[ThilakNex]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

How are the latest road conditions on Hassan - Chikkmagaluru - Agumbe section after the recent rain havoc? Should I take this route or go via Shiradi - Mangalore for a drive down to Kundapura?

I suggest you to take Chikkamagaluru - Kuppali - Teerthahalli - Mastikatte - Hulikal Ghat - Kundapura route. This is the safest route for you since you are driving to Kundapura.
They have put fresh tar pre monsoon which should be in fairly good condition now.
You can refer to below video which was shot 6 months ago to get better idea about road condition.

http://youtu.be/-e_fnJd97js

As far as condition of Agumbe route is concerned, i will be able to give you update after my tomorrow's drive to hometown via same...

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

How are the latest road conditions on Hassan - Chikkmagaluru - Agumbe section after the recent rain havoc? Should I take this route or go via Shiradi - Mangalore for a drive down to Kundapura?

Quoting myself from a post of Aug 19th. This is after the heavy rains. Agumbe Ghat roads are really good, with a few avoidable potholes on the curves.

Originally Posted by samaspire

The route was fantastic. No unavoidable potholes at all. Just the stretch nearing Chikmagalur city - bad. Left at 1:30, reached at 10:30. Total breaks of about 1:30 hours. Maybe because of my timing or because of Vajpayee, but I hardly encountered any human traffic. Vehicular traffic is anyway very less till the Chikmagalur-Mudigere diversion.

I would say it's the best route at present. Even for people travelling from Mangalore.

[rahulb22]

Latest update on Shiradi.

Just completed a non-stop drive to Moodbidri from Bangalore. Started at 2 AM and reached around 8:30 AM. Road conditions are generally fine.

Points to note:
- Ride is quite bumpy from Hassan to Sakleshpur & after Sakleshpur till Concrete section (Road inside Sakleshpur town seem to be recently tarred). But nothing to worry about
- After Bisle turning point, about 7-8 small sections with 'one-way' (First 2-3 are quite narrow and need to be negotiated carefully). These are clearly marked
- Due to prohibition of Heavy vehicles, traffic was smooth until BC road junction (where buses from Charmadi join the highway)

Cheers
Rahulb22

[gauravanekar]

Just now travelled through shiradi ghat, Roads are in good condition for cars. Traffic was sparse today and the drive was actually enjoyable.

[Shubbi]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

How are the latest road conditions on Hassan - Chikkmagaluru - Agumbe section after the recent rain havoc? Should I take this route or go via Shiradi - Mangalore for a drive down to Kundapura?

Did you take Hassan - CKM - Agumbe route? If so, hows the condition? Considering this option tonight for my Udupi drive.

[Makin Rulesz]

Originally Posted by Shubbi

Did you take Hassan - CKM - Agumbe route? If so, hows the condition? Considering this option tonight for my Udupi drive.

Sorry mate, I am travelling tomorrow morning. Looking at the latest updates in this page, I am inclined towards Shiradi now.
Though road condition in Chikkmagaluru route is good, it takes more time compared to Shiradi due to long and winding roads.

[unk9ja]

Travelled to Udupi today. It was a looong drive at leisure. Started at 0530 from Girinagar and reached Udupi at 1530.
Took Girinagar - ORR - Nelamangala - Hiriyur - Vani Vilasa Sagar dam - Tarikere - Bhadra bypass - Muttinakoppa - Thirthahalli - Agumbe - Hiriyadka - Manipal - Udupi.
Road conditions: Bangalore to Hiriyur is excellent. Small patch of undulating surface after Tumakuru. Moron drivers after Tumakuru. Found an i10 rear ended a Brezza, occupants were dazed but safe.
Hiriyur to Vani Vilasa Sagar dam is excellent stretch with lovely scenic surrounding.
Vani Vilasa Sagar dam to Tarikere has some bad stretch which has to be taken with care but doable on any car.
Tarikere to Bhadra bypass is again excellent.
Bhadra bypass to Thirthahalli goes through some very narrow sections and vehicles have to get down from the road to pass but is in good condition.
Thirthahalli to Hiriyadka is good as there are some WIP section and pothole that appear out of nowhere.
Hiriyadka to Manipal is in worst condition with lot of potholes and crazy traffic. Post Manipal the roads are good. The speed limit is 50 kmph and one needs to watch for the interceptor near MGM college.

[Shubbi]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

Though road condition in Chikkmagaluru route is good, it takes more time compared to Shiradi due to long and winding roads.

I drove HSR layout - Nice road - Magadi - Hassan - CKM - Jayapura - Hariharpura - Hebri - Brahmavara - Udupi last night; 7.30pm - 3.30am, with break at Swati.
Surprised at the lack of traffic I was expecting on the NH and toll booths. My guess was most of the vehicles were still trying to wriggle out of the city mess.
The twisty Vastare - Balehonnur - Jayapura stretch has few broken patches mostly at the turns. Since the traffic was on the lighter side, could use the width to avoid hitting those patches. Otherwise an easy drive.

[Makin Rulesz]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

Sorry mate, I am travelling tomorrow morning. Looking at the latest updates in this page, I am inclined towards Shiradi now.
Though road condition in Chikkmagaluru route is good, it takes more time compared to Shiradi due to long and winding roads.

