[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by manjubp

Planning to visit Kukke Subramanya from Bangalore.
Which route is better

1. BLR-> Nelamangala-> Channarayapattna -> HoleNarasipura->Arkalagudu -> Sanivarasanthe -> Bisle Ghat -> Subramanya

2. BLR-> Nelamangala-> Hassan--> Sakleshpura -> Gundya -> Subramanya

3. BLR--> MYS-> Medikeri --> Kayara --> Subramanya

4. BLR--> MYS-> Medikeri --> Sulya --> Sonangeri -> Subramanya

Car: Jetta TDI

Option 2 will be fastest and option 4 is decent if you are starting from Mysore road side of Bangalore. I heard Bisle ghat is in decent shape but will take time .

[fast_elegance]

Originally Posted by manjubp

Planning to visit Kukke Subramanya from Bangalore.

The temple continues to be closed during weekends. Please check the website:
https://www.kukke.org/en/home.aspx

Dakshina Kannada DC has ordered more strict night curfew measures and weekend curfew measures from today onwards.

Also, Udupi will have weekend curfew from Sep 3.
https://www.daijiworld.com/news/news...?newsID=869412

[SharathScorp]

Originally Posted by manjubp

Planning to visit Kukke Subramanya from Bangalore.
Which route is better

1. BLR-> Nelamangala-> Channarayapattna -> HoleNarasipura->Arkalagudu -> Sanivarasanthe -> Bisle Ghat -> Subramanya

2. BLR-> Nelamangala-> Hassan--> Sakleshpura -> Gundya -> Subramanya

3. BLR--> MYS-> Medikeri --> Kayara --> Subramanya

4. BLR--> MYS-> Medikeri --> Sulya --> Sonangeri -> Subramanya

Car: Jetta TDI

Option 2 any day. Just keep in mind the stretch between Hassan and Sakleshpura is in bad condition.

Have a safe and happy journey!

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by fast_elegance

The temple continues to be closed during weekends. Please check the website:
https://www.kukke.org/en/home.aspx

Dakshina Kannada DC has ordered more strict night curfew measures and weekend curfew measures from today onwards.

Also, Udupi will have weekend curfew from Sep 3.
https://www.daijiworld.com/news/news...?newsID=869412

Thanks, we will be travelling mid-week either Wednesday or Thursday, with no night drive. Start at 5:30AM and be back by 8PM is the plan.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by fast_elegance

Dakshina Kannada DC has ordered more strict night curfew measures and weekend curfew measures from today onwards.

I drove from Sullia to Bangalore via Kukke Subramanya, Gundya today. Everything was open in Dakshina Kannada except for the temple (observed that the entrance was barricaded) and few bigger hotels. Business was as usual for the smaller hotels and shops. There were no checks whatsoever anywhere. Traffic was normal everywhere.

[Samurai]

I drove yesterday from Udupi to Bangalore, via Charmadi. Very peaceful drive, no traffic anywhere except while getting off the flyover at Peenya. Even the ORR was surprisingly moving fast at around 8pm.

Only the stretch between Naravi and Aladanngadi is bad, no repairs in recent months I suppose. BTW, it rained most of the time.

[speedmiester]

Planning for a drive to Horanadu this weekend and further to Udupi through Kudremukha ghat.
Any update on the road conditions. Last time when I drove this route in March, the road from Kalasa till the checkpost to enter Kudremukha was in bad condition.

[livyodream]

Originally Posted by shrinath_m2

Yup. It is a little long. But you spend most of those extra kms on NH66 or on the wider SH.
Other roads are mostly narrow and much more twisty-er.
So those extra kms will go faster and smoother. I drive a little spirited anyway, so I know I like fast highways.

Anyway, try once, if not comfortable, you can go in twisty inroads next time 🙂

I must say, even though it is around 20 kms longer, the time taken is lesser than the direct route.
Travelled to Blr from Manipal, mnp-padubidri-nitte-ujire-charmadi-hassan-blr. the road condition were really good and much better than all other routes especially in monsoon condition.

