[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

I will be starting from Puttur around 4 pm and by the time i reach Bisle, i would be dark i suppose. is there any forest gate there and is traffic allowed thro Bisle after nightfall ?

Given that Bisle ghat and surrounding areas are prone to elephant movement, it is better to avoid late evenings drive in this stretch altogether. Instead, stick with tried and tested Shiradi ghat or Sampaje ghat route. Comparatively, traffic will be less in Sampaje ghat but it's a longer route with good roads.

[Rajesh K R]

Any idea how is Bisle Ghat road - after the View point towards Kukke Subramanya ? I intend using this on this weekend during my drive to Kukke.
I am under the impression that a few kms is bad but manageable by any car.
TIA

[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

Any idea how is Bisle Ghat road - after the View point towards Kukke Subramanya ? I intend using this on this weekend during my drive to Kukke.
I am under the impression that a few kms is bad but manageable by any car.
TIA

Yes except for a few km, the rest of the road is good. I did this stretch last month and have posted an update here -> (The art of travelling between Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi)

[explorer09]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

Hello,

i may need to do a Puttur Bangalore run on the next weekend.. Which route would be ideal ?

1. Puttur-Narimogaru-Kaniyoor-Kulkunda-Bisle-Arkalgud-CRP-BLR (G-Maps is showing this as an option) - Not sure of the road conditions.

or

2. Puttur-Sampaje-Madikeri-Arkalgud-CRP-BLR

I will be starting from Puttur around 4 pm and by the time i reach Bisle, i would be dark i suppose. is there any forest gate there and is traffic allowed thro Bisle after nightfall ?

I will be driving an i20 with family -including senior citizens.

Sincerely will be happy to know the thoughts of the regulars who frequently drive this section.

Thanks in advance !!

Why not the regular Shiradi route? Puttur-Uppinangady-Shiradi would be the fastest.

[Rajesh K R]

Originally Posted by explorer09

Why not the regular Shiradi route? Puttur-Uppinangady-Shiradi would be the fastest.

i dont know about the current status - but the Shiradi route was having some deep craters in the non-concrete sections.

[chethan.ram]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

i dont know about the current status - but the Shiradi route was having some deep craters in the non-concrete sections.

The non concrete sections were horrible when I drove last time. I was told that they are partially fixed, but I am not sure about it. Its better to check with someone who took that route recently.

[chethan.ram]

Has any one travelled from Mysore to Hassan recently? Last time when I travelled, the roads from Holenarsipura to Hassan was pathetic. Has that been fixed now?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

Has any one travelled from Mysore to Hassan recently? Last time when I travelled, the roads from Holenarsipura to Hassan was pathetic. Has that been fixed now?

It is good to take now. And this is what a friend reports as latest:

• KR Nagar - Hassan : Good. Bit patchy for the initial part but gets a fresh layer all the way, soon after
  
• Little bit of roadwork in Holenarasipura town
  
• Small patch of bad road between Holenarasipura and Hangarahalli
  
• Holenarasipura to Hassan is now mostly 4 lane (Marking pending)

In summary, you can very well take this route over the other alternate (KR Pet - Channarayatapatna) if you are planning Mysore to Hassan. Also note that Elwala (Bilikere) to Mysore remains pothole ridden.

[chethan.ram]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

It is good to take now. And this is what a friend reports as latest:

• KR Nagar - Hassan : Good. Bit patchy for the initial part but gets a fresh layer all the way, soon after
  
• Little bit of roadwork in Holenarasipura town
  
• Small patch of bad road between Holenarasipura and Hangarahalli
  
• Holenarasipura to Hassan is now mostly 4 lane (Marking pending)

In summary, you can very well take this route over the other alternate (KR Pet - Channarayatapatna) if you are planning Mysore to Hassan. Also note that Elwala (Bilikere) to Mysore remains pothole ridden.

Thank you so much. Since you mentioned about the KR Pete route, how is that route till Channarayapatna? It was horrible when I went there last time.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

Thank you so much. Since you mentioned about the KR Pete route, how is that route till Channarayapatna? It was horrible when I went there last time.

When roadworks was in progress this was an alternate to KR Nagar Hassan. Last update from Nov '20 that I have says it was pretty patchy and bad at few places. Not sure of this as of today though.

[Rajesh K R]

I made the trip to Kukke, DSL, Puttur and MLR over the last weekend. Onward, i took BLR- Arkalgud-Shanivarsanthe-Bisle-Kukke. Made the journey in 5 hours from BLR to Kukke. Bisle ghat road - some 2-3 kms need to drive on mud road - but work is going on - so mostly in a few days might see that asphalted as well.

