Team-BHP - The art of travelling between Bangalore

Guys I am really confused with mixed feedback from different members for road conditions between Bangalore - Nelamangala -Kunigal. pics on the recent status would be surely helpful. I am now in two minds - Don't feel like taking Magadi road since i exactly know how bad the route is especially around Magadi town and at the same time don't have courage to take Nelamangala route after seeing different feedbacks.

FYI - After 2008 i never took Nelamangala route till date.

I guess it all depends on the time you take this stretch(nelamangala-kunigal)

I travelled on 11th oct and i covered this during 3-4 during afternoon so the traffic was definitely less compared to the peak hour. but the roads are narrow as you enter and exit kunigal.

I wouldnt say there will be a jam or anything but the traffic can pile up and it can slow you down considerably unless you time it right. But i guess it is worth taking as compared to Magadi(unless you live somewhere near magadi road)

@LazyBrain - Yashwanthpur to Nelamangala is in great shape now thanks to the toll road(and it was free too,abt a week back) Nelamangala to kunigal is about 30-40 km in which work is in progress, rest of the stretch is in good shape. With little bit of timing calculation i am sure you can beat the traffic

What other options do you have ? unless you want to travel towards kundapur or puttur side, shiradi is a better bet i guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai (Post 2118637)

Thinking of a different route for the next trip.

Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001 to Manipal, Karnataka 576104 - Google Maps

Any idea about the road conditions between Chikmagalur and Bangalore?

Samurai san, The road is good till Banavara, but near Arsikere it is average. Banvara to Sakkarepatna is narrow and average. Expect lot of cows and sheeps on this road and a level crossing near which the road is simply bad. Sakkarepatna to Chickmagalur is Good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhasark (Post 2118583)

Thanks uvmallya - I am planning to take this route for a Bangalore - Mangalore trip this weekend (October 30th).I will update this thread with my experience.
How is the stretch between Kushalnagar and Madikeri ( is was horrible a year back) ? and how long did the Mangalore- Bangalore journey take ?

-Suhas

Kushalnagar to Madikeri is excellent. The road inside Kushalnagar town is very bad and so also as you enter Madikeri town. The driving time from Hebbal in Bangalore to Mangalore was 7 hours & 45 minutes. Hebbal to Kengeri took a little more time because of the traffic that you have to encounter.

Came back yesterday from Blr-Subramanya-Dharmastala-Udupi-agumbe-teerthahalli-shimoga-Blr.

Blr-mysore-madikeri-subramanya - the roads uptill madikeri is good. from madikeri to sulya the ghat road is a little bad. there is a right turn to subramanya some 12 kms before sulya and that road is good, but very narrow.

subramanya-dharamstala-udupi - the road is good.

udupi-agumbe-teerthahalli-shimoga - roads are good.

shimoga-blr - road is almost good. very bad patch fro about 2 kms before berur and some bad patches here and there.

Hello Guys,

I am intending to drive to Sringeri, Horanadu & Dharmasthala over the coming weekend.

Would like to have a feedback from fellow Bhpians regarding the following stretches :

1) Chikmagalur-Balehonnur-Jayapura-Sringeri
2) Sringeri-Kudremukh-Kalasa-Horanadu
3) Kalasa-Kudremukh-Bajagoli-Guruvayankere-Ujire-Dharmasthala

Tentative Programme Schedule :

Intend leaving BLR on friday evening & halt @ HSN. Leave HSN on Saturday morning for Sringeri via CKM and after Darshan & Prasadam proceed to Kalasa / Horanadu. Have Darshan & prasadam & stay in Horanadu / Kalasa as per accomodation available.

Next day ( Sunday) morning leave Horanadu & proceed to Dharmasthala. Have Darshan & lunch and then return to Hassan by Sunday evening.

Monday, leave Hassan after lunch and return to Bangalore by evening.

Any suggestions regarding the above will be greatly appreciated.

Mode of travel : Wagon-R Vxi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai (Post 2116690)

The drive from Kunigal to Nelamangala is terrible thanks to construction work, reminded me of Mangalore-Suratkal stretch in 2007. In the darkness I could barely make out the diversions, needed to follow the buses few times.

Is this stretch worst or more frustrating than bad roads around Magadi town? I know its not fair to compare both since both stretches have different reasons for being bad. However, I would like to analyze whether driving from Nelamangala to Kunigal is less frustrating than driving on bad roads around magadi town only then IMO its worth taking Nelamangala route as of now.

I constantly drive via magadi from past 1 year - except the stretch from sunkadkatte market to NICE road Junction (still bearable) and stretch around Magadi town (unbearable) the entire route until you hit NH48 is good.

your suggestions please?

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazybrain (Post 2120451)

Is this stretch worst or more frustrating than bad roads around Magadi town?

Do note that Samurai seems to have traveled during night time.

In my case it was broad day light and also less traffic time(3-4 PM) so it took me usual 40 odd mins to cover this distance.

i feel it is reasonable to spend 40 odd mins to cover 40 kms

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazybrain (Post 2120451)

Is this stretch worst or more frustrating than bad roads around Magadi town? I

If I consider the erratic bus dirivers + number of 2 wheelers riding in their own world + Magadi town potholes + Sunkadakatte road,
I would say Kunigal - Nelmangala stretch is better than Magadi road, based on the above points. Though Kunigal-Nelmangala stretch has too many Road humps , but quite Managable

I would take Magadi road before 7am anything beyond this time will get will be a big chance especially on a weekday....

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushrutha (Post 2121469)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sushrutha (Post 2121469)

I completely agree with you. Its been more than 5 months that I have been taking the Nelemangala-Kunigal stretch to go to Belur and Chikmagalur and I can say that except for the huge speedbreakers there should be no other reason to worry. The road condition in and around Magadi town and the fact that we had a 6 month baby waking up from her peaceful sleep made me try Nelemangala once and from then I've stuck to it.

On weekends during return the best thing is when most of the traffic in the mirror takes a right Turn after Kunigal and its a peaceful drive all the way further till Nelemangala (and now till NICE as well).

Now that the bridges past NICE are all functional, it just takes 12-15 minutes to reach Nelemangala from NICE exit and another 30-40 minutes to reach Kunigal town.

The 4 laning which is under construction is wide enough offers a smooth ride as well. Bottlenecks in terms of speedbreakers exists only in Yentaganahalli and Yediyur Cross. The ordeal of passing over the bad patches of Kunigal town cannot be escaped even using the Magadi Road. However, 2 weeks before I could see patch work being done to this stretch.