[meetbadri]

How is the road condition from Udupi to Bhatkal? I will be driving to Udupi from Bangalore this Saturday and then go ahead towards Bhatkal.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by meetbadri

How is the road condition from Udupi to Bhatkal? I will be driving to Udupi from Bangalore this Saturday and then go ahead towards Bhatkal.

Udupi to Kundapura is a dual lane carriageway. You will enjoy the drive here. Look out for odd 2W folks riding on the wrong side and in fast lane near smaller towns. There was a toll booth coming up near Koteshwar. Don't have an idea if toll collection has started.

The work on 4 laning is on after Kundapura. The road is good till Baindur after which there is some deterioration observed. Since there is construction activity, expect small snarls, nothing major around this area.

[Makin Rulesz]

Toll booths are not yet functional between Udupi and Kundapur.
As mentioned in the previous post this stretch is in excellant condition and you can cover it in 30 minutes of sedate driving.
Roads are uneven around Kundapur once you leave the laned highway, though there aint any potholes. And you will get lot of traffic in Kundapur-Byndoor leg and the traffic would be very slow moving and it is very difficult to overtake if you get stuck behind a slow moving truck or bus. Be very careful here

[meetbadri]

Thanks for your inputs here. Also I wanted to avoid traffic inside Mangalore. Most probably I would be driving through Charmadi to reach Udupi.

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by meetbadri

Thanks for your inputs here. Also I wanted to avoid traffic inside Mangalore. Most probably I would be driving through Charmadi to reach Udupi.

You can take the Nantoor bypass and reach the Udupi highway without entering Mangalore. Charmadi will be too tiring considering the extra kms and road conditions.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by unk9ja

You can take the Nantoor bypass and reach the Udupi highway without entering Mangalore. Charmadi will be too tiring considering the extra kms and road conditions.

What extra Kms? Charmadi route is also same distance to Udupi.

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Either way, the only place where you will encounter pot holes is Bangalore.

You are wrong - I saw 3 potholes on the shiradi ghats

But seriously, that road which would scrape even the underside of trucks and busses, having just 3 completely avoidable potholes is nothing short of a miracle.

We started a bit earlier than planned at 8 am and reached our Bangalore destination at 5:15 pm. This had about 10 stops totalling to about 2 hours, for breakfast, lunch, calls and mini bathroom breaks. Encountered heavy traffic till Subramanya cross.

My planned mileage run had to be shelved as traffic killed the first half and the second half was too tempting to drive sedately. Hassan to nelamangala took 2 hours, but then it took us 45 minutes to negotiate the traffic. But I think I reached early enough to miss the evening rush hour.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by samaspire

We started a bit earlier than planned at 8 am and reached our Bangalore destination at 5:15 pm. This had about 10 stops totalling to about 2 hours, for breakfast, lunch, calls and mini bathroom breaks. Encountered heavy traffic till Subramanya cross.

Thanks for the update. Where did you stop for breakfast and lunch ? Would be good to know how much distance you covered and at what time you stopped for there breaks, will help in rough estimation of drives on this sector

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by meetbadri

Thanks for your inputs here. Also I wanted to avoid traffic inside Mangalore. Most probably I would be driving through Charmadi to reach Udupi.

Originally Posted by Samurai

What extra Kms? Charmadi route is also same distance to Udupi.

Sorry for misleading here. The distance is indeed the same on both the routes. Something went over my head when I penned it.

But Charmadi route is a bit narrow and you will get stuck behind heavy vehicles with less chances to overtake. So it may be time consuming if you do not time your schedule on this stretch. As speedsatya mentioned earlier in this thread, the best time is between 0200-0600 hrs.

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks for the update. Where did you stop for breakfast and lunch ? Would be good to know how much distance you covered and at what time you stopped for there breaks, will help in rough estimation of drives on this sector

8:00am left Manipal
8:30 - 9:10 breakfast @ Padubidri
1:30pm - 2:30pm - lunch @ Hassan Rajath fish land. Express service
4:30 - nelamangala toll
5:15 cox town via metro - jaymahal road - St. John's road

Had 5 short stops between Hassan and bangalore, and after every stop I was overtaking the same bunch of cars. I think we had become friends by the end of it

If I had left an hour earlier, I'd have probably reached 2 hours earlier.

