[vnambiar]

I travelled on the route on sunday 2nd June, noon, passed by the location and saw tanker was still overturned in the ditch. did not face any traffic jam, only saw flag markings warning potential leak and had to slow down at that stretch. Traffic was normal.

[navrddy]

I am planning to Travel to bangalore - chikmagalur (nearby homestays - 1st Day Stay), horanadu and sringeri (2nd day night stay) and return to bangalore.
1. I would like to know gud and resonable homestays(experianced by TBhp'ans) and approx tariff.
2. Preferred Routes to be taken.

Note: Travelling with family.

[guyfrmblr]

Came back from Mangalore today. Took the regular Shiradi route. The ghat section was in decent condition but there are some rough stretches after Gundya. It was raining cats and dogs until Nelyadi. We left Mangalore at around 1 30 PM and reached Bannerghatta road at 7 PM. It was a scary scene at Perne. The destruction caused by the tanker was horrific. The damaged houses reminded me some of the post-apocalyptic games I have played. They have installed some speed breakers at both the sides of the curve.

For a change we took the Charmadi ghat while driving towards Mangalore yesterday. We took a right towards Belur at Hassan. The stretch between Hassan and Belur is in excellent condition. The roads inside Belur town is not in a good shape. Then the Belur - Mudigere - Kottigehara - Charmadi - Ujire - Belthangady - Guruvayanakere stretch is a bliss to drive. One can enjoy the freshly laid tarmac here. From Guruvayanakare, I took left towards Uppinangady since I wanted to go to Puttur, Sullia, Kasargod, etc. We left Bangalore at 6 AM and reached Uppinangady at around 11 30 AM which included a 30 mins break at Mayura and a 15 mins break at Coffee house near Mudigere. I had driven from Guruvayanakere towards Mangalore last month and the road is in good condition.

Its best to avoid the Nanthur junction on Saturday evenings. I drove from Kasargod to Mangalore last evening and it took 4 hours to cover the 50 km stretch. It took 1 hour to reach Pumpwell junction from Ullal bridge, thanks to the road widening work and another hour from Pumpwell to Nantoor junction, thanks to heavy rains. My cousin who stays in Mangalore said that its a common scene on Saturday evenings at pumpwell and Nantoor junction.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

They have installed some speed breakers at both the sides of the curve.

Its best to avoid the Nanthur junction on Saturday evenings. I drove from Kasargod to Mangalore last evening and it took 4 hours to cover the 50 km stretch. It took 1 hour to reach Pumpwell junction from Ullal bridge, thanks to the road widening work and another hour from Pumpwell to Nantoor junction, thanks to heavy rains. My cousin who stays in Mangalore said that its a common scene on Saturday evenings at pumpwell and Nantoor junction.

The speed breakers at the curve hardly serve any purpose. Most of the cars go over at normal speed without braking there.

Yes the roadblock from the Ullal bridge to pumpwell is a pain in back. People move in every available crevice and try to rejoin the road leading to massive traffic jam. When I travelled in this road last month, it took 6 hours for the journey from Kumbla to pumpwell. It is the best avoided route.

[Samurai]

Stick to daytime driving....

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle4805582.ece

[deehunk]

[quote=Samurai;3146829]Stick to daytime driving....

This is a bit frightening incident, I have been a regular visitor to Dharmasthala from a very long time and never experienced such things in past, infact I prefer to travel on isolated roads more. One important information which is missing in the report is what language did the miscreants speak, doubt it not the work of localites of this area, some passing by criminals may have committed this crime . Thanks for sharing this report.

[vindrider2626]

Driving through these roads at midnight ,that too with old people does not make any sense.Why invite trouble and then repent?,I drive safe means sensible planning too.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Stick to daytime driving....

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle4805582.ece

I do atleast 2 -3 mangalore drives jn a month. almost all Bangalore - Mangalore drives have been late night starts. Never once had I seen or heard anything like this before. I always say this is one of the safest roads to drive.

Having said that , I don't think I would do late night drives with aged parents in the car. Any drive with family members along with me starts only around 3 am from Bangalore. This way , we do that ghat only around sunrise.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Stick to daytime driving....

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle4805582.ece

Really Shocking.. I would only do night driving if i am prepared for it(bunch of men ready to take turns and even repair or push when needed)

With family, especially old people and kids it is best if we stick to day time driving.


Having said that, I still feel the roads on this part of India are pretty safe. Have we heard of armed robbery in this area ? Looks like a gang of thugs who chanced upon a poor family accidentally.

Hope such things dont repeat again

[Samurai]

Yeah, it is just that. Passing by criminals saw an opportunity and took it. They didn't even push the mangalsutra issue once they realised the lady was willing to die for it.

[fast_elegance]

I did the B'lore - M'lore trip last weekend.

I travelled to M'lore on Sunday and the return was on Tuesday. Started from M'lore at about 8 PM and reached B'lore at 4AM.

I failed to notice or remember the serial humps near Perne while returning and went over at moderate speed. Thanks to super heavy rains. There are no markings/reflectors on these humps and it is easy to miss those.

The Shiradi ghat is in a decent condition but was covered with heavy fog. I had to get behind a Swaraj Mazda that was doing decent speeds in the 1st section of the ghats and the 2nd section I got behind a KSRTC bus. I guess thats the best way to get through the ghat sections during heavy fog. You need to be very cautious though.

The Chennarayapatna bypass road didnt look like it had opened officially. There were sand bags that were kept across the road and therefore didnt take it. Some buses and lorries were getting into this road from the sides.

Overall, I would suggest not to travel during the night time in this season. The rains, fog, deviations, new pot holes, humps, high beams, buses, etc. makes it really tiring to drive this stretch during the night.

[uvmallya]

I will be driving from Mangalore to Bangalore in a couple of days and would like to know the road conditions at Shiradi ghat section. Has anyone traversed this route recently? Thank you.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by uvmallya

I will be driving from Mangalore to Bangalore in a couple of days and would like to know the road conditions at Shiradi ghat section. Has anyone traversed this route recently? Thank you.

Will a 3 hour old report work for you? Still hot off the oven.

Surprisingly, Shiradi is still in decent shape. It has started to break as you near Gundya. So, I would say first 25kms after Sakleshpur is fine, then watch out for Rough roads. A km after Gundya, road becomes fine. Rest is same.

[uvmallya]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Will a 3 hour old report work for you? Still hot off the oven.

Surprisingly, Shiradi is still in decent shape. It has started to break as you near Gundya. So, I would say first 25kms after Sakleshpur is fine, then watch out for Rough roads. A km after Gundya, road becomes fine. Rest is same.

That was a real prompt and very piping hot report. Thanks a lot Samurai.

[venkyhere]

did this route and back over weekend :

blore-hassan-belur-mudigere-charmadi ghat- guruvayenkere-karkala-hiriadka-udupi

road status update :
1) till hassan the 4 laning is almost done (many portions have only one half open for traffic) , c'ptna bypass is a delight; wherever not completed (little stretches) the roads are average with needless humps
2) hassan-belur -> perfect, as usual (in fact, i would say best 2-lane road in south india)
3) in and around belur, surface is horrible
4) belur-mudigere -> superb
5) mudigere outer circle - ghat start -> normal
6) ghats -> mix of good and bad patches (but u hardly notice, given the scenery outside)
7) guruvayenkere - karkala -> average
8) karkala - udupi -> bad