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-   -   The art of travelling between Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/91125-art-travelling-between-bangalore-mangalore-udupi-675.html)

Last week did a trip to B. C. Road from Bangalore and explored the route through Bisile ghats.
Found it to be a good alternative to the usual ones like Shirady ghat or through Mysuru/ Madikeri. (Not advisable for new drivers as the ghat roads are narrow with no Guard rails in many places).
Roads are mostly good except some 4-5 Kms while nearing Subramanya.
However could not bear to drive on the highway upon joining in Uppinangady and immediately took a detour through Ajilamogaru/ Bantwal.

Total distance: 404Km
Time: 8 hrs 10 min

Meanwhile the distance through Shirady is 355 Km and through Madikeri is 382 Km for the same destination

Some more details on the onward run.
We stopped at Aroha Veg Restaurant on Mysore Ring Road for breakfast. The food was pretty bad - Maddur Vada was rubbery and inedible, Thatte Idli was rubbery as well, the normal Idli was so and so, Vada was oily. The restroom was a single unit so there was a queue and needless waiting involved. I would not recommend a stop here.

Lunch stop was at Santrupthi Veg Restaurant inside Puttur. There is a large parking area behind the restaurant. The meal here with red parboiled rice was good.

We took the Charmadi-Belur-Hassan-BLR route on the return.
The Panakaje-Maddadka-Guruvauankere section is bad with many diversions. I missed taking the GMap recommended alternate via Maladi-Padangady-Badyar-Guruvayankere.
The sections after Belur has many potholes. These are not too deep but are annoying and restricts speed.
The Charmadi ghat itself was splendid! It is tight and technical. If you like ghat driving this is worth a try, if not this will be a painful section.

Breakfast was at Shri Durga Delicacy, opposite to bus stand in Belthangady. Food is good. Parking area is behind the restaurant though it is easy to miss the entry to the parking area. Parking available on the road as well.
Lunch was at Suruchi Veg Hotel after Hassan. Food was just about ok. I would not recommend a stop here.

Having traversed both, my personal preference is for the longer route via Mysore-Madikeri. On this route the bad section is well known and co-located between Mani and BC road, while rest of the surface is very good and smooth. The Charmadi route has bad sections spread out from Mangalore till Hassan. The section before Charmadi has roadworks for widening in progress and the road surface otherwise is not smooth. The section after Belur is potholed. The Hassan bypass is congested with many speed breakers.

I traversed the Shirady ghat the previous week in a KSRTC Volvo both ways. It was quite unpleasant with lot of wobble and sway in the Volvo. The dense traffic and extreme dust didnt make things better. I would probably skip this route till the works are complete. I cannot stomach the destruction to nature in this section :sadface

Did my annual Kukke Trip during 14-15 Dec. For the last 5 years my route has always been Hassan, Gorur, Arklagud, Bisile Ghat and Kukke. Return is also the same way. This route eliminates the crazy BLR drivers on the Shiridi Ghat with a bonus of it being scenic and a pleasure to drive.

The Bisile Ghat road from the Viewpoint to Kukke is decent but some potholes. Before that, it is good. The Gorur to Hassan is a driver's road with excellent tarmac, wide and twisty road.

I travelled from Mangalore outskirts to Bangalore Whitefield on Monday, 30th December 2024. Google was showing both options 1) via Sakleshpura - Hassan 2) Madikeri - Mysuru. Decided to try out the Shiradi route as I haven't travelled this route for a very long time of last 10 years or so.

Started from Mangalore by 9AM and reached Whitefield by 5PM, with a lunch break of 1 hour and no other stops. Roads till Sakleshpura there is nothing to talk about - it has work in progress, some intersections and bad roads sections.

Next time I will try the Madikeri route even though it is showing longer time/distance.

Cheers,
narayanang76

Last month I travelled, toll collection was set to begin at Hassan Sakaleshpura road at Chowlagere, saw some protests. Has it begun fully or halted now?

If you are talking of Aluru toll, I got charged Rs. 50 there this morning.

Yes, Thanks for the info. So, collection has not been delayed further.

Please Note: New Speed Check Interceptor just before Aluru Toll Plaza. I was fined yesterday for slightly exceeding the Speed Limit of 80 Kmph.
The time was around 6 PM.

However, I did not find any Toll deduction at Aluru.

So this new method of harassing the public has been extended to the Mangalore highway too! On one hand, we are charged a heavy toll for using the roads, but we are being restricted to average speeds, thus nullifying the good infrastructure. These authorities have no guts to impose fines on heavy vehicles and private buses, but they never fail to target private vehicles.

Exactly, the stretch was really empty and the road was worthy of a limit of 100 Kmph easily. This looked an attempt to make some money, as almost all cars passing by were fined.

This will be the job of local authorities; as usual, their target is weekend public traveling on the highway. I expect more of this in 2025; rather than enforcing proper lane discipline and road manners, the authorities have always been blind to slow-moving vehicles deliberately occupying high-speed lanes.

Weekends there used to be some speed checking around Hassan limits but not regular. Hassan-Sakleshpur section is new may be they are looking for opportunities. That said with current weekend traffic, most of the section its quite a task to stay above 100, 80 seems unrealistic though.

I plan to travel from Bangalore (banashankari) to mangalore next week. The vehicle is my innova and we will be just two with only me driving all the way.

In the past (now more than 2 years ago) I have used both the shirady ghat and the charmady ghat sections. As described in many posts here both roads have their pros and cons. I have never tried the mys-madikere route as recommended here.

My questions:

1. The section between mani and bc road. Is it as bad as the shirady section (cratered and treacherous)? Or is it just narrow?

2. I don’t like too many hairpin bends and narrow roads given the size of innova. Which option has the least of these even if the road is bad? I mean a wide and straighter mud track is preferable to a narrow well paved road.

3. Is this Mys-Madikere route well populated? Or is it desolate? Would like to be able to get help in case of a tyre puncture or such disruptions.

For me a slightly longer route and an hour more does not matter. What matters more is a comfortable and safe drive.

Appreciate feedback on the above questions and any other suggestions.

Thanks.

This is not a problem any longer. It is mostly open (one carriageway at least, which is shared by traffic in both directions).

Then Shirady is the road for you. Even though it has a bad reputation here, (a) the problem section is a 11-km stretch from Sakaleshpura to Donigal, and (b) even that is either 1-carriageway completed or potholes filled for the most part. There could be very small sections (maybe a couple of hundred metres at max) that is bumpy; but shouldn't be a problem for your Innova. I went through this without incident on Thursday.

On the other hand, the Uppinangady ± say, 25 km is considered to be bad. Yesterday I took a small section of this and regreted it immensely.

Oh yes. In fact, the Mysore-Madikeri 120 km is very frustrating due to the heavy traffic. Beyond Mdikeri traffic reduces but you are not lonely at all. A stready stream proceeds via this route to Mangalore and points beyond. Major towns beyond Madikeri are Sullya and Puttur.

Hmmm... I guess there is no escaping it once one has chosen to drive via the shiradi ghat. :unhappy Google does show a detour through dharmasthala but there is no guarantee that it would be any better. Bash on regardless and hope for the best, I suppose.