[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by nityaya

Hi guys. I am planning to drive down to Tirupati on the 13th of March. The plan is to start around 3.00 pm from Mangalore and take a halt either at Hassan or somewhere further ahead depending on the availability of a good hotel. Then start early morning from there and continue towards Tirupati. Need advice as to which road to take after nelamangala to join the Tirupati road. Also any good hotel to spend the night between Hassan and Kunigal. Thanks in advance

Hotel Suvarna Regency at Hassan. Good hotel, good food (2 separate restaurants, 1 veg, 1 non veg) I stay everytime I plan for Belur-Halebidu trip. Phone number is 08172266774/08172264279

[lohithrao]

It makes sense to stay close to Kunigal and Mayura would be a good choice in terms of location, parking facility and food.

Originally Posted by nityaya

Hi guys. I am planning to drive down to Tirupati on the 13th of March. The plan is to start around 3.00 pm from Mangalore and take a halt either at Hassan or somewhere further ahead depending on the availability of a good hotel. Then start early morning from there and continue towards Tirupati. Need advice as to which road to take after nelamangala to join the Tirupati road. Also any good hotel to spend the night between Hassan and Kunigal. Thanks in advance

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by nityaya

Hi guys. I am planning to drive down to Tirupati on the 13th of March. The plan is to start around 3.00 pm from Mangalore and take a halt either at Hassan or somewhere further ahead depending on the availability of a good hotel. Then start early morning from there and continue towards Tirupati. Need advice as to which road to take after nelamangala to join the Tirupati road. Also any good hotel to spend the night between Hassan and Kunigal. Thanks in advance

Hassan is your best bet as options here are many.

Neither Channarayapatna, Bellur Cross or Kunigal can give you any decent choice. We had 2 years back surveyed each and every towns above to male arrangements for stay for a foreign national who was running for cause.

Needless to say that the story remains same even today.

Even the so called KSTDC Mayura near Yediyur was in shambles when we visited and the incharge himself advised to check elsewhere.

Mayura at Bellur cross is a decent hotel for food but not for stay - We have checked the rooms here as well. No AC and the rooms resemble dormitory.

Hassan has many:

Phalguni Regency,
Suvarna Regency,
Southern Star,
Mallige,
And the new kid on the block which is extremely popular is Hotel Raama:

https://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Rev...Karnataka.html

As of today, Raama wins hands down for the quality of Food, cleaner rooms and the location (600 meters off NH Bypass for Hassan).

It is today a very popular hotel both as a stop over for overnight trips or as a good breaking point for lunch, snacks and Dinner.

[naga.sid]

Hi

I drove from Blr to Mangalore yesterday through Shiradi ghat. Close to 10km are in bad shape. The craters are not a challenge if you are a tipper with new tires.

Plan to drive back through Sullia and Mysore tomorrow. Any challenges on that road?

Best regards
Siddharth

[rajshenoy]

One good news i have to share is that they have started patching up the gundya stretch. Already a km near Gundya is patched up and looking at the progress, around 2-3 weeks i feel(and hope) they can cover the 10 kms till the shiradi concrete stretch.

With this patching, the road will be still rough and undulating BUT can avoid damage to under belly of the car and one can manage this stretch with 20-30kmph.

While this will get washed away with first wave of rains itself, at least we should be safe till rains start

[redcruiser]

May be off topic. But I guess this is the best place to ask the pros.
How long does it take to get darshan in Dharmasthala?
I am planning for a visit in the upcoming Ugadi long weekend.

[deehunk]

Hi redcruiser, I visited the temple last month on a Saturday. It took 2 hours to get the darshan even after buying the Quick darshan ticket. If you are going with elders or small kids, I would suggest to go as early as possible in the morning or late in the evening.

[redcruiser]

Originally Posted by deehunk

It took 2 hours to get the darshan even after buying the Quick darshan ticket.

Thanks deehunk.

I am planning between Mar-25(sat) to Mar-28(Tue) for the following-
option-1: BLR-Ullal beach resort (day-1)-Bekal-Kukke temple- Dharmasthala (Day-2)-ChikMangluru(day-3)-Blr

option-2: BLR-dharmasthala-kukke(day-2)-Bekal-Ullal(day-2)-Chikmangluru(day-3)-Blr

Currently I am confused between the two options. Basically it is a S if you see in the picture.


What could be the best option? Apart from these is there anything worth to visit in the above route ?

I hope the route in the picture is fine or should I be careful of anything (btw my first visit to Uttar Karnataka)

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by redcruiser

option-1: BLR-Ullal beach resort (day-1)-Bekal-Kukke temple- Dharmasthala (Day-2)-ChikMangluru(day-3)-Blr

Bangalore - Ullal Beach

Take the usual route which is : Nelemangala - Kunigal - Hassan - Sakaleshpur - Shiradi - Gundya - BC Road - Pumpwell Circle - Ullal

Ideally, this will be around 6 to 6.5 Hours end to end with all your breaks and usual cruising speeds of 100 KMPH on 4 lane and 80-90 there after based on merit of roads, Ghats and the small bad patch of Shiradi

Bekal - Kukke - Dhasmasthala - Chikkamagalur

• Via Jalsoor, you reach Kukke. And from Kukke, take the popular route to Dharmasthala.
  
  
• Make sure that the day you start from Bekal, you target to finish Darshan at Kukke by lunch and then leave for Dharmasthala which would be an hour's journey from Kukke.
  
  
• Also make sure that once you finish Darshan at Dharmasthala, leave early (before dusk) so that you can cover Charmadi Ghat during day light.
  
