[speedsatya]

Took the Charmadi today. We started at 4 from mangalore and didn't meet much traffic till Belthangady. After that it was mayhem ! Buses , cabs ( all bangalore registered ) with auxiliary lights fitted on them and driving recklessly.

Bangalore Traffic Police always has campaigns advising people against using high beams , but how the heck do they allow these vehicles with extra set of lights on the roads ! So many times , I just stopped the car as I was just blinded by these lights.

The most well behaved drivers were the KSRTC red buses and the occasional HCV.

About the road , claims of the road being widened are correct. But how ? These idiots have just scrapped the hillock walls and its debris everywhere. The tarred part is still narrow and one has to get down to make way for oncoming idiots. At some places , even the hair pin bends are blocked !

One has to be really careful for sure. And the narrow stretches at the top , there was a mini jam at 530 am because of a few idiots in small cars who don't realise the basics of driving on narrow roads.

Reached bangalore in 6.5 hours including a pit stop at Kamath ,Channrayapatna

I wouldn't suggest driving here during daytime

About the " widened " road , it's dusty all around. Just pity the plight of people traveling in non air conditioned vehicles. I am sure the coming monsoon will see some good landslides here given the way the work is being done.

[hsprabhu]

Just did Bangalore - Udupi and back. Started from Bangalore on Saturday at 5:30am. I did CR Patna-Arsikere-Shimoga-Agumbe-Udupi. Reached Manipal by sharp 1pm. Breakfast at Arsikere. 10 minutes stop at Shimoga. 15 minutes stop at Thirthahalli. Very nice roads throughout.
Return was the same route. Started from Udupi by 2:30 pm. Reached JP nagar 7th phase by midnight. More and longer breaks during the return journey. More traffic till Arsikere as well.
Dinner at Rajasthani mess in Arsikere. This is near the railway station. Amazing place. Highly recommended. Open all days for all meals.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by hsprabhu

Just did Bangalore - Udupi and back. Started from Bangalore on Saturday at 5:30am. I did CR Patna-Arsikere-Shimoga-Agumbe-Udupi. Reached Manipal by sharp 1pm. Breakfast at Arsikere. 10 minutes stop at Shimoga. 15 minutes stop at Thirthahalli. Very nice roads throughout.
Return was the same route. Started from Udupi by 2:30 pm. Reached JP nagar 7th phase by midnight. More and longer breaks during the return journey. More traffic till Arsikere as well.
Dinner at Rajasthani mess in Arsikere. This is near the railway station. Amazing place. Highly recommended. Open all days for all meals.

Saw ampere also recommending this route. But isnt this longer? I guess 30+ kms

Saw satya's pics. I think forgot to mention that roads were good but dusty. But why were they piling mud that way !! At least i didn't come across such bad stretches when i came

Now confused if i should take charmadi in the morning tomorrow

[Samurai]

I took the same route last week, it is 40kms extra, but very peaceful.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Saw ampere also recommending this route. But isnt this longer? I guess 30+ kms

Saw satya's pics. I think forgot to mention that roads were good but dusty. But why were they piling mud that way !! At least i didn't come across such bad stretches when i came

Now confused if i should take charmadi in the morning tomorrow

http://youtu.be/O3Q7PCEfM70

The last one minute here shows how it is.

[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Which route do the buses take ? Started at 3 am from Bannerghata road and was crossing Hunsur around 515 am. Didn't see any of the B9Rs or the sleeper / non -AC buses ?

I have travelled in Sugama tourist during my return journey from native and all the time he had taken Madikeri-Kushalnagar-Arakalagudu-Holenarsipura-Hirisave-Bangalore route and I have seen a few KSRTC rajahamsas taking this route. But I think most of the private buses take this route.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Took the Charmadi today. We started at 4 from mangalore and didn't meet much traffic till Belthangady. After that it was mayhem ! Buses , cabs ( all bangalore registered ) with auxiliary lights fitted on them and driving recklessly.

I recommend you to stick to the Madikeri route to Mangalore until Shiradi opens. It was very peaceful last noon and on Saturday.

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Which route do the buses take ?

Day Volvos are taking the Madikeri route. I saw atleast 4 Volvos last noon and one broken down club class at Sampaje.

