[rahulb22]

Originally Posted by 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. Attachment 2206215

I did see this boulder when I passed Charmadi around 6:30 AM yesterday. But it did not seem to create too much trouble as it was towards one side of the road and traffic was thin.

But do watch out for heavy rain and very dense fog in the region if you are driving through this route especially early morning.

[Sanbhat1611]

A) I happened to drive to Kundapur from Bangalore last week (on 9th Sep'21). I took the following route:

BENGALURU - Kunigal - Hassan (lunch) - Belur - Mudigere - CHARMADI Ghat - Ujjire - Belthangady - Bajagoli - Karkala - Bramhvara - (NH66) - KUNDAPURA

Route was a mix of NH75 and then SH373 and finally NH66. Road condition was good throughout and ride was smooth. It was sunny and pleasant throughout and light rain and fog on the peak on Charmadi made the ride a scenic and a memorable one.

It was a solid 9Hr 33 min drive (excluding breaks) and didn't save much time as I originally evaluated.

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B) While returning on Sunday I originally planned to drive via Agumbe - Balehonnur route. But heavy downpour since the break of dawn made me change my plans and take the following 'safer' route:

KUNDAPUR - (NH66)- Mangaluru - Bantwal - Uppinangady - SHIRADY Ghat - Sakleshpur (lunch) - Hassan - BENGALURU

The 6 lane highway NH66 from Kundapur to Mangalore was awesome, it was a buttery smooth ride and I could ride at steady pace consistently (THREE tollgates Enroute - Sasthan, Hejamdai and Suratkal)

Ride from Mangalore to Shirady was overall okay but when you get closer to Shirady the frequency of potholes started increasing. Concrete stretch on Shirady was good as always.

Shirady to Sakleshpur was a back-breaking ride with long stretches of bad roads with potholes and craters. I was mostly on 1st and 2nd gears. Traffic Jam added to the woes.

Sakleshpur to Hassan also wasn't very great. We stopped at Saklespur (Durga International) for lunch hoping for better roads ahead but had to battle pothole ridden roads very often.

As we neared Hassan I could see the buttery smooth four lane NH75 was dug up at many stretches for road widening, guess Govt is planning for a six lane concretisation of the road. This was adding up to bottle necks and traffic jams.

Considering the slowness and heavy flow of traffic (guess lot many people were returning from Mangalore-Udupi stretch after a long weekend) I decided to skip my evening break at Swathi Delicacy and kept driving through the thick traffic/jams/bottlenecks and finally reached home after a solid 10hr 44 min drive

** GMAP route pics attached **

[Shubz]

Originally Posted by Sanbhat1611

A) I happened to drive to Kundapur from Bangalore last week (on 9th Sep'21). I took the following route:

BENGALURU - Kunigal - Hassan (lunch) - Belur - Mudigere - CHARMADI Ghat - Ujjire - Belthangady - Bajagoli - Karkala - Bramhvara - (NH66) - KUNDAPURA



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B) While returning on Sunday ...... 'safer' route:

KUNDAPUR - (NH66)- Mangaluru - Bantwal - Uppinangady - SHIRADY Ghat - Sakleshpur (lunch) - Hassan - BENGALURU

The 6 lane highway NH66 from Kundapur to Mangalore was awesome, it was a buttery smooth ride and I could ride at steady pace consistently (THREE tollgates Enroute - Sasthan, Hejamdai and Suratkal)

Ride from Mangalore to Shirady was overall okay but when you get closer to Shirady the frequency of potholes started increasing. Concrete stretch on Shirady was good as always.

Shirady to Sakleshpur was a back-breaking ride with long stretches of bad roads with potholes and craters. I was mostly on 1st and 2nd gears. Traffic Jam added to the woes.

Sakleshpur to Hassan also wasn't very great. We stopped at Saklespur (Durga International) for lunch hoping for better roads ahead but had to battle pothole ridden roads very often.

As we neared Hassan I could see the buttery smooth four lane NH75 was dug up at many stretches for road widening, guess Govt is planning for a six lane concretisation of the road. This was adding up to bottle necks and traffic jams.

