[addyhemmige]

Speedbreaker alert

2 new set of speedbreaker have come up in front of the Adichunchanagiri Medical college near Bellur Cross. They are no signs for these speed breakers. However they are 'protected' by 2 barricades and one guy who waves you to slow down.

These speedbreakers were installed yesterday (Wednesday) only, as they were not there when I traveled to Hassan on Tuesday night.

I still don't know why we pay toll. I always thought the Bangalore-Mangalore road was becoming like the Bangalore-Mysore road with all these new eateries coming up, but it looks like the speedbreakers are also being copied from there.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

I still don't know why we pay toll. I always thought the Bangalore-Mangalore road was becoming like the Bangalore-Mysore road with all these new eateries coming up, but it looks like the speedbreakers are also being copied from there.

Agree with you, there is even one section near the Shravanabelagola turn off that has work in progress and pretty bad road condition and we still pay toll to use that section
*I just hope the dense, crazy driving pattern of traffic is also not copied from Bangalore-Mysore road (Can just hope since I already experienced something similar on this route during one of the long holiday weekends recently).

[Rajesh K R]

@NPV :
I witnessed some crazy Mysore road type driving during my drive from Hassan to BLR last weekend !

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by NPV

*I just hope the dense, crazy driving pattern of traffic is also not copied from Bangalore-Mysore road (Can just hope since I already experienced something similar on this route during one of the long holiday weekends recently).

It's already being copied. Drive back from Hassan on any Sunday evening and you'll experience it. I have made a point to take leave on Monday and drive back peacefully. I get irritated seeing these weekend warriors driving like jokers. I have been travelling in this route since late 80s and only now I'm witnessing this mad rush. If SH-85 is completely ready, I'll never touch this expressway.

[Rajesh K R]

My drive was not even a long weekend nor any festival linked. But still it was quite mad out there, but not so much like SH-17.

[ilbkrishna]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Shiradi was suppose to be closed for repair work right ? Any update on that ?

The official report..
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/45169118.cms

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

Speedbreaker alert

2 new set of speedbreaker have come up in front of the Adichunchanagiri Medical college near Bellur Cross. They are no signs for these speed breakers. However they are 'protected' by 2 barricades and one guy who waves you to slow down.

Yes . These have come up overnight and can take you by surprise .

Attaching a video of the same . You will see a vehicle take a U turn after the second set of speedbreakers .

1- Why have a U turn on this fast stretch . I am sure this is an illegal one ! As I dont remember seeing a warning sign
2- Maybe the locals have come up with these to slow down vehicles on this fast stretch for the ones taking a U turn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SFJ...ature=youtu.be

A few other clips from this weekend drive

1- Close call on Nice road . Jaywalker !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X10M...ature=youtu.be

2- Idiot 1 - Car goes off the road on the Gundya - Subramanya Road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQR9...ature=youtu.be

3- Idiot 2 - Car almost went off the road . There were people still inside the car as there was no way they could have got out of the car

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEhQ...ature=youtu.be

Other updates :

1- I see some patch work being done on the road before Sakleshpur . This does save some pain and time .
2- Drove on a superb road for the first time . As we had to pick up friends from Puttur , we took the Puttur - Kumbra- Bellare- Subramanya - Gundya route . What an awesome road it was !

For anyone driving towards Puttur- Sullia , I would suggest this road . Sparse traffic , well laid roads and some fun .

[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

For anyone driving towards Puttur- Sullia , I would suggest this road . Sparse traffic , well laid roads and some fun .

Yes I completely agree with you and to the matter of fact even Subramanya-Kaniyoor-Puttur road is also in very good condition. However if you compare this route with NH48 where you continue till Uppinangady and take a deviation towards Puttur is 23Kms less and I recon roads are not that much worse except 2-3 kms stretch from Gundya towards Udane.

[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by Added_flavor

Hi All! Planning a drive with family to Dharmasthala and Kukke next weekend. Car is an old gen Verna CRDi with 5 people on board.

Need your help with the below queries.

1. Planning to take Charmadi on the way to Dharmasthala from Bangalore. As per google maps, it's 17 km longer. But better road with lesser traffic compared to Shiradi is pulling me towards taking Charmadi. Your advice please.

2. From Dharmasthala which is the best route to Subrahmanya? The one via Ejilampady road/SH 37 or the road via Gundia?

3. On the way back from Subrahmanya to Bangalore I guess I will have to take Shiradi and this probably after dark. The last few pages of this thread suggest the ever deteriorating condition of this road. So, is there any other better road I can take to come to Bangalore?

