[prabhusati]

This is good news. Atleast there is a decent alternative to Shiradi Ghat. Please let us know how much did to log on your odo for Bangalore-Mangalore and the time taken.

[rajshenoy]

Yes, though i am not sure if the traffic is generally low on this route or was it becuase of the truckers strike
total it took me 454 kms from my house in CV Raman nagar till udupi(MGM)
So mangalore is around 390(i didnt enter city)

In terms of the time, i started bit too early(4:45) and reached udupi by 2.. since my 5 month old kid was on board, i had restricted myself to 100 kmph

but its too tempting not to cross it especially btween bangalore-kushalnagar, and one can cruise on 110+ without any break

once you cross kushal nagar, road becomes really narrow and ocassional potholes so speed limit 60-80 and after madikeri, around 10km is bad, again you can manage 40-60 here

after the good road starts, its 60-80 since road is full of turns all the way till mani

i was lucky to not to have any traffic between BCRoad-Mangalore-Suratkal stretch, i guess that easily saved an hour :-)

It took me around 9.5 hrs(till udupi) with alot of breaks in between and almost 45 min "cerelac" break near puttur

you can safely take 7-8 hrs to mangalore(it took me 1 hr 15 mins from mangalore-udupi)

[lohithrao]

raj thats good timing, definitely i would take this route next time but hope it stays the same or improves..

Kudremukh route is nice but it would take more time since you have too many of winding road.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

raj thats good timing, definitely i would take this route next time but hope it stays the same or improves..

Kudremukh route is nice but it would take more time since you have too many of winding road.

Also another factor i would like to add is since i was mostly climbing down the slop, it made it much easier to negotiate the curves

the return trip(climbing the slop might be a different story) + bangalore traffic

[lohithrao]

raj, i dont think the climbing up would be an issue? i enjoy climbing up as i feel you are in more control. should not be an isue for a swift (VDI??)

Bangalore traffic yes, around peenya it would be jammed.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

raj, i dont think the climbing up would be an issue? i enjoy climbing up as i feel you are in more control. should not be an isue for a swift (VDI??)

Bangalore traffic yes, around peenya it would be jammed.

Its VXI ..only feel good factor is the engine grunt.... but to make it climb i need to keep playing with the gear alot ..especially with 5 adults

But roads are good. i might try the agumbe route next week depending on latest updates i get from locals

[JK Rao]

latest news i got is that the mysore - madikeri - mangalore route is good exccept for some 20 kms of ok road near Sampaji. My FIL was able to do the route in less than 7 hrs on his zen.

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Hey guys

i just did a trip from Bangalore-udupi via Madikeri and went via mangalore

I must say the road is in excellent shape(except for say around 10+ kms in madikeri-sampage stretch, rest of the road is great

I also saw fresh road is being laid and they have reached almost till sampage

though narrow i didnt find much traffic, so pleasure to drive

Kamath maam, you were right, i think only few pvt buses take this route

In the morning i found only 3 buses(durgamba,sugama,manjunath) and rest of the buses are taking charmadi it seems

As per plan i have left my car behind and took durgamba yesterday night and it came via charmadi and reached pretty much on time(7:15 i was at home)

Next week i am travelling again and this time on my return, planning to come via agumbe route as suggested :-)

[rajshenoy]

That confirms my claim

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

total it took me 454 kms from my house in CV Raman nagar till udupi(MGM)

MGM is roughly 4Kms from my house, give me a buzz next time you are around.

[addyhemmige]

If you are travelling to Udupi and beyond from Bangalore, it would be better to go via Hassan-Belur-Mudigere-Kottigehara-ujire-belthangadi. (via Charmadi Ghat)

As far as the distance goes it might save a few kilometers compared to Shiradi. Going via Madikeri-sampaje ghat is very long.

If you have to go mangalore, it will be good enough, but for udupi it better to take charmadi ghat.

The roads on this route are decent enough to give a trouble free ride.

Another route to udupi would be through agumbe. But it would take longer time since most of the journey will be in the ghats. Also the distance itself is a bit longer. For Agumbe you can take Hassan-Chikmaglur-Balehonnur-Sringeri-Agumbe route and from there Agumbe-someshwara-Hebri-manipal-udupi. If you are going towards Kundapura or Kollur, you can take a deviation after Someshwara towards the right

[rajshenoy]

Update from my side

Since i was fully occupied with work, my BIL drove from udupi-bangalore and he took the
Udupi-Agumbe-sringeri-balehonnur-chikmaglur-hassan-bangalore route

What i heard from him is road is in a decent condition, alot of repair(patch work) has taken place and though the road is bumpy its manageable in most parts and the distance comes up to around 420kms(udupi-bangalore,CV raman nagar)

Those of you who travel can think of this route as well

And for those whose destination is mangalore, it has to be Madikeri route

Bumpy part is limited to Agumbe and balehonnur-aldur and once you cross chickmaglur, its just great great roads all the way till yashwanthpur

[carbaliga]

Folks

Planning to do some temple visits this weekend with family (4 adults + 1 boy + 1 infant). Have been reading about the route conditions and thought will check with the recent travellers on the route and road conditions.

