[Shamegz]

The current state of Bangalore to Mangalore/Udupi road received via Whatsapp:

[rahulb22]

Folks,
Just completed a trip from Bangalore to Moodbidri today. Started at 2 AM and reached by 8:30 AM with a 10 min break. I took Charmadi route for the trip and I must say it was one of my best decisions in the recent past

(Thanks to Parag Bhai for the advice)

About the route
Bangalore to Hassan: Excellent
Hassan to Mudigere: Very good throughout. Just keep your eyes open for the speed breakers between Hassan and Belur.
Mudigere to Kottigehara: Road is generally good, but there are about 15 culverts built across the road which are not finished well enough. But nothing to worry. Even low GC sedans can cross easily.
Charmadi Ghat: From the check post at Kottigehara until about 10 kms you will find 10-15 small sections (maybe about 20 metres each) which are almost single lane. However, this can be managed quite easily as the traffic is minimal, thanks to the ban on heavy vehicles. Rest of the road downhill is not exactly great, but this is heaven compared to the current state of the Shiradi route.
Beyond the ghat the road is quite good with the odd pothole here and there.

Personally I enjoyed the drive before daybreak since I encountered hardly about 25 vehicles after Hassan all the way till Ujire. I would recommend this route for passenger cars until the Shiradi route is repaired.

Note: I am not sure if the 6 AM to 6 PM rule is strictly being followed, since I saw a couple of vehicles crossing me when I just entered the Ghat around 6:15 AM. But anyway, I would not recommend this stretch after dark, as it is quite deserted.

Thanks
Cheers
Rahulb22

[ThilakNex]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone traveled recently on Kalasa to Bajagoli via Kudremukha recently? I am planning to do the stretch on this Saturday and any insight on the road condition would be of great help.

Planning to visit Rani Jhari on the way. Not sure if recent rains have created any havoc there.

Thanks in advance.

[T.U.P]

Greetings, folks!


Doing BLR-Thirthahalli-Agumbe-Hebri-Agumbe and back over 3 days Our planned route is as follows:

Day 1: BLR-Tumkur-Sira-Hiriyur-Hosadurga-Bhadra-Mandagadde-Thirthahalli-Agumbe.

Day 2: Agumbe-Hebri-Agumbe via Agumbe ghat.

Day 3: Agumbe-Balehonnur-Kanathi-Belur-Hassan-BLR.

Anyone who has visited these roads recently, any advice/suggestions you have regarding road conditions and rest stops/chai points would be much appreciated!

[Nalin1]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

We were there at the same resort for an office outing last Saturday and Sunday.

I wish ours was a one time experience and you have a pleasant one to share.

Had a great time at the resort! Thanks Parag and others for their tips. Was about to take the route suggested by Parag, but google maps suggested a huge time difference of about one and a half hours when compared to the other route. Maybe because it was a Saturday and 'Santhe' at Shanivarasanthe.

Hence majority voted on taking the Hassan-Sakleshpur stretch. Except for some huge craters, the road was fine. Since we are from Bangalore, we are experts in handling craters.

The resort was excellent in most aspects. Food was wonderful all through the day with very tasty snacks provided in the evening. The rooms were extremely comfortable.

Yes, there were some small groups consuming liquor but since we stayed away from those completely, made no difference to us.

Only negative was some very loud music played a bit late into the night.

Had a great time at the water falls, railway track trecking and Bisle ghat view point.

Took the SH on the way back until Channarayapatna and joined NH 75.

Overall a perfect time to visit Sakleshpur.

[jjake47]

Planning to drive from Bangalore to Goa around 9th or 10th Nov (Next weekend). We'll be two guys and a girl in a Verna (Diesel, Auto, '19). Mainly going to Goa for a 3 day thing, but wanted to drive through some scenic route(s). I have a day in hand, so can make a stop over in between. Have a lot of questions, if any of you kind souls can help me with the following -

I. Via Mangalore (Night stay at Mangalore)
a. Is shiradi ghat okay? How's the road condition after sakleshpur?
b. How is Mangalore to Goa, is it worth doing? and road condition?

II. Via CKM and/or Jog falls
a. If this, then where can I make a night stay?
b. Will I see all the greenery and waterfalls at this time of the year if I do decide to take this?

