[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

There is another route from Belur to Chikmagalur. It is much longer, but it’s very scenic. Belur - Gonibeedu - Jannapura - Chandrapura - Kunnahalli - Nandipura - Bhaskal - Gendehalli - Malaluru - Chikmagalur. This is a beautiful stretch which runs through the coffee estates with lots of elevation, but the road surface is just fantastic. Nesting Grounds Homestay is on the same route and it’s a fantastic place to stay. This route can be taken when you have enough time and there is nothing much to do in Chikmagalur by reaching early.

I use this route very regularly as I have few friends around Makonahalli. Have rode all these sections in my humble Kinetic Honda during my college days as I would drop this friend from Chikmagalur to Makonahalli every Saturday and then ride back to my home at Belur.

[am1m]

Got to use all 3 routes between Bangalore and Mangalore/Udupi over the past month. Broad impressions:

Shiradi: The actual concrete ghat section holding up well. But the stretch between Sakleshpur and to the Ghat road is going to be slow because of widening, re-surfacing. Hope this will be completed soon. Now with truck traffic being allowed on Shiradi, that's another factor to take in to consideration.

Charmadi: Road surfaces are good throughout apart from some minor sections. But Charmadi itself is narrow. Found it more stressful than driving on Shiradi. Was returning from Mangalore to Bangalore, so it was ok, but saw literally convoys of cars heading to Mangalore from Bangalore. If it's a weekday, this would be my choice of route from Bangalore to Mangalore. On a weekend, not so sure I'd want to be stuck in one of those convoys.

Shimoga-Agumbe: Since the destination was Udupi, thought of trying this route the last time around. Road was decent throughout, but around Shimoga there were a couple of pretty bad stretches. The Shimoga-Agumbe section was heavenly- scenic, forest, no traffic at all.


So no clear winner in my mind. Once the Hassan-Sakleshpur-Shiradi Ghat stretch is completely widened, I guess that's the route of choice for me. Till then, am confused. Might make sense to take Shiradi anyway, especially on weekends. Didn't think I made any better time using Charmadi or Agumbe. And somehow Shiradi seemed less stressful because the ghat section had more road width on average. The number of Bangalore cars heading on Charmadi on a weekend was phenomenal, not sure I want to drive through that on that narrow road.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by am1m

Got to use all 3 routes between Bangalore and Mangalore/Udupi over the past month.

Shiradi: The actual concrete ghat section holding up well. But the stretch between Sakleshpur and to the Ghat road is going to be slow because of widening, re-surfacing. Once the Hassan-Sakleshpur-Shiradi Ghat stretch is completely widened, I guess that's the route of choice for me. Till then, am confused. Might make sense to take Shiradi anyway, especially on weekends. And somehow Shiradi seemed less stressful because the ghat section had more road width on average.

Having traveled in late august, I felt the stress on the shiradi routing is more on the hassan <> sakleshpur part than any other. Has there been any improvement here?

[PrideRed]

I travelled through Shiradi and returned via Bisle. Shiradi is in bad state- while you can manage without scrapping belly even in hatchback, its a pain with trucks and weekend traffic.
Return via Bisle was peaceful, almost zero traffic despite festival weekend. Roads are decent and took me 5Hr 30min to cover 315KM including 2 breaks.

[chethan.ram]

I drove from Udupi to Bangalore today. I took Charmadi Ghat, it is the one of the most scenic ghats in Karnataka. The route was Udupi - Karkala - Ujire - Charmadi Ghat - Kottigehara - Mudigere - Belur - Hassan - Bangalore. Charmadi is a must do if you enjoy driving in ghats.

The entire stretch is good except for few patchy sections. But they are very short sections and will not bother you much.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Having traveled in late august, I felt the stress on the shiradi routing is more on the hassan <> sakleshpur part than any other. Has there been any improvement here?

Yeah, that's the bad section. I took Shiradi just before it was re-opened for truck traffic (last month?) and so it seemed ok. Might be different now that trucks are allowed again. That's what I'm confused about- I didn't see a clear difference/time saving between all 3 routes, so perhaps I would just take the shortest depending on the destination (Mangalore or Udupi). Anyway, glad that we have this thread and fresh updates every week!

Originally Posted by PrideRed

I travelled through Shiradi and returned via Bisle. Shiradi is in bad state- while you can manage without scrapping belly even in hatchback, its a pain with trucks and weekend traffic.

You mean the concrete ghat road itself too has now become bad? Or the stretches leading to and after the ghat road which were anyway in bad shape because of the road widening work?

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

I drove from Udupi to Bangalore today. I took Charmadi Ghat, it is the one of the most scenic ghats in Karnataka....
The entire stretch is good except for few patchy sections. But they are very short sections and will not bother you much.