Day 1 (Saturday) - Early morning 5.00 am start from Bannerghatta Road reach B C Road (Bantwal) by 12.00 pm.
Im planning to take the Madikeri Route.
Would be helpful if you can provide me with a route map/directions and is it feasible to cover the distance in above timings with a couple of stops.

Day 2 (Sunday) - Finish 6.00 am pooja at Kukke - go to Dharmastala and finish darshan by 11.00am and start return.
Please let me know if its feasible to take the charmadi route
Would be helpful if you can provide me with a route map/ directions

Please let me know if there is any alternate route planning i can do, critical is the 6.00 am pooja at Kukke. I have booked accomodation at Kukke for Saturday night in advance.

Thanks for your help.

[Taz-On-The-Road]

Originally Posted by carbaliga

Folks

Planning to do some temple visits this weekend with family (4 adults + 1 boy + 1 infant). Have been reading about the route conditions and thought will check with the recent travellers on the route and road conditions.

Day 1 (Saturday) - Early morning 5.00 am start from Bannerghatta Road reach B C Road (Bantwal) by 12.00 pm.
Im planning to take the Madikeri Route.
Would be helpful if you can provide me with a route map/directions and is it feasible to cover the distance in above timings with a couple of stops.

Day 2 (Sunday) - Finish 6.00 am pooja at Kukke - go to Dharmastala and finish darshan by 11.00am and start return.
Please let me know if its feasible to take the charmadi route
Would be helpful if you can provide me with a route map/ directions

Please let me know if there is any alternate route planning i can do, critical is the 6.00 am pooja at Kukke. I have booked accomodation at Kukke for Saturday night in advance.

Thanks for your help.

It is possible if you plan to drive very fast because you mentioned that you want a couple of breaks. To reach at 12 with a couple of breaks, ideally you should be starting at 4AM. This is when Mysore Road is at its empty best and trust me if you take the Ranganthittu bypass, you can reach Kushalnagar(225km approx) by 7:00 AM max assuming you will not cross 100-120kph. Kushalnagar- Madikeri is 30km which takes around 30-45mins based on ur driving style. This road is very bumpy. Madikeri-Sullia is again bumpy because it is patched up and this stretch of 50km will take u anywhere between 1hr-1hr 30 mins depending on how you drive in the ghats. Sullia-BC Road is around 60km of newly laid long winding curvy roads which again will take anywhere between 50mins- 1hr 30mins. Also note that you might encounter local traffic after Sullia, so factor for this time also. Have a safe trip.

[addyhemmige]

Assuming you are going only to Kukke and not to Mangalore on the first day, it will be very far if you go via BC Road. The different options to Kukke would be

1. You can take the Srirangapattana-Hunsur-Madikeri-Sampaje-Sulya-Kukke route. Beautiful roads upto Hunsur and pretty decent road after that.

2. Hassan-Sakaleshpur-Donigal-Hethur-Bisle-Kukke route. This is the better alternative if you are ready to drive on narrow roads. The distance is much shorter than the other one (I do not know the exact distance). You will not encounter any bus or lorry traffic on this route unless an overzealous bus driver plans to take this route to avoid the normal Shiradi route.

You can reach Kukke by 12 if you take option 2.

For day 2, it is feasible to take the Charmadi ghat road.

From Dharmasthala you have to go towards Ujire and take a right at the junction towards Chikmaglur (left goes to Mangalore). The route is Ujire-Charmadi-Kottigehara-Mudigere hand post-Belur-Hassan-Bangalore.

At Mudigere handpost you have to take a right towards Belur (straight goes into Mudigere town and towards Chikmaglur). There are adequate signposts on the way.

Road condition is pretty decent and can be managed. The mudigere-Belur stretch has a few potholes but manageable and after Belur it is beautiful roads all the way to Bangalore.

Let me know if you need anything else...Cheers!

[rajshenoy]

Balige-re, namaskara

I had started from CV RAman nagar at 4:45aM and reached BC Road almost at 12(i reached Udupi at 2), this with a 5 month baby and alot of stops

Roads are great and you can surely manage by 12

Only three places where you can possibly loose direction are

1. After Srirangapatna, take the rangan tittu diversion(some sort of circle, take a right, soon you will pass though a railway gate..just to confirm you are on right track) and then follow the directions for hunsur

2. this road will join the madikeri road(4 lane) and you have to cross the road(else you will reach mysore)

3. General Kariappa, dont forget him, take a left here to go to mangalore(road is bad for abt 10 kms here)