III. Any other recommendations?

I want to be in Goa by second day afternoon, around 1 PM. Plan is flexible and I can decide to take any other option as well. I just love mountains/hills/ghats and would love to take any road that go through. On the other hand, coastal roads are usually lovely and wouldn't mind them as well. Plan is to leave Bangalore early morning (around 4-5), reach the first location and roam around a bit before crashing for the night. Next day early morning start to Goa. Any and all recommendations would help decide. Thanks in advance.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by jjake47

Planning to drive from Bangalore to Goa around 9th or 10th Nov (Next weekend). We'll be two guys and a girl in a Verna (Diesel, Auto, '19).

Suggest you try driving to Goa via Shimoga, Honnavar, Karwar and Goa
Take the Bangalore-Pune Highway until Hiriyur. There is a deviation to the left which will lead to Tarikere, Shimoga is just 40Kms away from there.
You can stay in Shimoga, good options for hotels.
The drive from Shimoga to Honnavar is very scenic and you can also visit Jog Falls on the way.
From Honnavar to Goa, it is a coastal road with some good views.
Roads are good throughout and will not be an issue in a Verna.

On the Mangalore route, Shiradi ghat is in bad condition and will be a pain in a sedan.
Mangalore to Goa coastal road is also under construction after Kundapur with lot of diversions.

[Rajesh K R]

We did a trip from BLR to Udupi & returned to BLR via Mangalore.

The onward run was like : BLR - CKM - Hariharapura-Agumbe-Manipal-Udupi

Road conditions good all through. (Some road widening work inside Manipal town) We got rains for company from Agumbe upto Perdoor.
Breakfast - Town Canteen - CKM
Snack break - Hotel Sitanadi - at Sitanadi (after descending the Agumbe ghats)

Return was via : Udupi - Mangalore - Belthangady - Charmadi - Belur - BLR

1. Lots of culvert works going on in MLR - Belthangady section - slows you down - Not a great deal breaker though.

2. Charmadi ghats - surface is very good. In some sections of the ghat - the road is reduced to one car width. Pains to see the mountains which bore the onslaught of heavy rains - in two seasons.
3. Kottigehara - Mudigere Handpost - Again some culvert works slows you down - nothing major though
4. Mudigere Hand post - BLR : The usual good roads. Can make up time.

Door to door - i took exactly 8 hrs and driving time was 7 hours driving in a moderate pace. We had good rains for company from Handpost to Hagare.

[arun_josie]

To Mangalore via Mysore, Madikeri:

As usual, till Mysore it was traffic heavy and took around 2hours and 30mins. Next day morning we started from Mysore and it took us 5 hours with a breakfast stop at Madikeri. Traffic was minimal. The road is good almost throughout except for speed breakers.

Return via Charmadi:

This is the first time I am taking this route. Till the ghats, the road condition is average as we have to slow down multiple times for bad patches and speed breakers. The ghat section is good and has some steep harpin bends and at places it was very narrow due to ongoing work. Thankfully no bus and truck traffic in the ghat section as they are not allowed in this route. The roads on either side of Belur and till Hassan were super good.

Since the return was on Sunday and end of a 3 day weekend, I was expecting huge crowds at tolls. But thankfully there wasn’t much crowd at the tolls. However there was a mad rush at Neelamangala toll which was extending till the Junction where the Hassan road joins. So, I continued in the service lane till NICE road entry.

Thanks to PrideRed and speedsatya for suggesting the Charmadi route.

[iamnarayang]

Dear All,

I am aware this is a well discussed amd posted topic. I will be driving to Mangalore on December 2nd week, with my family. I am very confused on what route to take, after reading all the discussions in the group. Some say Shakaleshpur, Shirady , Mnagalore. Some have discussed about going Via Mysore, Madikere route. Another route beinig discussed is Belthangady, Charmadi, Belur bangalore. So please let me know which is the good route to take.

Addiotinally, can you also please suggest a decent accomodation in Mangalore, for a family of four? Some sort of quiet and peaceful resort.

