[Samurai]

I traveled the Shiradi yet again yesterday after joining it at Donigal. I could pass every car that was ahead of me, despite being in a SWB Jeep whose top-speed is 75kmph. The road is still practical for SUVs, and for high GC sedans & SWB hatches that are driven carefully.

About 3kms after Gundya, until Suratkal it was in very good shape. I ripped all the way in my top most speed. Sanivarsante to Suratkal in just 4.5 hours is very good for a SWB Jeep.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I traveled the Shiradi yet again yesterday after joining it at Donigal. I could pass every car that was ahead of me, despite being in a SWB Jeep whose top-speed is 75kmph. The road is still practical for SUVs, and for high GC sedans & SWB hatches that are driven carefully.

About 3kms after Gundya, until Suratkal it was in very good shape. I ripped all the way in my top most speed. Sanivarsante to Suratkal in just 4.5 hours is very good for a SWB Jeep.

I am sure it was pretty scenic for you.. to see the faces of all those poor souls trying to negotiate the bad roads

[reachmallya]

Am taking a stab at Mlore-Moodbidri-Karkala-Sringeri route tomorrow morning.
Will let you know the conditions.

[kala]

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

@kala: First cross is Tallur Cross, second one is Gangolli by pass. Yes, this is always better road to take!

Thanks Ragu. By the way if I'm travelling from Bangalore to Kollur via Shimoga-Thirthahalli, how do I get on to this road to Gangolli bypass ? Which town will I need to ask directions for ?

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by kala

Thanks Ragu. By the way if I'm travelling from Bangalore to Kollur via Shimoga-Thirthahalli, how do I get on to this road to Gangolli bypass ? Which town will I need to ask directions for ?

Why would you goto Gangolli by pass unless you need to visit Udupi or Kundapur from Thirthahalli? You can take direct route from Thirthahalli via Nagara -> Nittur -> Kollur. Going via Kundapura is too much of round about from Thirthahalli (Shouldn't be difficult to get on to Nagara direction in Thirthahalli).

If you need to visiting Udupi, take NH17 which passes through Kundapura, Gangolli by-pass is on NH17 (roughly 7km from Kundapura).

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by reachmallya

Am taking a stab at Mlore-Moodbidri-Karkala-Sringeri route tomorrow morning.
Will let you know the conditions.

Just wondering why Moodbidri ? isnt the mangalore-padubidri road in good condition ?

[reachmallya]

I had to visit Sringeri and thus the reason for this route. Managlore to Moodbidri took more than an hour. There is a diversion just after Gurupur. I still do not know whats the reason for that diversion. If you take that diversion you are stuck on a single road. Some people who did not take the diversion and managed to take the normal Highway are lucky. Having taken the diversion i had to face the horrors of worse road, rash lorry drivers, getting stuck for over half an hour. The roads to Sringeri are good but at times its so narrow that you end up getting wheels out of road and this sometimes hits the bottom. Its raining heavily throughout the Kudremukh forest ghat section. Be alert and collect the pass at the check post. The check post is UNARMED and if you miss taking the pass you will have to be prepared yourself for the humiliation at the other end. This happened to me. I never knew that i myself had to find the guards, approach them and request them a pass to drive through the restricted area. Now isnt this the duty of the forest Dept to help us in this? The road from Sringeri to Shimoga via Koppa, NR Pura is good except for a few patches here and there.

[ajithbr]

Originally Posted by kala

After passing Kundapur town and continuing north on NH17 for about 4 kms, you'll find a road going to the right with marking for Kollur. Do not take this road, instead continue for another 3 kms, and you'll see another road towards the right marked as the way to Kollur. This is a much better route, and is the recommended one. Sorry I don't remember the name of the place where you need to take the turn, but it's about 7 kms from Kundapur.

Yes. About 7 kms from Kundapur, the right turn on Gangolli bypass is the one I was looking for. Further north, just before Maravanthe, there is one more right turn in case we would take a slight detour to Maravanthe beach. Not sure of the route condition though and incidentally, I think this is near to the Mookambika road railway station (on the Konkan line) for Kollur.

Originally Posted by kala

For Kollur-Bangalore the route I have always taken is Kollur-Nittur-Nagara-Hosanagara-Ripponpet-Ayanur-Shimoga-Tumkur-Bangalore. The road upto Ayanur is generally patchy with occasional bad stretches, but has never been as bad as the roads in Kodagu. Since Fauji mentioned that Nittur-Thirthahalli-Shimoga has better roads, I think that may be worth a try. I'm not very sure where the deviation to Thirthahalli is, Google maps shows 2 options to get there from Nittur- one being taking a right at the T junction just before you reach Nagara Fort (where you need to take a left turn to go to Hosanagara), and the other one a right turn about 4-5 kms after crossing Nagara on the way to Hosanagara. Can you please clarify - Fauji ?