[sachinpk]

Planning to make a Bangalore-Murdeshwar trip during the long week end. It is not a 'pilgrimage' per-se, but mainly to see the temple and also spend some time relaxing at the beaches.

Need advice on the below;
1. Which route is better? Google says go via the Hassan->Belur->Agumbe->Kundapura->Murdeshwar. Other options shown are via Mangalore or via Honnavara.
2. Since it is a kind of a long drive, I would like to take a scenic route.
3. Hotels seems to be accepting bookings, but wanted to know if there is any kind of curfew (especially on week ends).
4. Are there any kind of water sports or boating activities now available?

[_chikku]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

the road from Kalasa till the checkpost to enter Kudremukha was in bad condition.

Drove through this yesterday. Road is not bad I would say, yet patchy under the trees. In addition Kudremukha forest area road from Kalasa side has lost its top layer and has lot of small pot holes. I dont know if it was same before as I was going this way for first time. But roads do get better after half way through the forest.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

1. Which route is better? Google says go via the Hassan->Belur->Agumbe->Kundapura->Murdeshwar.

I took this route in April. Road was good and route was very scenic.

Honnavar route was equally beautiful, back in Nov 2020 when I went to Gokarna. I suggest take one while going and return via the other route.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

3. Hotels seems to be accepting bookings, but wanted to know if there is any kind of curfew (especially on week ends).
4. Are there any kind of water sports or boating activities now available?

Murdeshwara is neither in Udupi or DK, so there is no weekend Curfew there. So life should be pretty normal there. General boating should be available. It is also known for scuba diving.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Other options shown are via Mangalore or via Honnavara

Originally Posted by ashis89

Honnavar route was equally beautiful

+1 to Honnavara route. beautiful well marked roads with scenic vistas. Added stops by taking this route would be
a) Jog falls, which does have decent water flowing even thought the dam isnt open
b) Paddy fields around talguppa
c) Sharavathy valley view point
d) Honnavara railway bridge.



Another route to consider would be Jog - Kargal - Bhatkal. Amazing 2L roads with very minimal traffic. Additional stop on this route could be
a) Bheemeshwara temple
b) Open grassland like areas just outside Bhatkal.

Bheemeshwara temple


Open grassland like areas

[sachinpk]

Did a quick trip to Kumta (near Karwar) over the long week end, and I must say it was a good drive and welcome break as well. Odometer reading was 1166.2kms from home to home.

On Friday started early in the morning at 0415Hrs. It was after a long time that we as a family really started so early, but Google Maps showed a distance of 500+ k.m to drive and a 9 hr 50 min journey. Crossed the city and by around 0510Hrs we had reached Dobbspet, which is like the border between Bangalore Urban district and Tumkur district. Yeshwantpur to Tumkur was not a very pleasant drive as there were too many too wheelers on the road. Perhaps it was the last minute rush of people from the city to their homes in Tumkur district so that they could celeberate Vinayak Chaturthi with their near & dear ones. After Tumkur the traffic thinned out. By 0630Hrs I was around 16kms before Hiriyur, and we took the first break. Checked into the early morning 'VHF net' (for Amateur Radio Ops) with the repeater station at Nandi Hills giving very clear signals.

By 0725Hrs we reached Chitradurga and took the route towards Davanagere. I was kind of confused here, because the route looked exactly similar to the one going towards Hosapete. There was a railway over bridge, and soon after a lake on the left side of the road; on both these routes. First I thought that Google was taking me for a ride. Finally better sense prevailed and we drove on. 'Mysore Cafe' a few kms on this road was the breakfast point. Found the place to have adequate parking lot, clean toilets and tasty food. By 0905Hrs we reached Davanagere city border. Google Maps played a small trick here, it plotted a route through the city to proceed to the next way point near Harihar. Luckily the city was still not very busy so we could get out easily. At around 0930Hrs we moved to the interesting part of the drive; that is through the state highways and small roads. We crossed Halageri town at 1000Hrs, and reached Hirekarur by around 1100Hrs. The greenery all around was a major treat for the eyes. And what I noticed secondly the slow life in many of these small town and villages. By 1200Hrs we drove into Siddapura after crossing Shiralakoppa and Soraba. Apart from few patches here & there the roads were very good and the traffic was also sparse. At every village & town there was also the Vinayak Chaturthi festivities going on road side temples & pandals.