Regards,
Narayan

[ThilakNex]

Originally Posted by ThilakNex

Hi Guys,

Has anyone traveled recently on Kalasa to Bajagoli via Kudremukha recently? I am planning to do the stretch on this Saturday and any insight on the road condition would be of great help.

Planning to visit Rani Jhari on the way. Not sure if recent rains have created any havoc there.

Thanks in advance.

Seems nobody in the mood to take this route

Anyway, still, I took this route last weekend and here is the detailed road status.

Bengaluru to Hasana: Usual no-nonsense smooth tollway. To my surprise, some of the Fastags were not responding quickly.

Hasana to Beluru: Very good. Seems a fresh layer of tarmac has been laid recently.

Beluru to Kottigehara: Fairly good road with occasional rough patches along newly constructed culverts.

Kottigehara to Kalasa: Good road with very frequent landslides and treefalls which has reduced the width of the road to a single lane at many places. Since this road has very less traffic, it is easily manageable.

Kalasa to Kudremukha town: Rough bumpy road. This stretch will eat most of your time. Still good compared to the potholes of Shiradi ghat road.
Kudremukha town to Karkala: Without a doubt one of the best roads to drive with minimal vibration and no potholes.

Karkala to Udupi: We took the road via Belman> Katapady which is in good condition.

Overall if you plan to travel to Udupi from Bengaluru, This is the next best option after Agumbe.
Advantages of this route: You get to visit Kelagur tea estate, Kalaseshwara temple, Samse tea estate, Kadambi falls and Kudremukha reserve forest.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ThilakNex

Seems nobody in the mood to take this route

Will always remain my favorite when headed to Karkala or Udupi but least favorite when it comes to recommending someone because a majority of the travelers feel this one is long, twisty, has no facilities and not a regular road (list is endless) .

[rahulb22]

Originally Posted by iamnarayang

Dear All,

I am aware this is a well discussed amd posted topic. I will be driving to Mangalore on December 2nd week, with my family. I am very confused on what route to take, after reading all the discussions in the group. Some say Shakaleshpur, Shirady , Mnagalore. Some have discussed about going Via Mysore, Madikere route. Another route beinig discussed is Belthangady, Charmadi, Belur bangalore. So please let me know which is the good route to take.

Addiotinally, can you also please suggest a decent accomodation in Mangalore, for a family of four? Some sort of quiet and peaceful resort.

Regards,
Narayan

This is my personal view, I request experts to comments if they feel otherwise.

December 2nd Week is quite some time away, so hopefully by then Shiradi route would be patched up. If so, I would say, it is still the fastest route to Mangalore. The next option could be via Charmadi as the road is quite decent and traffic is low, provided you are doing the trip in daylight. The third option could be via Madikeri as this is significantly longer but road is good and options for breaks are better than Charmadi. Please take a call based on your requirements.

Regarding stay options in Mangalore, you may not find good resorts within city limits. If you do not mind hotels then Ocean Pearl, Deepa Comforts, BMS, Sai Palace are good options.

Thanks
Cheers
Rahulb22

[iamnarayang]

Originally Posted by rahulb22

The next option could be via Charmadi as the road is quite decent and traffic is low, provided you are doing the trip in daylight.

Thanks
Cheers
Rahulb22

Thanks for your advice. I live in BTM layout and will leave at around 6 AM to Mangalore. So, if I take the Charmadi option, is this the route?

Regards,
Narayan.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by iamnarayang

Dear All,

I am aware this is a well discussed amd posted topic. I will be driving to Mangalore on December 2nd week, with my family. I am very confused on what route to take, after reading all the discussions in the group. Some say Shakaleshpur, Shirady , Mnagalore. Some have discussed about going Via Mysore, Madikere route. Another route beinig discussed is Belthangady, Charmadi, Belur bangalore. So please let me know which is the good route to take.

Addiotinally, can you also please suggest a decent accomodation in Mangalore, for a family of four? Some sort of quiet and peaceful resort.

Regards,
Narayan

As today Charmadi /Sampaje are the better options, latter will be longer and take more time. There is also Bisile which you can take but will take even more time. As for resorts, Mangalore has few which are just okay. Summer Sands is popular one. If you are willing to consider hotels, Gateway/Occean Perl/Deepa Comforts are good. Try woodlands if you want old world charm.