

A generic Request:


This with respect to Coastal Karnataka.

After seeing Google Maps, MMI, Satdguide and all being wrong at some place or the other,
do we have single road-map that marks all the roads correctly, and positions the ghats/forests correctly ?

The reason I guess is how much folks should go by GM for this region?

EDIT: I have seen folks like Harsh and TSK contribute so much to make very good maps of Ladakh, I think its time, we have a TBHP Coastal Karnataka map!