[Amazingandy]

Hi Fellow BHPians,

Happy New Year!!

I am travelling to Mangalore this weekend and am am planning to use the Charmadi ghat route. While checking gmaps today it showed there may be some route closure on the Ujjire to Mangalore stretch till Jan 7th. Any information on this and if there are closures what are the alternative routes I could take, I prefer good roads over travel time just for reference.

Thanks in advance for all your inputs.

Cheers!

[Ranyguru2]

Originally Posted by gtonsing

Even I went to Udupi on Sunday 25th Dec and took the Hiriyur - Badhravathi - Thirthahalli - Agumbe route. Excellent to good roads all the way through - though mostly small roads - I think google maps told me it was SH or NH or AH 66. Very happy with the condition of the road.

From Udupi we went to Gokarna and stayed there for two additional nights. On the drive back from Gokarna (slight off topic) I took the Sirsi - Haveri - Devangere - Chitradurga - Hiriyur - Tumkur.
Sirsi to Haveri and a little beyond is horrible. The road is being upgraded and full of broken patches and diversions. Advise anyone driving this road if going to these areas.

Are you sure Sirsi to Haveri is that bad, as I had driven from Haveri to Sirsi in October 22. The road was good as I drove through in blinding heavy rains and did'nt encounter any potholes. Surprised to know the road condition has deteriorated since then.

[kiran_aithal]

Need help: It is been a while (more than a decade I think) that I have visited Karkala and have no idea of the road conditions now. Hence, please suggest a best road from Karkala to Udupi.
Thanks in advance!

[gtonsing]

Originally Posted by Ranyguru2

Are you sure Sirsi to Haveri is that bad, as I had driven from Haveri to Sirsi in October 22. The road was good as I drove through in blinding heavy rains and did'nt encounter any potholes. Surprised to know the road condition has deteriorated since then.

I am sure it is between Sirsi and Haveri or maybe just a little before Haveri (Its the high left you take after coming out of Gokarna, right?). The road in general is full of broken sections and there is what looks like an upgrade work where left lane is being worked on, and traffic diverted to right lane, then after a while, right lane being upgraded and traffic diverted to left lane and so on.

[redCherry]

Originally Posted by Ranyguru2

Are you sure Sirsi to Haveri is that bad.

Yes, I went through this route (Not upto Haveri, but to Ranebennuru) while coming back to Bengaluru during Christmas week. It's very bad (or muddy) for 5-8 KM due to road widening.

Alternate route someone suggested is Sirsi - Tilvalli - Ranebennur. I don't have first-hand experience on this though, but it's suppose to be better.

The other option is Sirsi-Soraba-Ranebennur. Though this road is good, around Soraba the road is narrow and there is a stretch after Soraba (towards Ranebennur) with many, but minor humps, which becomes irritating. Also, if you are planning on this road during the night, you can avoid it.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by kiran_aithal

Need help: It is been a while (more than a decade I think) that I have visited Karkala and have no idea of the road conditions now. Hence, please suggest a best road from Karkala to Udupi.
Thanks in advance!

The road through Bailur Parkala Manipal to Udupi is good. A stretch of around 2 kms before Manipal is WIP for widening but manageable.

Another option is through Moodabelle which runs through villages. This is a single carriageway, but exiting to drive.

[Ashtoncastelino]

Originally Posted by unk9ja

Another option is through Moodabelle which runs through villages. This is a single carriageway, but exiting to drive.

Originally Posted by kiran_aithal

please suggest a best road from Karkala to Udupi.
Thanks in advance!

The road is undergoing widening and most is already complete. The road currently is in much better shape than what it was before. It's a cool relaxed drive. That's my hometown

Regards
Ashton Castelino

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by kiran_aithal

Need help: It is been a while (more than a decade I think) that I have visited Karkala and have no idea of the road conditions now. Hence, please suggest a best road from Karkala to Udupi.
Thanks in advance!