I also usually take Kollur->Nittur->Nagara->Hosanagara->Ripponpet->Aiyanur->Shimoga->Bangalore route and this time would prefer to cover Thirthahalli->Shimoga route on my way back from Kollur. And from Kollur to Thirthahallli, the first route just before Nagara is a longer route and goes near Hulikal (I think) but the second route which is SH-52 after crossing Nagara town is shorter, better and more popular with private buses using the same as well.

Originally Posted by kala

And if you're travelling by train till Mangalore, you could consider continuing till Kundapura by train (Ampere had suggested going till Udupi). Even the Udupi-Kundapur stretch of NH17 can be dicey at times with lots of crazy private bus traffic (I haven't travelled that way for over a year, so no idea about current road conditions)

Trains are not preferred by us beyond Mangalore (for going to Kollur) for both availability of reservation tickets on short notice as well as not-so-suitable timings. For most of us, the usual plan is to start early morning from Calicut and reach Mangalore by afternoon and there are a few trains that suit this timings. And once you reach Mangalore, there are direct Kollur buses from the station itself. So, we plan to reach Kollur by evening, goto Sowparnika and then spend time in temple for about a couple of hours, even attending the music/dance programs that may be there. Then, early morning darshan and any offerings and return to reach either Mangalore by noon/evening or Bangalore by night.

Incidentally, there are many good buses from Calicut to Udupi/Kollur like Sugama/Durgamba/Ganesh/VRL/Ambika etc. apart from good KSRTC buses. Some of them start from Ernakulam or Guruvayur as well and have a long break and pick-up from Calicut. These buses are convenient to reach Udupi/Kollur for morning darshan as well.

BTW, this time I am driving upto Mangalore and then proceeding from there to Kollur after a day's work. I am supposed to stay in Hotel Srinivas and they mentioned it is near Mangalore Central Railway Station. That is why, I asked about route from Mangalore Central Railway Station to Kollur :-)

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

You can take direct route from Thirthahalli via Nagara -> Nittur -> Kollur. Going via Kundapura is too much of round about from Thirthahalli (Shouldn't be difficult to get on to Nagara direction in Thirthahalli).

5 questions here:
1) If I want to just touch upon Maravanthe beach on my way to Kollur from Mangalore, how much deviation would that be? I remember taking a Kollur->Baindoor bus and getting down near the beach and the road seemed to be okay about 2-3 years ago.
2) How far are the 2 famous beaches (Panambur/ThanneerBhavi & Surathkal) from NH-17 on my way to Kollur from Mangalore? What are the landmarks for each of them for the diversions?
3) I usually take Kollur->Nittur->Nagara->Hosanagara->Ripponpet->Aiyanur->Shimoga->Bangalore route and this time want to cover Thirthahalli->Shimoga route on my way back from Kollur. So, from Kollur to Thirthahallli, which route among Nagara (SH-52 after crossing Nagara town) and Agumbe would have better road conditions? I know Agumbe road is about 25-30 kms longer but wont mind that since we plan to start in the morning after darshan from Kollur.
4) Please suggest some hotels for lunch break at Thirthahalli without any deviation from our Shimoga-Bangalore route.
5) As an alternative from Agumbe, how is Agumbe->Sringeri->Chikmagalur->Belur->Hassan->Bangalore route? Again, extra distance is okay provided the roads are in good condition.

[ajithbr]

After 240 pages, this post may look trivial but nevertheless, this will be really useful for an upcoming trip this weekend to Mangalore. So, here are my basic queries since I am doing a Bangalore->Mangalore after about 5-6 years:
1) If I start around 5 AM from Koramangala, is it okay to choose Koramangala->Yeshwantpur->Nelamangala->NH-48 route? Or should I be considering any alternatives?
2) For the start time mentioned, please suggest some good places for break-fast between 8 and 9 AM at a decent speed driving?
3) Are the bye-passes available and functional for Kunigal and Channarayapatna? I know Hassan bye-pass exists for long and Sakleshpur doesn't have a bye-pass.
4) Are there good places to break for a tea just before and just after Shiradi ghats?
5) How is Shiradi ghats now for an Alto LX-i car?
6) After Shiradi ghats, how are road conditions upto Pumpwell circle?
7) From Pumpwell circle, how to goto Hotel Srinivas or Mangalore Central Railway Station? I am not sure if google-maps indicates any one-ways or avoidable busy and/or narrow stretches :->
8) What time can I expect to reach Mangalore on an average decent speed? By lunch around 2 PM?
9) Any comments about Hotel Srinivas? And any good hotels, either Kerala style or Mangalore-speciality style around this hotel or Mangalore Central Railway Station for a dinner meeting with some family friends/relatives?
10) For an evening and the next-day morning, suggest some places to visit in Mangalore which maybe of interest to kids (park, beach etc.) and elders (temple, shopping, eat-outs etc.) as well?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