Yeah, overall road surface-wise I think this is the best of the 3 at present. If I was travelling on a weekday, no question this would be my first choice. But on a weekend, the number of cars I saw in convoys made me think I would not want to be stuck in one of those on the narrow roads. At least on Shiradi, if the Ghat road is in good condition (and last time I took it in September, it seemed to be) there are enough stretches where you can overtake or let others overtake you safely. On Charmadi, there will be some idiot honking behind you and you can't even pull aside on too many stretches to let him through.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by am1m

You mean the concrete ghat road itself too has now become bad? Or the stretches leading to and after the ghat road which were anyway in bad shape because of the road widening work?.

Concrete section is holding well, road after that until Hassan bypass is bad. It's about 50KM and will take about 2 hours with mad traffic on weekends. Also pity to see car gathering dust all over.

[airbus]

We took Shiradi ghat today to reach Udupi. Hassan - Sakleshpur section is in bad shape. It was somewhat better when I used last time about 50 days back. At few places, it may be little challenging for cars with low ground clearance. Planning to take Charmadi ghat on our return trip to Bengaluru.

[blackbandit]

I travel Mangalore to Bangalore and back regularly and suggest anyone traveling between Mangalore to Bangalore to take the Bantwal -> belthangadi -> charmadi -> Belur -> Hassan -> Bangalore route. The roads are really good throughout and the drive is not at all stressful. The bad patches are nearly non-existenet and can be moreover negated. The Shiradi Shakleshpur stretch is a pain to drive in. The roads are totally broken and you will end up crawling in multiple sections. The charmadi route is good throughout and if you start to travel early in the morning like say around 4 am you will find yourself driving on a near-empty road with just a few light vehicles like cars and tempos. I usually start my drive early at this time and reach Bangalore around 9:30 or 10.

[rarkit]

I am planning to go to Dharmasthala this weekend from Bangalore. Based on this thread I have decided to go via Mudigere-Charmady route.

Are there good places for a Vegetarian lunch between Mudigere and Charmady? I expect to have crossed Mudigere by lunch time. One of the suggestions here is Ibbani cafe which looks good but it doesn’t have a lunch menu and seems to be more suitable for shorter pit stops. Some place serving regular north Indian fare would be good as would be a place serving typical South Indian meal.

[chethan.ram]

Originally Posted by rarkit

I am planning to go to Dharmasthala this weekend from Bangalore. Based on this thread I have decided to go via Mudigere-Charmady route.

Are there good places for a Vegetarian lunch between Mudigere and Charmady? I expect to have crossed Mudigere by lunch time. One of the suggestions here is Ibbani cafe which looks good but it doesn’t have a lunch menu and seems to be more suitable for shorter pit stops. Some place serving regular north Indian fare would be good as would be a place serving typical South Indian meal.

It is hard to find such places in that stretch. Ibbani Cafe is one, Malnad Cafe is another. Both are manageable. However, Kottigehara is known for Neer Dose, you may consider. But please do not expect any sophisticated places there.

[AJ739]

Originally Posted by rarkit

Are there good places for a Vegetarian lunch between Mudigere and Charmady? I expect to have crossed Mudigere by lunch time.

Hi, You can try Nisarga Grand. It's located at the beginning of Charmady when traveling from Mudigere side and serves tasty food, has a typical food menu, ample parking space and clean restrooms.

[rarkit]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

It is hard to find such places in that stretch. Ibbani Cafe is one, Malnad Cafe is another. Both are manageable. However, Kottigehara is known for Neer Dose, you may consider. But please do not expect any sophisticated places there.

Thank you for the reply. Not specifically looking for a sophisticated place as long as the food is good.

Originally Posted by AJ739

Hi, You can try Nisarga Grand. It's located at the beginning of Charmady when traveling from Mudigere side and serves tasty food, has a typical food menu, ample parking space and clean restrooms.

Thank you. Seems like the perfect place for a lunch stop.

[chethan.ram]

Originally Posted by rarkit

Thank you for the reply. Not specifically looking for a sophisticated place as long as the food is good.

Then you can try Kottigehara and it is known for Neer Dose. I drove the same route last weekend.

Also, if you are passing Hassan, you should have Thuppa Set Dose and Benne Khali Dose in Gajanana Refreshments.

[speedmiester]

Last weekend we had traveled to Kumta for an extended break. We were two families in two Cars, my friend Nexon AMT petrol and my preowned SCross 1.6 on it's first long drive after I got it.
While returning we decided to take the longer route via Maravanthe and a stop for lunch at Udupi.

Post lunch, we decided to take the Charmadi ghat to reach Hassan instead of Shiradi as I had bad experience on the roads between Hassan and Sakleshpur just a month ago.

We left Udupi at 4:50PM and reached Bangalore at 1:30AM with a break of 45mins at Kottigehara.

Route taken:
Kumta-Udupi-Karkala-Charmadi Ghat-Hassan-Bangalore

Roads are good throughout except for small patches between Karkala and Belthangady.
Charmadi Ghat is in excellent condition and it was a pleasure to drive on beautiful black top even in the night. Post that it was smooth driving till Bangalore even with rains accompanying us non-stop from Hassan onwards.

Didn't want to take the Agumbe Ghat this time as both my friend and I have driven through Agumbe Ghat multiple times.