I took Shiradi for my day drive today and here is the summary of road conditions.
Nelamangala - Hassan -> Excellent roads with low traffic.
Hasan - Sakaleshpura - Shiradi(Start of concrete road) -> Mixed road conditions with some sections having surprise potholes. Beware of vehicles swerving around to avoid them. Moderate traffic, mostly 2 wheelers.
Shiradi ghat -> 25 Kms of open track . Work is ongoing at some places to contain the damages caused by landslide. Traffic is allowed in only one lane at these places, so be careful if driving in night. Minimal traffic due to restrictions of entry for heavy vehicles.
Shiradi(End of ghats) - BC Road -> Roads are good but has been cut and badly patched at many places. Few of them are deep to make you to shift down to 1/2 gears to cross them. I guess its done as part of the ongoing widening process.Traffic is moderately high, again mostly 2 wheelers.
BC Road - Mangalore - Kundapura -> Excellent roads and average traffic.

Overall it was a pleasant and rapid drive. I will take the same route for my return journey on Sunday.

[lohithrao]

Agumbe is in good shape, even Shiradi is doable.

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

How are the latest road conditions on Hassan - Chikkmagaluru - Agumbe section after the recent rain havoc? Should I take this route or go via Shiradi - Mangalore for a drive down to Kundapura?

Mangalore till - Surathkal road condition is not so in great shape, post Kundapura till Marvanthe road is in bad shape.

Also, avoid peak hours, morning/evening.

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

BC Road - Mangalore - Kundapura -> Excellent roads and average traffic.

[unk9ja]

Been to Kumbla from Udupi yesterday morning on account of Ganesh Chathurthi.

Road condition is as below:

• Udupi to first toll at Hejmady is in great shape. However roads inside Udupi is a mixed bag from excellent to horrible at certain places.
• Lot of vehicles were being driven in wrong side in this stretch. They care a damn about other road users.
• Hejmady toll to Mangaluru is very bumpy ride and post the second toll at Surathkal, the road is at it's worst. Lot of potholes and the top layer has given away at many places which results in bumpy ride.
• Mangaluru to Talapady toll is also not so great due to WIP work on flyover.
• Talapady toll to Kumbla is excellent at certain stretch followed by big pothole stretches. Patch work has been done after Uppala but the surface is very rough and tyre noise intrudes into the cabin annoyingly.

It seems that for the tolls what we pay for these roads only go into the drain on either sides. When asked with the operator at the toll plaza they only feign ignorance.

[zensure]

A quick update on the travel to Mangalore:
I Had gone to Mangalore on 14th Sep and returned today (16th Sep) and both the trips were via Shiradi. Road from Hassan to Sakleshpur is broken at a few places and still good for 60-80KM drive on a car. From Sakeshpur for a few KMs, several short patches of bad road forcing you to slow down. Work at Ghat is in full swing, even on sunday. After Gundya, road widening work is visible, though not sure of the pace. One of the annoying consequence is there is a cut in the road. Though patched up, you will be forced to slow down significantly and this is for quite some distance. All in all comfortable drive. Once the heavy vehicles start plying, not sure how it would be.

[unk9ja]

Returned from Udupi yesterday morning. Started at 0500 and reached at 1430, road conditions as below:
- Udupi to Surathkal in excellent condition but drivers on wrong side with high beams are a menance.
- Surathkal to Nanthoor, Bad roads with potholes. The area near the old bridge after the harbour is very bad.
- Nanthoor to Uppinangadi is in fairly decent shape.
- Uppinangadi to Gundya has WIP for widening of road. There are a dozen culverts newly constructed which needs to be dealt with caution.

- Gundya to Sakleshpura is a breeze now with broad roads. The damaged part due to landslides are marked clearly and work is in progress.At the end of the concrete road,there are some potholes which is not bothersome.

- Sakleshpura to Hassan is in fairly good to bad stretch where potholes come up unannounced. Being in a low seating sedan, I was taken by surprise.
- Hassan to Bangalore is in good to excellent condition.

Being Sunday early morning, it was a breeze to drive on the entire stretch. This only means that the lunch which I used to have at Swati Deliacy near Yediyur has become a brunch now.

[roamingrao]

Bisle Ghat road is open.

Chose the route to ride back from Kukke Subramanya to Bangalore yesterday afternoon. The stretch from Kukke to Addahole bridge is good and concretized though multiple landslides had damaged and washed off the culverts. They have managed to lay large pipes and levelled the road with mud and gravel.



A 4 km stretch from Addahole bridge till the start of hairpin bends remains untouched and is very rough, though not undriveable.

The stretch from the hairpin bends, past the checkpost and till Kooduraste is very good.

Vehicle movement on the ghat is decent with KA21 and KA12 cars dominating. KSRTC Sarige buses to Kukke and Dharmasthala were also plying.

Kooduraste - Shanivarasanthe - Mallipatna - Arkalgudu - Holenarsipura - Channarayapatna remains good.


Earlier in the day, rode to Kukke from Bangalore on the Shiradi ghat stretch.

[ThilakNex]

For those who would like to know the road condition of the route Bangalore > Chikmagalur > Jayapura > Hariharapura > Agumbe > Udupi/Mangalore/Kundapura can watch the below vlog. This was shot on 12 September 2018. Given the pathetic condition of Charmadi Ghat road, this is the most preferable road to reach coastal for LMVs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVoTEn2tg_s

Agumbe ghat road vlog will be uploaded soon.