Return was on Sunday, via MLR-Mani-Puttur-Madikeri-Kushalnagar-Arkalgud-CRP-BLR. It was a pleasure to drive on Sampaje.. Super roads all the way from Mani right upto Madikeri.
Started at 6.30 pm from Puttur and reached BLR at 1 am - with an hour's break at Madikeri. Good roads & almost zero traffic throughout. One acquaintance left Puttur at 4.30 pm on Sunday, but said, they got stuck in Shiradi for about 2.5 hrs and reached later than us.

Thanks @ Dragonhawk !!

[paragsachania]

Drive report: Bangalore - Kundapura

I did a super longish drive picking a weekday on a Wednesday. The idea was to start early and simply head for a drive with no specific plan on mind and return late night. So, at the end of the day, I ended up doing almost 1200 Km with the following route.

Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Charmadi - Guruvayanakere - Karkala - Padubidre - Udupi - Kundapura - Bhatkal - Honnavara - Ankola - Yellapura - Mungod - Shiggaon - Haveri - Chitradurga - Bangalore.



The log of the complete drive that started at 0515 and ended at 0020 on the same day.

However, since this thread is referring to Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi, I will focus on the updates specific to this section only.

Route updates:

Bangalore to Hassan: Excellent, 4 lane expansion work in progress for Channarayapatna Bypass

Hassan- Belur- Mudigere: Good to excellent single-carriageway roads, zero potholes

Mudigere - Kottigehara: This section of around 20 Km is now FAST because the road is well expanded to National Highway standards. With trees cut and added shoulders, you will actually not know when you reach Kottigehara on this route. However, not all of this is complete with small little sections still work in progress.

Kottigehara - Charmadi: Wonderfully excellent. The whole route all the way till Ujire is spotless. Most of the sections have got a fresh layer of tarmac and roads are getting marked too.

Ujire - Guruvayanakere - Karkala - Nitte - Belman - Padubidre: This route is also fantastic, especially the Guruvayanakere to Karkala section via Naravi is now fully fixed wherever there were rough surfaces.

Padubidre - Udupi - Bhramhavara - Kundapura: Usual 4 lane roads with Padudibire section also not too bad since the patch of road that was undone is now done fully (albeit 2 way traffic)

Timings:

We started from Home at 0515 and were at Kundapura by 1224 which is a just about 7 hours. This included one breakfast break at Belur and that's about it.

4 Lane work in progress on Channarayapatna Bypass:



Beautifully done sections of Charmadi Ghats:



Short section of Charmadi Ghats captured from my Dashcam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPzZ0A2pX4&t=5s

The ever beautiful Maravanthe beach:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHsRIDwvu40

No trip is complete without stopping by on the Beautiful Maravanthe beach:

How are roads beyond Kundapura? Excellent and here is one section from Kundapura to Bhatkal:

https://youtu.be/5ypLKgc6SSU

What should be the ideal route for Udupi/Kundapura?

Given the recent updates, including the fact that all sections of Charmadi as well as Guruvayanakere Karkala are fully fixed, to me, this route remains the best choice for Udupi.

- Charmadi still doesn't allow regular sized trucks and buses. That means traffic on this route remains fast and you make really good progress

- Mudigere to Kottigehara is definitely faster now due to full widening of this section (saves some time)

- Guruvayanakare to Karkala too is better, since all sections here have been fixed, traffic is less too

- From Karkala, I would prefer reaching Udupi via Padubidre as roads are wider and faster too

[balenoed_]

Did an overnight drive yesterday from Mangalore to Bangalore through Shiradi. Started at 11pm and reached Nelamangala junction at 6:30am including a 1hr sleep break in between.

Road condition - Mangalore to ghat base is all well. Ghat section also well and good as earlier. Sakleshpur to Hassan remains the same, so bad. In a way it helped to stay awake. And the rest also in a good condition as earlier.

[CLIX]

Did Charmadi, BLR-MLR and back on 12 March 21. The roads till you complete the Charmadi ghats are good. On the way back however there was a huge procession of "padayatris" to the Dharmastala Temple. My return through Charmadi was very slow, stuck behind a bus, and unable to overtake mainly due to the pedestrians all over the route from about Belur all the way to the Dharmastala Temple turn off.

Charmadi is still the best option now. Was on Shiradi a few weeks back and I will not venture on that route till I hear of some improvement.

Here's a picture from Charmadi Ghats with a section of the devotees.
I understand this is in connection with the Sivaratri festival. A good time to avoid this route.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by CLIX

Charmadi is still the best option now. Was on Shiradi a few weeks back and I will not venture on that route till I hear of some improvement.

Here's a picture from Charmadi Ghats with a section of the devotees.
I understand this is in connection with the Sivaratri festival. A good time to avoid this route.

Did take Shiradi twice last week. Roads have improved a lot. Uppinangadi to Gundya is good and few sections from Sakleshpur- Hassan have concrete roads. There are minor bad patches after Concrete ghat road till Sakleshpur, but will not be bothersome. I feel if you are travelling to Mangalore, this might be faster.