[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by UB_007

I plan to drive Manipal-Bangalore-Manipal next weekend.
Taking the route Manipal > Hiryadaka > Karkala > Belthangady > Charmadi > Mudigere > Belur > Hassan > Bangalore and same route on return.
Would it be wise to do that or you recommend any alternate?

Agree with Samurai. But you could look at doing Charmadi with minimal traffic if you start really early. A few weeks ago, we left Mangaluru early morning (5am-ish) and passed through Charmadi with hardly any traffic. Only started seeing steady vehicular traffic once we reached Belur.

[vikramv4u]

Hi All,

Intend to travel to Sakleshpur from Bangalore on Friday morning.. Long weekend rush is expected, but from a route standpoint, Google is suggesting the typical Hassan->Donigal road to my destination -- Any recommendations/ warnings? How is the weather there and I hope its still wise to go ahead with the trip

Thanks!

Vikram

[rahulb22]

Hi All,

I have been thinking why one side of the 4-Lane Stretch between Hassan and Sakleshpur is always closed when about 90% of the work is almost done. If anyone here has the answer please comment.
Anyone from Sakleshpur could also share the status of the new bypass if known. Going by past updates, it should have opened a few months ago.

Thanks
Rahulb22

[Samurai]

I came back to Bangalore on Thursday via Charmadi. Although it looked like it won't rain, it started raining halfway through the ghat. But the traffic was very light, so it was a fast trip. The total driving time (excluding breaks) was 7 hours including the 30kms within Bangalore (Nelamangala turn -> home) at evening traffic. I started at 11am.

I have really started to look forward to lunch break at Growers Coffee House. The food is good, and ambiance is good. Facilities are very well maintained.

Can't complain about the views either...

[subbu567]

Hi All,

Did a Manipal to and fro trip during the Independence Day long week end. A maiden trip on my Jimny Alpha AT!

12th August :

Departure from north Bangalore at 445 am

Bangalore - Sakleshpur- Gundya- Dharmasthala road- Bajagoly- Hiriyadka - Manipal

Distance -407 kms. Breakfast at Indraprasta, Udayapura at 7 am. Reached Manipal 1230 pm.

Decent roads with some broken patches and diversions between Hassan and Sakleshpur and some potholes between Bajagoly and Hiriyadka. Shiradi ghat was a breeze.

15th August :

Return : Via Charmadi

Manipal - Hiriyadka- Bajagoly - Ujire- Charmadi- Belur - Hassan- Bangalore.

Left at 910 am and reached home at 515 pm. Lunch at Coffee Growers cafe. Decent lunch and wash rooms.

Route was pristine with surprisingly no truck traffic and very sparse private vehicular traffic.

Both routes are doable as per current condition in all body type cars without any major issues.

Thanks to the inputs on this very thread that gave me courage to drive in the first place !!

And Jimny was very nimble and yet compliant. Over all a very good drive.

Attached a pic of Bunny- her name

Thanks
Subbu.

[udidecoy.2302]

Route Update:
I recently travelled from Avalahalli to Mangalore on 15th August and the route taken was following:
Avalahalli - Mavalipura - Nelamangala - Charmady - Bantwal - Mangalore.

Must say that the condition of ghats via Charmady is much better and the drive is definitely more engaging. Although the roads are narrow, traffic on weekdays is generally sparse. However, this being an holiday, found a lot of bikers enroute. While most of them adhered to rules, did notice quite a few chaps who were channeling their inner racing stripes and pulling off crazy overtakes.

Noticed one weird trend. People after overtaking seem to take an eternity to go back to their lanes especially between Hassan and starting point of Ghats.

We felt saddened to see the privilege of Free India being misused multiple times just over a period of 8 hours or so. From people stopping on highways (hard shoulder) just to have refreshments, to kids trying wheelies on service lanes, to men peeing freely on the road without even having the decency to cover up, it was truly a trip which made us wonder "and they wasted their blood, sweat and lives to give freedom to these...."

[binand]

Drove to Udupi today. I managed a 3.30 AM start this time and reached my hotel at 11.45 AM. Did the entire Nelamangala-Hassan section with cruise control set to 80 kmph and earned the hitherto unheard of mileage 14.3 kmpl.

No stops except a washroom+tea one at Gundya. Had breakfast before starting and lunch after reaching Udupi.

Google was asking me to take Charmady but I stuck to Shiradi, which I think cost me about 40 minutes or so (Google's ETA was 11.15 AM). Wonder why the massive difference.