Considering the slowness and heavy flow of traffic (guess lot many people were returning from Mangalore-Udupi stretch after a long weekend) I decided to skip my evening break at Swathi Delicacy and kept driving through the thick traffic/jams/bottlenecks and finally reached home after a solid 10hr 44 min drive

** GMAP route pics attached **

I took the Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Aldur - Koppa - Agumbe - Koteshwar (UVA Meridian Bay Resorts) route Started my journey at 5:45 am and Reached Koteshwar by 2:15 pm (with a couple of breaks) Route was quite scenic & good except for a few patches here and there.

Return journey - just like you - thought of taking the "safer" route - THAT was a mistake! Shiradi to Hassan and beyond -- Pathetic roads full of potholes, a few stretches of concrete, just when you think you've left the bad roads behind - Boom! More potholes. Add the flyover construction on Hassan highway to the misery. Unscientific road bumps to check sturdiness of the underbody of sedans.

*Attaching some pics from the onward drive - pics clicked by the passenger*

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by livyodream

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.

Need help with these couple of questions:

1. Which is preferred route from Ujire to Karkala? Is it the one via Bajagoli or via Mudabidare?

2. I need to visit Pajaka kshetra. Which is the best way? I saw a few options:
- Karkala-Belman-Pajaka
- Karkala-Padubidri-Katpadi-Pajaka
- Karkala-Udupi road (SH37) and take a left at Moodubelle

Thank you,

Prasad

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by prasad14

1. Which is preferred route from Ujire to Karkala? Is it the one via Bajagoli or via Mudabidare?

While the difference is only 3kms or so, the mudbidare route takes almost 15 minutes longer. The Bajagoli road is faster and has less traffic. But I have to confess, I have not taken the Mudbidare option in over a decade.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Samurai

While the difference is only 3kms or so, the mudbidare route takes almost 15 minutes longer. The Bajagoli road is faster and has less traffic. But I have to confess, I have not taken the Mudbidare option in over a decade.

You are right with your assessment on the extra time. This remains a fact even today. Plus the option via Moodabidre means crossing fairly urban areas of Venoor and Moodabidre while in case of Naravi-Bajagoli these are quick to pass. The road condition via Moodabidre remains good though but any day the other option will be faster.

Moodabidre route also sees high bus traffic as it is a major junction in the district for heading towards Mangalore, Karkala or Kiinigoli/Agumbe. Even during my college days I would prefer hopping onto a bus via Naravi-Bajagoli over Moodabidre for Karkala. KSRTC Buses however continue to take the Moodabidre option since many decades.

[speedmiester]

Came back from a short trip with Udupi over the weekend with friends. Expecting heavy traffic on Sunday while coming back we decided to go on Sunday and return on Monday which was a wise decision.

While going took the Charmadi route to reach Udupi, roads are in good to great condition throughout.
We had plans to return via Kudrekukha ghat while returning just to enjoy the drive through the forest, unfortunately a drive to Pabba's in Mangalore for Gudbud took longer and decided to take the Shiradi route to Bangalore.

Boy, what a mistake it was. Post the concrete section in the Shiradi ghat, the roads are non existent and the Sakleshpur-Hassan stretch is beyond horrible. Roads are in poor shape that all the benefit of taking a shorter route got eroded in this stretch.
We were in my Friend's Nexon and even with that we struggled. Can't imagine the torture Sedans and hatchbacks face on this road.

Definitely avoid this stretch for the time being.

[livyodream]

Originally Posted by prasad14

Need help with these couple of questions:

1. Which is preferred route from Ujire to Karkala? Is it the one via Bajagoli or via Mudabidare?

2. I need to visit Pajaka kshetra. Which is the best way? I saw a few options:
- Karkala-Belman-Pajaka
- Karkala-Padubidri-Katpadi-Pajaka
- Karkala-Udupi road (SH37) and take a left at Moodubelle

Thank you,

Prasad

Thats the route I took : https://goo.gl/maps/xvaa5FsjTV9HjCDH8

Even though google maps estimates more time compared to usual ujire udupi route (https://goo.gl/maps/AAgfa6YYioSV7AQm7), it takes less than 2 hours actually.