[paragsachania]

Posting this late but better than never.

Last weekend we drove to Mangalore (Someshwar Beach) and back in 2 cars. Ertiga and a Honda City and here is the road-trip report.

Onward:
Bangalore - Nelemangala - Hassan - Sakleshpur - BC Road - Mudipu - Someshwar

• Started from Vijay Bank Layout at 0615
• Stopped enroute for Breakfast before Kunigal Bypass for Thatte Idlies
• Reached Final destination via Mudipu at 1300

Road conditions are nothing to worry all throughout. They remain excellent including Shiradi Ghats and beyond. Traffic wise, it was bad time to start that I never do but had to bow down against a lot of family members and relatives in tow for this trip. The biggest irk with "Shiradi + Weekend" is the the beeline of traffic in Ghats. One driver doesn't attempt to overtake even when its safe and the rest simply tail. The cascading effect created a train of one slow moving truck who is the King with at least 15 cars Bumper to Bumper!! You begin to overtake and the B2B gap reduces by millimeters.

The perils of learning to drive on 4 lane roads, Not knowing how to drive in Ghats, Not knowing the right of way - This is going to be the biggest challenge till the entire road becomes 4 lane.

Return:
Someshwar Beach - Mangalore - Padubidre - Karkala - Guruvayanakere - Ujire - Charmadi - Mudigere - Belur - Hassan - Nelemangala - Bangalore.

The plan was to drive to Manipal to meet few friends but midway at Surathkal we decided to ditch that plan. Hence, we drove the above route to reach Bangalore via Charmadi.

At Beltangady were we stopped for lunch, we had easy choices to make - Charmadi or Shiradi and that too on a Sunday noon at 02:00PM! The choice was obvious for me and I picked Charmadi and indeed it was lovely decision.

My daughter was asking us to stop to relieve herself every 20 minutes as she had consumed a lot of liquids and not hand lunch. I overtook KSRTC Bus and a few trucks 4 times after pulling over. Something that you would not get to do on Shiradi on a Sunday noon return. Simple as that.

Traffic on Charmadi on a Sunday noon was perhaps the thinnest and made me feel if it was a weekday. This is mostly true because of the following reasons:

1. From Dharmasthala, Shiradi is of course the most obvious choice to return to Bangalore
2. Very rarely on a Sunday noon, someone would want to do Dharmasthala first and then visit Sringeri & Horanadu. The would instead do the other way round and hence you would not expect traffic towards Kottigehara

The Benefit:
You get to drive in peace all the way till Belur before you meet the usual weekend traffic towards Bangalore.

Road conditions:
All the way from Padubidre -Karkala - Ujire - Charmadi - Mudigere - Belur - Hassan the roads remain in best shape with no room to complain. Yes, the roads are narrow in various sections but you get to drive in peace even on a weekend.

Now sample this:

From Belthangady to the Kottigehara, we took 1 hour including quick breaks 4 times lasting 2 minutes each

One car decided to head straight to Bangalore and I suggest them Jannapura - Hanbal - Sakleshpur while I stopped before Mudigere for a late lunch for my daughter and drove to Belur, spent 15 minutes at the temple for quick sight seeing and then met the other car at Swati Delicacy at Kunigal which was exactly 15 minutes ahead of us with a different route and zero breaks (Our break would have easily lasted 45 minutes in Mudigere and Belur).

Mind you, Jannapura - Hanbal - Sakleshpur road is now 100% clean with no potholes.When I met the driver of the other car, He told me how bad the traffic was between Sakleshpur to Hassan with zero chances to overtake while I had a field day all the way till I reached Hassan.

We were 5 Adults and 2 Kids aged 6 and 8 years in the Ertiga. With motion sickness that my daughter has in ghats, I had to driver very carefully on twisties and hairpin curves to pass her the least jolts. Even with this, we did this pretty fast.

Surprisingly, the waiting time at all the 4 booths starting from Hassan till Nelamangala was absolutely less. However, like I it always happens with me, the happiness lasted till I reached NBTL Toll that was at least 800 meters long and I spent an easy 20 minutes at 09:30PM on a Sunday night.