After 240 pages, this post may look trivial but nevertheless, this will be really useful for an upcoming trip this weekend to Mangalore. So, here are my basic queries since I am doing a Bangalore->Mangalore after about 5-6 years:..

Reminded me of the 10 commandments, only they are questions here !
Let me try and answer to the best of my abilities (I traveled to Mangalore 2 weeks ago for the first time)
1.I avoided Yeshwanthpur due to Metro construction mess on that stretch of Tumkur road. Instead I took a right turn at Mekhri circle onto Bellary road towards Hebbal. Then turned left onto ORR and proceed via BEL circle to Tumlur Road. Only issue is the railway crossing near CQAL. I was stuck here for a train crossing for about 10 minutes around 6.40 am. Another option is to take Malleswaram 17th cross, turn right onto Raj Kumar road at the end of 17th cross near Theresa's hospital and then make another right turn onto Tumkur road after Sheraton hotel/Brigade.

2. We stopped for breakfast at Sharp Food Court, Solur about 20km from Nelamangala on NH48. Other options are listed below in my route log (Mayura at Bellur cross is good too).

3. Kunigal bypass is complete so you don't have to enter the town. Part of Channarayaptna town you can't avoid (where road curves to left near the police station) but it is manageable. Hassan bypass exists as you mentioned. Sakeleshpura town stretch of about 2-3 km is not very good but again manageable.

4. It was raining heavily so we did not stop either before or after Shiradi. But I did notice a hotel in Sakleshpura that seemed good (don't remember the name)

5. Shiradi was bad according to me but I'm told by more expereinced folks that it's nowhere close to how bad it was couple years ago. As for Alto you can manage but be careful and drive slow. I saw several small cars including Spark, M800, etc do it.

6. Road after Shiradi is good, one stretch of BC road you will be driving on wrong side as some work is being done on left side

7. After BC Road/Bantwal you need to turn to the left to reach Pumpwell circle. From there you can either go right (road is wide) and then ask someone there to guide you to reach Srinivas hotel. OR you can take the narrow road straight at Pumpwell circle that gets you to another circle and then ask someone there. A little confusing so better ask around for Hampankatta area/KS Rao road. AFAIK, Srinivas hotel is in a cross road accessible from KS Rao road near 'City Centre' which is a big shopping mall.

8. If you start from home at 5am you can reach comfortably by 1.30pm doing decent speeds (sedate driving).

9. I heard that the restaurant at Srinivas hotel is really good. Otherwise you can go near one end of KS Rao road where there is Taj Majal hotel which is good OR go to Woodlands near Bunts hostel road. Check out the other thread on eating out around Mangalore/Udupi Manipal for more info. Ideal Cafe on the street parallel to where hotel Srinivas is (next cross road of KS Rao Road) has very good snacks/tiffin items, good breakfast place.

10. There is a place called Pilikula that has a water park, biological park and a regular park/garden beside a lake. Nice place to visit. You need to go towards the Bajpe airport road and take a deviation. Beaches are rough at this time but Kaup (known as Kaapu locally) is a nice beach about 40Km from Mangalore towards Udupi. Need to take a left turn and drive about 1 Km from NH17 to reach Kaup beach but very nice and has a light house too on top of a huge rock.