[hsprabhu]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Saw ampere also recommending this route. But isnt this longer? I guess 30+ kms

Saw satya's pics. I think forgot to mention that roads were good but dusty. But why were they piling mud that way !! At least i didn't come across such bad stretches when i came

Now confused if i should take charmadi in the morning tomorrow

I have done Bangalore-Charmaadi-Udupi in december, Bangalore-Tumkur-Arsikere-Udupi since forever and Bangalore-tumkur-Chitradurga many times in the last 2 years. But I found Bangalore-CR Patna-Arsikere-Udupi the best so far. Its shorter than Durga route. A little longer than Tumkur-Arsikere and Charmaadi routes.

[Samurai]

I feel a consensus forming here about the best routes in the absence of Shiradi.

Bangalore-Mangalore: Sampaje Ghat
Bangalore-Udupi: CR Patna-Arsikere-Agumbe

Both are 40-50kms longer than their nightmarish alternatives. But we are all driving enthusiasts here, additional Kms are not a challenge if we can drive peacefully.

[hsprabhu]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I feel a consensus forming here about the best routes in the absence of Shiradi.

Bangalore-Mangalore: Sampaje Ghat
Bangalore-Udupi: CR Patna-Arsikere-Agumbe

Both are 40-50kms longer than their nightmarish alternatives. But we are all driving enthusiasts here, additional Kms are not a challenge if we can drive peacefully.

Agumbe will be an option till the time govt closes the Agumbe ghat for repairs. The 9KM Agumbe ghat as it stands today is easily motorable but its a very bumpy ride.

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by ampere

Going by how it is towards NR Pura side from Mandagadde, I presume, it should be good at the start from Bhadra too.

Thank you Ampere for suggesting taking Bhadra > Mandagadde route. I took this while going to Kundapur. Road is good all the way till last four km connecting Mandagadde. Now I take this rout if I don't need to visit Shimoga (for breakfast or lunch).

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Took the Charmadi today. We started at 4 from mangalore and didn't meet much traffic till Belthangady. After that it was mayhem ! Buses , cabs ( all bangalore registered ) with auxiliary lights fitted on them and driving recklessly.

I took the same route, started at 2:45 and reached at 11:05. We could reach Belur only at 6:15. There is always a huge traffic building up in Charmadi behind one of the local transport giving us guided tour of Ghats @ less than 20km speed!

Saw many acciedents on the way. First one Just after Kottigehara two cars involved with one back ending, no major damage to cars but lots of damage to passengers as none belted! One in Belur road between Rickshaw and Ritz (I guess) with Rickshaw completely destroyed, another after CR patana a tracks went inside Standing lorry! I have seen less deaths in this road when it was two lane road. For one I think we should not be given such good roads! We are not ready! We are not mature to have good roads!

I chose this route to avoid Mysore <-> Bangalore highway, but I found situation here also no difference!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

Thank you Ampere for suggesting taking Bhadra > Mandagadde route. I took this while going to Kundapur. Road is good all the way till last four km connecting Mandagadde. Now I take this rout if I don't need to visit Shimoga (for breakfast or lunch).

Thanks for confirming this. This is what I thought too. Mandagadde-SH65 intersection was OK (not really bad) and manageable. But apart from that SH65 I thought was good.

So if one is heading towards Agumbe: CR Patna-Arsikere-Bhadra-SH65 Mandagadde - Thirthahalli should be a perfect option.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ampere

So if one is heading towards Agumbe: CR Patna-Arsikere-Bhadra-SH65 Mandagadde - Thirthahalli should be a perfect option.

Shimoga-Tirthahalli was very good when I traveled last year, but this route bypasses Shimoga ? Distance wise how much more is it ?

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by ampere

So if one is heading towards Agumbe: CR Patna-Arsikere-Bhadra-SH65 Mandagadde - Thirthahalli should be a perfect option.

Its shorter by 20km, less crowded, avoids Shimoga bypass and its haphazard traffic. I didn't take CR Patna -Arsikere route, only to regret it thousand times till I reached Arsikere!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by NPV

Shimoga-Tirthahalli was very good when I traveled last year, but this route bypasses Shimoga ? Distance wise how much more is it ?

Its not about good road in this case. Its about the avoiding the traffic prone sections around Shimoga. SH65 is typically a very peaceful drive. So from that point of view, you can save more time by avoiding traffic prone section rather than reduced distance. Even reduced distance also helps.