Parting shots to my summary:

At the resort near Someshwar:


On the lovely Charmadi ghats:


Bottom line:
-On a weekday with less curves and a faster drive through the ghats, its Shiradi
-On a weekend with a smart start before 11am, It is still Shiradi
-On a weekend with post lunch start, Charmadi any day

Tried and tested many many times now

[Throtttle]

Sumptuous info to assimilate, quintessential of T-BHP objective! Few 'objective type'(quick) questions Parag Sir :-) :

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Stopped enroute for Breakfast before Kunigal Bypass for Thatte Idlies

Is there a place on main NH48 to explore the authentic Kunigal Thatte Idly? Where, if yes?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

This is going to be the biggest challenge till the entire road becomes 4 lane

Is this a generic statement, or if at all you mean this entire route is supposed to become a 4 lane?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Someshwar Beach - Mangalore - Padubidre - Karkala - Guruvayanakere - Ujire - Charmadi - Mudigere - Belur - Hassan - Nelemangala - Bangalore.

I should consume Karkala - Guruvayanakere is TBHP tried & tested via Bajegoli or Moodbidri?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

At Beltangady were we stopped for lunch,

I stopped before Mudigere for a late lunch.

Any recommendable stopping option/s at Betltangady and/or Mudigere?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Mind you, Jannapura - Hanbal - Sakleshpur road is now 100% clean with no potholes.

What I take from this is that if Shiradi closes for construction of it's 2nd leg, one can choose Charmadi route via Hassan - Belur - Mudigere - Kottigehara - Charmadi OR Hassan - Sakleshpur - Hanbal - Jannapura - Mudigere - Kottigehara - Charmadi. Is the choice from above two sub-routes, ok to derive too from the formula discovered in your Bottom line? :-) . Later one is a hybrid route though. Besides, 2nd closure of Shiradi was buzzing to happen early this year, any update on same? With monsoon arrived, current year it may not happen is intuitive though.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

At the resort near Someshwar:

How is Someshwar beach by attributes like cleanliness, isolation, service, safety and vibes wise? Better/worse/similar relative to the other Mangalore option(having resorts) i.e. Ullal Beach(in case, been there, done that)?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Bottom line:
-On a weekday with less curves and a faster drive through the ghats, its Shiradi
-On a weekend with a smart start before 11am, It is still Shiradi
-On a weekend with post lunch start, Charmadi any day

Great! THANKS!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Throtttle

Is there a place on main NH48 to explore the authentic Kunigal Thatte Idly? Where, if yes?

This is the same canteen that earliest existed inside Kunigal town next to the Police Station & Opposite to Govt. School.

On Popular demand and the fact that the bypass became operational, he moved it to this location: <Sree Siddalingeshwara Cafe>

Is this a generic statement,

A very generic statement due to a lot of reasons:

• More people preferring to drive out on weekends due to 4 lane roads and availability of hotels and homestays in abundance now (Compared to what it was only 3 years back)
  
• Easy drive where you can almost average 80kmph by maintaining 100kmph
  
• Loads of options to break on the way
  
• The ease to drive onward on Day 1 and return on Day 2 to certain destinations: Mangalore, Dharmasthala, Chikmagalur etc makes it a favorite road and the volume of traffic speaks today

or if at all you mean this entire route is supposed to become a 4 lane?

The future is bright and so it is for the commuters towards Bangalore. 4 Lane is on cards beyond Hassan to BC Road now and newspaper Gazette notifications on regular basis talks about it on regular basis.

I should consume Karkala - Guruvayanakere is TBHP tried & tested via Bajegoli or Moodbidri?

Via Bajagoli - Naravi if you want to reach Guruvayanakare from Karkala. Been doing this since my School days earlier by Bus and Jeep and now on my own cars .

You do Moodabidri-Venoor in case you want to spend time at the Jain Temples/Basadis.

Any recommendable stopping option/s at Betltangady and/or Mudigere?

Belthangady to Ujire has typical South Indian Hotels more suitable for meals/standard breakfast. You find many opposite to Belthangady Bus Stand and few more near Ujire Circle where one road leads towards Dharmasthala.

What I take from this is that if Shiradi closes for construction of it's 2nd leg, one can choose Charmadi route via Hassan - Belur - Mudigere - Kottigehara - Charmadi OR Hassan - Sakleshpur - Hanbal - Jannapura - Mudigere - Kottigehara - Charmadi.