Here's my trip log for reference:
Bangalore-Mangalore (13 aug):
5.55 am - 0 Km - Home (near HAL III stage)
- 20 Km - ORR-NH4 Tumkur Road junction (Via Mekhri Circle, ORR, BEL circle)
- 39 Km - Exit towards NH48 towards Mangalore near Nelamangala (took elevevated tollway on NH4)
- 39.6 Km - on NH48
- 44 Km - Toll Plaza on NH48, not yet operational
7.10 am to 7.40 am - 64.5 Km - Breakfast stop at Sharp Food Court (Solur on the way to Kunigal, about 25 Km from
Nelamangala)
7.50 am - 77 Km - Passed the Kunigal town deviation
8.10 am - 100 Km - Noticed Udupi Hotel on left side, lots of Bangalore cars!
8.15 am - 113.5 Km - Toll Plaza on NH48, not yet operational
- 116 Km - Noticed CCD on left
- 117.5 Km - Noticed Hotel Mayura on left (on RHS you can see BGS and Adi Chunchunagiri institutions)
- 121 Km - 4 laning on NH48 ends, widening work in progress from here
- 136 Km - Passed deviation to Shravanabelagola on left
- 158 Km - Passed Channarayapatna Police Station left
9 am to 9.30 am - 169 Km - Stopped at Indian Oil fuel station on right (Udayapura). Also has CCD outlet and Kamat
Upachar
- 192 Km - Passed deviation to Chikamagalur on right
- 208 Km - Passed deviation to Alur on right
- 218 Km - Rain !!!
- 247 Km - Bad stretch at Shiradi begins
- 279 Km - Bad stretch at Shiradi ends
1.05 pm - 341 Km - Rs.5 toll at Mangalore entrance
- 360 Km - left turn towards Mangalore city centre
1.25 pm - 365 Km - Hotel Poonja Intl. on KS Rao road

Phew, that was tough - Hope I did the exam well and it helped you !

[Samurai]

NPV, that is a very detailed log. I haven't kept such log even after traveling this route hundreds of times.

Actually, if he leaves at 5AM, he can reach by 11AM with fast driving (no breaks), and 12AM at sedate driving. It also depends on number of breaks.

[lohithrao]

NPV, that's a detailed report! btw about 30kms is bad at shiradi?
few years back shiradi was nothing but hell, i remember climbing the ghats with my OHC in 1st gear, thats right from gondya till sakleshpura never got a chance to change to 2nd

btw Friday am off to Bangalore, hope its a long weekend in bangalore as i intend to start late. so hoping a bad traffic wont welcome me??

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Samurai

NPV, that is a very detailed log. I haven't kept such log even after traveling this route hundreds of times.

Actually, if he leaves at 5AM, he can reach by 11AM with fast driving (no breaks), and 12AM at sedate driving. It also depends on number of breaks.

@Samurai - Thanks. Agree with you that it depends on the number of breaks mainly. I drove at decent speeds and had 2 stopovers for breakfast and fuel+coffee plus encountered few stretches of heavy rain contributing to slightly slower time.
Credit for the logs goes to my wife

I guess you never had a need to keep such logs since you're Mannina Maga of Manipal (MMM/3M?) and it's a drive to your hometown so why bother, you must be so familiar !
For me it was the first time I drove myself so I always make it a point to document my log with as much detail as possible.

@lohithrao - the 30 odd Km in Shiradi is bad and it gets you by surprise, do check out my earlier post also on this thread I think it was on Aug 15/16.

@ajithbr -
For your Q 10)You can visit kateel durga parameshwari temple which is not very far from Mangalore, again a deviation from NH17. You can also visit Udupi Sri Krishna temple which is about 50 Km from Mangalore. You can do Kateel, then Udupi and Kaup beach on the way back to Mangalore OR do Udupi, Kaup and then Kateel on the way back to Mangalore. Be very careful at the beaches, they are rough so don't venture too far into the water or attempt swimming.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ajithbr

1) If I start around 5 AM from Koramangala, is it okay to choose Koramangala->Yeshwantpur->Nelamangala->NH-48 route? Or should I be considering any alternatives?

@Ajit,

I am not sure if the IISc-Yashwantpur work over. I think that road is still closed.
So if you are coming from Cauvery theater/Sankey road, you get through Rajkumar road.

Here is the link:

Chowdaiah Rd/Ramana Maharshi Rd to Service Rd - Google Maps

Also note only 17th cross goes over Railway line, which would allow you to reach Rajkumar road.

Thanks to this thread and folks here, I figured this out.

[vinboy]

The roads are pretty good between Bangalore and Mangalore except for the the stretch from Shiradi ghat section to Gundya. I started from Bangalore at 6Pm on the 29th and reached Udupi at 1.45am. Took a 30min break Kamath for dinner. The four lane road is good and it took me just about 2hrs to reach Hassan from the Nelamangala cross.

After you pass Gundya the roads are good and you get a smooth ride. The ghats however is a different story and it took me close 1.30hrs to cover the stretch at speed not crossing 20kmph.

Rain was a constant companion from Hassan till Udupi