  
• Hence, from Dharmastahala to Chikmagalur, it is no brainer but to take Ujire - Charmadi - Kottigehara - Mudigere Town - Chikmagalur route.
  
  
• Charmadi ghat as you know will be narrower than your Shiradi experience but with very less traffic and 11 Hairpin curves to climb. Overall, the condition of this route all the way from Dharmasthala to Chikmagalur remains good and you need not have any apprehensions.

option-2: BLR-dharmasthala-kukke(day-2)-Bekal-Ullal(day-2)-Chikmangluru(day-3)-Blr

The straightforward route to Dharmasthala from Bangalore is obviously via Shiradi Ghats. But then, you have included Kukke and Bekal which are both located south of Dharmasthala (and as well South of BLR-MLR highway).

Hence, if you chose option 2 :

• Bangalore - Nelamangala - Hassan - Sakaleshpur - Shiradi - Gundya - Dharmasthala
  
  
• Dharmasthala - Kukke
  
  
• Kukke - Sullya - Jalsoor - Bekal
  
  
• Bekal - Kasargod - Ullal Beach
  
  
• Ullal - Pumpwell Circle - BC road - Guruvayanakere - Belthangady - Ujire - Charmadi - Kottigehara - Mudigere Town - Chikmagalur

Advantages of Option 2 V/s Option 1:

You finish your temple circuit of Dharmasthala and Kukke first and then head to tourist destinations of Bekal, Ullal and Chikmagalur

The return leg from Bekal - Ullal - Pumpwell Circle (Mangalore) - BC road will be faster and easier (More 4 lane).

I hope the route in the picture is fine or should I be careful of anything (btw my first visit to Uttar Karnataka)

What you will be visiting will be Dakshina Kannada section (Puttur, Mangalore, Udupi, Belthangady Taluks). Uttara Kannada is up north on the same coastline beyond Kundapura and Bhatkal.

Summer has already set in. Carry lots of water and welcome the humidity you face beyond Shiradi with open arms. You are bound to experience Humid weather all the way till you return back from Dharmasthala

[rahulb22]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

One good news i have to share is that they have started patching up the gundya stretch. Already a km near Gundya is patched up and looking at the progress, around 2-3 weeks i feel(and hope) they can cover the 10 kms till the shiradi concrete stretch.

Any further updates on the patchwork on Shiradi ghat? Hope it has progressed.

Just came across this article in The Hindu which says that it would be ready before monsoon.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...le17443510.ece

[Samurai]

Yeah, repair work is going on. First few KMs from Gundya is bad, rest is patched. I drove by this weekend.

[nityaya]

I came by that road on Saturday and hopefully by this week it will be all patched up. Work was going on.

[kanu2k15]

Hello Guys,

I'm planning to go to Udipi on 1st April weekend and wanted to know the best route. After going through the previous posts the default google maps route seems to be the right one with small patch of bad road near Gundya for with the work is in progress to fix it. Now other that this is the road all good as my wife is pregnant and I need to be very careful with the potholes. Anything to watch out along the complete journey? And what are the good spots to stop along the way for food and rest rooms?
Any help appreciated.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by kanu2k15

Anything to watch out along the complete journey?

SPEEDBREAKERS - I mention this because you are traveling with someone who needs utmost care when being drive. There are marked as well as unmarked. So drive at speeds where you will be able to stop in time even when you spot one just few meters ahead.

There are no huge speedbreakers anywhere on this route except near Alur & Hirisave but many rumbler type speedbreakers exist right from Solur all the way till Hassan.

(1) Solur, (2) After Bellur Cross toll(3 Locations), (3)Kirisave, (4)Hirisave Town crossing, (5) few kms before CR Patna Bypass, (6) 3 Locations on CR Patna bypass itself, (7) Shantigrama, (8) Udayapura, (9), After University Campus nearing Hassan (10) Hassan Bypass - 4 Locations.

And what are the good spots to stop along the way for food and rest rooms?
Any help appreciated.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

• Swati Delicacy (Around 90 minutes from Bangalore)
  
• Adigas Grand(Another 3 minutes beyond Swati)
  
• Mayura (110 Kms, around 2 hours from Bangalore)
  
• Aadya's Royal Dine & A2B (150 Kms, 2.5 Hours from Bangalore)
  
• Gandharva, Sakleshpur (4 Hours, 220 from Bangalore
  
• Surabhi, Sakleshpur (4 Hours, 220 from Bangalore)

The Journey time will be anywhere between 8-9 Hours end to end with usual highway cruising speeds of 90-100 KMPH and all the breaks.

There will be 3 Cafe' Coffee Days within the first 150 kms that I have excluded for obvious reasons.

Note that in the above list where Aadya's Royal Dine is located, A2B too is located next to it and there is Kamat Upachar & CCD diagonally opposite to A2B as well.

[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by kanu2k15

Now other that this is the road all good as my wife is pregnant and I need to be very careful with the potholes. Anything to watch out along the complete journey? And what are the good spots to stop along the way for food and rest rooms?
Any help appreciated.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

SPEEDBREAKERS - I mention this because you are traveling with someone who needs utmost care when being drive. There are marked as well as unmarked. So drive at speeds where you will be able to stop in time even when you spot one just few meters ahead.

Adding to what Parag Bhai says, if you are taking Shiradi ghat then you need to consider the fact that road surface post concrete section and all the way till Gundya is uneven. Even though patch work is in progress but still considering your situation you need to careful while going via this stretch.

I was in similar situation like yours couple of years back and I took Madikeri route once as Shiradi ghat was closed for repairs but soon I switched to train considering the low risk factor