From Siddapura we decided to drive down towards Talguppa so that we could 're-visit' the Sharavati Valley View point. Around 12 years back we had drown down to this point when visiting Jog Falls and Karwar. Back then I was using an GPS device (from MapMyIndia) and this view point was found by surprize. The road from Siddapura to Talguppa was very bad. It was a kind of forest road, lot of potholes and a steady rainfall added to the fun. By 1345 Hrs we reached Honnavar and by then hunger was really catching up. The Kamat Executive hotel at the tri-junction was crowded so we had to have lunch at Vaibhavi Restaurant. The road from Honnavar to Kumta is a mixed-bag, at some point it is the old two lane highway, but at least in one stretch it was a good four lane highway (with tolls levied as well). Looks like here the four lane-ing is only progressing in areas outside the major towns. Perhaps land acquisition is the problem. We closed the journey at 1450Hrs and checked into our place of stay at Kumta.

As per me; it was a wise decision to leave Bangalore at 0400-0430Hrs. Could drive through the city, and before the world got busy we covered half of the total journey distance.

Come Sunday and it was time to drive back. Did not opt for a real early morning start as I had decided to climb up the Siddapura ghat. Did not want to drive through that unfamiliar route in the dark. Left Kumta at 0715Hrs and drove up the ghat section via Chandavar. The roads seems to be okay in this ghat section except in the core hilly areas. Here the roads were narrow, and it also rained heavily. Luckily traffic was sparse. This ghat road also offers some waterfalls/rapids on the way. So took breaks here for enjoying the scenery over a cup of hot black coffee. This is a pure personal observation; but a trend I noticed in the coastal district was the way people walking or riding two wheelers crossed the road. It was done in the most callous manner with an attitude that other vehicle drivers need to take precautions. The same behaviour was also noticed in the umpteen number of cows seen on the road. They would be right there on the road and if in a happy mood they would oblige and move off the road at a leisurely pace.

At 0915Hrs we reached Siddapura town. It was raining heavily all through this drive. Decided to have breakfast at a Vijayalakshmi Hotel a simple restaurant which looked like managed by a family. Had steaming idlis, vadas & coffee which gave the energy to drive on. Drove back on the same route and by 1215Hrs reached Davanagere. This time from Halageri we drove along the good state highway and joined the Pune Bangalore Highway (AH47) near Ranibennur. It was a good decision, saved around 15 minutes. This time did not make the mistake of going via Davanagere city. There is road building/bridge building happening on the side towards Bangalore. Here we had to go through service roads with slow moving trucks all along. By 1315Hrs we were near Chitradurga and had lunch at Hotel Ojas. Crossed Sira at 1445Hrs and reached Nelamangala area by 1530Hrs. From then own the drive was a real pain. The number of vehicles had increased considerably, and a good number of them were also slow moving trucks. A slow moving truck on the right lane, and slightly faster auto rickshaw or goods carrier on the left lane; with a long queue of cars behind - that was the scene which we saw most often. The road section here was also uneven with lots of uneven patches. The two toll booths how ever was processing each vehicle very fast; and we need to thank FasTag. Looks like all vehicles now have one, and it is working very smoothly.

At around 1630Hrs we reached NICE Road; where we lost 15 minutes due to the long queue and no FasTag facility. And by 1725Hrs, it was home sweet home.

A big THANK YOU for all who helped me in finding a good route.

[suhasark]

A boulder rolled onto the Charmadi Road yesterday and may potentially lead to slow moving traffic as per news report in a Kannada newspaper.