[jkrishnakj]

Dear All - With the roads post Hassan being terrible from what I read, what’s a better way to reach Kukke Subrahmanya?

I’m planning a day round trip in the coming week. I’ll be driving a sedan.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by livyodream

Thats the route I took : https://goo.gl/maps/xvaa5FsjTV9HjCDH8

Even though google maps estimates more time compared to usual ujire udupi route (https://goo.gl/maps/AAgfa6YYioSV7AQm7), it takes less than 2 hours actually.

That is also a sensible choice because Karkala to Padubidre is fast and then from Padubidre its a 4 lane road. This option also ensures that you do not need to enter and exit Karkala town end to end which is certainly time consuming. With the route you took, you bypass Karkala completely.

This route also remains my personal pick and had mentioned about some time back (bold part is what you took).

Originally Posted by paragsachania

If done via Charmadi, you have the following choices:

1. Charmadi - Ujire - Belthangady - Guruvayanakere - Naravi - Bajagoli - Karkala - Nitte - Belman - Padubidre - Udupi
   
2. Charmadi - Ujire - Belthangady - Guruvayanakere - Venoor - Moodabidre- Mulki - Padubidre - Udupi
   
3. Charmadi - Ujire - Belthangady - Guruvayanakere - Naravi - Bajagoli - Karkala - Nitte - Belman - Shirva - Katpadi - Udupi
   
4. Charmadi - Ujire - Belthangady - Guruvayanakere - Naravi - Bajagoli - Karkala - Hiriyadka - Udupi

As of today, my personal pick would be 1 and 3. Also, your choices to reach Udupi will split first right after crossing Guruvayanakere (whether to be done via Karkala or Moodabidre) or right at Karkala (whether to do via Padubidre or Shirva).

Honestly, between 1 and 2, it is not much difference. Except the Shirva route, all of them really pass Karkala from the outside without you having to enter and exit the town with seemingly narrow roads (and then follow the buses that may have just started from Karkala).

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Dear All - With the roads post Hassan being terrible from what I read, what’s a better way to reach Kukke Subrahmanya?

I’m planning a day round trip in the coming week. I’ll be driving a sedan.

Take Bisile as that is a good alternate to reach Kukke.

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

That is also a sensible choice because Karkala to Padubidre is fast and then from Padubidre its a 4 lane road. This option also ensures that you do not need to enter and exit Karkala town end to end which is certainly time consuming. With the route you took, you bypass Karkala completely.
.

What are the decent options for lunch at Ujire, Belthangady?

Prasad

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by prasad14

What are the decent options for lunch at Ujire, Belthangady?

Prasad

Try these options:

• Halli Mane - You will get this before Ujire gets busier and before you close in on the town area. However, remember that this place serves both Veg and Non-Veg
  
• Panchami Jain - This will be on Ujire Dharmasthala Road, a deviation from the regular Ujire-Belthangady road but the detour is going to be less than 1 km
  
• Belthangady has a better choice called Durga Grand and I would prefer this over the other two

[Ashtoncastelino]

Originally Posted by prasad14

2. I need to visit Pajaka kshetra. Which is the best way? I saw a few options:
- Karkala-Belman-Pajaka
- Karkala-Padubidri-Katpadi-Pajaka
- Karkala-Udupi road (SH37) and take a left at Moodubelle

Thank you,

Prasad

I can help you with your second question , it's best to take the 3rd option ( Karkala-Udupi road (SH37) and take a left at moodubelle T junction. It's a very good road with less traffic although it gets a bit bumpy in my hometown moodubelle.

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

).
Take Bisile as that is a good alternate to reach Kukke.

Thank you Parag.

That’ll be Blr- CR Patna - Arakalgud - Shanivarsanthe- Bisle - Kukke?

I remember doing this in the return once basis your recommendation and we loved the route.

[mazda4life]

Hi, will be driving tomorrow to Mangalore from Jayanagar, planning to leave early morning by 5 am. Read the comment about pathetic road conditions post Hassan, what would be the ideal route ? . Will be driving my EcoSport.