Thanks in advance.

Folks time for me to update you on the route that I took. It's marked in the map here

On the way to Dharmasthala I took the Hassan-Belur-Mudigere-Charmadi-Ujire route. Roads are fantastic all the way and there wasn't much traffic either. Charmadi is an absolute bliss to drive! Started from Bangalore at 5.30 AM and reached Dharmasthala at 10.30 AM with a 20 minute breakfast stop at Hotel Mayura, Bellur cross.

From Dharmasthala to Subrahmanya (About 55Km) the road is average to bad in patches till Nellyady on Bangalore-Mangalore highway. From here on, I should have taken the Gundya-Subrahmanya road. Upon some recommendations, I took the kadaba Ejilampady road to Subrahmanya. I regretted it as the road is horrible and I could not move to 3rd gear! I suggest anybody going from Dharmasthala to Subrahmanya to take the Gundya route.

From Subrahmanya to Bangalore, I decided to take the route I have marked in the map. Subrahmanya - Sullia - Guthigaru - Sullia - Sampaje - Madikeri - Somwarpet - Shanivarsanthe - Holenarsipur - Chennarapatna . From here on, I joined the Bangalore - Mangalore highway and drove to Bangalore.

1. Subrahmanya to Sullia: This road has been relaid recently and is an absolute breeze to drive if you love long sweeping corners and sudden hair pins. But the tarmac is super smooth and the landscape is lovely with thick canopy surrounding you. Take a left after Doddathota. This bypasses Sullia town.

2. Sullia to Sampaje: As bad as ever. Many sections of huge alloy-crushing potholes ensure you are down to 1st gear.

3. Sampaje - Madikeri - Somwarpet - Shanivarsanthe - Arkalgud - Holenarsipur - Chennarayapatna: This entire section will treat you with narrow, dark, deserted country side roads with some bad road sections thrown in. Plus, ALL the roads here are curves, curves and curves and no human habitation at all! There is NO straight stretch until you reach Holenarsipur. From Holenarsipur to Chennarayapatna there is bad stretch for about a km. After that the road is fine till the NH.

On the point 3, I was worried for a while that I would be badly stuck in case of a flat or a break down! Thankfully neither happened.

Would I recommend this route to anyone who wants to try this as an alternative to Shiradi/Charmadi from Subrahmanya to Bangalore? Yes. But ONLY if you are with in a group/group of cars and NOT if you are the lonely car and have only your wife for company, that too after dark!

Cheers!

[Akhilash95]

I will be travelling with my family to dharmastala(via charmadi) this Saturday in a dZire.
From dharmastala, we will be travelling to davangere, leaving dharmastala latest by 4 pm. So, we might have to drive even after dusk.Which would be the most suitable route -
1>Mudigere - chikmagalur - kadur - chennagiri- davangere.
2>balehonnur - shimoga - harihara - davangere.

[Soumyajit9]

My first Long Long Long Drive has come up.
An order was passed yesterday by the home ministry to take up a drive to a colleague's marriage in Hassan.
We are starting on Saturday morning, around 6 AM, and returning to Bangalore before 8 PM on Sunday.
Heard scary stories of this Bangalore - Mangalore highway and want to avoid driving much of it in dark. Have absolutely no experience of night highway driving, and with wife and infant onboard, it is a NO.

I am super excited about the drive.
We are 2 adults and 1 infant, driving a Chevy Beat Petrol.
My wish was to ZoomCar an Ecosport or a 3rd Gen City (which was available).
Wifey ruled out that option stating:
- I cannot drive a mini-SUV or a sedan
- No fun, because I cannot have my Beat's Photoshoot.
Well, I agreed to the second point instantaneously! So Beat it is !

Our base location would be Hassan.
I have decided to hop on to some tourist destinations nearby. Here is the plan:

Day 1:
- Check-in to hotel at Hassan. Have quick lunch and power nap for the kid.
- Visit Belur Temple.
- Come back and retire into the hotel and later visit the marriage house.

Day 2:
- Visit Halebeedu.
- Check out and start return trip.
- Stop-by at Shravanabelagola, while returning to Bangalore.

Wanted to visit Sakleshpur and its famous meadows, but time is a constraint.

