[rajshenoy]

Hey fellas

After going through the posts, i am still confused if mudigere,kalasa kudremukh is in good condition or not, last time i took Agumbe-sringeri-jayapura-Chikmaglur-belur route and it was ok sorts(distance around 415kms)

I might be driving during march end for a wedding, so will charmadi be open by then ?

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Hey fellas

After going through the posts, i am still confused if mudigere,kalasa kudremukh is in good condition or not, last time i took Agumbe-sringeri-jayapura-Chikmaglur-belur route and it was ok sorts(distance around 415kms)

I might be driving during march end for a wedding, so will charmadi be open by then ?

From what i heard, charmadi should be available from first week of april... but one never knows about this repairs getting done in time. So keep your fingers crossed, but i am thinking of taking shiradi challenge as one of my cousins from uppinangady has seen some traffic coming from shiradi, i.e some cars, buses yesterday. Hope it has seen some improvement.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Hey fellas

After going through the posts, i am still confused if mudigere,kalasa kudremukh is in good condition or not, last time i took Agumbe-sringeri-jayapura-Chikmaglur-belur route and it was ok sorts(distance around 415kms)

I might be driving during march end for a wedding, so will charmadi be open by then ?

Agumbe-Sringeri-Chikmagalur-belur route will be a big roundabout if you are planning to go only to M'lore. I would suggest this route only if you want to travel beyond M'lore i.e. Udupi and further

Apart from Shiradi, Charmadi is the nearest route from Blr to Mlr (apparently it has been closed this month for repairs)
You can try out Bisle which runs closely parallel to Shiradi and will not be too long in terms of distance. It is very narrow, but comparitively has very less traffic.
The other route would be the Mysore-Madikeri-M'lore route

One of my friends was coming from Dharmasthala to Hassan thorugh Charmadi ghat and he was stopped at Charmadi village and told that there was a bridge under construction in the ghats. So if we consider the pace of the governmental works, you can imagine the time taken to complete the works yourself.
I personally feel Charmadi won't be open atleast until end of April

[lohithrao]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

From what i heard, charmadi should be available from first week of april... but one never knows about this repairs getting done in time. So keep your fingers crossed, but i am thinking of taking shiradi challenge as one of my cousins from uppinangady has seen some traffic coming from shiradi, i.e some cars, buses yesterday. Hope it has seen some improvement.

Jmaruru dont go by people using this route, get proper info as if you are travelling in sedan and from what i have seen and heard you will have a tough time!

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Gopal & for_cars, SHiradi should not be thougt about at all! even Innova found it hard and was not easy on my Adventure either.

Completely Agree ! we can forget Shiradi even exists for now

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

You can try out Bisle which runs closely parallel to Shiradi and will not be too long in terms of distance. It is very narrow, but comparitively has very less traffic.

Has anyone travelled on bisle route recently ? Is it any better than shiradi ?
Please share your experiance.

[f1fan]

It really is sad looking at the state of affairs. Shiradi ghat has been under repairs for years. What would be generally a good 6 hrs drive is now a nightmare. I had taken the Shiradi route in Apr 2008 and it was horrible at that time. Some pieces of the ghat had been concretized and everything else was potholes.
Heard that Shiradi is completely hopeless for anyone driving a car and hence avoiding it would be the best option.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

Agumbe-Sringeri-Chikmagalur-belur route will be a big roundabout if you are planning to go only to M'lore. I would suggest this route only if you want to travel beyond M'lore i.e. Udupi and further

I plan to go to Udupi, so yes this is shorter for me, but i was thinking if mudigere kudremukh is even shorter?

Also, I have taken up the Shiradi challenge twice and decided not to go another time..it just becomes worse and worse.. Still i wonder when i try all these online navigation maps for shortest distance and they still show the route via shiradi(High time to build some intelligence onto these maps rather than just relying on govt provided records)

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

I plan to go to Udupi, so yes this is shorter for me, but i was thinking if mudigere kudremukh is even shorter?

For udupi, you can travel via kottigehara - maagundi - kalasa - kudremukh - karkala - udupi. There might be some bad roads between kottigehara and kalasa, but rest should be relatively better roads.

When was the last time you did the shiradi route ?

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

For udupi, you can travel via kottigehara - maagundi - kalasa - kudremukh - karkala - udupi. There might be some bad roads between kottigehara and kalasa, but rest should be relatively better roads.

When was the last time you did the shiradi route ?

I drove sometime in october and already the roads were pathetic.

Then in Jan i went via Madikeri-mangalore and while returning, via agumbe sringeri-chikmaglur. both these routes were decent.

I didnt hear anything positive about Shiradi since then.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

I drove sometime in october and already the roads were pathetic.

Then in Jan i went via Madikeri-mangalore and while returning, via agumbe sringeri-chikmaglur. both these routes were decent.

Howz the sampaje ghats on madikeri - m'lore stretch ? Heard it too has deteriorated a lot in the recent past, coz of all buses n other traffic on the road.

[prabhusati]

I travelled to Mangalore last saturday and came back on Sunday. Though it was by KSRTC bus, the journey on the Madikeri ghats was decent. So the roads have been either completely re-laid or potholes have been filled up.

But between Kushalnagar and Madikeri, the ride was rough. So, this route is very much recommended for people to travel between Bangalore and Mangalore.

Best Regards / Satish Prabhu

[bijuks]

One of my friend is planning atrip to Udupi next weekend. Can someone tell me how much will be the expected travel time now till Udupi from Bangalore (SilkBoard) - probably the best route also. It's an ALTO with 3 folks.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by bijuks

One of my friend is planning atrip to Udupi next weekend. Can someone tell me how much will be the expected travel time now till Udupi from Bangalore (SilkBoard) - probably the best route also. It's an ALTO with 3 folks.

As he is travelling to udupi, the better option would be nelamangala junction - hassan - mudigere - kottigehara - kalasa - kudremukh - karkala - udupi. The stretch between kottigehara and kalasa might be of some issues(i.e bad roads). If you leave early in the morning, this could be done in 7 - 8 hours.

[prince_pervez]

Hi friends,
Just back from a 4 day trip to Mangalore.
Route chosen: Bengaluru - Channapatna - Mysore - Kusalnagar - Madikeri - Suliya - Puttur - Mani - Bantwal - BC Road - Ullal - Summer Sands Beach Resort.
Roads are 90% fine. Kusalnagar to Madikeri is a bit rough but managable by any stretch and by any vehicle. BC road is under construction here and there.
But I have travelled on NH4 via Davangere when there were no roads so BC road was not a nigthmare for me at all.
The roads are full of curves and fun to drive.
I managed the distance (410 kms as shown by the dial) in 9 hours with stopping for breakfast and prayers while going to Ullal.
And on the way back I started at 9 AM and reached Bengaluru by 5 PM (8 Hours - No breaks 430 KMs via NICE). Fuel consumed..Ahhh..who cares!!
But it took me one tank full, one way.
From Mani I took the straight route towards Hassan by mistake,
but boy, what a road. I did a 'U' back to Mani and took the suggested right to Puttur.
The roads from Madikeri to Puttur are a driving enthusiasts dream come true. Full of curves, forests and scenery. I enjoyed the vacation + the travelling.
Special thanks to Lohitrao and the entire Team BHP. This Forum Rocks!!
Cheers!