[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by am1m

Doesn't it seem like a very short distance to have 2 tolls?

That's the question which is haunting the district for quite a while. There has been agitations going on and there was news the Suratkal toll could be stopped effective 1/11.

[girimajiananth]

hi all,

Please let me know the road condition and the best route between Bangalore-->Horanadu-->Udupi -->Bangalore. The plan is to leave Bangalore on a Saturday afternoon , reach Horanadu by night, finish darshan and lunch on Sunday, head towards Udupi. Reach Udupi by Sunday evening, finish lunch at Udupi on Monday afternoon and reach Bangalore by Monday night.

Google suggests Bangalore --> Hassan-->Belur-->Kalasa--Horanadu-->Kalasa-->Karkala-->Nitte-->Udupi.

Road till Belur is very good, can someone please let me know the condition after Belur.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

hi all, Google suggests Bangalore --> Hassan-->Belur-->Kalasa--Horanadu-->Kalasa-->Karkala-->Nitte-->Udupi.

Road till Belur is very good, can someone please let me know the condition after Belur.

Within Belur it is quite OK and good after you exit Belur. Road after Kottigehara is winding all the way to Horanadu. Rear seat may experience some difficulty here. Take it easy and it will be fine. I visited the temple on 22/10, leaving Bangalore at 0515 and reaching Horanadu by 1200 with a fuel stop and a stop for breakfast in between.
From Horanadu, it is Kalasa - Samse - Kudremukha - Karkala.

After Karkala, you can take Karkala - Palli - Moodubelle - Dendoorkatte - Kukkikatte - Udupi. This road seems to be in better shape, shorter and faster. Hope this helps.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by unk9ja

. Hope this helps.

Thanks a lot, this will certainly help. Please suggest a return route. Should I take Shiradi ? or Charmadi ? Any alternate route ?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

Thanks a lot, this will certainly help. Please suggest a return route. Should I take Shiradi ? or Charmadi ? Any alternate route ?

You can still take the same route back via Kuduremukha Kalasa but then you would have known from your onward journey on how this road is in terms of continuous and never ending twists and turns right from Mudigere till Bajagoli.

I would prefer taking Shiradi over Charmadi given the present state of Charmadi which is not great for someone who has already done via Kuduremukha during onward and wants a peaceful (and predictable) option to return.

There was news that Heavy Vehicles will now be allowed on Shiradi a few days back and if that is true now, Charmadi will witness less freight traffic and that means faster progress to cross the ghats.

All in all, Shiradi is still a better bet for your return.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

You can still take the same route back via Kuduremukha Kalasa but then you would have known from your onward journey on how this road is in terms of continuous and never ending twists and turns right from Mudigere till Bajagoli.

I would prefer taking Shiradi over Charmadi
All in all, Shiradi is still a better bet for your return.

Thanks a lot. I will take Shiradhi Ghat road . So is the road all battered up? Or can I expect a decent drive ?

[perty]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

So is the road all battered up?

If that question is for Shiradi, then have no worries. The road is in superb condition.

In fact, the most painful part of the Bangalore-Mangalore stretch is now between Gundya and BC road, with narrow roads and ongoing 4 laning work.



Once you enter Shiradi from Mangalore side it is total bliss to drive in the ghat section.


A separate question.
I will be visiting Udupi and will have a spare day during this visit. Is the road condition from Udupi - Kollur - Murdeshwara good enough to allow for a one day trip from Udupi to Kollur, then to Murdeshwara and back to Udupi by evening ?

What would be the recommended place in Murdeshwara for a veg lunch break

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by perty

I will be visiting Udupi and will have a spare day during this visit. Is the road condition from Udupi - Kollur - Murdeshwara good enough to allow for a one day trip from Udupi to Kollur, then to Murdeshwara and back to Udupi by evening ?
What would be the recommended place in Murdeshwara for a veg lunch break

The total driving time will be about 6 hours, add another 2-2.5 hours if you visit temples in Kollur and Murudeshwara. This is definitely possible if you start early morning from Udupi.

[lohithrao]

1. Depends on the time you leave from Udupi,
2. Which day you plan to visit

If you start around 6ish on a weekday, you should be able to finish the darshan and be on your way to Murudeshwara without loosing much time.

If its on a Friday there is a good chance of more crowd in the temple.

However, its very possible

Originally Posted by perty

A separate question.
I will be visiting Udupi and will have a spare day during this visit. Is the road condition from Udupi - Kollur - Murdeshwara good enough to allow for a one day trip from Udupi to Kollur, then to Murdeshwara and back to Udupi by evening ?

What would be the recommended place in Murdeshwara for a veg lunch break

[nityaya]

Any idea regarding road condition between Mangalore and Mysore?

