[explorer09]

How aggressively is the road work going on though? My next drive to Mlore will be on the 25th so am hoping some amount of patch work will be done by then?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by nitzien123

Samurai, I am tempted to trust you when you say it must have been a dream since I was surprised myself at that time. 3:55 I was at Gundya, 4:40 I was near that hotel just at the end of the ghat - Nisarga I think?

I use the Sakleshpur bus-stand as the ending point. Don't know where Nisarga is located.Now I am convinced your car is fitted with hover drive. Check out how others found the road.

Originally Posted by CLIX

Return: MLR - BLR via Shiradi (Sakleshpura) ; Gundya - Sakleshpur sector, some 19km, is a nightmare! Almost gave up. deep trenches on the road. The 25mm patch work will probably fill some 25% depth of the bad trenches On some sections had to request some very cooperative lorry drivers to pass on the "wrong side" as I negotiated the only drivable part of the road. Very bad experience with a 6000km old Swift!

Originally Posted by docel

"Off-roading" Bangalore-Mangalore-Udupi-Sringeri-Horanadu-Bangalore in my Eeco !

Just returned after 2 days of wonderful drive (sic) through the toughest "roads" in my Maruti Eeco to date.

Originally Posted by explorer09

How aggressively is the road work going on though? My next drive to Mlore will be on the 25th so am hoping some amount of patch work will be done by then?

It should be mostly fixed by Christmas. I will be driving next week, I'll be able to update then.

[nitzien123]

The hotel is the one you find on the left about a km before the bus stand with large parking area (with cement blocks) in the front - it has a nice paddy field view behind it and has a first floor too. Also beside it is a shop that sells plantation products.
On the drive itself, I guess I'll go with your vast experience on that stretch and people's opinions - I am quite sure of my timings but I cant help but think I got something wrong.

[anup7649]

Hi All,

I will be driving towards Mudigere through the Mangalore highway this weekend. How is the road between Sakleshpur and Anemahal specifically and further on?

Thanks,
Anup C

[CLIX]

Originally Posted by explorer09

How aggressively is the road work going on though? My next drive to Mlore will be on the 25th so am hoping some amount of patch work will be done by then?

From what I saw these repairs should cover the bad stretches in a week or two maybe. Unless they plan to do a good job of it , extending the duration! [Highly unlikely!!]

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by nitzien123

The hotel is the one you find on the left about a km before the bus stand with large parking area (with cement blocks) in the front - it has a nice paddy field view behind it and has a first floor too. Also beside it is a shop that sells plantation products.

This should be the recently opened restaurant 'Mythri', and they have better options for meals.

[sridhar24]

I have done BLR-Hassan-Sakleshpur-Shiradi ghat-Dharmasthala-Udupi-Kudremukh-Shringeri-Horanadu-Hassan-BLR recently in Innova and i have to say the Shiradi ghat road is very pathetic condition.
I saw other hatch drivers struggling through that section with such craters. I thought i was driving on moon for a while
The route to Shringeri via Kudremukh was pretty decent though the road is not very wide, and arrogant truck drivers not giving you space. But the road to Horanadu was again a torture.

[civicsense]

Its a shame that an important route like this is always left in such a mess, year after year!

But, it looks like I am heading right into the craters!! I am planning to go to a home stay near Sakleshpur called Mugilu. This place seems to be before the Shiradi ghats begin. How is the road from Nellamangala till Sakleshpur town these days?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by civicsense

But, it looks like I am heading right into the craters!! I am planning to go to a home stay near Sakleshpur called Mugilu.

You are not headed for craters, Mugilu is before the bad roads starts. In fact, both the host and hostess of Mugilu are TBHP members and visit this thread regularly.

[CLIX]

Originally Posted by civicsense

Its a shame that an important route like this is always left in such a mess, year after year!

But, it looks like I am heading right into the craters!! I am planning to go to a home stay near Sakleshpur called Mugilu. This place seems to be before the Shiradi ghats begin. How is the road from Nellamangala till Sakleshpur town these days?

Nelamangala to Sakleshpur is stress free..... Just make sure you watch out for the switching of lanes thanks to the so called "4 laning" going on. You drive on the left for a bit then for some random reason the lane stops in its tracks; you cross over to the other side. This craziness happens repeatedly, but not a biggie. You'll enjoy the drive!

[floyd.bell]

Originally Posted by civicsense

I am planning to go to a home stay near Sakleshpur called Mugilu. This place seems to be before the Shiradi ghats begin. How is the road from Nellamangala till Sakleshpur town these days?

Yes, roads from Neelamangala to Sakleshpur are very good to drive on. For Mugilu, you need to take a deviation from NH48 at Munzerabad fort junction and drive for some 7kms to the homestay. This stretch was not good when I visited Mugilu some two months back. I wouldn't recommend doing this stretch in a Civic. Take the Corsa if you still have it

[civicsense]

Thank you for the replies, Samurai, CLIX and floyd.bell. Its a relief to know that I need not endure the Lunar parts of NH48 to get to Mugilu.
CLIX, I will look out for the lane switching - thanks for the heads up. Its the same thing I do while driving the last 25-30 km stretch from Salem to Coimbatore!
floyd.bell, yes, I do have the Corsa and I love driving it on the highway for its ride quality. But I was hoping to drive the Civic to Mugilu since its a family trip and its more spacious and comfy. Is the last 1.5km stretch absolutely not doable in a Civic, even say, by going real slow in the 1st gear?

[Samurai]

The Mugilu owners have a GetZ, they use it on the same road.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I


It should be mostly fixed by Christmas. I will be driving next week, I'll be able to update then.

I will be driving tonight . Shall be able to give latest updates . As I will be driving in the night , may not be able to post pics .

I had been taking the bus in the last few weeks . It used to be the B9R on every weekend , except that I thought I will check out an ALL 2+1 just for the leg room .

Screw the leg room ,your back just goes for a toss as soon as the bus enters the ghat . It is so bad on some stretches that I thought the bus would topple off !! Dunno how do the poor truckers and the scary sleeper bus drivers manage.

Cars with low GC will have a problem for sure . I will be driving the Zen tonight , so will know .

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

I will be driving tonight . Shall be able to give latest updates . As I will be driving in the night , may not be able to post pics .

I had been taking the bus in the last few weeks . It used to be the B9R on every weekend , except that I thought I will check out an ALL 2+1 just for the leg room .

Screw the leg room ,your back just goes for a toss as soon as the bus enters the ghat . It is so bad on some stretches that I thought the bus would topple off !! Dunno how do the poor truckers and the scary sleeper bus drivers manage.

Cars with low GC will have a problem for sure . I will be driving the Zen tonight , so will know .

Updates !

The ghat though really bad at some stretches is still manageable. Buses and trucks do have a problem negotiating some of these turns , but car and SUV drivers shouldn't have a problem.

I got into some trouble though. Was blinded by this bus with 6 headlights on a turn and hit a stone on the road ! Though my speed was almost zero , it was sufficient to break the gear shifter linkage. As a result , I had only 1, 3 and 5th gears to drive. And that too with a lot of difficulty.

Stopped to check for any oil leakage and then drove on. Reached mangalore in 6 hours including a detour to puttur to drop someone who was with me. ( 11 pm Bangalore , 515 am Mangalore ).

My advise- don't drive in the night unless its urgent. Don't tailgate any vehicle and maintain atleast 2-3 car lengths gap as you never know.

Vehicles with long overhangs will have problems on some of these craters in traffic if there is no room to manoeuvre around.