If your priority is good quality road, the best option is Karkala - Padubidri - Udupi. This route is longer by 10 KMs or so, but road condition is excellent throughout. (This route has toll)

If your priority is to drive through scenic route, then other option suggested is good.

There is another option, Karkala - Belman - Shirva - Katpadi - Udupi. This is the route that connects Udupi to Kateel. I havent driven in this route in a while, but this route is generally maintained well.

[elroydsilva]

Originally Posted by thirugata

If your priority is good quality road, the best option is Karkala - Padubidri - Udupi. This route is longer by 10 KMs or so, but road condition is excellent throughout. (This route has toll)

There's no toll plaza on this road. This route does not go through the Hejamadi toll plaza.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by elroydsilva

There's no toll plaza on this road. This route does not go through the Hejamadi toll plaza.

I stand corrected, I mostly travel from Surathkal - Udupi hence the confusion.

[ambujlal]

We did a trip to Udupi over the weekend. This was my first time to this part of Karnataka. I had heard a lot about road conditions and this thread helped a lot in choosing the route.

On the journey towards Udupi, we took the Bengaluru ->Hassan->Belur->Belthangady->Belman->Kapadi route. The road condition in Charmadi ghats is pretty good. However, I found the roads to be very narrow at times. At one place, the oncoming KSRTC bus almost touched our car on a curve. I also found the local taxi folks driving pretty rash and fast, as if they are going to miss something in life. Anyway, the drive was fun since the roads were good. SUVs need to be driven cautiously here (personal opinion). Hatchbacks would do fine. Here are a few dashcam videos from Charmadi ghat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eimvx-uzzw

Another from Charmadi ghat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvWZTSKZcoo

In the return journey to Bengaluru, we took the Udipi -> Mangalore -> Sakleshpur->Hassan->Bengaluru route. Was it a right thing to do? Yes and no! Yes, because the roads are wider. No, because too many road diversions. However, interestingly, the return journey took an hour lesser. The roads before and after the Shiradi ghats are anything but good, mostly terrible, and at places there are no roads. Thanks to Harrier's brilliant suspension, we did not feel much, neither did it slow us down. However, I could see low floor cars taking it cautiously. Looking at the pace and men at work, I don't think the entire section would be drivable without worry anytime before 3–4 years. A few dash cam videos of Shiradi ghats, a clip of good part and another of bad part just to give an idea of how bad it is.

The good part:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a6BgkfDQb8

The bad part:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIPb7WJaxos

Finally, a parting shot of Malpe beach sunset and our ride.

[ashi4877]

Guys - Travelling with family to Udupi for a wedding. which is the best route take? Travelling by car.

[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by ashi4877

Guys - Travelling with family to Udupi for a wedding. which is the best route take? Travelling by car.

I believe Charmadi ghat is the best option these days. Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Mudigere - Charmadi - Udupi. This route will make most sense for you, though Charmadi is narrow and if there is a festival or religious occasion, the temples will drive a lot of traffic from the towns nearby. I would suggest taking this route early in the morning.

I recently took the route through Bangalore - Mysore - Madikeri - Sampaje - Mangalore because, I had time. This does not make sense for you because the route to Mangalore is already 50+ KMs longer and then, you've to travel to Udupi from Mangalore which is another 60 KMs. Sampaje is all good except the last 10KMs under construction, where you've to take some detours and slow down substantially.

[ashi4877]

Originally Posted by HighRevving

I believe Charmadi ghat is the best option these days. Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Mudigere - Charmadi - Udupi.

Thanks dear.. As travelling with family and that on 26th Jan morning time lets say 7 AM i just looking at the most good road route... if the route you mentioned is with good roads will opt the same.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by ambujlal

SUVs need to be driven cautiously here (personal opinion).

After reading this, I took my SUV to Shiradi ghats for yesterday's drive.

The stretch between Hassan and Sakleshpur is mostly concrete now. The stretch between Sakleshpur and Maranahalli is as bad as ever. Gundya to BC road is full of construction work. Non SUVs should avoid this route. It will be another 6 months before anything gets better.