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by perty

A separate question.
I will be visiting Udupi and will have a spare day during this visit. Is the road condition from Udupi - Kollur - Murdeshwara good enough to allow for a one day trip from Udupi to Kollur, then to Murdeshwara and back to Udupi by evening ?

What would be the recommended place in Murdeshwara for a veg lunch break

Yes it is possible in a day to visit Kollur and Murudeshwara. Onwards you can take the right at Hemmadi and go to Kollur which is roughly 32 odd kms and 75 kms from Udupi.

For Murudeshwara, you can take Kollur Byndoor road which is 28 kms to Byndoor with sparse traffic and scenic surroundings and 61 odd kms to Murudeshwara.

During return you can take the NH which is 105 odd kms to Udupi. You will encounter deviations due to road widening on this part till Kundapura with horrible roads within Kundapura. After this it is a tolled road and breeze to drive. Exercise caution towards 2W and local ones which run on the wrong side.


For breakfast, if you start early, you can stop here
https://goo.gl/maps/au5pG5AqPTG2
Awesome Menthya dosa, buns and local delicacies available. If you are lost, ask locals for Halavu Makkala Thayi temple. This is right in front of the temple. Parking will be on highway or in front of temple if you find a spot.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by perty

In fact, the most painful part of the Bangalore-Mangalore stretch is now between Gundya and BC road, with narrow roads and ongoing 4 laning work.
Once you enter Shiradi from Mangalore side it is total bliss to drive in the ghat section.

Thanks a lot. Distance between BC road and Gundya is around 60Kms right ?

[achu411]

Hello all,

I am planning to do a road trip from Bangalore to Mangalore and then up across the Karnataka coast. Will have 3.5 days (Thursday start from Bangalore. Sunday return to Bangalore before 1 PM).

From Bangalore to Mangalore, what is the best route to take?

Also, from Mangalore along the Karnataka coast, what are the must-see places? (non touristy). I am thinking of going up to Gokharna and returning to Bangalore.

Thanks!

[vharihar]

Thanks guys for all the helpful tips. On our onward journey, we drove from Blore to Baindur via Chitradurga, Channagiri, Shimoga, Ayanur, Ripponpet, Hosanagara, Nagara, Nittur and Kollur.

The road was great from Tumkur - Chitradurga.

Chitradurga onwards 2-laned. Ok types road quality.

Nearby Nittur, etc excellent scenic route. Kollur - Baindur is esp fantastic. Beautiful 2-laned road, very sparse traffic.

Had lunch in an ultra-small home/hutment kinda restaurant in Nagara (forest residents), the kind that normally we'd not even notice. It was simple and home cooked, served on a banana leaf. It was fabulous! I didn't note the name, but it was just before a right turn (to Nittur I think).

We did the return via Mangalore. Took the same time (viz. 10 hrs incl 2 halts). But this was a less stressful drive (except for the 2 near-misses, read on). Active 4-laning work happening north of Kundapura. Some 4-laning work happening east of Mangalore too, but very slow paced work.

Was running a bit late on the return, so was driving a bit aggressively (which I admit, is bad). Had 2 near misses on the return, both bween Sakhleshpur and Hassan 2-laned roads:

- Was trying to overtake an Innova. Had honked (as if to fore-warn) and initiated the maneuver, and for some reason, as I got alongside the Innova, it too began to overtake the car ahead of it. For a second all 3 cars were along side each other on a 2-laned road, traveling at about 80 kmph, missing each other by millimeters I guess! Half my right tire was off the right edge of the road, I could actually feel the traction loss. Nevertheless I slammed on the brakes, and aborted the maneuver, shaken!

- A bit later, on the same stretch, when it was dark, there was a curve. A car came in opposite direction with high beam (oh the menace of it!), behind it was a KSRTC Sarige bus also with high beam, and another car behind the bus. The front most car blocked the headlights of the KSRTC bus out of my view, and furthermore, due to its high beam, my visibility was compromised and so I couldnt even spot the outline of the bus. I saw it at the last moment, and swerved to avoid hitting it. All this happened on the curve! Again, I was shaken.

I then felt much safer when I got onto the 4-laned divided roads after Hassan, and just cruised at 100 sedately thereafter! (traffic was also sparse; but just need to watch out for speed bumps)

Lessons learned:
- On 2-laned/undivided roads, tone down the aggression.
- On 2-laned/undivided roads, avoid night driving esp on routes with high traffic.

[perty]

Originally Posted by achu411

From Bangalore to Mangalore, what is the best route to take?

Bangalore - Nelamangala - Hassan - Sakleshpur - Gundya - BC road - Mangalore.
Shortest in terms of distance and best in terms of road quality. Check earlier posts in this thread for where you can expect to see 2 lanes and 4 lanes.

Irrespective of time of day or week, Google maps will also suggest the same route to you now, so you can bravely follow gmaps if in doubt.