Experienced folks, please advise me on:
- Breakfast joint that I can stop at around 9 AM, considering I start from BTM 2nd Stage at 6 AM.
- Diversions / Broken Patches if any.
- Dangerous Bridges / Village / Crowded stretches that I should watch out and slow down.
- Average speed I should maintain. I am comfortable upto 120 kmph.
- Good hotel in Hassan. Priority is a neat floor for the infant on roll on.
- Time I should leave Hassan so as to see Shravanabelagola and finally be able to enter NICE road by 7 PM max.

This is a below route plan that I mapped out on Google.



EDIT:: Found this piece of simple map which indicates that it would take about 3 hours to reach Hassan, which is very good news to me !! Max by 10 I can reach Hassan. Will get some additional time to explore Belur then !!

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

My first Long Long Long Drive has come up....
Experienced folks, please advise me on:
- Breakfast joint that I can stop at around 9 AM, considering I start from BTM 2nd Stage at 6 AM.
- Diversions / Broken Patches if any.
- Dangerous Bridges / Village / Crowded stretches that I should watch out and slow down.
- Average speed I should maintain. I am comfortable upto 120 kmph.
- Good hotel in Hassan. Priority is a neat floor for the infant on roll on.
- Time I should leave Hassan so as to see Shravanabelagola and finally be able to enter NICE road by 7 PM max.

Straight forward route to Hassan - Get onto Tumkur Road NH 4 via IISc /Yeshwanthapura or take NICE Road and the exit to Tumkur Road.
At Nelamangala, look for Mangalore signage and get to service lane and turn left - this is the NH48 Mangalore highway.
Road is in good condition, 4 laned, you can do decent safe speeds. There is some construction/widening work near the shravanabelagola turn off. There are 4 tolls I think from Nelamangala to Hassan.
Hoysala Village Resort is a good place to stay at Hassan and it's on the Belur Road. To visit Halebidu, I think the route via Hagare is better than the other route, but look for previous posts on this to confirm, one of these roads is very bad.
For breakfast you can consider Swathi Delicacy or Adigas Grand (haven't been to this one, opened recently) both on right side of highway near Yediyur about 100Km from Bangalore. About 50m ahead of Swathi there is a break in median allowing for U-turn.
Or go further another 10Km or so and stop at Mayura, Bellur Cross (not Belur!) on left side (you can see the Adichunchunagiri group of institutions campus on right side and Mayura is on opposite side (left side of highway) on the service road.

Hassan-Shravanabelagola should take an hour or so, approximately 55Km. Suggest you visit early morning or late afternoon say 4pm, before dusk. Why not visit on the way to Hassan and return directly to Bangalore ?

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

- Visit Halebeedu.

Originally Posted by NPV

To visit Halebidu, I think the route via Hagare is better than the other route, but look for previous posts on this to confirm, one of these roads is very bad.

Yes, the route via Hagare is better to go to Halebidu from Belur. I planned to take the NH-234 from Belur to Halebidu last month but a local advised me to take the route via Hagare as NH-234 is very bad between Belur - Halebidu. I then took the Hagare route and it was awesome. The route: https://goo.gl/maps/DBjVc

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Wanted to visit Sakleshpur and its famous meadows, but time is a constraint.

Plan to visit Sakaleshpur sometime later after the roads are repaired. The roads around Sakaleshpur are in shambles.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Wanted to visit Sakleshpur and its famous meadows, but time is a constraint.

Avoid Sakleshpura like the plague - it's like a war zone, surface like the moon
There is always a next time, hopefully between Dec 2014 and June 2015 the works to be carried out on Shiradi Ghat will also improve the roads in and around Sakleshpura as well!

[Samurai]

Damn, Agumbe ghat and Shiradi ghat will be closing within a week of each other. This throws a massive wrench in my fortnightly routine.

I'll be reduced to using the slowest (Kalasa) or the narrowest (Charmadi) ghat. Now, charmadi would have been fine otherwise. However, it is very sensitive to traffic congestion. With two major ghats closed, it will receive massive overflow and is likely to see major jams everyday. I am really worried sick.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

My first Long Long Long Drive has come up.
An order was passed yesterday by the home ministry to take up a drive to a colleague's marriage in Hassan.
We are starting on Saturday morning, around 6 AM, and returning to Bangalore before 8 PM on Sunday.

If you leave Bangalore at 6AM, you will be at Hassan at 9AM for breakfast. So this is not a long drive, let alone long long long.