If Shiradi closes, you just avoid Charmadi. Its a proven fact now that Charmadi is havoc when the Shiradi traffic takes this route. More than the the traffic density that multiplies, it is the road manners that you get to witness on this route which often becomes the primary catalyst for pile-ups. If Shiradi closes, the best would be via Sampaje - Sullya - Madikere - Mysore.

Is the choice from above two sub-routes, ok to derive too from the formula discovered in your Bottom line? :-) . Later one is a hybrid route though. Besides, 2nd closure of Shiradi was buzzing to happen early this year, any update on same? With monsoon arrived, current year it may not happen is intuitive though.

Jannapura - Hanbal - Sakleshpur road was in tatters till the entire stretch underwent repairs and today the complete section is relaid and has a smooth tarmac. This route has almost zero traffic too. Makes a good alternate if one wants to avoid Belur- Hassan which now has speedbreaker at at least 9 locations in 36 kms! Sakleshpur - Hassan has them at just 2 locations.

How is Someshwar beach by attributes like cleanliness, isolation, service, safety and vibes wise? Better/worse/similar relative to the other Mangalore option(having resorts) i.e. Ullal Beach(in case, been there, done that)?

Absolutely no issues in terms of safety. Having witnessed Mangalore since my Childhood, I see it no different today. The most welcoming crowd.

Regarding the beach, Someshwar is again not all that friendly to play in the salt waters. The shore was deep and the currents were wild that we didn't enjoy the beach like you do at Malpe. This the classic case with most of the beaches in Karnataka - Ullal, Gokarna, Mudureshwar etc.

The resort was nothing great to write about but no complaints as such too. Well maintained and calm property and courteous staff.

EDIT: Missed certain recommendations near Mudigere. You get plenty of Coffee Shops right from Kottigehara till Mudigere Hand post (Around 15 kms) on both sides. The one that we stopped for lunch now serves proper South Indian meals as well. They have hygienic rest rooms which are well maintained.

For proper hotels, you need to enter Mudigere by turning left at handpost and there are quite a few options. One of them is near Mudigere Club that serves authentic South Indian food and opened only recently (around 2 years).

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by samaspire

8:00am left Manipal

Update of return journey. SATURDAY 28th may

Was considering the Charmadi route, by Parag's update about taking the Shiradi if we leave early, convinced me. (now that I read it again, I think he was talking about the return trip )

8:00 am - Left home
8:30 - entered toll road
8:52 - nelamangala cross
9:15 to 10:02 - Breakfast stop





Awesome masala dosa !!

11:57 - crossed the hotel we had stopped for lunch on the onward journey. So the Hassan bangalore stretch took us 15 min more. I was trying to stay under 90 for mileage, but was not always successful.

12:56 to 1:55 - Lunch @ Surabhi NX Sakleshpur

6:00 - reached home
Encountered lot of slow moving traffic, Sakleshpur onwards.

[rjstyles69]

Just returned after an uneventful and a relaxed 3 days holiday in Udupi. Was truly aghast looking at the carnage along the Udupi -- Kundapur stretch. Man this place now looks like the remnants of a war.

Tree's chopped down and road widening all along . I used to love the Udupi-Kundapur stretch for the sheer pleasure of driving along the foliage of trees and the old houses along the highway. A sight I used to always cherish is all gone now.

Maravanthe beach has gone down the pits too . Plastics and beer bottles strewn around, garbage and what not. I paid a quick visit to Turtle Bay and returned to Udupi with a heavy heart thinking of the good old days.

Here's what Maravanthe looks like now





I took the shiradi ghat for my onward and return journey too. The roads are in excellent condition and a real hoot to drive.

What beats my goat is the sheer number of moronic and suicidal drivers along this stretch. One clown almost t-boned me at the Dharmasthala deviation while he was joining the highway.
Was a taxi and he was busy on his mobile that he never noticed me coming along. I had to swerve to my right to avoid being t-boned.

A few kms into the ghats and there was a new class of nincompoops. Suicidal overtaking maneuvers !!! Damn these fools were overtaking trucks and buses on blind left curves like there was no tomorrow. Quite a few close calls too. Phew !!

I just dread to think what it will be driving this route when its dark.