Originally Posted by rahulb22

I have been thinking why one side of the 4-Lane Stretch between Hassan and Sakleshpur is always closed when about 90% of the work is almost done.

If it is of any solace, the section between Alur & Ballupet has both carriageways open. Rest of the road is as it always has been.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by binand

Google was asking me to take Charmady but I stuck to Shiradi, which I think cost me about 40 minutes or so (Google's ETA was 11.15 AM). Wonder why the massive difference.

It is almost the same distance if you are going via Ujire in both cases. But google map always predicts more time via Shiradi because plenty of vehicles drive slowly on the bad stretches. It used to confuse me too, until I understood the pessimism of Google map towards Shiradi ghat.

[explorer09]

Originally Posted by binand

Google was asking me to take Charmady but I stuck to Shiradi, which I think cost me about 40 minutes or so (Google's ETA was 11.15 AM). Wonder why the massive difference.

used to be that much but now its not the case....i just drove back from Manipal last week and I remember taking this decision at Karkala....both options were almost the same time....I took Charmady only because I didnt want to dodge those oil tankers on Shiradi...

even as i type right now, I am seeing that Charmady as per GMaps is only faster by 6 mins.

[MohanHolla]

Did Bangalore to Udupi 26th August Via Shiradi and back from Udupi to Bangalore on 28th via Charmadi.

Route while going to Udupi (26th Aug): Bengaluru - Nelamangala - Hassan - Sakleshpur - Gundya - Dharmasthala road - Ujire - Belthangady - Bajagoly - Karkala - Nitte - Udupi.

Road till Hassan is as usual excellent. From Hassan to Sakleshpur, it is manageable with few diversions. The ghat section is again fine. But, the road after the ghat part till the diversion to Dharmsthala is quite horrible. I again did this same route 1 week after (on 1st Sept) and the above section of the road had deteriorated further. My car looked like it has completed a rally stage after this section.

Route while coming back to Bengaluru (28 Aug): Udupi - Karkala - Bajagoly - Belthangady - Ujire - Charmadi - Kottigehara - Mudigere - Belur - Hassan - Bengaluru

The road condition is very good in this section. But, the problem is, if you are stuck behind a slow moving truck in front of you, you will end up spending a lot of time to overtake carefully as the roads are narrow. In Shiradi section, the roads are wider and even if you encounter a slow moving oil tanker, you can easily overtake them.

Somehow, I took less time while going via Shiradi than while coming back via Charmady. I drive XUV 3OO petrol and didn't slow down much in the bad sections. Maybe that was the reason .

[binand]

If I have to drive it in the night (say, 6 PM departure from Udupi / 9 PM+ start of ascend) - which of Shiradi or Charmady is the better choice when coming to Bangalore?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by binand

If I have to drive it in the night (say, 6 PM departure from Udupi / 9 PM+ start of ascend) - which of Shiradi or Charmady is the better choice when coming to Bangalore?

How much do you like watching the rear side of trucks that dominate the ghats at night? You can't pass them in one of the ghats. Easy to guess which one is that.

That said, I hate to drive these ghats at night. There is very little high beam discipline, and it is very hard to see the curving roads with so much glare in the eye. I simply don't drive the ghats at night, despite the familiarity.

[Meph1st0]

Did a round trip to Udupi last weekend.

The onward route - Bangalore - Hassan - Mudigere - Charmady - Karkala - Padubidri - Udipi.

The route was good through out but you can stuck behind slow moving vehicles. Charmady was beautiful even at 10am. Some pictures below

The return route - Udupi - Karkala - Ujire - Shirady - Sakleshpur - Hassan - Bangalore

The stretch from Nelyadi to Shiradi ghat is bad. Dharmasthala to Nelyadi is also not great. The ghat is in good shape and the route post the ghat is also completed on at least one side.







Hassan - Bengaluru stretch is good with most of flover/underpass work completed.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Samurai

How much do you like watching the rear side of trucks that dominate the ghats at night?

Thanks. I was looking more for info about safety - Chamady does feel lonely at times, and I expect more so during nights. Shiradi has constant traffic of long distance buses and bullet tankers doing the Mangalore-Bangalore run.

As for watching the rear side of trucks - I am disciplined enough to do that for the entire 35-odd km Gundya-Sakleshpura stretch, if required. Even if it takes 75-90 mins I'm still ahead since I can reach home at Bangalore latest by 2 AM.

[MoonRider]

With the Karnataka bandh on 29th September,is it advisable to travel through Nelamangala and Hassan or is it too unsafe for a family?
TIA